Definition
A sole source exists when goods or services, because of unique characteristics or other reasons, are only available from a single source. Sole source justifications are reviewed and approved by Procurement Services prior to an order being placed. When an alternate supplier for a product or service cannot be identified, to the best of the requester's knowledge, based upon thorough research, a sole source justification must be provided. The sole source justification should document the steps taken to determine the sole source, include a list of the required specifications required of the product or service, and the companies that were contacted in the search for alternate sources.
Guidelines:
- A sole source justification is required for every purchase over the Direct Buy Limit ($10,000 including shipping and handling, but excluding tax) unless the purchase is being made from an existing contract, the supplier is specifically named in the funding source award documents, or the purchase is being competitively solicited.
- Sole source cannot be based on preference
- Sole Source Statement cannot be provided/written by the Supplier
- Sole source cannot be based on price comparisons as it indicates the existence of a competitive marketplace, please reach out to Procurement and they will work with you on issuing a competitive solicitation.
Sole Source in Workday
Workday does not prompt the user to provide a sole source justification when a requisition or supplier invoice is over the direct buy limit ($10,000).
Effective March 10, 2025, the Procurement Sole Source Justification web form is mandatory, any requisitions without the form will be returned. Campus is requested to do the following:
- Before completing the sole source form, please review the Exceptions and Special Items Page and follow instructions regarding your purchase. Tip! You may want to bookmark the Exceptions List
- Fill out the Procurement Sole Source Justification web form and Submit (Net ID login required)
- Download the PDF generated on the confirmation screen
- Attach the PDF and any other supporting documentation to the request in Workday not visible to suppliers.
- Do not put the sole source in the Memo to Suppliers field or in the line item memo field as those fields are visible to suppliers.
If using a contract, a sole source is not required, but please indicate the contract in the supplier contract field or in the Internal Memo field.
Sole Source Justification Criteria
A Sole Source justification describes the steps taken to determine that the chosen supplier is the only source available for your product/service. Buying staff will review the sole source justification and may reach out if they have questions or need additional information. A list of all the suppliers researched, along with the reasons why suppliers could not meet your department's specific requirements should be provided with the sole source justification. The following list of criteria may be used in determining if a sole source situation exists:
- Only one manufacturer makes the item meeting required specifications; that manufacturer only sells direct or exclusively through one regional/national distributor; Describe the steps taken to determine only one source exists, including other suppliers contacted and why they were not suitable.
- Item must be identical to equipment already in use to ensure compatibility with existing equipment or systems, and that item is only available from one source. Provide a previous Workday po number or equipment inventory tag number in your sole source justification.
- Named in award: Supplier is specifically named by the funding source award documents, inter-agency agreement, or clinical trials agreement. Proposal and/or budget documents are not considered an "award document".
- Maintenance or repair by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the manufacturer does not have multiple agents to perform these services.
- Replacement or spare parts are required from the OEM, and the OEM does not have distributors for those parts.
- Patented items or copyrighted materials, which are only available from the patent or copyright holder.
- A medical/surgical decision by a medical/dental professional, where a specific brand is required for patient care, and the manufacturer has no distributors for the product.
- Professional Services: Describe how it was determined that the chosen Supplier has unique expertise, background in recognized field of endeavor, the result of which may depend primarily on the individual's invention, imagination, or talent. Supplier has advanced or specialized knowledge, or expertise gained over an extensive period of time in a specialized field of experience. A list of all the suppliers contacted, along with the reasons why other suppliers could not meet the department's requirements should be provided with the sole source justification.
Note: An item being a “sole brand” or "sole manufacturer" does not automatically qualify as a “sole source”. Many manufacturers sell their products through distributors. Therefore, even if a purchase is identified as a valid “sole brand” or “sole manufacturer”, the department should verify whether the manufacturer has multiple distributors or only sells direct. If the manufacturer does have multiple distributors, competition should be sought and you should contact Procurement Services to manage the competitive solicitation or possibly identify an available contract.
Federally Funded Purchases
Continuity of research is not allowed on federally funded sole source purchases. Instead sole source purchases are limited to the following categories:
- the item is available only from a single source - describe the steps taken to determine there are no other suppliers
- the public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation
- after solicitation of a number of sources, competition is deemed inadequate
- the awarding agency specifically authorizes a non-competitive procurement after a written request from the department
State-Funded Sole Source Purchases
Sole source purchases over the direct buy limit and made with more than 50% state-appropriated funds (GOF, worktag RS100000) require advance approval by the State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES). This approval process is in addition to the UW's approval process. DES requires a minimum of 10 days to review and approve a sole source purchase. Procurement Services staff cannot expedite the DES review process. Be prepared to allow a minimum two additional weeks for the process if state-appropriated funds are used. State funded sole source purchases must also be publicly advertised on the UW website for 15 days, and on the State's WEBS website for 10 days, before the purchase may be made.
The Department of Enterprise Services may require documentation that Market Research was conducted:
Washington State Market Research Template
Washington State Sole Source Justification template