Purchasing Dept. Addendums

An addendum is issued by a government agency or company in order to change the specifications of a solicitation, such as a request for a proposal, bid or quote, that has already been issued. An addendum can change anything in the specifications of the original solicitation documents and can also add additional information to the solicitation. There are four different types of addenda (or addendums): the question and answer, the clarification, the postponement and the cancellation.

Question and Answer

A question and answer, or Q&A, addendum is issued by the agency or company that released the solicitation in order to respond to bidder's questions. Sometimes there is a set date by which questions must be submitted to the agency or company from bidders after which no more questions will be answered. The agency or company will compile all the questions submitted and release the answers in one document as a Q&A addendum.

Clarification

The purpose of a clarification addendum is to clarify details of the solicitation. An agency might use this type of addendum if for example, it changes the date by which bids on the solicitation are due or if there is a change in the specifications of the bid, such as the quantity of a product being requested.

Postponement

A postponement is an addendum to a solicitation that postpones the evaluation of the bids; it is released after bids have already been submitted by bidders. Usually there is not only a specified due date for the bids, but is also a date for the evaluation meeting at which the bids are reviewed by the agency or company and the winning bidder is chosen. Postponements amend that evaluation date by postponing it to another date later than the one specified in the original bid documents.

Cancellation

A cancellation addendum cancels the solicitation; from the date specified on the cancellation addendum the solicitation documents are void and no bids will be accepted for it. If the solicitation is going to be re-released at a later date, the agency or company must specify that information in the cancellation. They do not legally have to give a reason for the cancellation and a solicitation can be canceled at any time while it is open for bidding.