One of the most important things you can do as a vendor desiring to supply goods or services to Kern County is to be registered on the Purchasing Agent's Bidders List found on PublicPurchase.com. Registered vendors may view open bids and/or be notified of bid opportunities as a result of registration to participate in County of Kern bids on PublicPurchase.com

The General Services Purchasing Division currently utilizes a web-based procurement system to conduct many of the daily purchasing tasks. The Purchasing Agent's Bidders List is maintained using PublicPurchase.com. To register as a new vendor or to maintain your account, please go to the County's Public Purchase page. A Quick Start Guide is available to help you with this process. It is recommended that you view this information before attempting to register. Please fill out all information requested as completely as possible.

It is important to pay special attention to the Commodity and Service Codes section and select all of the classifications that apply to your business. The Purchasing Division uses a commodity classification system that has been developed by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). This system, used in conjunction with our procurement system, works best when the vendors have registered on the County’s Bidders List database and have properly defined and selected the items or services they offer. When requests for goods or services are received from the various County departments, the buying staff is then able to inform the correct vendors of the opportunity by using this information.

While completing your registration or maintaining your account, we would like you to consider registering as an Emergency Supplier. This is an option available on the Company Information page. By filling in this information, you are agreeing to make your company available to supply goods or services during an emergency or disaster occurring within our County. You will need to provide contact information which will direct us to a representative of your company at any time of the day or night. Your services during these times of need are greatly appreciated by County personnel as well as the entire community.

After you have completed the registration process, Public Purchase will finalize your registration and then send you a link to complete your registration with the County of Kern. Please hold on to your username and password as you will need this information each time you login to the system.

At your option, you may also wish to make a solicitation call to the buyer that will be handling your commodity or service. Our receptionist will assist you and direct you to the correct buyer. We request that you do not call on the various County departments directly. If it is deemed necessary or expedient to contact the department, the buyer will direct you to the proper department representative.

It is the County's policy to obtain competitive bids whenever possible. There are two main types of bids used by the Purchasing Division - formal and informal bids.

1. Formal

The first type of a formal bid is a WRITTEN QUOTATION REQUEST. This type of bid is usually for specified lists of supplies, equipment or services and does not include Public Works construction project services. These expenditures are over $30,000 using a one-time purchase option, or used to establish Price Agreements which leverage County usages contained in solicitations conducted by the Purchasing Division. These solicitations are available for viewing and responding on the County's Public Purchase page. Click on the Open Bids link for a listing of all current bid opportunities. The Buyers will notify vendors suggested by the requesting department and those registered on PublicPurchase.com for the Bidders List. Please refer to the section titled “Purchasing Agent’s Bidders List” above for instructions on how to register with the County. If you would like to view or submit a bid, you must first acknowledge the County’s Terms and Conditions before the system will allow you access. Please take the time to read this information and all other instructions listed in the Quotation Request carefully before submitting a bid. Bids submitted after the date and time specified will not be accepted – no exceptions. After the bid has closed, all bids will be evaluated and an award will be made to the overall lowest responsible, responsive bidder who meets our specifications. Local vendors are encouraged to participate and a 5% local vendor preference will be applied when applicable. Refer to the section titled “The Award Process” below for more information on local vendor preference.

The second type of formal bid used by Purchasing is a BEST VALUE BID. This type of bid is generally used for services, new technology or scientific equipment or any other supply or service that has a need for an expanded review of requirements/criteria other than just costs. These expenditures are typically over $100,000 and are acquired as a one-time purchase, or used to establish Price Agreements which leverage total County usages for all departments. The evaluation criteria are developed by Purchasing after discussion with the department. The Best Value Bid contains two (2) phases: Phase I – Minimum Requirements must be met as outlined in the bid documents during Phase I in order to establish eligibility to be elevated to Phase II. Phase II consists of the evaluation of stated ‘best value’ criteria where each bidder’s response and subsequent interview will be evaluated and ranked. These rankings will be final and the top ranked vendor will be awarded

The third type of formal competitive opportunity a vendor might receive from the Purchasing Division or from a County department directly is a REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP). The RFP differs from the other types of formal bidding in that it is a request to provide a proposal to provide a specific professional service required to fill the needs of the department. This process is facilitated by the requesting department and not the Purchasing Division. The RFP process also differs in that the award is based on evaluation criteria stated within the RFP and scored by an evaluation committee. Vendor interviews may be a part of the evaluation process. The proposer with the highest score is recommended by the department to the Board of Supervisors to make the final award. Vendors who have an interest in RFP opportunities may go to our RFP page for all open projects. Local vendors are encouraged to participate and a local vendor preference will be applied in accordance with the preference requirements. Refer to the section titled “The Award Process” below for more information on local vendor preference.

