Your first DLA quote, step by step

DLA can only award to a company with an active SAM.gov registration. Registration is free and gives you a five-character CAGE code. If you already have one, type it; we check the public registry.

Paste up to five of your part numbers. For each one the record shows the stock number, what DLA paid last time, how many times it bought in three years, what is open right now, and how many approved sources it lists. No account.

Have a spreadsheet? The same numbers work as an Excel formula: spreadsheet functions.

A good first quote is small, open to everyone, and has a price history so you know where you stand. These are open now with at least four days left, no source-approval, first-article, QPL or export gate in the text, quantity under 500, and prior awards on the stock number. Pick your class.

Every solicitation page here has a “Can you quote this?” list read from the solicitation text: gates first (source approval, qualified products list, first article, export-controlled data), then requirements (packaging standard, inspection point, higher-level quality clause), then terms (FOB, fast pay, delivery days, quantity variance). Starters have no gates, but read the rest before you price: MIL-STD-2073 packaging and origin inspection change what the job costs.

Two clauses trip first-timers most. Delivery days count from the award date, not from when you start. FOB origin vs destination decides who pays freight; destination means you do, so price it in.

Plain words; the official instructions are in DIBBS itself under Help.

1. Sign in to DIBBS with your CAGE code. Under RFQs, search the solicitation number from step 3 (it starts with SPE).
2. Open the solicitation and click to submit a quote. The form asks for your unit price, the quantity you are quoting (the full quantity unless you are offering a partial), delivery in days after award, and whether you accept the terms as written or take exceptions. Taking exceptions rarely wins a small buy.
3. Say what you are offering: a new part made by you (your CAGE as the manufacturer), a part from an approved manufacturer (their CAGE and part number), or surplus (only where the solicitation allows it).
4. Check the packaging and inspection terms you read in step 4 and confirm you can meet them.
5. Submit. You get a confirmation. You can revise the quote until the return date.

Pricing: the last-paid figure is a data point, not a target. It is one award on one date at one quantity. Price your cost, your packaging, your freight if FOB destination, and a margin you can live with; the record tells you whether that lands near what DLA has been paying.

Small buys are usually awarded automatically to the lowest priced quote that meets the terms, within days to a few weeks. If you win, the award is a purchase order in DIBBS and by email; you build, pack to the standard, ship with the required marking, and invoice through the government's PIEE / WAWF system; payment follows the terms (net 30, or faster with fast pay). If you lose, the award is public here within a day: the winner, the price, the date. That number is your next quote's best information.

Every government link on this page goes to the official site. Registration on SAM.gov and DIBBS is free. PartsAndPlanes.com LLC and GovBidOps are private companies, not affiliated with DLA or any government agency. Data, not advice.