- Operational Services Division
It’s been known to happen – businesses sometimes inaccurately assert that they are on a Statewide Contract simply because they registered in COMMBUYS, the state’s procurement portal.
If your organization is looking to do business with a Statewide Contract Vendor, the Operational Services Division (OSD) encourages buyers to take some simple steps to ensure that the business truly is an awarded Statewide Contract Vendor.
Currently, there are more than 58,000 businesses registered in COMMBUYS.* These businesses have taken a worthwhile first step in expressing interest in doing business with the state. As a registered COMMBUYS business, the vendor is notified of public bids posted in COMMBUYS that are related to their business offerings, and they are poised to respond to these opportunities, including Statewide Contract bids. However, there is an important distinction between businesses that simply are registered in COMMBUYS and those that have been awarded a Statewide Contract: Businesses on Statewide Contract have: (1) Responded to a Statewide Contract Request for Response (RFR); (2) Met the Strategic Sourcing Team’s solicitation requirements; and (3) Executed contract documents with OSD. There are approximately 1,660 vendors who have been awarded a Statewide Contract.*
Steps to Confirm a Business’ Statewide Contract Status:
- Ask the business to identify the Statewide Contract name and number.
- Review the Vendor List in the Contract User Guide to ensure the business is listed.
- Buyers also may conduct a Blanket Search in COMMBUYS (see below) to confirm the business’ Statewide Contract Vendor status. Ensure you are conducting a Blanket search. Vendor searches only confirm that a business is registered in the COMMBUYS portal.
Searching for Statewide Contract Vendors in COMMBUYS
Enter the business name in the Search bar on the COMMBUYS home page. Choose Blankets from the dropdown and select the magnifying glass icon.
If the business is awarded a Statewide Contract, the COMMBUYS Blanket search will return the Statewide Contract name(s) and number(s) awarded. Note that the spelling of the business name must match the name in COMMBUYS, though partial business names will return productive results.
Contact the OSD Help Desk with questions at 888-MA-State (627-8283).
* Data as of June 25, 2024
