Purchasing Guidelines

Sole Source/Single Source Purchases

Sole Source Purchases

Whenever a competitor for a purchase may not be feasible due to the "sole source" nature of a commodity or service, the department must be able to justify and document the selection of the vendor and also establish the reasonableness of the price. A written sole source justification must be submitted with the purchase requisition.

The following criteria could indicate that the procurement is "sole source":

• Compatibility with an existing item.
• A vendor who holds a service contract needs to supply parts in order to complete service.
• No competition by manufacturer dealers exist.

All sole source requests for purchases $20,000 and over also require advertising in the New York State Contract Reporter.

Example: The purchase of a software license which is not available from any other source but the producer of a particular software.

Single Source Purchases

A single source procurement is defined as one in which two or more vendors can supply the goods or services required by the department, but the department selects one vendor over the other based on the specific rationale.

Example: The purchase of a workstation available from several vendors based on a need for compatibility with pre-existing furniture.