Supplier Resources

What to Know Before You Bid

1. Online supplier portal

   The supplier portal, stpaulbids.com, is the place where we publicly advertise all City solicitations. It is the only place to find out what goods or services Saint Paul is ready to buy. Each listing is called a “solicitation event.” 

   • Before you can respond to a solicitation, you must register your business as a Saint Paul supplier. 
   • We strongly encourage suppliers to register and get comfortable with the supplier portal well in advance of the day your bid or proposal is due. This is important, because delays or errors resulting from technological trouble do not excuse late responses. We do not accept bids or proposals after a solicitation closes — no exceptions.

2. Questions? Ask your buyer

   

   An City procurement expert called a buyer personally manages every solicitation. The buyer’s name and contact information is listed with the solicitation on the supplier portal. 

   • Your buyer is your point of contact with the City during the procurement process. They can answer questions about the solicitation and help you navigate the supplier portal. 
   • Many suppliers need assistance — especially on the day responses are due! The sooner you can ask your buyer for help, the more they will be able to help you.

3. How the City shares information about a solicitation

   To keep the procurement process as fair and competitive as possible, we make sure every supplier who is competing for a solicitation gets the same information, in the same way, at the same time. 

   City employees answer questions about a solicitation in public, in three ways:

   • Meetings. Your buyer may schedule an information session, online or in person, where City employees will be available to answer suppliers’ questions. These pre-bid or pre-proposal meetings are listed with the solicitation on the supplier portal. (In some cases, you must attend a pre-bid meeting in order to submit a response.)
   • Q and A Forum. Every solicitation on the supplier portal includes a question-and-answer section. When you use this form, please do not identify your business by name, and remember that questions and answers are public. 

   • Addenda. Your buyer may also add new information to the solicitation, in response to questions or to clarify something about the project. These new documents are called addenda. Pay attention to them. To confirm that you have received all the new information, you may be required to specify the number of addenda that have been issued in order to submit your bid or proposal.

   These are the only ways City employees will answer questions about a solicitation while it is open.

    City employees are not allowed to answer individual suppliers’ questions in any non-public way. If a supplier emails or calls with questions about an open solicitation, City employees may not answer. This strict rule helps us ensure that no supplier has unfair access to information about the project.

4. Attachments and forms

   Every solicitation on the supplier portal comes with a list of attachments. Make sure to download all of them to a folder on your computer. 

   

   The first attachment to every solicitation is a printable PDF document titled “READ FIRST.” This document includes detailed information about the procurement process, instructions for submitting a competitive response, and a list of requirements. 

   Other attachments are forms you will need to provide or fill out, sign or notarize (if necessary), and upload with your response. Here are some of the forms you may encounter:

   • Bid bond. You will need to upload documentation of a 5% bid bond for all bids of $175,000 or more. 
   • Vendor Outreach Program questionnaire. By Saint Paul ordinance, suppliers must submit a Vendor Outreach Program questionnaire.
   • Excel spreadsheet. Some solicitations come with an Excel spreadsheet to detail specific features of a bid. You must complete and save this file in .xls or .xlsx format, and uploaded it as an attachment with your response. We can’t accept PDF files or scans of handwritten tables. 
   • Responsible Contractor Affidavit. By Minnesota law, you must provide a notarized Responsible Contractor Affidavit to submit a bid for a construction contract worth $50,000 or more. 
   • Financial Interest Affidavit. The Saint Paul Code of Ethics forbids City officials and employees from having a direct financial interest in any City contract. You will need to affirm that you understand and agree to this rule when you respond. 

5. Other tips for suppliers

   Here are some other facts about procurement suppliers should know: 

   • We may ask for more information. The City reserves the right to ask for additional information or clarification of the submission from any or all responders. 
   • Suppliers bear their own costs. Suppliers are responsible for all costs directly or indirectly incurred in responding to a solicitation. 
   • We may cancel any solicitation. The City has the right to cancel any solicitation without awarding a contract. 
   • We may overlook small mistakes. The City reserves the right to waive immaterial, minor deviations in the solicitation document, solicitation procedure, or any solicitation response if it does not affect the competitiveness of the solicitation. 
   • Experience matters. The City reserves the right verify a supplier’s prior work experience. 
   • You may suggest substitutes. If the solicitation specifies an approved manufacturer, brand, or catalog descriptions, suppliers may request to substitute alternatives that work equally well and are acceptable to the City. All substitution requests must be submitted through the Q and A Forum section on the supplier portal, and include the name of the material or equipment and manufacture for which it is to be substituted. The City will accept or deny requests like that in addenda.