Solicitation Section (Filled in by the Government)

When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the first section is filled out by the government.

Block 1: Contract Is a Rated Order: A rated contract is one that has a specific classification for how "hot" the need is. Although these days you will hardly ever see activation of rated procedures, it is there in case the need arises. About the only time you might see a rated bid is during time of national emergency or war.

Block 2: Contract Number: The government will not fill in this number until it awards the contract. The numbering will be similar to the number in Block 3, the Solicitation Number, but it will have a "C" instead of an "R" in the number sequence.

Block 3: Solicitation Number: We are using the example number SP0700-00-Q-HE22. This is the number that will identify this specific solicitation throughout the life of the buying action. Any amendments to the solicitation will use this number plus the amendment number as the identifier.

SP0700, the first six alpha/numeric sequence, identifies the buying office where the order originates. The second grouping, 00, is the fiscal year the solicitation was issued. The single alpha character Q indicates what type of solicitation it is. For example, B = Invitation for Bid, P = Purchase Order, C = Contract, Q = Request for Quote, R = Request for Proposal, etc. The last alpha/numeric sequence, HE22, is the sequential order number for that solicitation.

Block 4: Type of Solicitation: This block will identify whether this is a Sealed Bid IFB (Invitation for Bid) or an RFP (Request for Proposal).

Block 5: Date Issued: This is the date that this contract "hit the street" and became a live requirement.

Block 6: Requisition/Purchase Number: This number is an internal document number used by the requisition people for tracking the item or service to be purchased. This is the original number for that "need," and there might be multiple requisition numbers against a solicitation number.

Block 7: Issued By: This block identifies the government office that is doing the buying. Make special note of the information here. Remember that you might be dealing with a "buying agency" that is physically located very far from the actual end user. You can spend a lot of time with the end user, convincing the user that you are the answer to all their problems, and still lose the whole deal by not checking out where the buy is going to be made.

Example We heard of a company that was talking to the end user every week, had developed a one-on-one relationship, but never thought to ask where the buying office was located. The company missed the issue date and only found out that the bid had gone out when it came through a distributor. The company did not lose the contract, but by going through the distributor, it had to pay a commission it wouldn't have had to pay if it had gotten the contract directly.

Block 8: Address Offer To: This block gives you information on where to submit your offer.

Block 9: Additional Info: This block will tell you whether the buying office wants additional copies of the offer for evaluation purposes and where to bring the offer if you hand-carry it to the buying office. This block also tells you the time and date when you need to have the offer in.

Work Smart If the solicitation says that an offer needs to be in by 10:00 p.m. on a particular day and you show up at 10:01 p.m., you are out of luck! It's your responsibility to be there on time.

Block 10: For Information Call: This block identifies the person that you will contact for information on this specific bid, including phone number and e-mail address, if available.

Block 11: Table of Contents: This should be the same as the "TOC" page, but without the "Appendices." Some buying offices will do both, some will not. Make sure they match. This section will also give you the page counts for each section. If it says that there are 25 pages in Section C: Description/specs/work statement and you have only 23 pages, you had better call the buyer and find out what's missing. Don't assume that you will automatically be sent the missing material. And, again, keep in mind that the sections of Block 11, when taken together, make up the whole solicitation and resulting contract.