Public Contracts: Sealed Bidding, Competitive Negotiation and Indenfinite Delivery Contracts
Roy E. Paul
June 25, 2008
The landscape of obtaining government contracts has changed significantly. Sealed bidding is used less frequently than in the past. Nevertheless, when certain conditions are present, sealed bidding is mandatory. Thus the government contract practitioner must familiarize himself with the sealed bidding process in the event he encounters a situation that calls for its use. In the mid-1990s, Congress amended several key statutes relating to the acquisition of government contracts. Up until that time, sealed bidding was the norm. The amendments gave federal contracting officers more discretion to award contracts through a process called competitive negotiation. As the name implies, the goal of saving government funds by means of competition among bidders remains paramount. An indefinite delivery contract is used when there is uncertainty as to the exact time and exact quantity of future deliveries. Indefinite delivery contracts have been used traditionally by the Department of Defense to furnish its ongoing supply needs.
