This does not mean that any vendor has to fear reprisals for asking for information, for challenging specifications or for pointing out errors in procedure. With all of its faults, local government purchasing is known for its tendency to bend over backwards in fair dealings with vendors.

The vendor does have responsibilities and they include:

1. Fair dealings
Local governments except honesty in bid responses and in delivery of what was ordered. There may be receiving practices and employees in some using agencies which could leave loopholes for poor vendor performance but poor performance usually catches up with the vendor in the long run.

2. Reporting violations of procurement procedures
When vendors encourage violations by dispensing merchandise without proper purchase authorizations, by offering local government employees favorable discounts on their personal purchases, and  allowing their competitors to continue doubtful practices without reporting them to the purchasing agent, the system is doomed to defeat and the result could be harmful to every vendor that deals with the local government. When violations such as these accumulate and become a highly visible problem, the course occasionally taken is to enact even stricter policies and procedures in the community which could impact on all vendors, limiting competition and your chances of competing for local government's business. It is always in your best interest to do your part in helping to keep the local government procurement system open, competitive, and available to all who want to participate under the rules.

3. Staff contacts
Sales representatives that call on local governments occasionally keep most of their contact information with them and as a result, contacts by the using agencies directly to the vendor can result in misinformation being given to the local government making the call. Every order desk should have some sort of a card index which lists the terms offered to the local government, names of authorized employees and any other information which would allow an employee of the vendor to talk intelligently to the local government buyer. Many orders are lost on telephone quotes by not having order desk or telephone employees aware of the terms and discounts offered to the local government. You should have your counter staff keep a record of the people who call for prices or orders and the agencies they work for. This is valuable information on contacts for your field sales staff
as well. Stress the time element involved in local government buying. Local governments are notorious for last-minute purchasing and the vendor who can respond quickly usually gets the order.
 

UNDERSTANDING SPECIFICATION BOILERPLATE
Formal bids issued by local governments usually contain several pages of what is termed "Boilerplate". This information includes most of the contractual information deemed necessary by the local government. Although the boilerplate is different in each local government, the intent remains about the same. Attached are examples of our common boilerplate inserts. This information is intended as a guide only. Check the language of the specification you receive and, if in doubt as to the meaning or intent of any of the language, contact the purchasing office for clarification before the boilerplate becomes a contractual requirement on award of the bid.