Specifications are used for the following purposes:
- To describe what departments need to purchase.
- For suppliers to respond to bids that have been issued for the purchase of goods or services.
- To determine during the evaluation of bids, each supplier’s compliance with the requirements.
- To select the supplier that a purchase order will be issued to.
For this reason, specifications must be as generic as possible and define the university’s minimum needs, without any unjustified bias toward a specific brand. After an item has been delivered or a service performed, the written specifications – to which the supplier bids – are part of the legal document that would be used in settling any dispute concerning the quality or performance of the good or service received.
Specifications have two parts:
- Scope of Work (for services) or Description (for goods)
- Requirements
For step-by-step instructions for how to write specifications, please visit the Advanced Purchasing Manual, Chapter 4: Writing Specifications.