Doing Business with the City of
Toronto
Purchasing and Materials Management Division
City of Toronto – Purchasing and Materials
Management
• One of the largest purchasers in the public
sector
• In 2013, Toronto awarded $1.6 billion in
contracts
• Toronto buys a variety of goods and services
– Various construction related services
– Vehicles, electrical supplies, office supplies,
chemicals and gas
– Consulting services (engineers, architects,
legal etc)
– Various I&T solutions
Types of Purchases by Unit
Breakdown of total purchases by Unit:
• Construction 31%
• Goods and Services 46%
• Professional Services 23%
Role of the Purchasing & Materials
Management Division
• Responsible for Purchases for:
• All City Divisions
• Board of Governors of Exhibition Place
• Joint purchasing with all other City Agencies and Corporations
• Work with these groups to issue Request for Quotation, Request for Proposal, Request for Tender and Request for Offer to Purchase Calls
Bid Solicitation Methods
Bids Solicited By:
• Telephone / Fax/ E-mail (Less than $50K in value)
• Request for Tenders
• Request for Quotations
• Request for Proposals
• Request for Offer to Purchase
The City's Online Call Document System gives vendors the
opportunity to purchase call documents , with an estimated
value greater than $50,000 , 24 hours a day, seven days a
week from the City's website. Call documents available online
include:
• Expression of Interest
• Request for Proposals
• Request for Quotations
• Offer to Purchase
• Tender calls without blueprint drawings. *
*Note: Tender calls with blueprint drawings are advertised
online and must be purchased and picked up at City Hall,
19th Floor West, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON.
The Online Call Document System
enables vendors to browse and view
business opportunities with the City
of Toronto, 24hrs / 7 days a week.
For further information or
assistance:
• Online Call Document System Customer
Service
• Tel: (416) 392-7353
• E-Mail: [email protected]
• Doing Business with the City: http://www.toronto.ca/citybusiness/aboutpmmd.htm
Dos and Don'ts - Tips for
Responding to RFxs
• Do read the RFx carefully to understand what
exactly is required to respond to the RFx
– Read the viewing copy prior to purchasing the
document to ensure that your company can meet
the requirements
• Do take advantage of the question/answer period
to clarify anything about the RFx by writing
questions or requesting changes to the Official
Point of Contact
– The City will respond to all questions asked during
this period.
Dos and Don'ts - Tips for
Responding to RFxs
• Do not make assumptions about the RFx, make
sure you understand what the document says
• Do not submit your own terms and conditions
that are contrary to the City’s terms and
conditions. If you can’t abide by the terms and
conditions, ask if the City will change them during
the Q&A period.
• Do not forget to supply all the mandatory
submission requirements by the closing deadline
• Do take the time to let the City know why you
don’t want to bid, it helps us improve the process
for the next time.
Other Tips
• When a call is on the street, until the call is
awarded, a blackout period goes into effect
which requires vendors to only communicate
with the Official Point of Contact. During this
time refrain from contacting other City staff or
Councillors about the call as that may be
seen as lobbying.
• For more information on lobbying go to:
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly
?vgnextoid=cf1fb7537e35f310VgnVCM10000
071d60f89RCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Unsolicited Proposals?
Please contact the Toronto Office of
Partnerships at:
Phone: 416-392-6121
Fax: 416-392-6118
Web site: www.toronto.ca/top/index.htm
New initiative – City of Toronto Social
Procurement Policy • In May 2013, Council directed staff to develop and
report back on a Toronto Social Procurement Policy,
inclusive of best practices for consideration by the
end of 2015.
• The purpose is to use the procurement process to
advance positive economic, workforce and social
development goals.
• It has two components – Workforce development and
Supply Chain Diversity
Two Main Forms of Social
Procurement
Workforce Development
The goal of workforce development is to promote a
skilled and competitive workforce and a vibrant local
economy by working with contractors to identify
employment opportunities that can be leveraged in City
contracts, like apprenticeship programs
Supply Chain Diversity
The goal of supply chain diversity is to increase the
number of diverse-owned businesses bidding on City
contracts.
Pilot Projects
• To inform the development of a social procurement policy
that achieves these goals while maintaining fairness and
value-for-money, the City will be running pilot projects in
2014.
• Larger contract pilots (from $50K to over $1M) are
planned to include a range of contracts such as painting,
demolition, renovation, construction, design/architecture,
engineering consulting, and mechanical litter removal.
• For small contracts (i.e. under $50K), the City is piloting
an initiative to open up the purchasing process to a wider
vendor base than the current process allows. This
approach will be piloted in a City division by posting its
contract opportunities online and should help supply chain
diversity.
• Questions?