1.3.4.4. Cooperative Purchasing

In accordance with (O.C.G.A.) Section 50-5-51, DOAS Closed Department of Administrative Services has both the authority and duty to canvass all sources of supply to establish contracts for needed goods and services as well as enter into or authorize agreements with cooperative purchasing organizations (sometimes referred to as consortia) or other states and their political subdivisions. Pursuant to this authority, DOAS Closed Department of Administrative Services may enter into and/or authorize state entities to enter into contracts with sources of supply established pursuant to competitive bidding conducted by other governmental entities or cooperative purchasing groups. However, prior to designating a supplier approved by a cooperative purchasing organization as an authorized source of supply, the state entity must publicly advertise its intent to contract with the cooperative-awarded supplier(s) in accordance with the following procedures: The procurement professional must complete the steps outlined in Table 1.7 below prior to finalizing a cooperative purchase.

The cooperative procurement process does not apply to any of the following purchases:

Purchases which are exempt from the competitive solicitation process and/or the State Purchasing Act Purchases,
Purchases from mandatory or convenience statewide contracts,
Purchases from existing state entity contracts,
Purchases pursuant to Tier 3 of the Order of Precedence,
SPD-approved "piggyback" purchases, or
Any contract resulting from a competitive solicitation conducted in accordance with the provisions of this manual even if only one responsive and responsible bid/proposal is received.

Table 1.7 Conducting a Cooperative Purchase
Step 1: Conduct Market Research	To determine the appropriateness of a cooperative purchase, research must be conducted to determine if other goods or service providers exist and can satisfy procurement requirements at the same or better value.
Step 2: Prepare Cooperative Purchase Justification	The procurement professional must complete form SPD-NI007.
Step 3: Estimate Expected Contract Value and Route to SPDState Purchasing Division as needed	As described in Section 2.5.2. One-Time Request to Exceed Delegated Purchasing Authority, the procurement professional must estimate the expected contract value to determine whether the consortium or cooperative purchase is within the state entity’s delegated purchasing authority. In the event the state entity’s delegated purchasing authority varies depending on the type of solicitation, the procurement professional should use the authority amount for the RFPRequest for Proposals process unless the State Purchasing Division Deputy Commissioner has specified a delegated purchasing authority specific to the cooperative procurement process. If the value of the cooperative purchase exceeds the state entity’s delegated purchasing authority, the state entity must either submit the cooperative purchase to SPDState Purchasing Division for processing or request SPDState Purchasing Division’s approval to process the cooperative purchase posting by submitting to SPDState Purchasing Division a one-time request to exceed delegated purchasing authority as described in Section 2.5.2. One-Time Request to Exceed Delegated Purchasing Authority.
Step 4: Post Public Notice	The procurement professional must provide public notice of the intended cooperative purchase or contract through a posting to the GPRGeorgia Procurement Registry. The purpose of publicizing the intended cooperative purchase is to allow suppliers to challenge a cooperative purchase prior to contract award if suppliers believe and can document that they also meet the requirements of the potential cooperative purchase at the same or better value. The total posting period for a cooperative purchase notice is determined by the estimated contract value. If the estimated contract value is $25,000 - $249,999.99, the notice is to be posted for a minimum of five (5) business days. If the estimated contract value is $250,000 or greater, the notice is to be posted for a minimum of fifteen (15) calendar days.
Step 5: Invite Market Response	The GPRGeorgia Procurement Registry posting must include the following: identity of governmental entity and/ or cooperative purchasing organization who awarded the contract or agreement, date the cooperative purchasing agreement was awarded, name and number of the cooperative purchasing agreement, confirmation that the cooperative purchasing agreement was competitively bid and if so, how it was bid, supplier(s) to whom cooperative purchasing agreement was awarded, supplier(s) the entity will be using under the contract, proposed State Entity Contract term (including renewals, if applicable), a detailed description of the goods/services to be purchased including the exact quantities, estimated or fixed dollar value of the goods/services to be awarded utilizing the cooperative purchasing agreement (including unit prices, if applicable, and total contract award value), reason for utilization of the cooperative purchasing agreement, the completed form SPD-NI007 Notice of Intent to Utilize Cooperative Purchasing Agreement justification, and instructions to interested suppliers to file any challenges to the cooperative purchase in accordance with SPDState Purchasing Division’s established process for resolving protests. The published notice serves as the state entity’s Notice of Intent to Award. A sample notice is provided in Table 1.8 below. In addition, during the development of the GPRGeorgia Procurement Registry posting, the procurement professional must select appropriate NIGP Codes™ to facilitate advertisement of the intended cooperative purchase.
Step 6: Complete Protest Process	In the event a supplier is capable of providing the needed goods/services at the same or better value, the supplier must file a protest with the State Purchasing Division Deputy Commissioner prior to the close of the cooperative notice. Any such protest will be resolved by DOASDepartment of Administrative Services in accordance with the provisions of this manual.
Step 7: Contract Award	In the event the cooperative procurement is not successfully challenged; the state entity may proceed directly to contract award. The state entity must complete SPD-AP005 Notice of Award, indicating the contract award amount, and post it directly to the GPRGeorgia Procurement Registry.

Table 1.8 shows a sample consortia/cooperative procurement notice:

Table 1.8 Cooperative Procurement Sample Notice
[Insert State Entity Name] is providing public notice of its intent to award a contract to [Insert Name of Cooperative] to provide [Insert Description of Goods/Services]. [Insert Name of Cooperative] has been identified as the supplier for this purchase for the reasons stated in the attached Cooperative Justification Form. Any supplier capable of providing the identified goods/services at the same or better value may challenge this determination by filing a written protest with the Deputy Commissioner of the State Purchasing Division (SPD) in accordance with the protest procedures outlined in Section 6.5. Step 4 – Supplier Participates in Protest Process. The protest must be received prior to the closing date and time identified herein.

Table 1.8
Cooperative Procurement Sample Notice

[Insert State Entity Name] is providing public notice of its intent to award a contract to [Insert Name of Cooperative] to provide [Insert Description of Goods/Services]. [Insert Name of Cooperative] has been identified as the supplier for this purchase for the reasons stated in the attached Cooperative Justification Form. Any supplier capable of providing the identified goods/services at the same or better value may challenge this determination by filing a written protest with the Deputy Commissioner of the State Purchasing Division (SPD) in accordance with the protest procedures outlined in Section 6.5. Step 4 – Supplier Participates in Protest Process. The protest must be received prior to the closing date and time identified herein.