Procurement Guidelines - New York State Office of General Services

• Price;• Delivery terms;• Description of the commodity or service being procured;• Payment terms;• Duration of the contract; and• Liability clauses and any other requirements of either the buyer or seller.Contracts may be issued by the OGS on behalf of all agencies or may be issued by oneor more agencies for their unique needs. The following provides a general description ofvarious types of contracts used by state agencies:OGS Centralized ContractsOGS creates centralized contracts for commodities or services. There are more than2,500 such contracts in place. Once these contracts are established and approved, agenciesmay purchase from them. For the purchase of commodities or services available from an OGScontract (for example, a P-contract, PC-contract, PS-contract or PT-contract), the agency mayissue a purchase order directly to the contractor without prior approval by the Office of theState Comptroller (OSC). Agencies are encouraged to attempt to negotiate more favorableprices.The State Finance Law requires that agencies use an OGS centralized contract (i.e., aP-contract or PC-contract) to purchase commodities that meet the agency’s requirements withrespect to form, function and utility. Agencies are encouraged but not required to use an OGScentralized contract (e.g., CMS-contract, PT-contract, etc.) to purchase services or technology.OGS or LessIn addition, pursuant to State Finance Law § 163(3((a)(v), OGS centralized commoditiescontracts that contain a clause known as “OGS or Less” may allow an agency to obtain neededcommodities from a non-contract vendor in order to take advantage of non-contract savings thatmay develop in the marketplace. “OGS or Less” purchases may not be made if thecommodities are available from:• Legally established preferred sources in the form, function and utility required;• State contracts based on filed requirements (e.g., fuel, oil, etc.); or• Agency-specific contracts.After determining that the needed commodity cannot be obtained from these sources,the agency must determine, and document in the procurement record, that the purchase price,including delivery, warranty and other relevant terms, offered by the non-contract vendor ismore economically beneficial than what is offered on OGS centralized contract(s) for acommodity substantially similar in function, form and utility. Agencies must not solicit multipleoffers from the same vendor and must not create a bidding war. State contractors must beNew York State Procurement Guidelines 7