Purchasing and procurement

Controls: Internal compliance 

Responsible: City departments can administer their own purchases but still must follow internal policy to obtain best value.

Participants: Only select suppliers will be invited to participate.

How to participate: Have a good online presence so that our staff find you when searching for suppliers. It's a great idea to register on local business, chamber, or industry association membership sites.

You may also contact the specific department with your business strengths to promote your company to be invited for future opportunities. Alternatively, you can email purchasing@medicinehat.ca and we will share the info with relevant business units for review.

Controls: Internal and external compliance 

Responsible: Procurement Services who must follow a publicly advertised competitive bid process.

Participants: All interested bidders who can meet the requirements outlined in the bid documentation are allowed to submit.

How to participate: Review solicitation documents posted on Bids and Tenders and submit a complaint bid.

For advertising, the City of Medicine Hat uses Alberta Purchasing Connection for advertising to meet trade agreement obligations and Bids and Tenders to post and receive submissions.

Both websites are free to register. Once registered you can select categories that you would like to get notifications on new postings that meet your selected categories.

A purchase order (PO) is required to authorize the work. Don't begin work until your City contact provides one or more PO’s. 

Once the work is completed these PO’s must be identified on any invoices submitted for the City to process payment. Progress payments might be an option if identified in the contract documents.

Ensure you are familiar with the payment terms outlined in the contract.

Email invoice to AP@medicinehat.ca with the Business Name, PO number, Contract Number, Invoice Number in subject line.

Please adhere to the following requirements:

• One attachment per email submission (must not exceed 30MB)
• One invoice per attachment, including all supporting documentation
• All attachments must be in PDF for MS Excel file format

Standard invoice requirements

All invoices must contain the following information:

• Supplier legal company name
• Supplier remit-to address with postal code/zip code and telephone number
• Invoice date
• Invoice amount pre-tax, tax breakdown (e.g. PST, GST, VAT), and total amount with tax
• Invoice currency (must match currency on the purchase order)
• Unique invoice number
• Tax registration number(s) (e.g. PST, GST) or VAT identification number
• Purchase Order and Contract Number (when applicable)

Supporting documentation

All supporting documentation to support invoice charges should be included with the invoice submission to ensure charges can be appropriately verified. This includes, but is not limited to:

• breakdown of hours/rates
• timesheets
• third party invoices
• intercompany charges
• markups applied, etc.

Additional detailed supporting information may be requested.

Sending your invoice directly to an internal City of Medicine Hat business unit or function will delay payment.

The City of Medicine Hat has a standard payment term of 30 days from the date of receipt of the invoice (Net 30) by Accounts Payable, unless otherwise agreed upon within a contract. 

• Invitational competition for purchases under $75K
• Publicly advertised open competition at or above $75K

Both may be cost-based alone or an evaluated version on price plus other criteria to ensure best value.

Generally, the City issues bid opportunities in three main categories:

• Goods
• Services (including Engineering/Consulting)
• Construction

Typically, the project team, in conjunction with procurement, determines the evaluation criteria and the solicitation format. Each project and each scope of work is unique. The format of the competition can vary based on the nature and complexity of the work as well as the operational needs of the end-user department. The evaluation criteria (technical and commercial) are outlined in the bid package.

