Automated awards and bid without exception

DLA can use automated evaluation for eligible simplified-acquisition RFQs on DIBBS. Automation is conditional, not universal. Eligibility, exceptions, evaluation and timing are all set by the individual solicitation.

The operating rule for a supplier is short. Read the RFQ, then read the Master Solicitation revision that RFQ references. Neither the dollar value of the buy nor the appearance of the DIBBS screen tells you which evaluation path applies.

Where the automated rules come from

Document	What it governs	Where it is published
DLA Master Solicitation for Automated Simplified Acquisitions	Automated eligibility, exceptions, evaluation factors, timing, manual evaluation, FAT and PLT treatment	Identified on the DLA Procurement Policy and Directives page
The individual RFQ	Item-level qualification, source, quality, packaging, delivery and inspection requirements	DIBBS
FAR 2.101	Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition	acquisition.gov
FAR Subpart 5.2	Federal notice rules and their exceptions	acquisition.gov
DLAD Procurement Notes, effective 2026-07-17	Procurement Note L09, reverse auction procedure	dla.mil

Precedence. An automated RFQ on DIBBS incorporates the Master Solicitation by reference. The RFQ may add requirements on top of it. The individual RFQ can add requirements, and an explicit solicitation term controls if it conflicts with a term incorporated from the Master Solicitation.

Revision numbers change, so read the reference on the RFQ

DLA revises the Master Solicitation several times a year. The binding text is the revision in effect on the date the solicitation was issued, which makes the reference printed on the RFQ in front of you the only one that matters. Rules recalled from a prior quote may belong to a document that has since been superseded.

No revision number is cited anywhere in this lesson. Confirm the current revision on the DLA Procurement Policy and Directives page before relying on a number quoted in any secondary source.

The threshold is a precondition, not a qualification

The Master Solicitation applies to automated eProcurement acquisitions valued at or below the applicable Simplified Acquisition Threshold. FAR 2.101 sets the general threshold at $350,000 and defines higher thresholds for specified contingency and emergency circumstances (checked 2026-07-30). Being below the applicable threshold does not make every acquisition eligible for a fully automated award. Dollar value and eligibility are two separate tests.

What makes a quotation qualified for automated evaluation

Part I, paragraph 3 of the Master Solicitation sets the entry conditions. Evaluation opens at the stated time for receipt of quotations and covers qualified quotations only. Three conditions apply at once:

• submitted through DIBBS
• in exact compliance with the solicitation
• entered under the DIBBS bid type bid without exception

Eligibility also depends on the qualification, source, quality, packaging, delivery and inspection requirements cited in the RFQ. The Master Solicitation gives three examples:

• export-control approvals
• a specified qualified products list (QPL) or qualified manufacturers list (QML) for the manufacturer being quoted
• an applicable qualified supplier list for the quoter

The test is the text of the solicitation at hand, not the requirement set that usually appears on similar items.

Evaluation applies stated factors, not a raw price ranking

Among qualified quotations, the automated program evaluates price and then applies the evaluation factors stated in the Master Solicitation and the RFQ. Those stated factors include:

• specific adjustments for some surplus offers
• certain critical-safety-item evaluations
• applicable domestic-source rules
• tie-breaking rules

Two consequences follow for pricing. A quotation that is not eligible is not rescued by a low entered price. And between two qualified quotations, the higher entered price can take the award once the stated adjustments are applied.

What "bid without exception" does and does not mean

bid without exception is the DIBBS status required for automated evaluation. It is not an assurance that every entry a supplier makes is treated the same way. The Master Solicitation sorts entries into two groups and names them explicitly.

Entries that do NOT make a quotation ineligible	Entries that DO make a quotation ineligible for automated award
Certain delivery changes	An alternate product
Eligible surplus offers	Exceptions to packaging or inspection requirements
Specified part-number corrections	Excess quantity variance
	Quotation remarks

Two rules follow from that split.

1. A difference from the requested value does not automatically end automated eligibility. Quotes get abandoned over delivery adjustments and part-number corrections that the document expressly permits. Check the current list before writing a requirement off as unmeetable.
2. Treat the remarks field as a decision, not a courtesy. Quotation remarks sit in the right-hand column above no matter how useful the text is, and so does an alternate-product entry.

Stepping outside the RFQ as written is a legitimate choice. It should be a deliberate one. An alternate offer can carry value for a later procurement, but the Master Solicitation excludes alternate offers from automated award.

When the evaluation is manual

Trigger	What happens
First Article Testing (FAT) requirement	Not a candidate for automated evaluation or award. Evaluated and awarded manually
Production Lot Testing (PLT) requirement	Not a candidate for automated evaluation or award. Evaluated and awarded manually
Automated evaluation is not used, or the system cannot make a fully automated award	A contracting officer evaluates the factors stated in the solicitation

On the manual path the stated factors may include price, delivery, past performance, and applicable Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) information. That changes the pricing posture. Automated price logic does not transfer to a FAT requirement, an alternate offer, or any other procurement routed to manual review, and past performance carries weight there that it does not carry in an automated evaluation.

