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Price Justification

It is important to justify the prices for each purchase. In general, for open vendor purchases made on a Departmental Purchase Order (DPO) or Purchasing Card, departments should compare the prices of at least three vendors before placing an order.

If desired, the Request for Quotation form can be used to secure prices from three or more vendors. This form contains all the required information necessary to get accurate price quotes.

If purchasing with a federal or agency fund account, there may be restrictions on the price comparison process. When in doubt, check with the funding source.

Vendor price comparisons are not necessary if the department cites an agreement on their DPO, orders items in UCD Buy or purchases items and services from a campus service unit.

For most purchases submitted on a Requisition (PR), Purchasing is required to obtain a minimum of three price quotes to determine a suitable vendor that will be able to provide the requested goods or services at the lowest total overall cost. On a PR, departments may suggest different vendors they would like Purchasing to consider.

No matter what the commodity or dollar amount, the Purchasing buyer assigned to a PR has the responsibility to conduct the necessary procurement functions to award and place an order per the policies & procedures established by the university. The buyers in the Purchasing/Business Contracts Department are trained professionals and utilize university policies to perform their duties in determining the reasonableness of price. Regardless of any departmental-supplied information on Requisitions, it is the Purchasing buyer’s responsibility to determine whether competition is required and their duty to conduct the procurement.