IMPORTANT INFORMATION

In a push to streamline our District’s bidding process and to make participating in our competitive solicitations as fair, transparent, and convenient as possible, our District is transitioning to the online solicitation service VendorLink.  

VendorLink is a user-friendly Internet portal where businesses can sign-up to register and receive electronic email notification of upcoming solicitations as they become available. This online registration service allows suppliers to provide basic information about their business and to select specific commodity codes for the goods and services they provide.  When a solicitation matching those selections becomes available, the VendorLink system automatically sends an email notification to the email address provided during the registration process. The email notification contains the link and information necessary for the solicitation to be viewed and downloaded from any computer. Just complete the registration information to receive announcements about business opportunities from registered agencies.

Unless otherwise stipulated in bids released by our District on VendorLink, we will no longer be requesting sealed paper bids from vendors.  Bids will be submitted online thru VendorLink.  

Many vendors receiving this email that have done business with other Districts in the past likely already have an account with VendorLink.  If you do not currently have an account and wish to continue to participate in the competitive solicitation process with our District we strongly urge you to create a VendorLink account as soon as possible.  There is no charge for creating an account, and the process is short and straightforward.  You can do this by clicking the below link and selecting “Vendor Registration” in the top header of the VendorLink website.  Also ensure you select the commodity codes your company is interested in bidding on, as that is how the automatic notifications are sent to you to let you know about new bids and any important information regarding those bids, such as addendums and/or answers to questions.  

https://www.myvendorlink.com/external/home

Thank you for your continued interest in doing business with our District.  

How to Do Business with Us

All Purchasing is handled through the Central Purchasing Department located at 2091 NE 35th Street, Ocala, FL 34479. Business Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Purchasing Department is charged with purchasing and supporting 75 schools and facilities for the District, the best quality of supplies, equipment and services at the lowest cost.

Vendor Registration: this service is free of charge.

• We invite all vendors to register on VendorLink, where we post our competitive solicitations.  If you have not done so, click here. If you have already registered with VendorLink, ensure your email address, commodities, and categories in your account are correct. If not, please correct so that you do not miss any opportunities that we may post to VendorLink.

Invitation(s) to Bid (ITB) and/or Request for Proposal(s) (RFP)

1. Invitation to Bid Advisement will be emailed to those vendors registered with VendorLink.
2. The ITB and/or RFP will be advertised on our Purchasing Homepage.
3. Pull the ITB and/or RFP document(s) from VendorLink to your desktop or print.
4. Read the terms and conditions of the bid, and ensure you complete all required documentation.
5. Watch for either Mandatory or Non-Mandatory Pre Bid Meetings on the first page of the document(s).
6. All  ITB or RFP’s submitted that are required to be in paper form must be received and time stamped with the Purchasing Department prior to the bid opening/due date.
7. Tabulations will be posted to VendorLink unless specified otherwise.  Tabulations for ITB/RFPs performed before the District moved to VendorLink can be found on this website on the left menu.  

The purchasing dollar thresholds are:

1. $1000.00 to $12,499 requires telephone quotes performed by the end user.
2. $12,500 to $24,999 requires three written competitive quotes provided by the end user.
3. $25,000 to $49,999 requires a formal, “Request for Quotations” provided by the Purchasing Department.
4. $50,000 and above require an Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) and Board Approval. Provided by the Purchasing Department.
5. Purchasing may require a formal Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) for purchases or professional services under the $50,000.

Vendors should not receive approval to perform delivery of services or commodities without the purchase order issued from the Purchasing Department. Purchase orders are the only legal authorization for a vendor to perform.