Sole Source/Proprietary Procurement

Before You Start 

• Sole source/proprietary goods/services refers to goods/services that are only available from one single source (i.e., vendor).  
• Sole source procurements are eligible to bypass source selection because there is only one vendor offering the good/service being purchased, so price comparison between vendors cannot occur.
• Sole source procurement is very rare. Modern service and commodity markets almost always have multiple businesses competing in their respective marketplace. 
• Per Arkansas Procurement Laws and Rules (APLR) §19-11-232, the source qualification is met only when commodities and services are procurements which, by virtue of the performance specifications, are available only from a single source and cannot be competitively procured. 
• If a purchase qualifies for sole source procurement, the procedures below must be followed. Use the Source Selection Worksheet to confirm qualification for sole source procurement. 

Workflow as Steps 

1. Download the Sole Source Justification Form from the Procurement Services forms page.  
2. Fill out the form. 
3. When you are at the point of creating a requisition for your purchase, use the Internal Memo field to indicate Sole Source and attach the completed Sole Source Justification form. 
4. If the use of sole source procurement method is valid and there are no issues with your requisition, the Buyer will approve the requisition.