Page 32 - AASBO EDGE Spring 2025

PURCHASING

BY GARY BARKMAN
To Bid Or Not To Bid With One New

Consideration
Gary Barkman
The whole question behind “To bid or not to bid” lot of thought process. The individuals either have
really hovers around some specifics, like knowing the knowledge/experience or they don’t. Having said
what your district is capable of. Do you have the that, however, is there any other way to create the
available funding? Do you even have the staffing and/ solicitation without having the expertise? I dare say
or expertise level to do a Bid or RFP? How urgent is yes, but this methodology may also require additional
the purchase that your district is considering? Will research on how to make a Request for Information
the solicitation yield enough savings to warrant its or (RFI). I’m not going to open Pandora’s box, so
existence? to speak, but just know there’s always a way to get
These are all valid points and just a few areas that from point “A” to point “B” in the least amount of
need to be considered when determining whether to time, with the least amount of resistance. That, to
create your own Bid / RFP or utilize a cooperative me, is the responsibility of the procurement officer.
contract. Let’s break down the above items and Now, does this look like a repetitive purchase or
discuss possible alternatives. a one-and-done type purchase? This question is
If you don’t bid, is there an alternative avenue or another no brainer where one should simply check
contract available that can supply the same or either historical data or upcoming project estimates
similar product or service needed? It would be nice for this information. Just like the “wants” and “needs”
to know this up front but also how important is this above, it may be easily answered and remedied once
commodity or service to the district? Meaning, is you have the information.
this really a need or a want? Believe it or not, this is Then we get into the more complex questions such
where I truly must point out the importance of the as, “Will the solicitation yield enough savings to
selected items to the district making the purchase. warrant its existence?” here may be a need to do
some additional research as this question is more
"In most districts, 'needs' take interpretive than factual. It requires some estimating

precedence over the 'wants.'" knowledge and/or historical data from past contracts
and potential future contracts. Remember, there may
be some areas where a single agency contract that
There may be some items that would make life easier having cooperative language in it, can compete with
for a department within a district, but there could a larger scale or more national scale cooperative – the
also be another area or department where that same reasons should be considered, rather than discarded.
funding would make more sense. Obviously, that’s Lastly, remember the title of this article: “With One
not an area that I need to concern myself with, so I New Consideration.” Well, here’s the consideration
let the higher-ups battle that one. that didn’t yield the same importance yesterday as it
Next question, “Does the district have properly does today.
trained staff to pull off a formal solicitation?” This Most districts are truly feeling the budget crunch
can only be answered by the district itself. The today. This can be true for a number of reasons.
procurement person is either a newbie or veteran. They either didn’t have a large budget, didn’t pass
Regardless, this is a question that doesn’t require a

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32 THE EDGE SPRING 2025