KCDA Bid Process
KCDA advertises, analyzes and awards approximately 90 bids per year. All of our bids are listed on the bid schedule posted on the KCDA website. The bid schedule contains the bid name in alphabetical order, bid number, bid advertising dates, bid opening date and time, board write up date, board meeting date and the name of the Contract Specialist. The bid categories include those products our customers have expressed interest in. Some bids are annual with renewals, some bids are only annual.
The bid process is as follows which complies with Washington State Bid Laws:
- Advertise in one paper of general circulation (we use DJC-Seattle and DJC-Oregon) for two consecutive weeks.
- Bids are posted on our website under Vendor Bids.
- The bid advertisement is posted when it is received from the paper(s) which is approximately 3 weeks after the bid advertisement request is sent to the papers. The reason why the delay is because the paper releases the advertisement twice (2 weeks) and then sends the advertisement which takes approximately 3-4 days to receive. We then post the advertisement & affidavit on the website.
- Depending on the complexity of the project or the number of items bid, we allow vendors approximately 1 month to respond to a bid.
- Most of our bids are electronically posted on Public Purchase and we require vendors to respond electronically. To register for bidding follow the instructions found in this Vendor Registration link. Some of our bids are circulated locally and we do not post electronically. When this option happens, we open the bids at the KCDA office location in Kent.
- After bids are electronically opened or manually opened, the bid is closed. The evaluation process begins. Approximately 2 months is allowed for this process to receive samples, ask questions, receive responses, etc.
- Bids are recommended for award by the individual Contract and Procurement Specialists responsible for the category with the approval of the Procurement Manager.
- Bid award recommendations are submitted to the KCDA Board of Directors for final approval.