The following questions are general questions asked by vendors when first contacting and attempting to understand the scope of services offered by the Office of State Procurement.
The Office of State Procurement is located at 112 Administration Building 50 Sherburne Ave, Saint Paul MN 55155.
The Department of Administration is responsible for the state's purchasing of goods and some services, either through one-time buys or through long-term commodity contracts. All state agencies have the authority to purchase locally up to $2,500, without submitting a request through the Office of State Procurement (OSP). Some agency personnel have delegated authority to make purchases up to $10,000, some have authority up to $25,000 and others have authority up to $50,000. Consultant or technical services are also contracted at the agency level.
Most of the state's solicitations and requests for proposals for goods and services, construction and professional and technical services are posted on this website. In addition, major contracts (estimated value over $50,000) for consulting, professional/technical, or computer-related services are advertised each Monday in the State Register available online at mn.gov/admin/bookstore/register.jsp.
A list of OSP acquisition management specialists and their commodity/service lines is available on this website here.
The Office of State Procurement (OSP) operates a program for Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged, and Veteran-Owned small businesses. Targeted Group small businesses must be certified as such by OSP in order to participate in the program. By being certified with OSP, the business may also be eligible to participate in similar state-funded programs operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and several metropolitan agencies.
Businesses eligible to participate in this program must first of all be a Minnesota-based small business. In 2015, OSP adopted variable size standards by industry as set by the US Department of Transportation in order to determine what is a small business.
Targeted Group: To be certified as a Targeted Group small business, the business must be at least 51% owned by a woman, racial minority, or person with a substantial physical disability. In addition, the business must be operated and controlled on a day-to-day as well as long-term basis by the qualifying owner. In other words, ownership is not enough; operational control is also required.
Economically Disadvantaged: To be certified as an Economically Disadvantaged small business, the business must be located (or the owner must reside) in an Economically Disadvantaged Area in Minnesota. These areas include labor surplus areas, as designated by the federal government, and low income counties in Minnesota. Economically Disadvantaged small businesses must be certified as such by OSP in order to participate in the program.
Veteran-Owned: To be certified as a Veteran-Owned small business, the business must be at least 51% owned by a veteran or service-disabled veteran as determined by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, the business must be operated and controlled on a day-to-day as well as long-term basis by the qualifying owner. In other words, ownership is not enough; operational control is also required.
The commissioner of Administration periodically designates businesses that are majority-owned and operated by women, persons with a substantial physical disability, or specific minorities as targeted group businesses within purchasing categories as determined by the commissioner.
Once certified, Targeted Group small businesses may receive up to 6% preference in selling their products or services or bidding on construction projects to the state in accordance with the Commissioner's designation of eligible businesses. Certified Economically Disadvantaged or Veteran-Owned small businesses may receive up to 6% preference in selling their products or services or bidding on construction projects to the state. In addition, we have the authority to set goals that require prime contractors to subcontract a portion of the work to certified Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged or Veteran-Owned small businesses on contracts for construction or consulting services.
Once certified, Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged and Veteran-Owned vendors are added to the state's vendor list, and are listed in the Directory of Certified Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged and Veteran-Owned Vendors.
Additional eligibility criteria for the above programs are contained in Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1230.
Vendors may apply for certification through the Minnesota Small Business Certification Portal, where federal, state, and local governments have partnered to provide a consolidated web portal for businesses seeking certification in one or more of our programs. Additional information about the state's program and state purchasing can be obtained by contacting our HelpLine at OSPHelp.Line@state.mn.us or 651.296.2600.
The following links list current businesses listed in the Office of State Procurement's Equity in Procurement (TG/ED/VO) Directory
In early 1990, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill that authorized the Department of Administration, Office of State Procurement, to operate a program for Targeted Group (TG) and Economically Disadvantaged (ED) small businesses. The program has been in effect since July 1, 1990. More recently, Veteran-Owned small businesses have been added to the Small Business Procurement Program.
Certified Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged, and Veteran-Owned small businesses may be eligible for up to 6% preference in selling their products or services to the state in accordance with the Commissioner's designation of eligible businesses. In addition, certified Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged, and Veteran-Owned small businesses may be eligible for subcontracting opportunities on contracts for professional and technical services and construction.
More information can be found on this website at: https://mn.gov/admin/business/vendor-info/oep/.
OSP has adopted the Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, section 26.65, which sets variable size standards by industry in order to determine what is a small business. Using this approach, we have a size limit that for some industries is $1 million in annual gross sales, for other industries the limit may be as high as $23.98 million in annual gross sales. Size standards by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code are published on this website here.
The state of Minnesota generally pays sales tax directly to the department of Revenue. Our direct pay permit can be found at the Department of Revenue site.
Voluntary Product Assessment Templates (VPATs) are templates that enable vendors to self-certify how their products conform to Minnesota's Accessibility Policies & Standards. For guidance on the VPAT processes, please visit MNIT's Office of Accessibility page on IT Procurement.
Registration as a vendor can be made via the state's Supplier Portal. You will need your Federal Employer Identification Number and Minnesota State Tax Identification Number (if applicable) when you register. Being registered is not a guarantee that you will be sent invitations to bid or requests for proposals - only that your name will appear on the list as a potential vendor for the products you sell or services you provide.
When logging into the Supplier Portal all visiting vendors must MANUALLY type in their User ID and Password. When submitting login information to the portal user names and passwords cannot be defaulted or saved by your internet browser and cannot be copy or pasted into the login fields.
If vendors are having trouble clearing out saved or default passwords when logging into SWIFT Supplier portal they may try clearing their SWIFT browser history and cache.
If a vendor cannot remember or locate the original user name and password they set up within the Supplier Portal vendors can either request or reset their user name and password. The following links below will redirect you to documents that will guide you through the steps to either being provided or resetting your user name and password.
Request User name and Password
Reset your Username and Password
When logged into the Supplier Portal and entering in the Event ID you received in your email inbox the Supplier Portal only accepts the numbers following 20000 from the Event ID. When searching for an event only enter the 5 numbers after 20000 into the search bar.
For this example, when entering the solicitation ID into the search bar for events vendors would just enter 12202.
When clicking the Accept Invitation Button vendors must be aware that the Supplier Portal has them begin at the beginning page that has already been completed. This is normal and must be completed again by vendors to respond to a solicitation or bid.
After logging into the Supplier Portal the Event ID must be entered and then the default dated date of the last day of the solicitation must be deleted and todays dated entered.
If you are having a payment or account issue with your Supplier Portal account please access the Help section of the Supplier Portal.
