2.3.2.2. Conducting Sole Source Purchases

The procurement professional must complete the steps outlined in Table 2.6 prior to finalizing a sole source purchase.

The sole source process does not apply to any of the following purchases:

 

 

Table 2.6
Conducting a Sole Source Purchase

Step 1: Conduct Market Research

 To determine the appropriateness of a sole source purchase, research must be conducted to determine if other goods or service providers exist and can satisfy procurement requirements.
Step 2: Prepare Sole Source Justification The procurement professional must develop written justification for the proposed sole source to be posted with the public notice on the Georgia Procurement Registry (Step 4).
Step 3: Estimate Expected Contract Value and Route to SPD as needed

The procurement professional must estimate the expected contract value to determine whether the sole source purchase is within the state entity’s delegated purchasing authority.

  1. 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 RFQClosed process unless the State Purchasing Division Deputy Commissioner has specified a delegated purchasing authority specific to the sole source process.

NOTE: If the value of the sole source purchase exceeds the state entity’s delegated purchasing authority, the state entity must either submit the sole source to SPDClosed for processing or request SPDClosed approval to process the sole source posting by submitting to SPDClosed a one-time request to exceed delegated purchasing authority as described in Section 2.5.2. - One-Time Request to Exceed Delegated Purchasing Authority.

  1. If the value of the sole source purchase amounts to $500,000 or greater, the GPRClosed system will route the proposed sole source to the Agency Sourcing Division for review prior to posting. A determination by the Agency Sourcing Division will be sent to the state entity upon completion of review.
Step 4: Post Public Notice

The procurement professional must provide public notice of the intended sole source purchase or contract through a posting to the GPRClosed. The purpose of publicizing the sole source is to allow the free market to act as a check and balance on invalid sole sources by allowing suppliers to protest a sole source 1) if suppliers believe and can document that they also meet the requirements of the sole source; or 2) if suppliers believe the sole source requirements are unjustifiably restrictive.

The total posting period for a sole source notice is 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 GPRClosed posting must include the following:

  • a detailed description of the goods/services to be purchased, the exact quantity, the per unit price, and the total price (i.e. quantity x unit price); if the exact quantity is not known because the state entity seeks to establish an open contract without seeking bids/proposals, the state entity must include the estimated quantity, the per unit price, and the total estimated value of the open contract (i.e. estimated quantity x unit price),
  • The expected term of the contract, to include any renewal options,
  • the identity of the sole source supplier, and
  • justification for the sole source and instructions to interested suppliers to file any challenges to the sole source determination in accordance with SPDClosed’s established process for resolving protests.

The published sole source notice serves as the state entity’s Notice of Intent to Award. A sample notice is provided in Table 2.7 below. In addition, during the development of the GPRClosed posting, the procurement professional must select appropriate NIGP Codes™ to facilitate advertisement of the sole source purchase.
Step 6: Complete Protest Process In the event a supplier is capable of providing the needed goods/services and desires to challenge a sole source determination, the supplier must file a protest with the State Purchasing Division Deputy Commissioner prior to the close of the sole source notice. Any such protest will be resolved by DOASClosed in accordance with the provisions of this manual.
Step 7: Contract Award In the event the sole source determination 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 GPRClosed.

 

Table 2.7 shows a sample sole source notice:

 

Table 2.7
Sole Source Sample Notice

[Insert State Entity Name] is providing public notice of its intent to award a contract to [Insert Name of Sole Source] to provide [Insert Description of Goods/Services]. [Insert Name of Sole Source] has been identified as the sole source for this purchase for the reasons stated in the attached sole source notice. Any supplier capable of providing the identified goods/services may challenge this sole source 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 of the GPMClosed. The protest must be received prior to the closing date and time identified herein.