The school system may use an on-line reverse auction bidding process under the following conditions:

Ø      For purchases of materials and supplies of less than $10,000

Ø      Adequate number of competitive vendors (3-5)

Ø      No more than two items are being bid a one time

Ø      Definable quantities and good estimates

A reverse auction is a bidding process in which multiple vendors bid against one another electronically. Vendors sign on and submit their bids, which will be monitored live by the school system's auction provider RFP Depot. Vendors will see their own bid and the bids of other vendors. Each vendor is assigned a randomly generated number to ensure that the vendors remain anonymous to one another. Each vendor drives the prices down to try to outbid the closest rival. The auction has an established start and end time, which usually is an hour or less.

Vendors are notified in advance of the auction. Training and support are provided by RFP Depot prior to the auction. All measures are taken to ensure that the reverse auction process is fair to all vendors who are participating.

Once the auction is completed an electronic tabulation of the results will be evaluated by the purchasing department. A final bid award will be posted to the RFP Depot web site. The winning bidder is charged a 1% fee by RFP Depot.

To log on to the auction web site click on the following link:

www.rfpdepot.com