North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 01 - ADMINISTRATION › Chapter 05 - PURCHASE AND CONTRACT › Subchapter A - DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND CONTRACT › Section 05A .0112 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
For the purpose of this Chapter:
(1) "Agency" or "Agencies" means all
				departments, institutions, boards, commissions, universities, community
				colleges, or other units of the State subject to G.S. 143, Article 3, unless
				specifically exempted by statute.
(2) "Best and Final Offer" ("BAFO") is a
				document that memorializes the details of Negotiations between the State and a
				Vendor and mutually modifies the Vendor's Offer.
(3) "Best Value Procurement" shall have the
				same meaning as in
				G.S.
				143-135.9.
(4) "Bid Value Benchmark" or "General
				Delegation" means the maximum authorized expenditure set pursuant to
				G.S.
				116-31.10,
				G.S.
				115D-58.14, or
				G.S.
				143-52(a) and
				143-53.1 for which an Agency may
				contract to purchase Goods or Services without obtaining prior approval for the
				purchase from the Division.
(5)
				"Clarification" means communications between the State and a Vendor that occur
				after receipt of a Vendor's Offer made for the purpose of eliminating
				irregularities, informalities, or apparent clerical mistakes in an Offer. A
				Clarification may also be used in order for the State to interpret an Offer or
				Offers or to facilitate the State's evaluation of all Offers. A Clarification
				shall not be used to cure material deficiencies in an Offer, alter the scope of
				an Offer, or to negotiate.
(6)
				"Consultant Services" means contracted work or tasks performed by a Vendor or
				independent contractor possessing specialized knowledge, experience, expertise,
				and professional qualifications to investigate a Purchasing Agency's defined
				problems or projects and to provide counsel, review, analysis, or advice in
				formulating or implementing improvements in programs or Services. This includes
				improvements related to the organization, planning, directing, control,
				evaluation, and operation of a program, Agency or department.
(7) "Competition" in purchasing exists when
				the available market for the Goods or Services to be acquired consists of more
				than one Responsible Vendor that is qualified and willing to submit an
				Offer.
(8) "Contract" means any
				type of agreement entered into by Agencies, regardless of what it may be titled
				or called, setting out the obligations of the parties concerning a Procurement
				of Goods or Services.
(9) "Contract
				Term" means the time period in which a Contract is active and in
				effect.
(10) "Deficiency" means
				either a failure to meet a stated Requirement or a combination of weaknesses in
				an Offer that increases the risk that a Vendor will be unable to meet its
				contractual obligations.
(11)
				"Division" means the Division of Purchase and Contract.
(12) "Electronic" means electrical, digital,
				magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or any other similar technology.
(13) "Electronic Bid System" means the
				Division's Electronic system used variously to advertise Solicitations, notify
				Vendors, conduct Reverse Auctions, and post Contract awards.
(14) "Emergency Situations" means unforeseen
				circumstances as stated in
				G.S.
				143-57, that endanger lives, property, or the
				continuation of a vital program such as those essential for health or safety,
				as determined by the Purchasing Agency Director, and that can be rectified only
				by immediate purchases or rental of Goods or Services.
(15) "Extension" means an additional Contract
				Term not provided for in the Contract that is mutually agreed to by the State
				and all Vendor parties in a Contract amendment.
(16) "Goods" means any tangible property,
				including all equipment, materials, supplies, and commodities. Where the
				printing is not the predominant aspect of a service contract, acquisition of
				printing shall be considered the purchase of Goods under these Rules.
(17) "Goods Contract" means any agreement
				involving the Procurement of Goods from a Vendor, but that may also have
				ancillary Services aspects.
(18)
				"Initial Contract Term" means the initial period for performance under a
				Contract after which the Contract will either terminate or be extended pursuant
				to a Renewal or Extension.
(19)
				"Negotiation" means oral or written communications in a waived or open
				competitive Procurement between the State and Vendor undertaken with the intent
				of allowing a Vendor to revise its Offer. Revisions may apply to price,
				schedule, technical requirements, or other terms of the proposed Contract.
				Negotiations are specific to each Offer and shall be conducted to maximize the
				State's ability to obtain best value based on the evaluation factors set forth
				in the Solicitation. Negotiations shall be memorialized in any resulting
				Contract.
(20) "Offer" means a bid,
				proposal, BAFO, or other proposition submitted in response to any Solicitation,
				Negotiation, or other approved acquisition process, as well as responses to
				solution-based Solicitations and government-Vendor partnerships.
(21) "Personal Services Contract" has the
				same definition as in
				G.S.
				143-48.6(b). A Personal
				Services Contract is a type of Service Contract.
(22) "Pressing Need" means a need arising
				from unforeseen causes as stated in
				G.S.
				143-57, outside the State's control,
				including delay by contractors, delay in transportation, breakdown in
				machinery, or unanticipated volume of work, as determined by the Purchasing
				Agency Director, which can be satisfied only by immediate purchase or rental of
				Goods or Services.
(23) "Price"
				means the amount paid by the State to a Vendor for Goods or Services.
(24) "Procurement" means the process of
				acquiring Goods or Services.
