About the Purchasing Office

Procurement of Goods and Services

The Purchasing Department is responsible for the procurement of goods and services for all campuses/centers of Northwest Florida State College. Goods and services maybe procured through written quotes, Invitation to Bid, Invitation to Negotiate, Request for Quotations, Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals. The Purchasing Department generally handles in excess of 100 departmental requisitions from six campus/centers weekly.

No goods may be shipped nor any services performed without a signed Northwest Florida State College Purchase Order (PO) or Purchasing Card (PCard) number.

The PO or PCard number must be listed on the shipping documents.

Business Information

All procurement is handled through the Office of the Director of Purchasing, Northwest Florida State College, 100 College Boulevard, Niceville, FL 32578. The business hours of the Purchasing Department are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m to 12:00 pm on Friday. The College may have adjusted hours during the summer term and holidays. The Purchasing Office is located on the 2^nd floor in Building 400 on the Niceville Campus.

Notice of Fraudulent Purchase Order Attempts

Please be aware there are active ongoing fraudulent attempts to place purchase orders (POs), enter into contracts, and/or request for quotations that purport to originate from Northwest Florida State College using lookalike domain registrations. While the College cannot prevent this illegal activity, we are actively working with law enforcement to investigate the use of our brand and likeness in these fraudulent attempts. Please review the following document to help you identify potentially fraudulent requests.

Fraudulent Purchase Order Attempts

Sales Calls

The College is interested in receiving sales calls from vendor representatives. Sales calls to individual departments are allowed; however, you should make appointments in advance. Note that departments are not authorized to purchase goods or services during sales calls. You or your representative should contact the Purchasing Department prior to talking with other College personnel regardless of the product. We welcome you to visit our office since we need to know about your product or service and to direct you to the proper College department. Please contact us for an appointment at purchasing@nwfsc.edu.

Bidding Process

Quotes

Vendors must supply written quotations fax machine or email. This method of obtaining pricing usually limited to purchases under $65,000; however, it can also be used to confirm pricing on noncompetitive items. Vendors should make every effort to ensure that all pricing information, specifications, terms and conditions are made known to the College buyer. Prices quoted by these methods must be good for at least 45 days.

Requests Quotes

The Request for Quotes is another method for requesting pricing and is generally used for purchases less than $65,000. This method usually contains special conditions and/or specifications, which the vendor must take into consideration when giving a price. In this instance, the College will consider several factors, which are listed in the document and pricing is not the sole determining factor of the award.

Sealed Bids

Sealed bids, as required by State of Florida Law, are obtained when the amount of a purchase is likely to exceed the limit established by the State of Florida.

Northwest Florida State College opens bids in a public bid opening held by the Purchasing Department. The bid opening dates/times are listed in the solicitation. The following is a list of procedures followed by the Purchasing Department after bids are opened:

Bid results are tabulated and recorded on a tabulation sheet by the Purchasing Department.
An Evaluation Committee, appointed by the Director of Purchasing, will assess and score bids accordingly. The committee usually consists of two or more persons from the requisitioning department and the Director of Purchasing.
The committee reviews all bids and prepares written recommendation to the College President relating to the award of the bid. This recommendation may be to award the bid to the low bidder, reject the low bid (with proper justification) and award to the next lowest bidder, to reject all bids and rebid, to cancel the bid and not rebid, or to delay the award until further information can be obtained.
The committee’s recommendation will be posted in the Purchasing Office no later than ten (10) working days after the bid opening.
The posted recommendation will remain posted for vendor review for five (5) working days during which time any and all protests must be filed, in writing, with the Director of Purchasing.
Upon receiving a protest, the Director of Purchasing will notify the College President and the Evaluation Committee members.
The committee will again meet and make a recommendation to the College President, based on facts included in the protest to reject the protest; change the original recommendation: recommend delay of the award; or cancel the bid.
The College President will make his recommendation to the College District Board of Trustees at their regular scheduled meeting. See website for dates, times and locations: https://www.nwfsc.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees/
The decision of the College District Board of Trustees will be final.

NOTE: Bid protests based upon specifications must be received no later than ten (10) days after the mailing of the bid documents to prospective bidders. Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in s. 120.53(5) Florida Statutes, shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

Terms and Conditions

Purchase Order Terms & Conditions

Vendors should read all terms and conditions and statements appearing on the forms used for obtaining pricing, particularly the Instructions to Bidders and Purchase Orders. The College adheres to these terms and conditions and expects vendors to adhere to them. All bids and requests for quotes/proposals must be received in the Purchasing Department by the scheduled opening date and time. The correct time will be that kept in the Purchasing Department. Any document received after the deadline will be returned unopened. Receipt of the bid or proposal by any other department of the College is not acceptable.

Demonstrations, Trials and Samples

Vendors are encouraged to make demonstrations available to College personnel as often as possible. Any equipment left at the College for demonstration or trial purposes shall remain the responsibility and property of the vendor. Any cost, which may be incurred by the College because of a demonstration or trial, shall be clearly detailed in writing to the Purchasing Department before the items/equipment to be demonstrated or tried are delivered to the College. Notice of a trial or demonstration must be provided to the Purchasing Department in writing prior to delivery. The vendor must remove any equipment left for a trial period within 30 days. Trial periods should not exceed 30 days. Samples requested by the Purchasing Department, to aid and assist in product evaluation, shall be supplied at no charge to the College and, if requested, will be returned at the vendor’s expense.

Deliveries

Vendors should not make a delivery or perform a service for the College without having an authorized Purchase Order or Purchasing Card payment. If vendors supply items to College personnel without proper authorization, the vendor must assume the responsibility for collection of the payment of these goods or services from the individual with whom the transaction was made.

All merchandise should be shipped/delivered to the Receiving Department, Building 630 on the Niceville Campus unless otherwise noted on the PO. Call 850-729-5381 to check hours of operation.

Invoicing

Payment is made after acceptance, inspection and receipt of goods/services. Payment terms are Net 30 Days after receipt of a valid invoice.

The Accounts Payable Department is solely responsible for the payment of invoices associated with the Purchase Order. Any questions concerning an invoice should be directed to the Accounts Payable department. All invoices are to be mailed or emailed to:

Northwest Florida State College
Accounts Payable Department
100 College Boulevard
Niceville, FL 32578
(850) 729-5215
accountspayable@nwfsc.edu

To ensure prompt payment of your invoice, the Purchase Order number must appear on your invoice. Failure to indicate the College Purchase Order number on your invoice will result in a delay of the payment and the possible return of the invoice.

Special Contract Purchases

According to College policy, the Purchasing Department is authorized to use contracts from State of Florida, other Florida College or University, School Board/County and purchasing cooperative groups. This procedure allows the College to waive competitive bidding as these contracts have already been competitively bid. Substantial quantity savings are obtained by using these contracts since they are based on the requirements of other entities within the State of Florida.

Minority Vendors and Contractors

The College is committed to encourage utilization of minority and women-owned firms in the procurement of goods, services and construction-related activities in accordance with applicable law. Minority and women-owned firms should complete a vendor application. Minority vendors who are on file with the Purchasing Department will be contacted for pricing in the commodity areas, which they indicate they can supply.

It is the policy of Northwest Florida State College to provide minority and women-owned businesses with an opportunity to participate in construction-related services and contracts for the provision of commodities, contractual services and consulting services, and to encourage participation by such businesses. This policy will apply to all College procurement activities.

The College will seek active participation through advertisements, formal solicitations, and by providing information to minority and women-owned businesses about the plans, specifications and requirements of contracts and projects at the College.