As a public university, all procurement activities must be conducted in an open and fair environment that promotes competition among prospective Suppliers.

There are many UC System-Wide agreements with suppliers that can and should be used when procuring goods or services. UC Procurement awards these contracts based on a rigorous competitive bidding process focused on pricing, quality, and sustainability. In addition, UC has partnered with OMNIA Partners for public sector sourcing. When leveraging these agreements, the competitive bidding requirements are already satisfied. The agreements offer the highest benefit to UC in terms of advantageous pricing, favorable terms and conditions, compliance with Certificate of Liability Insurance (COI) requirements, etc.

The UC maintains a System-wide Contract Listing website that contains a list of current supplier agreements for use by all University of California locations. These contracts are organized by commodity categories and are updated regularly.

Specific contract access is available to all UC staff via CalUSource. To obtain access, complete the Access Request form.

OMNIA Partners contracts and portfolio of vendors are located on their public sector website.

When a department is not using a CruzBuy-hosted/punch-out catalog or a pre-negotiated existing agreement with a Supplier, competitive solicitations may be required. Competitive solicitations can be characterized as either "informal" or "formal."

An informal solicitation may be conducted by UC employees, principal investigators, a Procurement and Supply Chain Services (PSCS) Buyer, or other UC staff member, often via phone call or by e-mail to multiple suppliers. Suppliers should be provided the same request for requirements by UC so that each bidder is informed equally and so UC can evaluate the responsive quotes fairly.

A formal solicitation is conducted by PSCS in coordination with the requesting department's Subject Matter Expert(s) (SMEs). The SME provides expertise in some aspects related to the document drafting process and often writes the majority of the Statement of Work (SOW). SMEs are often UC employees or an independent contractor can be hired to provide expert advice related to a complex project. The finalized document is then posted to UC's public bid site, CalUSource, for qualified Suppliers to respond to the solicitation. PSCS administers the formal bidding process to ensure impartiality and to avoid any conflicts of interest.

The following table provides dollar thresholds for when an informal or formal solicitation is required.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the purchase leverages a UC System-Wide agreement, the solicitation requirement is already satisfied. No further competition is required.

*As required by 2 CFR § 200.320, departments must obtain three (3) competitive quotes, bids or proposals for a purchase transaction more than $10,000.00.

**California Public Contract Code (PCC), sections 10507.7 et seq., requires the University of California to formally competitively bid the purchase of goods and/or services that exceed $100,000 per year unless an exception applies and the basis for the award is documented in writing. Requirements for goods and services should be publicly advertised.

***Authority for changes to micro-purchase threshold:
Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds

Reasonable Price: What a prudent person would pay for the same or similar goods or services. All statements must be backed up with documentation.

• Need not be the lowest price available but it is one that offers the highest total value to the University.
• A price that does not exceed what would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of a competitive business.
• Can be established by market test, price or cost analysis, or the experience and judgment of the Procurement/Supply Chain Manager. Such judgment considers the total value to the University.
• A reasonable price is established via an adequate market test, set by applicable law or regulation, or supported by an appropriate price or cost analysis.
• The following are examples of how to substantiate Price Reasonableness, together with a discount (discount alone is not justifiable), in order of preference:
1. Price competition ‐ comparison of quotes
2. UCOP, State, GPO or GSA contract pricing, or comparison with prices under existing contracts
3. Prior price history with the same vendor, same items (include the prior PO number and $ amount)
4. Comparison with current or recent prices for a similar item(s) with another vendor
5. Market research, catalog, or established price list (sales to general public ‐ screenshot ok)

Exemptions to Formal Solicitation

UC Santa Cruz is committed to a policy of competitive procurement when competition is known to exist. However, there are certain cases where departments may be granted a bid exemption. Work with the PSCS Strategic Sourcing Team to determine if the goods and/or services may be exempt from bidding requirements. A UCOP Source Selection & Price Reasonableness (SSPR) Justification Form must be completed by the requesting department to substantiate the appropriateness of a bid exemption request for all federally-funded purchases more than $15,000 and non-federally funded purchases more than $100,000 for federal and state audits.

Split Orders

Requirements for purchases shall not be artificially divided into separate transactions to avoid competition as defined in University of California BFB-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services.