Vendor: these are the businesses that register with this institution to provide the goods and services it needs. ‘Vendors’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘Suppliers’.

Bidding Opportunities: a notification detailing the goods and/or services Broward Health is planning to purchase. These often include important information that a vendor needs to know in order to fulfill the request. ‘Bidding Opportunities’ may also be called ‘Solicitations’.

Bids or Proposals: the responses the institution has received from businesses for the bidding opportunities it has posted. The business submitting the bid is called the bidder

Informal Bid: Bids for goods and services totaling under $100,000.

Formal Bid: Bids for goods and services totaling more than $100,000. Formal bids are posted as RFQs or RFPs (see below).

RFQ: A formal bid that is awarded to the lowest bidder/business offering the lowest price while meeting all pre-established criteria.

RFP: A formal bid that will require an evaluation by a selection committee (based on an established scoring criteria) before being awarded.

‍Procurement: the process of handling all purchases and relationships with supplier/vendors/bidders. Procurement is handled through Broward Health’s Vendor Relations Department.

Broward Health provides a helpful Vendor Orientation Presentation which breaks down the vendor registration process and details how to find and respond to potential business opportunities.