Oh, By The Way…

I am willing to state that a great majority of bid packages issued in the United States have sole sourced items included in the bid package. I am willing to go out on a limb and say it occurs on close to 80% of the packages issued.  There are two types of sole sourced items.  The first one, which is the most obvious, is when the architect or engineer simply states that the item will be provided by manufacturer “X” with no approved equals.  

The second type is much more difficult to notice but can still eliminate competition and increase costs.  Rather minuscule items can be included in the specs so only one manufacturer is able to meet the requirements.  

You may be wondering why the architect or engineer would purposely increase costs on a project?  The answer is they don’t even realize what is in their own specifications!  Manufacturers “help” with supplying already written specifications for items they produce.  At a glance it will appear to be a generic spec with typical requirements.  The truth is that this is a very smart way for a manufacturer to gain an edge over their competition.  Even though two pieces of equipment from different manufacturers may have the same performance, there are subtle ways that they differ.  In the “generic” spec, the manufacturer is able to slip these subtle items such as a certain coating, a process, or design that is unique to their product so the competitor is either unable to meet the requirements or has to increase the cost to specially produce the item.  The problem then gets compounded when the architect or engineer copies and pastes these specifications from project to project to save time and money.  

The only way for the industry to get a handle on the sole sourced supplier problem and reduce construction costs is for the architects and engineers to actually research and write their own specifications.  Then all comparable manufacturers will be able to quote the projects on an equal playing field.