Goods & Services
The Goods & Services Procurement Division of the Purchasing & Contracting Department is responsible for shepherding City staff, contractors, suppliers, and vendors through the City of San Diego's procurement and contracting processes related to goods and services needed for everyday operations. (These exclude architectural and engineering professional consultant services, major construction, minor construction, and minor repair, which are managed by the Public Works Contracting Division).
Examples of goods and services include, but are not limited to:
- Office supplies;
- IT hardware and software;
- Vehicle and aircraft parts;
- Janitorial services;
- Landscaping services;
- Legal consulting services;
- Chemicals and laboratory equipment;
- Animal feed; and
- Office modular furniture.
Bid Opportunities
Click Here for Bid Opportunities and Vendor Registration
The City uses a fully automated web-based vendor registration and bid management system (PlanetBidsTM) to post and distribute all formal solicitations released by the Purchasing & Contracting Department.
To receive automatic announcements and download solicitations from the City at no cost, register through the City's vendor portal. Alternatively, if your company prefers not to register on the City's vendor portal, you can still view a current listing of solicitations here. However, you must be registered to submit bids.
Procurement Methods
The City uses a variety of methods to procure goods and/or services that support everyday operations. The procurement method used depends on the circumstances surrounding the procurement need and whether price is the primary factor in determining the awarded vendor, or if factors other than price (such as certain vendor qualifications), determine the awarded vendor.
Note that some procurement methods do not directly result in an awarded contract but rather are used to collect information about products, services, or vendor qualifications to support subsequent solicitations. Other procurement methods dispense with the competitive process—consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and policies—where it has been demonstrated that implementing a competitive process would either be unprofitable or unreasonable. Review a summary of the different procurement methods used by the City below.
Competitive
Used for one-time purchases of goods or services (except consultants) when the anticipated value of the purchase is $150,000 or below. Price quotes from potential vendors are gathered directly by the City department or through the City’s vendor portal, based on defined deliverables or a detailed scope of work. Award is based on the lowest-priced quote. The number of quotes required to be collected is based on the anticipated value of the purchase and San Diego Municipal Code thresholds:
- 1 quote: $25,000 or less
- 2 quotes: above $25,000 but no more than $50,000
- 5 quotes: above $50,000 but no more than $150,000
A formal price‑competitive process used mostly for procurements over $150,000 but allowed at any value. Vendors submit price proposals for a defined requirement. The contract is awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder with the lowest-priced bid.
Used primarily to procure services where contract award is primarily determined by best value and not by price alone. In addition to the proposals themselves, the qualifications of bidders (such as their experience, expertise, resources, etc.) are evaluated and scored per published weighted criteria by a committee to determine the contract awardee. All consultant services must be procured via RFP.
Allows the City to use contracts established by other agencies to leverage collective buying power. It may be a jointly bid contract or an existing contract another agency allows others to use. The key is that the cooperative procurement contract must have been awarded via a competitive process that satisfies the City's own requirements. Selection of a cooperative procurement contract to use must be based on the desired good or service and not on the vendor. It cannot be used to procure consultant services. Refer to Administrative Regulation 35.11 (Citywide Department Use of Cooperative Procurement Contracts) for information on the procedure and use of cooperative procurement contracts.
Non-Competitive
Used to award a contract without competition when it is justified. Justifications may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- There is a valid emergency precluding the City from undertaking a competitive process;
- There is no competition after documented attempts to go through a competitive process;
- The good or service is very specialized or one‑of‑a‑kind; or
- Compatibility or legacy systems used by the City need to be considered to ensure continuity of operations.
Used when a good or service is required to allow for immediate action to protect life, health, or property due to disasters. All emergency contracts are essentially sole source procurements with the emergency as justification.
Used when contracting for services with either 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or other public agencies or designated quasi‑public entities. The contract cannot exceed $1 million per fiscal year.
Information Only
Used to gather general information about products, services, or vendors when the City department is unsure of what is available in the market and needs inputs to develop its requirements and scope of work.
Request for Statements of Qualifications (RFSQ)
Used to evaluate vendor qualifications before a potential procurement. It is typically used for complex services and functions as a first step before an RFP, resulting in a short‑listed pool of qualified vendors. It is helpful when many proposers are expected.
Responsive and Responsible
Regardless of the procurement method used, all awarded vendors must be documented as being both responsive and responsible. Being responsive means the vendor submitted a bid or proposal that conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the solicitation. Being responsible means the vendor demonstrated their capability in all aspects to fulfill the requirements of the awarded contract. Factors considered include, but are not limited to, financial resources, personnel, integrity, reliability, reputation, and experience. A responsible vendor has not been debarred or is not currently suspended.
Awarded Contracts
For information on awarded goods and services contracts, click on the following links.
For questions and concerns, see the Frequently Asked Questions, call 619-236-6000, or email purchasing@sandiego.gov.