Supplier Outreach & Cooperative Procurement

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Supplier Outreach

City of Tempe Procurement believes in fair and open competition in all bidding and contracting activities. We encourage maximum participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, Minority Business Enterprises and Woman-Owned Business Enterprises.

Visits to Procurement by sales representatives are welcomed and encouraged. To schedule an appointment please contact the appropriate procurement officer. Our office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., except city holidays.

Supplier Outreach Program

A key City business goal is to ensure that historically underutilized businesses are given every opportunity to benefit from Tempe’s procurement program.

The City defines this business group as Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB). This group is made up of small business, woman-owned, minority-owned, and disabled-owned companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships.

Procurement Officers and end-users throughout the City of Tempe have access to a verifiable database of HUB firms that can be solicited for business opportunities. The website has been linked to this page that can be used by City personnel to establish “HUB based” bid lists for the resource needed. This list is maintained by
the Arizona Department of Transportation who also certifies the firms that are listed. The link will allow an end-user to enter a general description such as accounting, painting, custodial, landscaping, legal services, etc. and quickly receive a sorted list of firms who may be contacted for price quotes.

The Procurement Division actively supports and participates in supplier trade shows conducted across Greater Phoenix to further expand opportunities to this supplier group.

Please feel free to contact Michael Greene, Procurement Administrator, (480-350-8516) if you would like to discuss this program in more detail.

The following link provides excellent sources for recruiting HUB suppliers. Once on the AZUTRACS page you will be able to search by:

• Work Categories
• DBEs, ACDBEs and SBCs
• Firm Types
• County a firm is willing to work in

https://utracs.azdot.gov/Search

Marketing to Tempe

Supplier Registration

Non-Discrimination

All vendors must agree that they will comply with City Ordinance No. 02016.25 which requires vendors who are being recommended for award to provide evidence of their compliance with the City's anti discrimination policy:

'Vendors will not refuse to hire or employ or bar or discharge from employment any person, or to discriminate against such person in compensation, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, familial status, age, disability, or United States military veteran status'.

Vendors will also agree to provide documents in support of their compliance with the Tempe's Anti Discrimination Ordinance No. 02016.25 PDF.

Respected Procurement Professionals

The City of Tempe Procurement Division is a frequent recipient of the National Purchasing Institute's Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award and is commonly cited in professional publications for its best practices in public procurement. The Tempe Procurement Division maintains membership with the following trade groups:

Associated Minority Contractors of Arizona
Black Chambers of Arizona
East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
One Community
Pacific Southwest minority Supplier Development Council
Tempe Chamber of Commerce

All City of Tempe procurement officers hold professional certification credentials insuring Tempe residents that they have the necessary competence and professionalism to perform their job duties while adhering to a Code of Ethics ensuring ethical principles are followed throughout the procurement process.

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Cooperative Procurement

Cooperative procurement occurs when two or more public entities combine their requirements through a shared solicitation. Cooperative procurement is most frequently used by governmental entities, since they are required to follow laws requiring competitive bidding above certain thresholds. Counties, municipalities and schools can sign an intergovernmental agreement that allows them to legally use a contract that was procured by another governmental entity. This allows for efficiencies and lower costs to be achieved through pooling the purchasing volume of a group of entities.

SAVE Cooperative

Tempe is a member of the Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditure (SAVE) Cooperative. The majority of contracts issued by the City of Tempe contain cooperative procurement language:

Cooperative Use of Contract: Any Contract resulting from this solicitation shall be for the use of the City of Tempe. In addition, public and nonprofit agencies that have entered into a Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of Tempe's Procurement Division are eligible to participate in any subsequent Contract. Additionally, the Contract is eligible for use by the Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditures (SAVE) cooperative - participating agencies. The parties agree that these lists are subject to change. Any such usage by other municipalities and government agencies must be in accord with the ordinance, charter and/or rules and regulations of the respective political entity.

Any orders placed to, or services required from, the successful Contractor(s) will be requested by each participating agency. Payment for purchase made under this agreement will be the sole responsibility of each participating agency. The City shall not be responsible for any disputes arising out of transactions made by others. Contractor shall be be responsible for correctly administering these Contract in accordance with all terms, condition, requirements and approved pricing to any eligible procurement unit.

Arizona Statewide Vendor Registration Portal

Other Procurement Sites

The list below is only representative of commonly used cooperatives - a more extensive list is available from the Statewide Vendor Registration Portal link above.

State of Arizona
Maricopa County Materials Management Office
National IPA
US Communities
Mohave

A helpful website has been developed by the AZ State Capitol Chapter of NIGP that provides information on all cooperative organizations that market to the public sector. The City of Tempe does not necessarily endorse all of these organizations, this link is provided for information only.

http://www.mesc.org/coopQuestionarie/

City of Tempe, AZ

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