{"id":2828,"date":"2026-08-25T12:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T19:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/?page_id=2828"},"modified":"2026-08-25T12:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T19:15:27","slug":"sole_source_guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/home\/purchasing\/reqs-po\/sole_source_guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sole Source Justification"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--sidebar-right\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<p>A purchase of goods or services which is clearly and legitimately limited to a single source of supply may be ordered without competitive bidding if one of these three criteria is met:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Special Features are required<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Special Market Conditions exist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Special Services or Facilities are required<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> <p class=\"MsoNormal\">These criteria are established by statue and must be documented by a signed memo from end user of the requested equipment.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Statute references:<span>\u00a0 <\/span>WAC 236-48-003(32) and RCW 43.19.1906(3).<span>\u00a0 <\/span>The competitive process is always an alternative to sole source procurement, and may be more expedient than this documentation process.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-heading--style-marked\">Memo Guidelines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> <p class=\"MsoNormal\">In a signed and dated memo, address these five points below to justify acquisition of equipment without competitive bids.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>This memo becomes part of official University records and is subject to review by auditor and public requests for information.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Scope of work:\u00a0 Describe equipment and include a brief but specific description of its intended use in your laboratory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Minimum requirements:\u00a0 Describe the unique features or capabilities of equipment which are essential to your intended use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Compatibility Issues:\u00a0 If the proposed equipment must be compatible with existing equipment give details and include manufacturer and model number of existing equipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Market Analysis\/Reasonableness of Costs:\u00a0 List other potential sources for this type of equipment and note why each is unsatisfactory.\u00a0 If you believe there are no other sources, describe how you have come to this conclusion (e.g. list buyers guides consulted, refer to published research, name vendors contacted, list internet searches).\u00a0 Since competition was not used as the means for procurement, explain how you concluded that the costs, fees, or rates negotiated are fair and reasonable. Make a comparison with comparable contracts, use the results of a market survey, compare to an established catalog\/list price, or employ some other appropriate means to make such a determination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recommended Acquisition:\u00a0 List manufacturer, model number and estimated cost of proposed equipment.\u00a0 You may attach a preliminary quotation, however, please be aware that for the protection of the University the vendor will be asked to submit a formal quote on WSU forms.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Submit the memo attached to a departmental requisition for the equipment.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-color-background--crimson wsu-spacing-top--xxsmall wsu-spacing-padding-left--sxxsmall wsu-spacing-padding-right--sxxsmall wsu-spacing-bottom--sxxsmall\" >\r\n    \n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--xxmedium\">EBOT Info<\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wsu-font-size--medium wsu-spacing-bottom--sxxsmall wsu-spacing-after--none wsu-spacing-before--xsmall\"><strong>Mailing Address:<\/strong><br>PO Box 646248<br>Pullman, WA 99164-6248<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-spacing-top--xxsmall wsu-spacing-bottom--sxxsmall wsu-spacing-after--none wsu-spacing-margin-left--none wsu-spacing-margin-right--none wsu-spacing-padding-left--none wsu-spacing-padding-right--none wsu-color-background--gray-85 wsu-border--color-white\" >\r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wsu-font-size--medium wsu-spacing-before--xxsmall wsu-spacing-bottom--sxxsmall\"><strong>Location:<\/strong> Hulbert Hall, Room 411D<br><strong>Mail Code<\/strong>: 6248<br><strong>Email address:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:ebot.support@wsu.edu\">ebot.support@wsu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"parent":2684,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_wsuwp_accessibility_report":null},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2828"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2833,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2828\/revisions\/2833"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/countyops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}