Proposals, Bids and Contracts Guidance

The issuance of awards to other than the low bidder is allowed only after determination that the low bidder does not meet all specifications, cannot deliver on schedule, or for any other reason cannot fulfill the requirements as stated in the invitation for bid. Before issuing the award to another vendor, proper written justification must be forwarded to the Director of Procurement for approval (see Exhibit 23).

It is the responsibility of Procurement Services to conduct and conclude procurement transactions.

Bids, proposals, and quotations will be sought in accordance with the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code. All purchasing records within Procurement Services, except in-process formal and informal bid solicitations, will be open and accessible to the public during regular business hours.

Requests for inspection of purchasing records must be reasonable, contain sufficient information for retrieval, and must not interfere with the orderly operation of Procurement Services. Vendors' application forms, which include financial disclosure information, or the identity of prospective vendors prior to bid openings, where such disclosure might negate the competitive bid process, will not be available to the public. Individual purchase records will not be available after bid openings prior to the issuance of formal purchase orders. 

Vendors should be encouraged to attend bid openings on the date and time specified in the invitation notices. Statements of award will be posted on Procurement Services' Web site.

Procurement information shall be public record to the extent required by the Freedom of Information Act with the exception that commercial or financial information obtained in response to a solicitation which is marked as privileged and confidential need not be disclosed.

It is University practice to purchase the University's requirements from reliable sources at the appropriate distribution level which offers the materials or services at the lowest cost for the quality and services necessary, taking into consideration the most economical quantities consistent with the operation. Decisions in awarding purchase orders are based on the vendor's compliance with the University specifications, price, delivery, services, terms and conditions, and location. Procurement Services will review requests receiving only a small number of bids and will verify that prices are fair and reasonable before making an award. Vendors' interests are to be protected against unwise disclosures which would be detrimental to the vendor and the University.

The procurement must be initiated by submitting an approved purchase requisition to Procurement Services through buyWays. The Purchasing Gatekeeper (or designee) in buyWays, will assign a Procurement Specialist  the requisition to complete the appropriate source selection method outlined below. On occasion, Procurement may initiate a bid without a requisition, however, those will be limited to University-wide contracts that do not carry any obligation on the University to utilize, and thus do not require a specific purchase order to be issued. The Bid Specialist or Procurement Specialist prepares the form and faxes or E-mails it to the Materials Management Office to advertise the solicitation in South Carolina Business Opportunities.

The Bid Specialist, or Procurement Specialist, completes the bid package and verifies for accuracy. Written determinations are completed for multi-year contracts. The bid is logged in the bid book and the conference room is reserved if required. The bid is then loaded to the Procurement Services website, and/or the buyWays online bidding portal. Through the portal, bidders lists are created, and registered vendors are electronically notified of the bid opportunity.  The Bid Specialist, or Procurement Specialist, is also responsible for preparing any additional documents required, such as sign-in sheets for pre-bid conferences, etc. A hard copy of the bid is filed in a tickler file on the date it is to be opened. All bid documents are also filed electronically by bid number on the Procurement network drive.

If offerors submit hardcopy bids, those incoming bids are stamped with the arrival date and time on the envelope and given to the bid specialist for filing and safeguarding.  If offerors submit electronic/on-line bids, those bids are date/time stamped and kept sealed and secure by buyWays until bid opening. The bid specialist is responsible for assembling all bids/proposals/samples received for bid openings.

Bids/proposals are opened at the assigned date and time in compliance with S.C. Code Section 11-35-1520(6) and S.C. Regulations 19-445.2050. Hardcopy bids are opened and stamped with the date and time, and electronic bids are revealed on-line. Offeror's names and bids are read aloud. When all responses have been opened and keyed, the Bid Specialist, or Procurement Specialist, then enters any hardcopy bids into buyWays to create an electronic copy of the bid. Bids are then entered on an evaluation spreadsheet and returned to the buyer for evaluation.

The Procurement Specialist reviews the bids and bid analysis sheet to determine the award is in compliance with the Code. The Bid Specialist, or Procurement Specialist, then contacts the user department with award recommendation. When the department approved the award as recommended, the award is finalized. If it is not approved, then the Procurement Specialist handles each situation in accordance with remedies outlined in the Code and Regulations. The Bid Specialist, or Procurement Specialist, then completes, obtains signatures, and posts a statement of award to the Procurement website and notifies all bidders of the award via email.

