Request for Bid/Quote/Proposal Quick Guide
Request for Bid/Quote/Proposal Quick Guide
Hiring vendors or contractors to provide goods or services can happen in a variety of ways.
Request for Quote (RFQ)
Requesting a quote is an informal procurement process
Use is limited to the following:
- Total cost is $50,000 or less
- SPPS staff approaches the vendor or contractor with request
- Must have at least two quotes for comparison, three is preferred
- State or Joint Powers contracts can be used in place of multiple quotes
Request for Bid (RFB)
Requesting a bid is a formal procurement process.
Used when the need or scope can be clearly defined (eg: I need X. How much will it cost?)
- Total cost is $50,000 or more
- Used for construction, goods, and services
- Vendors and contractors approach SPPS with bids to advertised solicitations
- SPPS advertises the need for at least two weeks
- Ideally three or more for cost comparison, but possible to award on single bids
- No negotiation between vendor and SPPS
- Lowest responsive and responsible bid wins
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Requesting a proposal is a complex formal procurement process.
Used when the scope is not easily defined, or the goods or services may vary between vendors (eg: My school or program has this need. How can you help me meet this and what will it cost?)
- May be needed for goods or service contract regardless of cost
- Useful when there is insufficient detail (eg: hiring a grant writer, a program evaluator, a landscaper, etc.)
- Negotiation between SPPS and vendor is built into the process
- Proposals are scored using predetermined criteria; highest scoring vendor is awarded
See specific linked procedures for exceptions, full details, and steps.