Sole source procurement occurs due to which situation?

Sole source procurement occurs due to which situation?

• A. The market has multiple qualified vendors
• B. Inability to obtain competition due to a proprietary right such as patent or IP
• C. The vendor requests sole source status
• D. The contract is for services only

Answer: (B)

Sole source procurement happens when you can’t obtain competition because a proprietary right or IP protections give exclusive rights to a single supplier. If a technology, device, or solution is patented or licensed in such a way that only one vendor can legally or practically provide it, inviting bids from others wouldn’t yield viable alternatives. In that situation, buying from that one source is the only way to meet the requirement, and it’s typically justified with documentation and proper approvals. That’s why this option is the best fit. Having multiple qualified vendors means competition exists, so it wouldn’t be sole source. A vendor merely requesting sole source status isn’t by itself justification for awarding to them; you still need to demonstrate that competition isn’t possible. And a contract being for services alone doesn’t automatically make it sole source unless the service can only be provided by a single vendor.

Sole source procurement happens when you can’t obtain competition because a proprietary right or IP protections give exclusive rights to a single supplier. If a technology, device, or solution is patented or licensed in such a way that only one vendor can legally or practically provide it, inviting bids from others wouldn’t yield viable alternatives. In that situation, buying from that one source is the only way to meet the requirement, and it’s typically justified with documentation and proper approvals.

That’s why this option is the best fit. Having multiple qualified vendors means competition exists, so it wouldn’t be sole source. A vendor merely requesting sole source status isn’t by itself justification for awarding to them; you still need to demonstrate that competition isn’t possible. And a contract being for services alone doesn’t automatically make it sole source unless the service can only be provided by a single vendor.