• Invitation to Tender (ITT) – is used where there is a need for legally binding, irrevocable bids, typically supported by bid security, and price is the primary consideration. The ITT will include well-defined specifications, requirements and Contract terms and conditions, as post-bid negotiations are typically not permitted.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) No-Negotiation (Contract A) – is used where there is a need for legally binding, irrevocable bids and where factors other than price will be evaluated. The RFP will include well-defined specifications, requirements and contract terms and conditions, as post-bid negotiations are typically not permitted.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) Consecutive Negotiations – is used where proposals will be ranked on price and non-price factors and the top-ranked proponent will be invited to negotiate the final contract. This format allows for a more flexible process to encourage innovative and creative proposals that may help in the development of final specifications or performance terms through the negotiation of the final contract.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) Concurrent Negotiation (Dialogue/BAFO) – is used where proposal will be ranked on price and non-price factors to create a short-list of proponents that will be invited to engage in negotiation or discussions with the City prior to submitting a best and final offer (BAFO). This format allows for a more flexible process to encourage innovative and creative proposals, and is particularly useful where the nature of the project may allow for a variety of potential approaches and solutions that the City could consider and use to refine the requirements prior to the submission of BAFOs and final ranking and selection of bidders.
• Request for Quotation (RFQ) Low-Bid – is used on the basis of lowest price and standard contract terms that will not require negotiation.
• Request for Quotation (RFQ) High-Score – is used on the basis of straightforward high-score evaluation criteria and standard Contract terms that will not require negotiation.
• Request for Information (RFI) – is used to conduct structured & transparent market research & information gathering from potential suppliers. It is not to be used to pre-qualify bidders or restrict participation in future competitive process.
• Expression of Interest (EOI) – is used for the purposes of gathering information about the marketplace in order to assist in the determination of future purchasing options or requirements.
• Request for Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) – Prequalification – is used to prequalify suppliers in the first stage of a two-stage Open Competition. Bidders who meet the requirements of the RFSQ are eligible to participate in the second stage procurement process and are invited to respond to a subsequent solicitation document. The second stage procurement can be any format of the ITT, RFP or RFQ detailed above.

Have a good online presence so that our staff find you when searching for suppliers. It's a great idea to register on local business, chamber, or industry association membership sites.

Contact the specific department with your business strengths to promote your company to be invited for future opportunities. Alternatively, you can email purchasing@medicinehat.ca and we will share the info with relevant business units for review.

No. Due to the vast number of suppliers who are able and interested to provide goods and services, the City of Medicine Hat does not maintain a list of preferred suppliers.

The bid submission process is managed by the Bids and Tenders website and not the City. With any technical issues, please contact the Bids and Tenders helpdesk. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to ensure their submission is posted (uploaded and submitted) to Bids and Tenders prior to the stipulated closing date/time. The date/time of a submission is determined by the system's web clock. The bidding system will close the competition at closing time, late submissions are automatically rejected. 

Uploading large documents may take significant time, depending on the file size and internet connection speed. We strongly recommend that you give yourself sufficient time and at least one day before Closing Time to begin the uploading process and to finalize your submission. 

Bidders will receive an email confirmation receipt with a confirmation number upon finalizing their submission.

Making changes to, or withdrawing a submission, is possible prior to the Submission Deadline. Bidders can un-submit the bid through the “withdrawal submission” function in the bidding system.

At bid submission time, the system locks all access for bidders and no further modifications are possible.

To withdraw a bid after the Submission Deadline, a notice of withdrawal signed by an authorized representative of the bidder must be sent to the Procurement contact listed in the solicitation documents.

Withdrawal of bids after Submission Deadline is not allowed when bid irrevocability period was included in the competition.

Bid openings occur shortly after the stated closing date/time. All openings are non-public.

A preliminary bid summary with the list of bid submissions is available after bid closing time. If the evaluation is solely based on price, the summary also includes the value of the submitted bids. A copy of the bid summary can be requested in writing from the buyer who is responsible for the project. 

Once the bids are opened, Procurement begins the evaluation process with the commercial review. It is then passed on to the user department to conduct the technical evaluation.

The City awards contracts based on the lowest price or best evaluated submission. Evaluation criteria (technical and commercial) are outlined in the bid package, with weighting, and are used to determine the best evaluated submission.

Once the successful bid is selected, the user department prepares an award recommendation for approval by the appropriate internal body designated under policy (i.e. City Manager, Admin Committee).

It may take a few weeks to evaluate bids and gain approval. The buyer will contact the successful bidder directly to negotiate a contract.

Once the contract is awarded, the name of successful contractor and the value of the contract award are posted on both the APC and the City’s Bids and Tenders site within 72 days of awarding a contract.

The value of unsuccessful bids will not be posted unless the competition was evaluated on price alone.

Yes! We provide debriefs to unsuccessful bidders upon request, except when cost is the only factor in the competitive bid. The process to request a debrief is outlined in the bid solicitation documents and the regret notice once the contract is awarded.

