Sole source is a type of contracting in which the government awards its procurement dollars in a non-competitive manner. In sole source, contracts are awarded in favor of one firm at the expense of those with better opportunities to compete (Curry, 2010). A competition contract is whereby many suppliers are invited to a bidding process, such that the winning seller is given the contract by the government (Li & Wan, 2017). The government should determine the best procurement method between sole-source and competition contracts that is less expensive and takes a shorter time, with fewer chances of corruption. The advantage of sole-source is that costs, efforts, and risks are avoided. With sole-source, much cost and time involved in the selection process of the best supplier is avoided (Li & Wan, 2017). One advantage of competition contracts is that the government has opportunities for lower prices as many bidders offer services. The government always chooses competition since they want to engage with the best providers (Blade, 2010). Competition always attracts the best companies for the contract, which implies that they are deemed eligible to offer the needed services. One disadvantage of sole source is that most government contracts consider it as one which does not comply with the recommended procedures. Contracts are awarded to preferred bidders, giving people a chance to compromise standards (Giagreco, 2016). Thus, Sole-sourcing is susceptible to corruption and fraud, which caused government institutions to be challenged in providing public service. For competition contracts, the government takes a lot of time in the selection process as many bidders are involved in the process. In conclusion, procurement planning should be accompanied by sufficient market research that would inform the need for the best approach to award contracts. However, the commitment to competition should be prioritized over sole-source because of the many benefits of competitive prices and fewer corrupt cases. On the other hand, sole-source contracting may lower costs and time taken to select a supplier, but the process is exposed to corruption.
References
Blade, T. (2010). TPS bypasses local firms: Contractors urge a change in policy on awarding jobs.
Curry, W. S. (2010). Government contracting: Promises and perils. Routledge: New York & London.
Giangreco, L. (2016). Ayotte pushes for sole-source as authorizers seek Compass Call competition. Inside the Air Force, 27 (21), 1-11.
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Li, C., & Wan, Z. (2017). Supplier competition and cost improvement. Management Science, 63 (8), 2460-2477.
