How to Do Business with Scottsdale Unified School District

Foreword

Welcome to the growing team of vendors who serve the Scottsdale Unified School District. The purpose of this information is to acquaint those who wish to sell products or provide services to Scottsdale Unified School District with the purchasing procedures utilized by the District. Familiarity with these procedures will aid in presenting your company's products and/or services to the District.

This information does not alter or supersede the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) or the Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.).

The information on this site is intended as a general guide and as such, may not answer all questions you may have. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to telephone or visit:

Scottsdale Unified School District
Purchasing Services
9313 N. 95th Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Telephone: (480) 484-6151

Procurement Policies

In an average year, Scottsdale Unified School District issues approximately 18,000 purchase orders with a value in millions of dollars. All purchases involve public money. Therefore, the District is guided in procurement procedures by several established policies.

These policies include but are not limited to:

1. Conducting all procurement in accordance with Arizona State Law and the Scottsdale Unified School District Board policies.
2. Obtaining the best quality for the best price in a timely manner, when needed.
3. Maximizing and encouraging fair competition, and providing interested and qualified vendors with an opportunity to offer their products and/or services to the District.

Introducing Your Company's Product/Service

Scottsdale Unified School District purchases a great variety of commodities and services to support the District's operations.If your company sells a product and/or service required by the District, and your company is competitive with those who are currently supplying those goods or services to the District, Purchasing Services is interested in meeting with you.A representative of Purchasing Services will be happy to meet with you to discuss the history of purchases within the District for your products and/or services. We encourage our vendors to provide Purchasing Services with the latest product literature and catalogs.Purchasing Services is staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding school holidays and summer scheduling. It is recommended that you contact the office to schedule an appointment to ensure the availability of purchasing staff.

BIDDERS LIST

The Scottsdale Unified School District maintains a computerized list of vendors who are interested in doing business with the District. The list is unique to Scottsdale Unified School District and the District is not required to utilize any other vendor list. A vendor who wishes to be included on the District vendor list should submit a Bidders Registration form from Purchasing Services. Instructions for completing the form are included on the document. Your company is requested to indicate the specific area(s) that you can provide to the District. If you fail to identify an area that your company provides, contact Purchasing Services for assistance. To reduce cost and maintain the validity of the vendor list, you are asked to limit your list of selected codes to only those in which you are qualified to bid and intend to bid on a consistent basis.It is the vendor's responsibility to keep Purchasing Services advised of any changes to information submitted on the original registration form so that notification of proposals or bids will arrive in a timely manner.Failure to respond to two consecutive solicitations on the same commodity/service classification may result in the removal of your firm's name from the bid list for that specific commodity. A "no bid" will be considered a response.

How Offers Are Solicited

Offers are solicited through "informal" and "formal" procedures. Informal procedures are utilized when the total dollar value of the purchase, during the entire term of the contract, is less than the threshold amount established in A.R.S. 15-213.A (currently $33,689) Competitive sealed bids and requests for proposals (formal) are used to when the total dollar value of the purchase, during the entire term of the contract, is greater than the threshold amount established in A.R.S. 15-213.A (currently $33,689).

Informal Purchasing Procedures

For purchases of less than $5,000, quotes are not required and purchases are made at the District's discretion. For purchases between $5,000 and $15,000, a minimum of three verbal quotes must be obtained, and for purchases between $15,000 and the threshold amount established in A.R.S. 15-213.A (currently $33,689), a minimum of three written quotes must be obtained.

Specifications describe the physical or functional characteristics of the material or service requested in the solicitation. The specifications may include a technical description. A brand name or equivalent may be used to describe the standard of quality and is not intended to limit or restrict competition. The standard of quality is not necessarily the highest or least expensive of a particular commodity.Factors which may be considered when awarding a solicitation may include but not necessarily limited to payment terms, quality, delivery time, freight charges, and shipping point.

Formal Purchasing Procedures

Offers will be solicited by an Invitation for Bid (IFB) or Request for Proposal (RFP). Notification of the IFB or RFP is sent to all vendors registered for the commodity or service required. The notification includes the solicitation due date, a brief description of the product or services required, how to obtain bid forms, and the location of the solicitation opening.Purchasing Services enters into volume purchase agreements/term contracts for commonly used items including items stocked in the District Warehouse. Formal bids are issued for procurements of this nature, when appropriate.The formal competitive process generally takes eight (8) weeks from issuance of the bid to formal contract award. Bid openings are conducted at the District Office and are open to the public. Bid information, as appropriate, is read at the bid opening. However, bid documents are not open for public inspection during the evaluation period. Purchasing Services may not disclose a proposed contract award until the District Governing Board approves the award. All relevant bid documents become a part of the public record upon award of the contract. All bidders are notified by mail as to the contract award as soon as it is approved by the Governing Board.

Cooperative Purchasing Agreements

A.R.S. R7-2-1191 through R7-2-1195 authorizes and governs intergovernmental procurements. A school district may either participate in, sponsor, conduct, or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement for the procurement of any materials, services, or construction with one or more public procurement units in accordance with an agreement entered into between the participants.The Scottsdale Unified School District participates in these agreements for many of its commonly used items.

To obtain information concerning these contracts, please contact the appropriate activity through the website information listed.

• State of Arizona
• Mohave Educational Services
• Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA)
• Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditures (S.A.V.E)
• Greater Phoenix Purchasing Cooperative of Schools (GPPCS)
• US Communities

Purchase Orders

All commitments of purchases by the Scottsdale Unified School District will be made by an approved Purchase Order number assigned by Purchasing Services. Products/services are not to be delivered without an approved Purchase Order. Vendors accepting orders without a purchase order number do so at their own risk.The substitution of items without the prior written approval of our Purchasing Department is prohibited. Only those items specifically listed on a Purchase Order may be delivered. The schools and departments within this district do not have the authority to substitute without Purchasing Services' approval.Verification of Purchase Orders may be made by contacting Purchasing Services.

Application of Taxes

Arizona vendors are responsible for the privilege license tax (City sales tax) of their resident City and the Arizona transaction privilege tax (State sales tax). The District is not exempt from paying sales/use taxes. Sales tax added on to invoices from Arizona vendors are paid by the District. Use tax will be paid directly to the State of Arizona on invoices from out-of-state vendors.

Payment of Invoices

The District will make every effort to process payment for purchases within thirty calendar days after receipt of an invoice, unless a good faith dispute exists as to any delegation to pay all or a portion of the account. All invoices must reference an approved purchase order number, description of the goods or services provided, the quantity delivery, unit price and extensions in order to be processed.

In Closing

Thank you for taking the time to review this information. You are encouraged to contact Purchasing Services should any questions or concerns arise that are not thoroughly covered on this web site. We look forward to doing business with your company and to a mutually beneficial relationship.