(2) Bid Quotation Request ao A printed formal request shall be forwarded to three or more prospective major suppliers. This formal bid quotation request shall contain the following infornmation as supplied to the prospective bidder: date of issuance, bid return dead-line date, number of signed bid copies required, material requisition reference number, item number, item quantity, complete item description and nomenclature, along with complete packaging, crating and marking requirement. All quotation requests are checked and proof read to the corresponding requisition to assure complete accuracy prior to being forwarded to prospective bidders. A list of the prospective bidders is attached to the "Request for Quotation" and both sheets are clip- ped together and filed in the "Active Quotation File" until such time as the returned signed copies of the vendors' bids are received. (3) Tabulation of Bids a. Upon the receipt of all bids, the bids are then tabu- lated on a prepared tabulation sheet in order to gain a basic comparison of bids on the points of overall cost, material quality, and bidders’ delivery dates. Vendors' sales slips and/or sales quotation copies shall be computed for accuracy of all prices and charges involved. This computation procedure shall apply to all purchase level classifications. (4) Award Procedure a. Bid award is normally made on the basis of "lowest cost price.” Awards shall be made on the basis of "best delivery date" whenever necessary to conform with construction use requirements. "Split bid" awards will be made only in such cases where the difference in cost or the difference in delivery date of individual items, or total group of items, is of sufficient consequence to warrant the splitting of such items, and/or group of items. A "no bid" as returned by the bidder will be considered a competitive bid when supported by a written letter and reason for "no bid". 13-41