(25)
				"Professional Services" means the contracted work or tasks performed by a
				Vendor or independent contractor possessing specialized knowledge, experience,
				expertise, and professional qualifications, who provides ongoing Services. A
				Professional Services Contract is a type of Service Contract.
(26) "Progressive Award" means an award for
				portions of a definite quantity requirement to more than one Vendor. Each
				portion is for a definite quantity and the sum of the portions is the total
				quantity procured. A Progressive Award may be in the Purchasing Agency's best
				interest when awards to more than one Vendor for different amounts of the same
				item are needed to obtain the total quantity or the time or times of delivery
				required.
(27) "Public Funds" means
				any amount received, held, disbursed, or otherwise subject to or accounted for
				in accordance with the State Budget Act and amounts used to acquire Goods and
				Services that are required to be purchased in accordance with Article 3 of
				Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
(28) "Purchasing Agency" or "Purchaser" means
				the Agency that issues a purchase order or otherwise acquires Goods or Services
				through a purchasing process.
(29)
				"Recalled Bid" means a Bid that is rescinded by the Vendor after the bid
				opening but prior to a contract being awarded.
(30) "Renewal" means an optional term
				provided for in the Contract that can be exercised as of right by the
				State.
(31) "Responsible Vendor"
				means a Vendor who demonstrates in its Offer that it has the capability to
				perform the requirements of the Solicitation.
(32) "Responsive Offer" means an Offer that
				conforms to the Requirements of the Solicitation.
(33) "Requirement" is a provision of a
				Solicitation and any resulting Contract that prescribes the nature or details
				of a standard, process, or procedure that must be complied with by the Vendor
				before any further evaluation of the Offer is conducted by the State.
(34) "Sealed Offer" means an Offer that
				remains unopened until the public opening time stated in the
				Solicitation.
(35) "Secretary"
				means the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of
				Administration.
(36) "Service
				Contract" means any agreement for compensation involving Services and requiring
				a particular or specialized knowledge, experience, expertise, or similar
				capabilities in the Vendor. Contracts for Consultant Services, Professional
				Services, and Personal Services are also examples of a Service Contract. A
				Service Contract may also involve the ancillary purchase of Goods.
(37) "Services" means the tasks and duties
				undertaken by a Vendor in a Service Contract to fulfill the Requirements and
				Specifications of the Contract.
(38) "Signature" means a manual autograph, an
				Electronic identifier, or an Electronic authentication technique, that is
				intended by the person using it to have the same force and effect as a manual
				signature.
(39) "Small Purchase"
				means the purchase of Goods and Services not covered by a Term Contract where
				the expenditure of Public Funds including Extensions and Renewals is equal to
				or less than the Small Purchase Benchmark amount, pursuant to
				01 NCAC
				05B .0301.
(40) "Solicitation" means to request or
				invite Vendor Offers, or to request information regarding the acquisition of
				Goods and Services, through the use of Solicitation Documents.
(41) "Solicitation Documents" means a Written
				or Electronic (a) Invitation for Bids (IFB); (b) Request for Quotations (RFQ);
				(c) Request for Proposals (RFP); (d) Best and Final Offer (BAFO); or (e) other
				documents to invite Vendor Offers, including all mutually agreed attachments
				and items incorporated by reference therein.
(42) "Specification" means any description of
				the physical or functional characteristics of, or the nature of, the Goods or
				Services to be procured.
(43) "SPO"
				means the State Procurement Officer who is also the Director of the
				Division.
(44) "Tabulation" means a
				list of Vendors submitting Offers in response to a particular Solicitation and,
				if applicable, the prices offered as allowed under
				G.S.
				143-52(a).
(45) "Technical Offer" means a proposal by a
				Vendor in response to the Solicitation, absent the price content.
(46) "Term Contract" is a binding agreement
				between purchaser and seller to buy and sell certain Goods or Services at
				certain prices, for an agreed Contract Term, and under specific terms and
				conditions.
(47) "Total Cost of
				Ownership" means a summation of all purchase, operating, and related costs to
				be expended during the projected lifetime of a Good or Service or
				both.
(48) "Vendor" means a
				contractor, supplier, bidder, company, independent contractor, firm,
				corporation, partnership, individual, or other entity submitting a response to
				a Solicitation.
(49) "Voided Bid"
				means an Electronic bid that was submitted by a Vendor in connection with an
				Electronic Solicitation that has been cancelled, the bids voided and not opened
				electronically.
(50) "Weakness"
				means a flaw in the Offer that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract
				performance.
(51) "Withdrawal" or
				"Withdrawn Bid" means a Bid that is rescinded by the Vendor prior to the bid
				opening.
(52) "Written" or
				"Writing" means a communication recorded in a medium of expression that can be
				preserved, read, retrieved, and reproduced for an indefinite period of time,
				including information in a form that is electronically transmitted and
				stored.
Authority
				  G.S.
				  143-48.3;
				  143-48.6; ­143-49; 143-52;
				  143-53; 143-53.1; 143-57; 143-135.9;
Eff. February 1,
				  1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1999;
Pursuant to
				  G.S.
				  150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without
				  substantive public interest Eff. July 23, 2016;
Amended Eff. March
				  1, 2022; November 1, 2021; October 1, 2019.