Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 36 - Technology › Part 2 - Information Systems Services › Chapter 7 - Procurement Types › Rule 36-2-7-207.7 - 013-080 Procurement Types: EPL Planned Purchase

Current through June 25, 2024
The EPL Planned Purchase Procedure allows an agency to make
				  purchases that exceed the cost limit of an Express Products List (EPL). As the
				  coordinator of the information technology planning effort for state government
				  agencies, ITS works with agencies during the planning process to determine
				  procurements that can be appropriately made using EPLs. The EPL planned
				  purchases procedure is limited to:
(1)
				Projects in the agency's current technology plan
(2) Equipment or software appearing on a
				current EPL
An agency using the EPL Planned Purchase Procedure is given
				  authorization, up to a specified dollar amount, to make the identified
				  procurements from the EPLs without further ITS involvement. The approval is
				  issued in the form of a letter from the ITS Executive Director and a CP-1
				  Acquisition Approval Document. The purchasing agency should retain the approval
				  letter in its purchasing documentation.
Since agencies often make their purchases under the EPL
				  Planned Purchase approval over the course of the fiscal year and to multiple
				  vendors, ITS also sends a Planned Purchases Tracking Form with the approval
				  letter and CP-1. This form should be used to record the date, purchase order
				  number, and dollar amount of each expenditure made under the EPL Planned
				  Purchases approval. This form serves as a tracking tool for the agency, and the
				  agency is required to retain the completed form in its purchasing documentation
				  for audit purposes.
The purchasing agency should also document that an effort
				  was made to obtain a lower price than the published EPL price, since the volume
				  purchased under an EPL Planned Purchase approval is higher than the typical EPL
				  amount. Each EPL has instructions relevant to negotiating volume discounts with
				  vendors. EPL Planned Purchase requests must be accompanied by a minimum of two
				  vendor quotes for purchases up to $1,000,000 and three quotes for purchases
				  over $1,000,000. Additional instructions for submitting EPL Planned Purchase
				  requests are contained on the EPL Planned Purchase procurement form. EPL
				  Planned Purchases with a lifecycle cost above the Director Approval thresholds
				  defined in Section 018-030 require ITS Board approval.
During review of your agency's IT plan, it may be determined
				  that a project might benefit from a Planned Purchase Procurement. If so, an IT
				  Planning Coordinator will contact your agency. To initiate an EPL Planned
				  Purchase prior to being contacted, call Debra Brown, IT Planning Coordinator,
				  at 601-432-8128; contact the ITS Procurement Help Desk at 601-432-8166; or
				  submit a Planned Purchase Procurement Request to ITS Procurement. Additional
				  information and contact information for agency planning is located on the ITS
				  website.
Although the Planned Purchase Procedure was primarily
				  established for state agencies who submit technology plans to ITS annually,
				  IHLs, community colleges, local governments, K-12 schools, and other government
				  entities who have shown due diligence in technology planning and who want to
				  use the ITS EPLs above the default spending thresholds may be eligible for
				  planned purchases. These public entities may submit a request for a planned
				  purchase to ITS along with a copy of their current technology plan in the
				  format required by their regulatory agent. The request should also include
				  detailed information regarding the items to be purchased and the EPL quotations
				  received. ITS will review the plan information and the specific procurement
				  details to see if a planned purchase is appropriate.
Refer to 009-001 ITS Procurement Process Flows for
				  additional information, specifically the flow labeled Planned Purchases.
25-53-25
				  (2)