How to Hold a Bid Committee Meeting

1. Purchasing Officer (PO) contacts bid committee members to set time and place for meeting.  (The PO could be any of the purchasing staff).
2. Committee Members (CM) assemble at the agreed time and place.
3. PO brings the following things to the meeting:
   1. The file with all the documentation for the purchase.
   2. Bids.  If the bids were sealed, the PO should bring them to the meeting still sealed.  (the PO brings the tender box itself if the bids were collected in a tender box.  Make sure whoever has the keys brings those too).
   3. Computer with blank electronic copy of the Bid Comparison Form Template or blank hard copy of a Bid Comparison Form.
4. If the bids are sealed, the CM unseal each bid, and each signs and dates each bid to indicate that he/she saw it being unsealed.  (There is no need to also sign the envelope.)
5. As bids are signed, the PO fills out the bid comparison sheet by hand or on the computer with the information from the forms – while everyone is still present (but also see alternative below).
6. When bid comparison form is filled out, the CM review it and discuss options.
7. Committee members make a decision based on Delivery Time, Quality, and Price, in that priority order.
   1. If the committee decides to purchase from a vendor who was not the lowest bidder, they explain why on the form.
   2. If there were fewer than three bids, the committee explains why on the form.
8. The PO creates a hard copy of the form (either the one he has filled out, or he prints the electronic copy.)
9. Each CM signs the form to acknowledge that this is the decision that the group came to.
10. The PO puts the signed form and all the signed bids in the purchasing file.
11. The meeting is adjourned.

An alternative: Assemble committee members to open and sign the bids, then let everybody go for the time being.  The purchasing officer will then use the bid information to fill out the Bid Comparison Form, and then assemble the committee members again. When they re-assemble, the purchasing officer will bring the signed bids and the bid comparison form for the committee’s consideration and decision.

What you SHOULD NOT DO:  Circulate the bid comparison form around the office to committee members for signature after the meeting.  If you must get committee member signatures outside of the meeting, you must include the signed bids with the bid comparison form.  When signing the Bid Comparison Form, the members must verify that the information on the form matches the information in the bids.