PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES

II. PROCUREMENT BASICS

E. Ove rview o f P rocu remen t Too ls

State agencies purchase commodities, services, and technology to address needs or solve problems in the performance of agency mission. Needs and problems vary with respect to how well they can be defined. Some are highly standardized and are common among most, if not all, agencies. Others are unique to a given agency and range from simple, routine concerns to complicated problems requiring complex solutions. To address this array of conditions, a variety of procurement tools and techniques are available. Among the most common are: preferred source offerings; Office of General Services (OGS) centralized contracts ; agency or multi-agency established contracts resulting from competitive bids conducted by state agencies; sole source contracts; single source contracts; piggyback contracts; emergency contracts; and discretionary purchases . These and other procurement tools are discussed in greater detail later in this chapter. F. Choos ing a P rocu remen t Veh ic le and the Orde r o f Pu rcha s ing P rio rity As noted, state agencies undertake procurements to address a wide range of needs. To meet their varying needs and their form, function and utility requirements, agencies must follow the following order of precedence when choosing the proper procurement vehicle:

First:

Preferred source offerings;

Second: OGS centralized commodity contracts;

Third:

Agency or multi-agency established contracts; and

Fourth: OGS centralized service or technology contracts or an “open market” procurement that can either be discretionary or result from a formal, competitive bidding process based on the total value of the procurement. A diagram titled “Selecting a Procurement Method” follows. When there is no established contract available that would meet an agency’s particular need, the agency should use the decision path depicted to choose the proper procurement method.

New York State Procurement Guidelines 4