The Procurement Specialist then completes the purchase requisition in buyWays, and a PO is distributed to the awarded vendor. If the order exceeds $100,000, an Intent to Award is posted and the requisition is not completed until the intent period has passed. The Procurement Director or Assistant Director of Procurement and Business Services will sign all award documents. If the solicitation results in an ongoing contract, the Procurement Specialist compiles a complete procurement file and separate contract file, and notifies the Contract Administrator that the contract is ready to be entered into buyWays. In any bid, the complete procurement file is scanned and attached to the purchase requisition in buyWays – no hard copy is to be maintained.

Highly technical, complex procurements that do not lend themselves to formal competitive sealed bidding can be made using the competitive sealed proposal method in accordance with Code Section 11-35-1530 and Regulation 19-445.2095.

First, a request to issue a competitive sealed proposal is sent to the president of the university using the Justification of Competitive Sealed Proposal form (MMO #104, Exhibit 11). Thereafter, the same paper flow for internal processing of the competitive sealed bid is applicable for a competitive sealed proposal.

When it is determined that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or advantageous to Clemson University, such determination shall be made in writing by the Director of Procurement. The University may then enter into a contract by competitive best value bidding subject to the provisions of Section 11-35-1528 of the Code.

A properly executed purchase order constitutes a contract which is binding on both the University and the supplier. A procurement may, on occasion, be supplemented by formally executed contracts where appropriate and where conditions are imposed by a supplier. It is the practice of Procurement Services to execute documents considered appropriate and to consult with University Counsel and the Office of Risk Management where deemed necessary on contract matters.

New contracts are to be entered into only after the lease form has been approved by the Procurement Director.  These conditions include the solicitation of competitive bids by Procurement Services.  The procedures used are outlined in Regulation 19-445.2152.

Clemson University is certified to make IT procurements up to $5,000,000.  Procurements less than $50,000 and non-exempt commodities will be processed by Procurement Services as required by the Code. Departments should submit any request for software to CCIT for evaluation at: https://itsolutions.app.clemson.edu/login/sign-in.php#comment_11390

It is the University’s practice that contact and/or correspondence with vendors concerning prices, terms, and conditions pertaining to procurements shall be carried out by Procurement Services. Direct correspondence by faculty and staff is appropriate on all other subject matter, such as availability of specified requirements, technical information, requests for literature, etc.

The invitations for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in the bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bid. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bid and in accordance with the regulations set forth in Code Sections 11-35-1520(10) and 11-35-1530(5,7) and Regulations 19-445.2055 and 19-445.2095.

When it is determined that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or advantageous to Clemson University, and that a Fixed Price Bid is the appropriate source selection method, such determination shall be made in writing and signed by the Director of Procurement. The University may then enter into a contract by competitive fixed price bidding subject to the provisions of Section 11-35-1525 of the Code. All processes for requisitioning, awarding, and contracting apply the same as with competitive sealed bidding, with the exceptions noted in 11-35-1525 of the code.

The condition under which any in-state preference is shown is listed in Section 11-35-1524 of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code. Clemson University’s bid package includes a section that may be completed by the vendor to certify that he is a South Carolina resident vendor.

The procedures as outlined in Code Section 11-35-1540 shall be followed for all negotiations.

The procedure for the rejection of bids may be initiated for the reasons stated in Regulation 19-445.2070.

Sole source procurements are permissible when the Procurement Director, upon approval by the Controller, determines in writing that there is only one source for the required supply, service, or construction item. These procurements shall be made in accordance with Code Section 11-35-1560 and Regulation 19-445.2105. A sole source requisition should be entered in using the Sole Source form and the requisition will contain the written determination that will be approved by both the Director of Procurement and the Controller. It is the requisitioner's responsibility to provide adequate, detailed justification as to why no other vendor can provide the goods or services necessary.

A quarterly report is prepared by Procurement Services for all sole source procurements and forwarded to the Materials Management Office.

For sole source suggestions and examples, see our Sole Source Justification page.

The State has term contracts for various commodities. These contracts are accessible via the Materials Management Office’s or the Information Technology Management Office’s websites or through listings in buyWays. Purchasing from the state term contracts is mandatory (unless noted otherwise); however, if a vendor offers a price that is at least ten percent less than the term contract price for the same goods or services, the purchase may be made from the vendor offering the lower price if the contract vendor will not meet the lower price.

The procedures as outlined in Code Section 11-35-1520(9) shall be followed for all tie bid situations.