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The County Office of Education purchases a wide variety of merchandise through a centralized purchasing
system. The purpose of this guide is to acquaint you with the County Office of Education purchasing
policies and procedures and explain how you can do business with the County Office of Education.
Our goal is to assist you in your marketing efforts and promote partnership between you and the County
Office of Education. If this guide does not answer all of your questions, please ask us. You may also want to download
this guide in Word format. |
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| Centralized Purchasing |
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Procurement of supplies, materials, equipment and general
services are centralized in the General Services Department/Purchasing
Unit under the Purchasing Manager. Please note that funds for the
acquisition of goods or services may not be committed by any other
Department of the County Office of Education but Purchasing. Therefore,
payments will not be made for goods or services delivered without an
authorized purchase order number. |
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| Sales Calls and Contacts: |
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Office hours are 7:30a.m. to 12:00p.m. and l:00p.m. to
4:30p.m. Monday through Friday. To save time and ensure you receive
adequate attention, we recommend that you make a definite appointment
before coming to the Purchasing Unit. Courtesy visits are not encouraged
as they can disrupt the daily workflow and in many cases the person you
want to see will be unavailable. You may contact the Buyers directly by
phone or e-mail. This information may be found on the "Purchasing
Staff" page of this website. |
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| Vendor Registration: |
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Purchasing maintains a list of interested vendors. The
County Office of Education new vendor form may be viewed and
printed from this site in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). Upon
receipt of the completed form, your firm’s name will be placed on the
vendor list. Keep in mind that due to the number of businesses Purchasing
deals with, submitting a completed questionnaire does not guarantee a
vendor will be notified every time a quotation or bid is solicited for
that particular commodity. Failure to respond to three (3) requests for
quotes or bids may result in removal from the vendor list. Return all
requests and mark them "No Bid" in order to remain on the list. |
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Methods of Procurement:
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- Petty Cash:
County Office of Education personnel are authorized to make purchases
up to $200 in cash.
- Open Purchase Order (also called a Blanket Order):
This is a line of credit established with a variety of vendors to
allow County Office of Education personnel to obtain unanticipated
supplies or services directly from vendors on an as-needed basis for a
specific period of time not to exceed a specific dollar amount.
Competitive price quotations may be solicited and award may be made to
other than the lowest priced vendor based on criteria such as location
of the vendor to the requesting department and completeness of
inventory.
- Formal Bidding:
Formal bidding procedures are utilized when the cost of supplies,
materials or equipment required on a single purchase exceeds $50,000.
The process required in receiving sealed bids, publicly opening the
bids and awarding the purchase to the lowest responsible bidder
meeting specifications
- Informal Bidding:
This informal process for a single purchase differs from formal
bidding in that quotations are solicited from at lease three (3)
vendors when practical. These quotes can be obtained either by
telephone, fax or mail and are not normally advertised. Award is made
to the lowest responsible vendor meeting specifications
- Request for Proposal (RFP):
This is used primarily for services and highly technical commodities.
An RFP differs from a formal bid in that proposals may be solicited in
a one or two-step process. The award can be to other than the lowest
priced vendor. The following criteria are considered when evaluating
which proposal is the most advantageous to the County Office of
Education.
- Cost to the County Office of Education
- Quality of the proposed service
- Capabilities and expertise of the vendor
- Ability of the vendor to perform
- Past service record/references
- Proposal that best meets all the requirements of the County
Office of Education
Read our Bidding Tips to learn more.
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| Shipping: |
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All orders must be delivered to the address specified on the
purchase order. Vendors should not deliver goods to an alternate address
unless authorized by Purchasing, as the processing of your payment will be
delayed. |
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| Changes in Orders: |
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The purchase order is the County Office of Education’s
contract with you. Any changes to the contract must be approved in writing
by the General Services Department/Purchasing Unit. |
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| Billing and Payment: |
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The County Office of Education requires invoices to be
submitted in duplicate. The purchase order number MUST appear on all
invoices, shipping tags and all correspondence relevant to the order.
Payment is made only upon delivery and acceptance of all material,
equipment or services as specified on the purchase order. Every attempt
will be made by the County Office of Education to process payments within 30
days. |
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| Important: |
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Read the purchase order to obtain the correct address to
submit invoices. Do not assume the address is the same as a previous
purchase order. The purchase order also indicates who to contact if you
have questions regarding payment of invoices. Invoices may be returned to
the vendor if mailed incorrectly. |
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| Tax: |
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The County Office of Education pays California State sales
and use taxes when applicable and is exempt from Federal Excise tax. |
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| Insurance: |
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Vendors providing services for the County Office of
Education will be required to submit proof of insurance coverage as
specified by the County Office of Education Risk Manager. Questions on the
County Office of Education requirements can be answered by calling (408)
453-6925. |
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| Bid and Performance: |
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Bonds may be required when it is necessary to protect the
interest of the County Office of Education. Most contracts issued by the
General Services Department/Purchasing Unit do not require bonding. |
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| Gifts and Gratuities: |
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The County Office of Education maintains a strict policy
prohibiting the acceptance by its employees of gifts and/or gratuities
from any vendor or potential vendor. |
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| Minority, Small and Local Business: |
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The Santa Clara County Office of Education is committed to
promoting business with minority, woman owned, small and local businesses.
Purchasing staff will answer general questions you may have on the County
Office of Education purchasing processes and procedures. |
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