Solicitation Process

All Contract Actions are approved by the ALCOSAN Board of Directors (BoD) prior to authorization.

Commercial Items

Commercial Services/Items are solicited by legal advertisement. ALCOSAN complies with the bidding thresholds published by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services. Bids must be submitted before the deadline, meeting all requirements.

ALCOSAN’s Purchasing Department is responsible for purchasing all commercial items such as Industrial and Office Supplies. Any purchase which is expected to exceed $10,000 requires a contract in lieu of a purchase order. It may also require a bid bond, depending on the complexity of the item.

All commercial items are awarded on the basis of lowest responsible bidder.

To meet with staff to discuss your qualifications, please contact the ALCOSAN Purchasing Department.

Construction Projects

Our Engineering and Construction Department issues all advertisements for Construction. Construction packages are solicited by legal advertisement. Bids must be submitted before the deadline, meeting all requirements.

ALCOSAN construction projects are design-bid-build. All construction projects are awarded on the basis of lowest responsible bidder.

To meet with staff to discuss your qualifications, please contact the ALCOSAN Procurement Department.

NOTE: All construction projects require Prevailing Wages and may require signing a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Some construction projects are subject to the Separations Act requiring separate public bids from at least four different prime contractors (General Contractor, Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical). This approach is also known as a multiple prime project delivery method.

Professional Services

ALCOSAN contracts with firms to provide engineering and design, construction management, and other professional services. All professional services procurements are advertised on the ALCOSAN website under Planned and Active Bids.

The procurement department will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a project. These are advertised on our website. Upon receipt of the qualifications, a formal evaluation process is conducted to shortlist three to four of the most technically qualified firms. The recommendations are brought to the ALCOSAN Professional Services Committee (PSC) for approval.

Once PSC approval is received, shortlisted firms receive a Request for Proposal (RFP) with a more detailed scope of work. Firms are also expected to submit a detailed cost proposal sealed and separate from the technical proposal. On more complex projects, ALCOSAN may require each firm to participate in interviews after the proposals are submitted. The RFP will specify if interviews will be conducted.

Upon completion of all interviews, the evaluation team will develop their individual evaluations of each proposal. Procurement will host an evaluation meeting where all proposals are discussed and evaluations are provided. The most technically qualified firm is selected and is presented to the PSC and the Board of Directors (BoD) for approval.

Upon proposal submittal or completion of all interviews, the successful offeror’s cost proposal is opened and due diligence and negotiations begin. Upon PSC and BoD approval of the negotiated costs, the unsuccessful offeror's are notified, and their sealed cost proposals returned.

To meet with staff to discuss your qualifications, please contact the ALCOSAN Procurement Department.

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Solicitation Process
Solicitation Process

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