A debrief provides suppliers with a better understanding of where improvements can be made for their next submission. Information regarding other proponents’ submissions will not be provided.

Suppliers can also provide feedback and suggest ways to improve the City’s tendering process.

What to expect at the Debrief?

The debrief should take about 20-30 minutes and can be over the phone, virtual meeting, or face to face. (Debriefing through email is only considered for inquiries with low complexity.)

The City representative in general should:

• Be transparent on what the organization can and cannot disclose (in relation to the other bids).
• Explain the overall evaluation and scoring process.
• Explain how the bid performed against the evaluation criteria.
• Answer any concerns or questions from the bidder.
• Ask the provider for their feedback on the procurement process.

The City representative will not:

• Say who the successful supplier was until a contract is signed and the project is awarded publicly through Bids and Tenders.
• Show the supplier anyone else’s offer documents or evaluation material.

How do the Trade Agreements affect local preference?

The Trade Agreements do not permit preferential treatment of local suppliers.

The operating principle of the Trade Agreements are to ensure that suppliers are not discriminated against based on their geographic location. This means that entities must consider persons, goods and services from other locations as equal to their own.

Yes, the City uses standing offers for goods and services in the form of Group Buying Organizations or City-Wide Contracts. These arrangements originate through a competitive bidding process.

• GPOs follow Trade Agreement guidelines and are recognized as a valid public procurement method. Each year, the City advertises on APC which GPO’s it plans to use over a specific period.
• City-wide contracts are typically set up for one year with options to extend. Once a contract is set up, it is advertised on our internal site for all City departments to view and use. These City-wide contract opportunities, just like any other competitive procurement for the City, are advertised for all qualified bidders to view.
• Government of Alberta Standing Offer Agreements that are available to the MASH sector are utilized where possible.

A business must register to the advertising sites, monitor for posted opportunities, and submit a bid to be considered for an award. These opportunities are available to bid on through APC and Merx websites.

Yes, when a tender or open competition is based solely on lowest bid. In this case, the bid prices are posted in the bid summary shortly after closing once compliance is checked.

However, when price is just part of the evaluation criteria, the relevance of price is marginal and not a fair representation of the submission quality. In these situations, bid prices will not be shared as it would not be an accurate comparison.

As mandated by Trade Agreements to meet the requirement for transparency, the value of awarded contracts is posted on APC and Bids and Tenders within 72 days after a contract is finalized.

This can serve as a benchmark for bidders to assess where their submission ranked compared to the winning bid. Bidders should request a debrief to get specific details on their submission.

Note: The list of interested plan takers and respondents who submitted a bid for each competition is available on Bids and Tenders. This information can be useful to suppliers or subcontractors who are interested to see who they need to talk with to be on their supply or subcontractor list.

These exemptions are defined in the “Guidelines to the Procurement Obligations of Domestic and International Trade Agreements” on the Government of Alberta website.

Each Trade Agreement has specific exemptions for when an open public competition is not required, based on the corresponding threshold values. These documents specify the unique situation when a sole source or limited competition might be used to obtain goods, services, or construction.

Purchasing thresholds are based on their category: ministries, crown corporations, and MASH sector. The City falls under the MASH category, which includes regional, local, district or other forms of municipal government, school boards, publicly-funded academic, health and social service entities, as well as any entity owned or controlled by any one of the preceding. 

The City pre-qualifies contractors when warranted by the nature of the desired goods/services. Typically:

• where a department or multiple departments require the same type of goods or services on a regular or recurring basis. In these cases, it may not be efficient or cost-effective to initiate a completely new open competitive procurement process each time that particular good or service is required.
• when the goods or services being purchased are unique in nature or there is a significant risk regarding consequences of failure. Pre-qualification is necessary to identify vendors that are qualified to provide the goods or services. A great example of this is supplying or maintaining turbines at the power plant.

Bidders who meet the requirements of the pre-qualification are eligible to participate in the second stage procurement process and are invited to respond to a subsequent solicitation document. The second stage procurement can be any format of the ITT, RFP or RFQ detailed above. The length and conditions of the pre-qualification are outlined in the RFSQ solicitation documents.

