Procurement Process

Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee Attorney General Opinions

Reference Number: CTAS-195

Procurement in the county is a process through which offices acquire the goods and services needed to perform their specific tasks.” Procurement includes the stages of planning and scheduling, source selection, and contract administration. Within the stages of procurement dwell the activities from planning, preparation and processing of the requisition, solicitation, award and contract information, to receipt and acceptance of delivery, payment, inventory tracking (if a county has a central warehouse), and property disposition (surplus property).¹ Following are some points that should be considered when making any purchase:

The commencing of the purchasing process is to identify the need and product or service that will best fulfill that need.²
Develop specifications that describe the characteristics of a product or service being sought. Specifications should be written to encourage, not discourage competition. The goal is to invite maximum reasonable competition.³
Requisitions should be prepared with accurate and complete information.
Seek bids in accordance with applicable statutes. Seek price quotations (for purchases below the sealed bid limit requirement) in accordance with applicable statutes and/or local purchasing policies and procedures.
Award should go to the lowest responsive bidder who meets the specifications of the product or services requested.
Contracting for the product or service should be in accordance with applicable statutes.
Receive the product or service and verify that it meets the requirements of the purchase order or contract.⁴

¹The Acquisition Process, State of Idaho, Purchasing Division, 3-1.

²ibid, 3-1.

³ibid, 3-1.

⁴ibid, 3-1.