Timing is solicitation-specific

No universal "awarded within days" figure exists. The baseline in the Master Solicitation is that automated evaluation generally begins at the quotation return date and time. Several documented procedures depart from that baseline.

Procedure	Effect on timing
Fast Auto Evaluation	Applies to qualifying purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold
Documented urgency	Separate handling identified in the Master Solicitation
Certain RFQs with longer response periods	Different handling identified in the Master Solicitation
Price negotiations with qualified quotations in the competitive range	Permits an extension of 3 business days

The operating clock is the set of dates and notices printed on the RFQ. Prior award history is useful for planning how a given item tends to move, and it does not displace the terms of the current solicitation.

Reverse auctions are not automatic

Procurement Note L09 in the DLAD Procurement Notes, effective 2026-07-17, covers solicitations where the contracting officer may use a reverse auction. The note is permissive. The technique may be used for price discussions, and offerors are notified if it is used. Where no reverse auction occurs, the government may award on initial offers or after other discussions.

Read the signal narrowly. An invitation means the procurement entered that price-discussion process. The absence of an invitation says nothing about an opening price and nothing about the compliance of a quotation.

DIBBS and SAM.gov serve different notice functions

Automated RFQs covered by the Master Solicitation are located on DIBBS. Whether a related notice also appears through SAM.gov depends on the federal publicizing rules and any applicable exception. FAR Subpart 5.2 requires many proposed contract actions to be transmitted to the Governmentwide point of entry and lists exceptions, including a conditional exception for some actions not expected to exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

In practice, monitor DIBBS for DIBBS RFQs and treat SAM.gov as an additional notice source. Neither system substitutes for the other.

Three corrections to common belief

Common belief	What the documents say
Every DIBBS quote is evaluated automatically	Eligibility is separate from dollar value, and FAT or PLT requirements are manual by rule
The lowest compliant price takes the award	Stated evaluation factors apply, with adjustments for surplus, critical safety items and domestic-source rules, plus tie-breaking
Any deviation disqualifies the quotation	Certain delivery changes, eligible surplus offers and specified part-number corrections expressly do not end eligibility. Quotation remarks and alternate products do

The six-step review sequence

1. Open the RFQ and confirm that it references the current Master Solicitation.
2. Determine whether the procurement is a candidate for automated evaluation or requires manual review.
3. Check every qualification, source, quality, packaging, delivery and inspection requirement cited in the RFQ.
4. Review Part I, paragraph 3 before selecting bid without exception or entering remarks.
5. Price against the stated evaluation method rather than a generalized lowest-price rule.
6. Save the submitted quotation, the incorporated terms, the revision number, and any DIBBS email notice with the pursuit record.

Step 6 earns its place the first time a question arises about what was agreed to, against a document that has been revised more than once since award.

Frequently asked questions

What does "bid without exception" mean on DIBBS?

It is the DIBBS bid type a quotation must carry to enter automated evaluation. Compliance with the solicitation is still required, and the current Master Solicitation defines which entries count as exceptions for automated eligibility. Check that list before submitting.

Does the lowest price always take an automated DLA award?

No. Price is evaluated among qualified quotations, then the stated evaluation factors and tie rules are applied. A low entered price does not cure an ineligible quotation, and manual procurements are decided on the factors stated in their own solicitations.

How fast are automated DIBBS awards?

There is no universal number of days. Evaluation is tied to the RFQ return date, with separate early-evaluation, urgency and negotiation procedures on top of it. Use the dates and DIBBS notices on the specific RFQ.

Do automated DLA buys appear on SAM.gov?

Automated RFQs covered by the Master Solicitation are on DIBBS. A separate SAM.gov notice depends on FAR Part 5 and the facts of the acquisition, so neither system should be treated as a universal substitute for the other.

Primary sources

Source	Used for	Where published
DLA Procurement Policy and Directives	Identifies the current Master Solicitation and its incorporation into automated DIBBS RFQs	dla.mil/Acquisition/Policy-and-Directives/
DLA Master Solicitation for Automated Simplified Acquisitions	Automated eligibility, qualified quotations, exceptions, evaluation factors, timing, manual evaluation, FAT and PLT treatment	Linked from the DLA Procurement Policy and Directives page
FAR 2.101	Simplified Acquisition Threshold, $350,000 general threshold plus higher contingency and emergency thresholds	acquisition.gov/far/2.101
FAR Subpart 5.2	Federal notice rules and exceptions	acquisition.gov/far/subpart-5.2
DLAD Procurement Notes, effective 2026-07-17	Procurement Note L09, reverse auction procedure	dla.mil

Volatile figures on this page were last checked 2026-07-30.

Part of How DIBBS Actually Works.