Yes, when identified in the solicitation document. The City is firmly committed to the prevention of workplace injuries and safety. To ensure health, safety and environment (HSE) practices are employed at the workplace, contractors wishing to bid on City projects must subscribe to ComplyWorks and upload the required documentation unless the contractor is considered exempt.

At the time of bid submission, all contractors must be designated as “Low Risk” status in ComplyWorks in order to be considered. Verification of compliance is done in-house.

Exemptions:

• Professional service providers (Consultants/Engineering firms) that do not direct the on-site work.

If consultants are doing on-site direction of work, they are required to be in ComplyWorks. (i.e.: A consultant who is directing how/where an excavator is digging or directing the work of workers on site)

• Material Suppliers
• Contractors with less than three employees. The number of employees include owners and sub-contractors that have been hired by the contractor.

If you do not have a ComplyWorks account or your account is not linked to the City of Medicine Hat, please contact our HSE department via e-mail at hsecompliance@medicinehat.ca for assistance.

After registration you will be required to complete a questionnaire and will be asked upload safety documentation which might take some time.

Please do not leave ComplyWorks registration to the last minute.

For most projects, the City requires contractors to have very specific insurance policies. These requirements are dictated by the nature of the work and are included in the solicitation documents. ComplyWorks only verifies the expiry date of the uploaded certificate but does not verify/check those project specific requirements. 

• Read the documents thoroughly.
• Don't make assumptions. If something is not clear, ask during the question-and-answer period.
• Review the solicitation documents to determine how your bid will be evaluated.
• Follow the detailed instructions and requested format.
• If evaluators have to search for pertinent information, they may miss it.
• Where information is requested in the solicitation document, the response in the submission should reference the applicable section numbers.
• Structure your response in the same way as the question is asked. Reference your response back to the Specification/Scope of Work document, demonstrating your approach of how you will meet the requirements. For instance, if a question asks if you have a Quality Policy in place, don’t just say ‘yes’. Give details about what your quality policy focuses on and how this relates to your operation.
• Answer all questions and include all requested pricing information in your submission.
• Mandatory Technical Requirements, or other mandatory items, stated in the competition are pass/fail and must be passed prior to further evaluations of your submission. Ensure you are clear on mandatory requirements and fulfillment of such.
• Break down the technical requirements that have been stated and create your bid to demonstrate your ability to deliver each of those requirements.
• Respond fully to rated criteria – we can only evaluate on the information you have provided.
• Ensure you understand the requirements, the “rating criteria” evaluation, the weighted criteria, and the breakdown of points on how the proponents will be ranked and become the successful candidate. 
• Submit a bid that is complete, clear, concise, and demonstrates your understanding of the requirements; be as detailed and specific as possible and provide evidence in your ability to deliver the requirements. Don’t assume the evaluators “know you” and “know your company” from previous projects. Be sure to include enough details to convince an evaluator who has no previous history with your company.
• Review your pricing to avoid miscalculation.
• When there is a discrepancy, the unit price prevails. The evaluator will calculate the correct extended amount and send out a Bid Error Notice to bidder.
• Price your submission competitively.
• Ensure you are clear and understand the terms and conditions of the contract and the competitive process:
• Read the competition carefully to determine if there is any flexibility for the final contract, or if the terms and conditions must be accepted as received.
• If you have concerns or questions, ask during the question-and-answer period.
• Pre-bid meeting/site visit, virtual or in-person meeting. If mandatory attendance is required, submissions will only be accepted from bidders who attended the meeting, all other submissions will be automatically rejected.
• Deadline for questions
• Deadline for issuing addenda
• Submission deadline
• Rectification period
• Anticipated ranking of proponents
• Anticipated short list presentations and interviews
• Anticipated contract negotiation period
• Anticipated execution of agreement
• Attend briefing events, pre-bid meetings when they are offered. This will provide detailed knowledge of the opportunity you are bidding for.
• Know your deadlines for submitting a bid. Your submission must be submitted and received by the City by the deadline clearly identified within the competition documents. The City will not accept late submissions.
• Request a debrief - whether you are successful or unsuccessful, the debrief provides a better understanding of where improvements can be made for the next submission.