BE A CHAMPION

COMPETITION

GOALS

COMPLETION

CONNECTING LOCAL BUSINESSESTO THE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

UNDERSTANDING THE PURCHASING PROCESS

Presented by: Andrée M. Cohen, Purchasing AdministratorCity of New Orleans

MAXIMIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES

•ONLINE – CITY WEBSITE: WWW.NOLA.GOV

•ONLINE – DIRECT ACCESS: WWW.PURCHASING.NOLA.GOV

• The City’s Purchasing System Called BuySpeed

•NEWSPAPER LEGAL ADS – Times Picayune

•TRADE MAGAZINES

•ATTENDING PRE-BID MEETINGS – Announced Online

• Meet Other Contractors

•PARTNERING

•DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROSPECT

•CONTACTING THE PURCHASING BUREAU – (504) 658-1550

ARE YOU REGISTEREDAS A CITY OF NEW ORLEANS VENDOR?

The City of New Orleans Purchasing Bureau

Maintains an Online Purchasing System…

Located on the City Website at:

www.nola.gov

Select “Bids, Proposals & Contracts”

View Current Solicitations Receive Email Notification of

Upcoming Bids and ProposalsPurchase OrdersChange OrdersCurrent Status of Documents

View Current City Contracts

SEARCH CURRENT BIDS & CONTRACTS

SELECT Contract & Bid SearchSELECT Active ContractsSELECT Open Bids

SELECT RegisterSELECT Complete Registration

Or Enter Your LOGIN ID* And PASSWORD*

*Case Sensitive

CONTRACTS/BLANKETSSelect and Click

TYPE OR SELECT A SEARCH FIELD AND Find It

TYPED

RESULTS

CONTRACT INFORMATION

TO VIEW ALL CONTRACTS

SELECT

Find It

Select All or A Category

INVITATIONS TO BID (ITB)REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

ITBRFPRFQ

All Referred to as Bids

in the Purchasing System

Select “Find It” for All Solicitations Open or Type or Select a Category

Search for Vehicle Bids

ITBRFPRFQ

DETAILS

All Referred to as Bids in the Purchasing

System

VENDOR REGISTRATION

REGISTER – For New Vendors

COMPLETE REGISTRATION

VIEWING OPEN BIDS

ITBRFPRFQ

All Referred to as Bids in the Purchasing

System

SYSTEMS ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS

SELECT

ANSWERS FOR “HOW TO USE BUYSPEED”

LESSONS LEARNED

1. EMAIL NOTIFICATION OF OPPORTUNITIES ARE ONLY SENT TO YOU FOR THE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES YOU SELECT WHEN YOU REGISTER AS A VENDOR

2. COMMODITIES AND SERVICES CAN BE ADDED OR DELETED BY REGISTERED VENDORS AT ANY TIME

3. THROUGH YOUR VENDOR SITE YOU MAY ALSO CHANGE ADDRESS, PHONE, EMAIL, OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

4. ADDITIONAL ACCESS, ADDRESSES, CONTACT INFORMATION MAY BE ADDED BY YOU FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR COMPANY

5. IF YOU CHECK THE CITY PURCHASING WEBSITE WEEKLY, YOU WILL NOT MISS ANY OPPORTUNITIES

6. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE LIKELY TO NEED YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ON A ONE-TIME BASIS OR AS PART OF A THREE BID TELEPHONE QUOTE

COMPETE SUCCESSFULLY

REGISTER AS A VENDOR WITH THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

ENSURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS CORRECT IN BUYSPEED

IDENTIFY ALL COMMODITIES AND SERVICES RELATED TO YOUR

BUSINESS

READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY

CONTACT PURCHASING BUREAU WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT:

PURCHASING@NOLA.GOV

CHECK ONLINE WEEKLY UNDER BIDS AND PROPOSALS FOR

OPPORTUNITIES

KNOW YOUR COMPETITION AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO PARTNER

DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED – COMPETITION IS A LEARNING

EXPERIENCE

GOALS

1. CONTACT DEPARTMENTS DIRECTLY TO BECOME KNOWN

2. REQUEST THE DEPARTMENTS TO INCLUDE YOUR COMPANY IN

DEPARTMENT INFORMAL PHONE, FAX OR EMAIL BIDS

3. CHECK OPPORTUNITIES WEEKLY

4. SUBMIT BIDS TIMELY

5. ALWAYS RECEIVE A PURCHASE ORDER PRIOR TO ORDERING

MATERIALS OR PROVIDING SERVICES

6. OBTAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE THROUGH ACCURACY

7. QUESTIONS?

EMAIL PURCHASING@NOLA.GOV

OPPORTUNITIES• ONLINE – CITY WEBSITE: www.nola.gov and select the box “Bids, Proposals

& Contracts” then click on “Open Bids” to view all Invitations to Bid and Request for Proposals and Qualifications

• ONLINE DIRECT TO BUYSPEED PURCHASING PORTAL WEBSITE AT: http://www.purchasing.nola.gov/bso/login.jsp where you may “Register as a New Vendor; Complete Vendor Registration (including changes to your individual Vendor site; view Open Bids (including Request for Proposals and Qualifications (for professional services); Browse Active Contracts; and perform Bid and Contract Search

• CHECK THE CITY WEBSITE WEEKLY• REGISTER AS A VENDOR ON CITY WEBSITE• NEWSPAPER – CHECK THE LEGAL ADS DAILY• TRADE MAGAZINES• ATTEND PREBID MEETINGS• PARTNERING WITH OTHER SMALL BUSINESS OR SUBCONTRACTING• DBE PROSPECT