2. Informal

Informal bids are those bids for supplies, equipment or services, other than construction or professional services, between $5,000 and $30,000. These bids are typically awarded through quotes received by facsimile, e-mail or internet sites. The quotes may be requested and obtained by the department directly and will then be submitted to the Purchasing Division for review of accuracy and fairness. The department may use the Bidders List to find vendors registered with the County. Please refer to the section titled "Purchasing Agent's Bidders List" above for instructions on how to register with the County. Informal bid opportunities are not posted on the County's website nor in an adjudicated newspaper. An award is made to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. Local vendors are encouraged to participate when solicited and a local vendor preference will be applied when applicable. Refer to the section titled "The Award Process" below for more information on local vendor preference.

The second type of informal bid is the informal sealed bid used for construction projects that have an estimated cost over $0 but less than $175,000. These limits are set by Public Contractors Code Section 22000 et seq., the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act. The County elected to adopt this act under the Public Contract Code Section 22030 and to become subject to the uniform public construction cost accounting procedures set forth by adopting Resolution No. 2013-382 on December 3, 2013. The process is initiated by the receipt of a request from a County department along with plans and specifications. Projects under $45,000 with an appropriate quote from a qualified contractor (license and registered with the State of California) are reviewed and a purchase order is prepared by the construction division of general services. For projects between $45,000-$175,000 the construction division prepares bid documents and notifies the 8 required plan rooms, and all those contractors in the classification specified who have registered annually with the County. The informal bids for construction projects within this dollar threshold require bonding. A public bid opening will be held on the date and time the bids are due. Only the unit price will be announced. Bids submitted after the date and time specified will not be accepted - no exceptions. Late bids will be returned to bidders unopened. The bid results are tabulated and an award is made to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.

Awards for formal bids and informal bids are made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The exception would be awards made through an Best Value Bid process or an RFP process, where the award is based on the best overall value to the County as outlined in the evaluation criteria of the Best Value Bid or the RFP process. The Board of Supervisors has approved a program allowing local vendors a five (5) percent local vendor preference on goods, materials, equipment and all services with the exception of construction services. If a local vendor’s bid is within five (5) percent of the announced low bid submitted by a non-local vendor, the local vendor is given the option to submit a new bid within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) of the time announced by the Purchasing Agent. If a new bid is submitted by a local vendor which is equal to or less than the low bid indicated by the Purchasing Agent, the local vendor will be awarded. See County Ordinance Code Section 2.38.131 Local Vendor Preference.

Vendors interested in viewing the abstract or bid tabulation of a competitive bid may do so as this document is a matter of public record. Abstracts are available only after an award has been made. The award process normally takes five to seven working days after the bid opening date. Award information is not, as a matter of practice, given out over the telephone. To obtain a copy of the abstract, please submit your request in writing to the buyer that initiated the bid. By County Code, a copy fee may be assessed for all documents requested.

The Purchasing Agent maintains hundreds of Price Agreements for goods and services that are utilized by many County departments. Some of these agreements are for specialized or proprietary products available through only one source, but most of these price agreements are competitively bid. If you have a question regarding a specific agreement, please contact the buyer assigned to that commodity. View the list of active Price Agreements and/or the buyer assigned to them.

Upon receipt of a purchase order, the vendor should verify that the items and prices listed on the order are the same as originally quoted. If they are not, the vendor should contact the buyer whose name appears at the bottom of the purchase order, prior to accepting and filling the order. The vendor should read all terms, conditions and instructions attached to the purchase order.

If in agreement with the terms and conditions as stated, the vendor may proceed to supply the goods and/or services requested on the order as promised. Upon completion of the delivery, the vendor should submit invoicing as instructed on the purchase order.

Under certain situations and within established guidelines, County departments are authorized to use purchasing cards (P-Cards) for purchases up to $4,999 per transaction without the necessity of obtaining multiple vendor price quotes. County departments are also authorized to use P-Cards up to $9,999 per transaction against established Price Agreements or when obtaining at least three quotes and with the Purchasing Division's approval of the recommended vendor.