Our department needs to order an ACME Widget Machine for our research. It will cost approximately $12,350. This is the only machine that will meet our requirements, do we need to get competitive bids.
Competitive bids are only required from purchases over $25,000 in order to ensure cost reasonableness for such items. For items costing less than $25,000, departments should request price quotes from different vendors to ensure you are getting the best price available.
We have a preferred vendor agreement in place with Wally's Whatsit Service, so we have to get other bids when we want to use them.
No, bids or pricing agreements were already made to determine that Wally's is a preferred vendor, so you may go ahead and place your order for services. Just be sure to provide a purchase order and follow other applicable regulations in the process.
We just received our bids for a printing project. Company X was the lowest price, but we're more confident that Company Y will do a better job. Do we have to use Company X?
If you prefer to use company Y, you may do so if you provide a written justification as to why Y would be more appropriate to your needs. When doing so just be sure to include specific reasons for the choice. For example if Company Y uses certain equipment that is more appropriate to the project, can ensure more timely delivery, or has special skills required for the job, these might be good reasons for choosing Y over X.