BID/RFP Opportunities
Important Information for Our Vendors!
The City of Independence Procurement Division uses Public Purchase, an online e-procurement service, to distribute and receive bids and proposals online. Some of the features of Public Purchase:
- It is free - there is no cost to the City or to vendors
- It contains a user-friendly, online vendor registration program
- It uses NIGP commodity codes
- Registered vendors are notified automatically when the City issues a solicitation matching commodity codes they have entered
- Free download of solicitation documents in any format (PDF, CAD, blueprints, photos, drawings, etc.)
- Electronic bid and proposal submittal
- Immediate notification of addenda
Registering with Public Purchase is easy and it's free!
To register as a vendor for the City of Independence, just click on the following link to register:
Public Purchase
- Click on the "Go to Register" box under the Free Registration icon
- Click on Free Registration
- Complete all tabs
If you have any questions regarding the online registration process, please contact Public Purchase via 'Live Chat' in the upper left corner of the Public Purchase home page, or e-mail support@publicpurchase.com. You may also contact the Procurement Division at 816-325-7091, or via e-mail jrouch@indepmo.org.
Instructions are included with all solicitation documents.
Vendors who have registered with Public Purchase, with matching commodity codes, will be notified by email when an Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) or other procurement solicitation is issued. Upon receiving a notification email and accessing the solicitation, the vendor should carefully read the entire solicitation and accompanying documents. It is the vendor's responsibility to obtain all bonds, insurance, and any other requested documents, as outlined in the solicitation.
Pre-bid/pre-proposal conferences may be held to provide vendors with the opportunity to ask questions regarding the solicitation. In these cases, the solicitation will outline the time and place of the conference and indicate if attendance is mandatory to participate in the bid/proposal process.
All responses to solicitations must be submitted online to Public Purchase. A public opening is required for formal, sealed bids (over $100,000). Public bid openings are on the date and time and at the location specified in the ITB document. The names of the bidders and the amount of each bid received is revealed. When an RFP closes, only the names of the respondents are revealed; all other information remains confidential until the RFP is awarded.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is used to identify the best value solution for the City. The RFP is used instead of an Invitation to Bid when sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the City. When the City issues an RFP, it will contain a scope of service to be addressed by the proposal. Only the names of the responders will be identified at the opening of the RFP.
Using the process of Request for Proposal must promote overall economy for the purpose intended and encourage maximum practicable competition that satisfies the needs of the City. An award will be made to the most responsible proposer whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the City.