One of the most important responsibilities of Purchasing Services is that of making the decision as to which supplier should be selected to supply the need. Purchasing Services is responsible for obtaining quotations from suppliers when formal bidding is required. Should a requisitioner determine that a specific manufacturer or brand of product is required, a written justification is required that documents the reasons why competition is or should be restricted. (See Single/Sole Source Procurement Requirements.) Such justifications are only required for purchases that exceed $10,000.

Staff members may inquire and seek product or specification information and cost estimates for budgetary purposes from prospective suppliers, but unofficial quotations sent to departments from suppliers create delays, duplication of effort, and confusion in the final process of preparing and placing orders by Purchasing Services.

• View our Bidding Requirements
• Download a Single/Sole Source Justification form - pdf

General Information
Requirements

General Information
Single/sole source can be documented by the buyer or the requisitioner. The reason for single/sole source must be objective and supported by actual information. Previous experience with a supplier is not justification for single/sole source.

Price is not a criteria for single/sole source. A Single/Sole Source Justification form [link] is available and may be used by requisitioners as a guide to help them justify their position. The buyer always has the final decision as to whether the single/sole source request will be accepted. An online Single/Sole Source Justification form is available for use at https://abs.psu.edu/SSJ/.

A quotation should be requested from the single/sole source supplier, not letting them know it is a sole source situation. When possible, further negotiation of price, delivery, and terms should be done to reduce our price.
Single/sole source procurements must include a justification of the price. Some type of price analysis should be performed and documented by the buyer.

Standardized bid and proposal procedures are outlined in this section. These procedures should be adhered to when soliciting all quotations/proposals. Phone and fax bids may be used in some circumstances and these are also included in the bid procedure.

Quotations obtained by departments are not official quotations and should be used for budget purposes only. Our official quotation form should be used when obtaining quotations, but when a supplier will only provide a quotation on their form, it must also be obtained by Purchasing.

Requirements

Single/sole source procurement requirements are defined as:

1. Single source is the only possible method of purchase.


• Letters of justification are required.


• The buyer has the final decision as to whether the single source request is acceptable.


2. A specified supplier and/or manufacturer is indicated as the desired source and justification is provided in writing. Examples may include the purchase of reprints or if a supplier holds existing dies, molds, or negatives.


3. It is an item used as a standard or only item compatible with existing equipment. Examples may include fire alarms, pagers, test equipment, etc.


4. An existing contract (E & I, Federal, State, Penn State) can be used.


• Contracts, standing orders, and blanket orders must be competitively bid, where possible.


• Single/sole source justification in writing is acceptable for contracts at the buyer's discretion when all other single/sole source conditions are met.


5. It is determined by the buyer that it is the only appropriate item to do the job.


6. All exceptions must be documented in writing and accepted by the buyer.

Single/sole source procurement should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Proper justification for using a single/sole source must be documented and filed with the “Purchases” copy of the order.