Procurement Questions and Answers

Please visit our contracts page for direct links to our contract search and open dataset engines. Both options allow you to view details of active County contracts.

The role of the Office of Procurement is to assist departments and agencies in acquiring goods, services, or construction. It is, in most cases, the place of initial contact for both agencies and contractors to acquire goods or services.

In general terms, the objectives of the Office of Procurement are:

• To obtain the right products or services (meeting quality requirements)
• In the right quantity
• For delivery at the right time to the right place
• From the right source (a responsive and reliable supplier)
• At the right price

The Office of Procurement oversees a purchasing process that assures impartial and equitable evaluation of bids and proposals from vendors and helps agencies to establish fair and reasonable contracts. In the event of a contract dispute or claim resolution, the Office acts as mediator.

Vendor Registration

The first step to doing business with Montgomery County is becoming a Registered Vendor. Becoming a registered vendor will allow the County to notify your firm when procurement opportunities become available utilizing the commodities and/or services that you provided during your registration. Montgomery County Government, in collaboration with Montgomery College, Montgomery County Public Schools and the Housing Opportunities Commission, announces the release of its new Inter-Agency Central Vendor Registration System. This is a one-stop registration system for companies who are interested in providing goods and services to one or more of 4 county agencies' procurement offices. It allows potential vendors to create and maintain their registrations at no financial cost, ensuring county agencies always have up-to-date vendor information.

Please visit Central Vendor Registration System to register.

If your firm is a Minority, Female or Disabled (MFD) owned business, please upload the proper documents as noted during registration. Please click here to learn more about the MFD program guidelines and instructions on obtaining MFD certification.

Solicitations are published on Procurement's Solicitation Postings page. Electronic copies of formal solicitation document(s) can be obtained by selecting the desired solicitation number. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open/view solicitations - download it here.

The Local Small Business Reserve Program (LSBRP) is operated by the Office of Business Relations and Compliance. Please visit DBRC's page for information regarding this program.

To provide quick access through electronic communication the Office of Procurement will no longer routinely mail solicitation amendments. Solicitation amendments will be posted on the Solicitation Postings page and may occur anytime prior to the solicitation due date/time. As a courtesy the Office of Procurement intends to email solicitation amendments to holders of record with valid email addresses. However, it is still the responsibility of the bidder/offeror to frequently visit the Office of Procurement’s website to obtain solicitation amendments. Amendments to construction solicitations may be mailed if there are plans or other documents that can not be made available electronically.

Bid holders (company and contact names) are available on the solicitation detail view on Procurement's Solicitation Postings page. Please click on the desired solicitation number to view this information.

Any late bids will be rejected and returned to the bidder.

Please visit our Bid Tabulations page for a list of the most recent published bid tabulations. This listing includes all bid tabulations of solicitations that have opened within the past 30 days. If the desired bid tab is not available, please contact Procurement to receive a copy.

The County generally has up to 120 days from the bid opening/proposal closing date, although this time may be extended due to various factors, which may include among others: complexity, number of bids/proposals, etc. RFPs may take longer.

You may contact the Procurement Specialist if you have questions relating to a contract awardee. If the awardee already has an executed contract, then the information is available through our website using the contract search feature.

Montgomery County Government announces the release of the County Vendor Registration System (CVRS). This web-based registration system is available for companies who are interested in providing goods and services to county agencies. It allows potential vendors to create and maintain their registrations at no financial cost, ensuring county agencies always have up-to-date vendor information.

Please visit CVRS to register.

The Local Small Business Reserve Program (LSBRP) is operated by the Office of Business Relations and Compliance. Please visit OBRC's website for information regarding this program.

With the exception of solicitations reserved for the Local Small Business Reserve Program, vendors do not have to be registered with the County in order to submit a bid or proposal. However, vendors must be registered before a contract can be issued, or a payment can be made.

Please visit CVRS to register.

Each County solicitation has its own unique qualifications and requirements, including compliance eligibility. Some require pre-eligibility (example: Local Small Business Reserve Program) and post-award requirements (example: Minority subcontracting requirements). You need to obtain and read a copy of the solicitation, in order to find out if there are any pre or post qualification requirements.

Please visit CVRS to register.

Updates to your vendor profile can be done at anytime through the Central Vendor Registration Portal (CVRS).

Vendor account logins are associated with an email address provided by your business when you completed your account creation and initial set-up. Go to the CVRS home page and follow the prompts to retrieve your account ID and/or to reset your password.

• Purchases of $10,000 and below have been delegated directly to each Using Department Head and it can issue direct purchase orders to acquire goods and services with a total value up to this dollar threshold.
• Purchases above $10,000 and below $100,000 follow an informal procurement process.
• Purchases of $100,000.00 and up must follow the competitive sealed bid, proposal or request for expression of interest procurement process.

Invoicing is managed by the County's Department of Finance. Please direct all questions regarding invoices to Accounts Payable directly at 240-777-8850. If the invoice has not reached Accounts Payable, please contact the contract administrator listed in the contract.

You must pay to park in the building parking garage at 255 Rockville Pike, in surrounding surface lots, or at metered parking on the streets adjacent to the building. Procurement does not validate parking.

