In the 3 Deciders episode (episode 118), Kevin and Paul explained how the Economic Decider has the funds that are used to buy products and services under government contracts, the Customer has the need for those products and services, and the Contracting Officers decides HOW the government will buy those products and services. The Contracting Officer is responsible for “how” the government will buy.
As you can imagine, the contracting officer has lots of options on how to buy something…Kevin and Paul cover so many of them in 400+ podcast episodes. One of the elements in the process of deciding how to buy something is deciding which type of “solicitation” is appropriate, applicable, allowed, etc.
What type of solicitation would/should/could the Contracting Officer use? An RFQ, an RFP, an IFB, an oral RFP, or a combination?
In this episode, they outline the types of solicitations in government contracting and the why, how and what behind them.