Informal Solicitation (UN)

Informal Solicitation in UN procurement is the simplified competitive process applied to purchases between $4,000 and $40,000, under which a procurement officer contacts at least three eligible suppliers and requests written quotations, evaluating responses without the full procedural apparatus of a published formal tender.

What is an Informal Solicitation in UN Procurement?

Between the micro-purchasing threshold (below $4,000) and the formal-solicitation threshold (above $40,000), UN agencies use an informal process that balances competition with proportionate administrative effort. A procurement officer identifies at least three eligible vendors from the agency's vendor database, the ungm registry, or their own prior experience, and sends each a Request for Quotation (rfq) describing the requirement. Suppliers respond with written quotations covering price, delivery, and any relevant specifications. The officer evaluates responses and awards to the supplier offering the best combination of price, delivery, and quality, documenting the comparison in the procurement file.

Because informal solicitations do not require a public procurement notice, they are invisible to suppliers who are not already known to the agency or discoverable in vendor searches. There is no posted notice on UNGM to trigger a tender alert. This is a structurally different situation from a formal solicitation, where any registered supplier can find and respond to the opportunity through the public notice system.

Why Informal Solicitation matters for bidders

The informal range ($4,000 to $40,000) represents a large number of individual transactions across the UN system, and it is entirely accessible to suppliers who have made themselves findable. The mechanism is simple: a procurement officer needs a vendor to contact for a quotation. Suppliers with a complete and well-coded UNGM profile appear in agency vendor searches; suppliers without one do not. Proactively reaching out to agency procurement divisions to introduce your company, attending UN supplier fairs, and keeping your UNGM profile current are the practical steps that put your name on an officer's shortlist before a requirement arises. Quality and reliability on informal-range orders build the track record that earns invitations to formal solicitations at higher values.

FAQ

Why are informal UN solicitations not posted on UNGM?

The informal process is designed to be proportionate to the low-to-mid transaction value. Running a full public tender for a $10,000 purchase would impose administrative costs that exceed the savings from additional competition. Agencies instead use vendor databases to contact eligible suppliers directly.

How many quotations must a UN agency obtain for an informal solicitation?

A minimum of three written quotations is the standard requirement. Procurement officers are encouraged to contact more vendors when the market is competitive or the requirement is technical, but three is the minimum acceptable for the procurement file.

Can I be invited to quote on informal solicitations without UNGM registration?

It is possible if you have an existing relationship with an agency procurement officer, but UNGM registration is the systematic way to appear in agency vendor searches and be considered for informal solicitations consistently across agencies.