Departments› Procurement Management› Module IV› Procurement Of Goods And Services› Ch 3: Handle Solicitation Documents
Procurement Management  ·  Level 6
Procurement Of Goods And Services
Chapter 3: Handle Solicitation Documents
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⚑ What you will be able to do

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Identify solicitation documents correctly by following legal requirements and your organization's procurement policy.
  • Prepare routine purchase solicitation documents accurately and in line with legal and organizational rules.
  • Forward routine purchase solicitation documents for approval properly, ensuring all legal and policy steps are followed.
  • Advertise routine purchase solicitation documents effectively while complying with legal standards and your organization's procurement guidelines.

Mastering these skills helps you ensure fair and transparent purchasing processes, which are essential for successful and trustworthy procurement in any business.

Compiled by: Simon Ngugi

3.1 Definition of Solicitation

Solicitation is the stage of procurement in which the procuring organisation formally invites suppliers, contractors or consultants to submit offers, quotations, proposals, tenders or expressions of interest to meet a specified need. It turns an approved requisition and specification into an invitation to the market, using a solicitation document that tells suppliers what is needed, how to respond, by when, and how their offers will be evaluated. Solicitation begins once the need, budget, specification and procurement method are confirmed, and it ends when the offers are received and opened, ready for evaluation.

The solicitation document is the set of documents issued to suppliers for this purpose. Depending on the procurement method it may be a request for quotations, a request for information, an invitation to tender with tender documents, a request for proposals or a request for expressions of interest.

Example: a state corporation needs to buy 200 safety helmets for its field staff. After the requisition is approved and the market survey has given the estimated cost, the procurement office prepares a request for quotations stating the specification, quantity, delivery period and closing date, and sends it to registered suppliers of protective equipment. Sending out this request and receiving the sealed quotations is solicitation.

Key features of solicitation

  • Formal: It uses written documents in a prescribed format, approved before issue.
  • Competitive: It invites more than one supplier wherever the method allows, so that offers can be compared.
  • Equal information: Every supplier receives the same documents, clarifications and deadlines.
  • Time-bound: It sets a clear closing date and time for submissions.
  • Rule-based: In public entities it follows the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, its regulations and the standard tender documents issued by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.

Solicitation and sourcing

Sourcing is the wider activity of finding and selecting suppliers. Solicitation is the formal part of sourcing that asks the market for offers. Market surveys and supplier registration come before it, and evaluation, negotiation and award come after it.

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🔒3.2 Importance of solicitation

Solicitation is where the procuring organisation meets the market. The quality of the solicitation documents and the way the invitation is managed decide how many suppliers respond, how comparable their offers are and whether the final award can be defended. A…

🔒3.3 Documents used in solicitation

Different solicitation documents are used depending on the value, complexity and nature of the need and the procurement method chosen. Some documents prepare the ground (the procurement plan), some ask the market for information or interest (RFI, expression of…

🔒3.4 Elements of solicitation

Elements of solicitation are the essential parts that every solicitation document must contain so that suppliers can prepare responsive offers and the organisation can evaluate them fairly. If an element is missing or unclear, suppliers may submit offers that…

🔒3.5 Process of solicitation

The process of solicitation is the set of steps from preparing the solicitation document to receiving and opening the offers. It sits inside the wider procurement process: it starts after the need, budget, specification and method are confirmed, and it hands o…

🔒3.6 Steps in procurement process

The procurement process, also called the procurement cycle, is the full sequence of steps through which an organisation obtains goods, works or services, from recognising a need to paying the supplier and closing the file. Solicitation is one stage of this cyc…

🔒3.7 Documents raised at each stage of the procurement process

Each stage of the procurement process produces its own documents. Together they form the procurement file: a complete written record that shows who authorised each step, what was asked for, what was offered, why a supplier was chosen, what was received and wha…

Am I competent?

At the start of this chapter we promised you would be able to:

  • Identify solicitation documents correctly by following legal requirements and your organization's procurement policy.
  • Prepare routine purchase solicitation documents accurately and in line with legal and organizational rules.
  • Forward routine purchase solicitation documents for approval properly, ensuring all legal and policy steps are followed.
  • Advertise routine purchase solicitation documents effectively while complying with legal standards and your organization's procurement guidelines.

Tick each one you can genuinely do.

So, are you there yet?

You're competent when you can confidently do 50% or more of what this chapter promised.

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← Ch 2: Conduct Market Survey Ch 4: Prepare order documents →