Page 35 - The EDGE Spring 2020

VENDOR/BUYER CONFERENCE

BY DON HARRIS
Cheryl Burt
A Lot to Remember When Making a Good Solicitation Better

There are many ways you can improve a solicitation for performance times and terms.
services or products, and a key bit of advice involves the
words you use – keep it clear, concise and simple. Be sure to consider what can go wrong, and what safeguards
are needed. “It’s essential to ensure that the bidder’s response
In a breakout session at the Vendor/Buyer Conference on contains needed warranties and what they provide,” she said.
January 28, the first piece of advice Cheryl Burt, Procurement Burt posed this scenario: If you’re doing a roof, do you want
Coordinator, Buckeye Elementary School District, gave to a 20-year warranty or a 10-year warranty? “The district
AASBO members is to be a mentor. Being in a one-person will pick up the cost,” she said. “This is critical for service
procurement office in a small school district, Burt said she contracts where common law of contracts does not provide
misses the opportunity to bounce ideas off someone else in for warranty protections.”
the office.
The statement of need should be one or two short paragraphs.
To avoid problems, you need to have good specifications, a It provides an overview of the contract’s purpose and the
good description of goods and services that you are seeking to district’s objectives.
purchase. You can hire a consultant as long as the consultant
doesn’t have a direct benefit from the ultimate transaction, You also need to know what the contractor needs to provide
Burt explained. And there’s nothing wrong with borrowing or accomplish to be successful, Burt said.
specifications from another district or a previous contract.
When you start on your specifications, be sure to ask internal
Under the Administrative Code, there are four types of customers for input.”It’s a good idea to have them sign-off
specifications: common or general use; brand name or equal; on the draft,” she said.”The title of the contract should
brand name only; and a qualified products list. Minimum concisely describe the product or services you’re looking
standards apply. Insisting on a brand name product is for.”
usually avoided, unless you are replacing a product that has
a warranty that would be voided, Burt said. In those cases, Consider whether the specifications meet the district’s needs
you should state why a brand name is necessary. and whether revisions or tweaks are needed.
“Tell the vendor the requirements that the product or service Burt also suggested knowing whether there are any pending
must meet,” Burt said. “At the end, you don’t care how the technology changes or any current or planned changes in
vendor gets there. Descriptions of work procedures should be work volumes, procedures or processes.
limited to those necessary to meet legal, regulatory, or other
public obligations for open and competitive procurement.” “Include in your specifications any monitors you will want,”
she said, “and what resources the district will make available
You should require bidders to describe how they would to the vendor. Should the contractor have a construction
perform work to achieve those desired results, but don’t tell
them how to perform the work, she said.

In defining the contract purpose and identifying deeds
and expectations, you should consider what will satisfy
stakeholders’ needs. That can be one of the trickiest, Burt
said, especially if stakeholders have done their own analysis.
Also consider how external customers would be affected.
Other aspects include the end-user analysis; industry norms;
products/services that will satisfy objectives that could
involve an internet search; and the standard delivery or

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