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2025-051 Vendor Outreach Program May 23,2025 Report No. 2025-051 INFORMAL STAFF REPORT TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT: The Procurement Department's Vendor Outreach Program Procurement's Mission: The Procurement Department's mission of "Facilitate, Communicate, Educate" is focused on providing responsive, efficient procurement services to customers through industry best practices, education, and leveraging technology. Procurement adheres to the public procurement values of accountability, ethics, impartiality,professionalism, service, and transparency by: • Ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws applicable to procurement and contracting; • Providing quality customer service to City departments, suppliers engaging with the City, and the community; • Obtaining needed goods, services, professional services, and public works at the best possible price, of the highest quality, and at the right time; • Serving as stewards of the public trust by spending tax dollars wisely, efficiently, and with integrity; • Providing all suppliers equal access to the City's competitive processes for the acquisition of goods, services,professional services, and public works; and • Protecting the interests of City taxpayers by avoiding any undue influence,political pressures, and protecting the integrity of the procurement process. To accomplish this mission, Procurement and City departments partner together to ensure the appropriate planning of needs, timely submission of information, proper execution of responsibilities, compliance with rules and regulations, and commitment to the highest standards of customer service. Procurement, as well as officials, directors, and employees of the City, strive to provide equitable and competitive access to the City's procurement process for all responsible suppliers. Further, procurement is conducted in a manner that promotes and fosters public confidence in the integrity of the City's procurement process. Outreach Program: The Procurement Department has implemented the following strategies to increase vendor outreach and will continue to employ them in future years. 1. Created a vendor outreach focus as part of a current employee's role to increase awareness of City procurements, conduct trainings, host vendor fairs, and connect vendors with city staff who purchase goods and services. The City held its second vendor opportunity fair on May 6, 2025, in which 38 vendors came to promote their products and services to City staff. May 23,2025 Report No. 2025-051 2. Increased supplier registration in the City's electronic bidding system. Registration is at no cost to the supplier and registered suppliers receive electronic invitations to solicitations matching the commodity codes selected by the suppliers during registration. The City had 1,028 new suppliers register this fiscal year to date. In Fiscal Year 2024,the City had 775 new suppliers. 3. Ensured all solicitations are made public through the City website to ensure transparency, encourage competition, and attract qualified vendors. Solicitations are publicly available to all current and potential vendors/suppliers. This allows both current and potential vendors to stay informed and participate in bidding processes. The City website has information on how to do business with the City, supplier registration, open solicitations, all city contracts, procurement policies, and transparency data. Making procurement resources available on the website ensures businesses have access to the latest guidelines, forms, and contracts, making the procurement process smoother and more efficient. 4. Posted information regarding all attendees for any pre-bid meeting for solicitations to foster collaboration and transparency in the bidding process. Sharing attendee information from pre-bid meetings can help businesses identify potential partners and subcontracting opportunities. This practice allows smaller firms to connect with larger prime vendors, which can be crucial for expanding their reach and securing contracts. 5. Provided quarterly online trainings for potential vendors/suppliers on registering with the City,the methods of procurement the City uses, solicitation types and processes, insurance requirements, City contacts, construction information, and networking opportunities. On April 6, 2025,the City held an online training on the "6 Steps on How to do Business with The City of Denton". This training will be available quarterly, with registration available on the City of Denton website. 6. Revised the City's small purchase limits to ensure the best value is received and allow the City to purchase from local vendors for small-dollar contracts. The Procurement Department is working to implement the following initiatives to increase vendor outreach. 1. Update the City's website to include an annual contracting forecast at the beginning of every fiscal year for large contracts,permitting vendors to plan their work and form teams. 2. Engage further with local community organizations to promote City contracting opportunities. As an example, Procurement is working with Leadership Denton Class 40 on Beyond the Bid:Denton's Business Inclusion Program on increasing awareness,access, and engagement for local businesses in the city's Request for Proposal process. 3. Reduce potential barriers like minimum qualifications, bonding requirements, and risk requirements to allow more vendors opportunities to contract with the City. May 23,2025 Report No. 2025-051 4. Collect subcontracting data at contract completion for all construction projects to have a clearer picture of the vendors that provide services to the City. REOUESTOR: Cassey Ogden, Deputy City Manager STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT: 3 hours PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS: Purchasing and City Attorney's Office