Please click here to view the list of debarred vendors.

Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in any program or service of the Department of General Services may request written materials in alternate formats, sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other reasonable accommodations by contacting the ADA Compliance Team at 240-777-6197 (TTY 240-777-6196) or [email protected]. In order to ensure that we have sufficient time to arrange for these services, please make your request as early as possible, preferably with at least three business days notice in advance of the meeting or activity.

The MFD program is responsible for ensuring that minority, female, disabled persons-owned businesses receive a fair share of the County's contracting opportunities. The goals of the program are to:

• Encourage economic development for minority persons.
• Increase business opportunities for minority persons.
• Notify minority-owned businesses of procurement opportunities.
• Provide information to minority business owners about the procurement system.
• Provide referrals for technical assistance, sureties, and financing information.
• Review procurement procedures to remove artificial barriers to competition.

A MFD owned business is a business that is at least 51% owned, controlled and managed daily by a minority person(s) as defined by state, county, and federal laws to include the following categories: African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native American, Disabled Persons, and Women.

You must be a certified MFD business to participate in the county's MFD program. The MFD program refers to the county's legal authority to provide a certain percentage of all contracts and procurement activity for participation by certified? MFD businesses. Once you have decided that the county is a potential customer, you will need to seek certification by using the following two steps:

1. Step One - State of Maryland Minority Certification Process
   Apply for certification from:
   Maryland Department of Transportation
   Office of Minority Business Enterprise
   7201 Corporate Center Drive
   PO Box 548
   Hanover, Maryland 21076
   Phone: 800-544-6056
2. Step Two

   Become a registered vendor with the County. Please visit the Central Vendor Registration System to register. Please upload certification documents as noted during registration.

1. Do your market research.
2. Determine if there is a market for your product or service.
3. Identify the agencies and departments that may use your product or service.
4. Obtain a copy of the current County Executive's Budget and Capital Improvements Program.
5. Market your firm and yourself to your target department or agency.
6. Identify the person(s) responsible for acquiring your product or service.
7. Identify the procurement specialist responsible for purchasing the type of service or commodity you provide.
8. Get on the vendor list and on the desk file of the person responsible for purchasing the product or service you provide.

As a certified MFD vendor, you are eligible to compete for contracts either as a prime or subcontractor. A minority owned business does not have to be certified to compete for contracts. All negotiated contracts valued at $50,000 or more are MFD designated. This means that the non-minority prime contractor is obligated to satisfy a predetermined percentage of the contract dollar value for subcontractor participation.

MFD certification provides greater exposure throughout county procurement activity and may provide exposure to private industry as a result of being listed in the MFD electronic data base and the MDOT directory.

You can do business with the county without being certified. However, if you are designated as a minority sub on a county MFD subcontractor work plan, the prime contractor cannot count you in its performance plan to meet the goals set for the particular project. It is to your and to the prime contractors benefit to be certified.

Contracts valued less than $50,000 are potential fruitful markets for a minority vendor to pursue. For example, department heads have the authority to purchase up to $5,000 of goods or services on a purchase order transaction.

The Office of Procurement provides:

1. An automated user-friendly system, RAPID, that allows users to view procurement information, download files or receive weekly e-mail notifications.
2. MFD procurement seminars designed to guide minority businesses through their early attempts to sell their product or service to Montgomery county.
3. One-on-one counseling to both majority and minority businesses seeking to best use the MFD requirements.

The Department of Economic Development also provides a mentoring program, small business fairs, network linkages to banks, state agencies, chambers of commerce and minority business associations.

1. Make your first contact with the county through the MFD Program in the Office of Procurement.
2. Get the required initial paper work completed and accepted by the Office of Procurement.
3. Determine your target department/agency and begin to develop contacts.
4. Find out when the department will have a pre-bid conference. This will provide you the opportunity to meet key department personnel and some of your competitors and prime contractors with whom you may wish to do business.
5. Request a post award briefing if you submitted a bid on a solicitation and you were not the apparent awardee.
6. Make sure you staff your presentation team for the selection committee with your best presenter if you are designated as one of the apparent awardees on a RFP.
7. Follow the directions carefully when submitting a bid. If you have questions about any clause, phrase or requirement in the solicitation, contact one or both persons whose name appear on the cover sheet of the solicitation. One person is the technical representative and the other person is the procurement specialist. The technical questions should be addressed to the technical representative and the procurement questions to the procurement specialist.
8. Submit your bid on time. If your bid is one minute late, it is disqualified.
9. Keep abreast of local media coverage about county initiatives and projects. Inquire about possible contracting opportunities with appropriate county personnel.
10. Pursue various outreach efforts sponsored by individual departments. Attend vendor seminars, trade fairs, procurement forums, open house events, and pilot projects.
11. Seek to become a joint venturer or enter into a partnership agreement with a business when you have special capabilities which may enhance the chance of an award.
12. Design a business plan if you don't have one. If you do have a business plan, revise it to conform to current business requirements.
13. Be aggressive and offer unsolicited proposals for project ideas that are conceptual in nature. This can be very beneficial in professional services. Choose your situations carefully.