Competition between suppliers is one of the most effective ways to ensure that a product or service is secured at the most favorable price and terms. Competitive quoting and bidding is required for products or services with an aggregate total value of $10,000 or more over the same fiscal year with the same vendor, unless an Illinois Tech / University Preferred Supplier is utilized.
Using University Preferred Suppliers
The University Preferred or Buy It Preferred Supplier indicates that the University has competitively solicited and negotiated competitive commercial pricing and established legal terms and conditions with the qualified suppliers, as well as established an easy and streamlined ordering and payment process. Procurement Services is the only University entity able to authorize and designate a supplier as a University Preferred Supplier.
Departments do not need to obtain quotes or bids for spend between $10,000 and $250,000 if a University Preferred Supplier is used. A Vendor Selection Form still needs to be completed online as part of a Buy It eMarketplace requisition.
The use of Preferred Suppliers are strongly encouraged as they carry many benefits, including competitive pricing due to leveraging the whole University’s volume, ease of ordering, improved access to information, and a higher level of service resulting from the strong commitment the supplier has to the University. Using a Preferred Supplier also improves productivity and efficiency of departmental resources by reducing the time used to source quotes/bids and negotiate contractual terms as the work has already been done by Procurement Services.
Using Other Qualified Suppliers
Quotes or bids should be solicited whenever the items can be purchased from multiple sources. Quotes and bids submitted to the University must be held in strictest confidence and under no circumstances should suppliers be given information about quotes or bids or pricing obtained from competing sources. Upon request, Procurement Services will assist in locating potential suppliers and obtaining pricing and product availability information.
The various purchasing thresholds and quotes/bids requirement for Federal Sponsored and Grants related funding sources are summarized in the table below:
The various purchasing thresholds and quotes/bids requirement for Non-Federal Sponsored and Non-Grants related funding sources are summarized in the table below:
