IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search Preferred Vendors: Introduction Why we buy from registered Preferred Vendors? – It is a State priority to support minority, veteran, and small owned businesses How do we buy from preferred vendors? – By accessing the sell2illinois.gov website: – s/VendorSearch.aspx s/VendorSearch.aspx – What are the steps? – Search the BEP & Veteran databases for the product/service by one of the following options: Vendor Name Commodity Code Commodity Name See slides that follow for details Note: Searching the Small Business Vendor Directory will redirect to the Illinois Procurement Gateway Tips: – Get familiar with the Product/Service codes that are listed in the CMS Reference Library: Open Open Once the site opens: – Select: Reference Library – Select: “Class Code Descriptions” – Read the PDF to find the code(s) needed – Other purchases over $20K require a contract – Formal Bid required: Prof/Artistic Services $20k Supplies & Services >$55.8K Construction >$78.3k New $ Amounts Effective 7/1/15 1

IMSA Procurement V5 Sequence of Preferred Vendors 1.SMCState Master Contract 2.ICIIllinois Correctional Industries 3.BEPBusiness Enterprise Vendor 4.SBSmall Business Vendor 5.VeteranVeteran vendor 6.SWSSheltered Workshop Vendor 7.OtherVendor is NOT any of the above 2

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 1: Launch the CMS Reference Library: Step 1

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 2: Click “Class Code Descriptions” (opens a new page) Step 3: Open the file titled “Commodity and Service Booklet w_o Cover Sheet.pdf Step 3 Step 2 4

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 4: Once Class Code Descriptions PDF is open, find the code(s) and Commodity name needed Example Shown: Liquid and Dry Nitrogen Step 4 5

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 5: Launch: IMSA has goals for procurement $’s: BEP – 20% (of which 1% should be Sheltered Workshops) Small Business – 10% Veterans – 3% Search BEP, SB, & Veteran databases to obtain best value/price Step 5 6

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 6: Using the commodity code or name from step 4, select a search method Step 7: Enter search terms, filter by location (optional), then click the “Search” button. Step 6 Step 7a Step 7c Step 7b 7

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 8: Click to Select the best-fit sub-category(s) Step 9: Click “Search” to see vendors Step8 Step 9 8

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search BEP or Veteran Vendors: Step 10: Review listed vendors & contact to obtain the best value/price Step 10 9

IMSA Procurement V5 How to Search Small Business Vendors: 10

IMSA Procurement V5 Redirected to Illinois Procurement Gateway (IPG) 11

IMSA Procurement V5 IPG Search Options How do I search for a Vendor? Using various search options and methods shown below, you can search for specific information in the system. 1. Search by Business Name or DBA. a. Search for a specific vendor in the system. You can complete a simple search by name or an expanded search for vendors with specific certifications and commodity codes. 2. Search by Commodity Code (NIGP Codes) NIGP Commodity Codes 3. Search by Contact Person a. Search for specific individuals in the system. 4. Search by Location 5. Search by Reference 12

IMSA Procurement V5 Tips for Performing IPG Searches You can search for information based on the parameters that you set. To create a search string, keep the following tips in mind: Start with one parameter. Usually you can find the record you are looking for by using one or two parameters. The more specific your search terms, the less likely you are to find the record because of spelling, order, or other variations in your search. Keep search parameters short. Use “ACME” instead of “ACME Construction, Inc.” You can even use partial words, such as “envi” instead of “environmental consultant”. The system ignores punctuation. C. C. is the same as C C; C & C is treated the same as C and C. Become familiar with possible settings and options. A record may not display because you selected the wrong option. Narrow the search parameters to prevent returning too many items in your search results. When searching for businesses named for their founder, such as John Smith & Co., the record may be listed under “John Smith and Co.” or “Smith, John and Co.” You may need to search for both versions. Start by searching for one of the names, such as Smith. When searching by first name, be aware that users may be listed by alternate names. For example: James, Jim, Jimmy, or J. Searches are not case sensitive. ACME is treated the same as acme. NOTE: You may download search results to Excel or CSV including commodity codes if desired. 13