Purchasing & Contracts

Purchasing & Contracts

Purchasing & Contracts

Sanford Location
400 W Airport Blvd
Sanford FL 32773
Phone: 407.665.3254 or 407.665.3614

Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm

Here are some links for your information:

Commonly Purchased Commodities/Services

  • Laboratory Supplies
  • Office Supplies
  • Medical/Dental Supplies
  • Promotional Items
  • Physician’s Services
  • Dentist’s Services
  • Janitorial Supplies
  • Security Services

Purchasing Thresholds for the State of Florida:

Purchasing Threshold Categories: The ranges for the defined categories where specified purchasing practices must be followed, as established by DMS, are:

  • Category One:   $20,000
  • Category Two:   $35,000
  • Category Three: $65,000
  • Category Four:   $195,000
  • Category Five:   $325,000

These category limits aggregate amounts for the fiscal year and it is the responsibility of each supporting purchasing ofice to monitor the thresholds.

Invitation to Bid (ITB)

Vendors are solicited by the issuance of a written Invitation to Bid. An ITB award must be made to the responsive bidder offering the lowest price. Bidder qualifications and products/services will be compared to requirements of the Invitation to Bid, but not to each other. In most cases, notice of availability of Invitations to Bid will be sent to all appropriate vendors registered with the DMS, State Purchasing Office. If a requestor wants to ensure specific firms are notified, a list of firms should be provided to the purchasing office.

Invitation to Negotiate (ITN)

This type of solicitation is similar to an RFP, but incorporates a twostep process of ranking proposals and then negotiating with one, some, or all vendors based on the criteria of the ITN. By incorporating negotiations into this process, proposals may be modified to better meet the needs of the agency. An Invitation to Negotiate is used when:

  1. Responses may contain innovative solutions not previously considered.
  2. Responses may contain different levels of service than that requested, requiring negotiations to reduce price or service to match funds available, or to increase price to meet higher level of service. Invitations to Negotiate must specify the criteria that will be used to determine the award, and must indicate the relative weight of these criteria.

In most cases, notice of availability of an ITN will be sent to all appropriate vendors registered with the DMS, State Purchasing Office. If a requestor wants to ensure that specific firms are notified, a list of these firms should be provided to the purchasing office.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

When the agency is able to adequately specify the commodities or services to be purchased and can identify the qualifications or efforts required of potential vendors, requests for proposals will be issued. Requests for proposal must specify the criteria that will be used to determine the award, and must indicate the relative weight of these criteria. Examples of criteria that may be considered in addition to price are the vendor's proposed method of achieving the agency's stated goals, past experience/expertise, present available resources, schedule, work samples, staff resumes, etc.

Notice to vendors:

  • The lowest price may not always constitute an award or scope of work.
  • Your billing and contact information should be kept current through MFMP.

Disclaimer Statement: The information on this site is being provided as a service to our customers and to the community. Due to its dynamic nature, we cannot guarantee the information contained herein is current or complete at all times. Every effort has been made to assure its accuracy at the time it was posted.

Informal Quotes:

  • All purchases between $2,500 and $35,000 (Category I) will go through an informal quoting process.
  • A few vendors registered to do business with the State of Florida will be contacted about a needed item or service.
  • We give one chance to vendors to give their best price and turn around time.
  • After two days (if more than one response has been received) we will make our decision and will notify the winning vendor.
  • Either a purchase order will be cut, or email notification may be sent to place the order with the vendor.

Sole Source Policy:

Single Source Purchases (also referred to as Sole Source Purchases): If requestor wishes to purchase an item or service available from only one source and less than Category Two, justification must be submitted with the purchase requisition detaling the necessity of the item or service. The justification should state the conditions and circumstances requiring the purchasing, setting forth the purpose and need, and stating why the item or service is the only one that will produce the desired results. Copyrighted or propietary materials will require written documentation. Single-source requests over Category Two must be referred to the Central Purchasing Office, for review, advertising for seven business days, and 72 hours posting. A minimum of three weeks should be allowed for purchasing review, signature routing, and posting requirements. When a single source request meets or exceeds Category Four, DMS State Purchasing Office approval is required prior to posting. In these cases, a minimum of four weeks should be allowed for purchasing review, advertising, signature routing, state purchasing review, and posting requirements.

a. Modifications - When issuing a single-source modification to increase the originally advertised award amount in excess of Category Two, the above-mentioned process must be re-initiated.

b. Renewals - Contracts made as a result of a single source may not be renewed. If an agency determines the commodity of service continues to be available from a single source, they must re-initiate the single source process.