How to read a DIBBS RFQ in five minutes

Where the request comes from

DLA's Internet Bid Board System, DIBBS, is where DLA posts requests for quotation under the simplified acquisition threshold. Each has a solicitation number like SPE4A626T1234: SPE4A6 is the buying activity (DLA Aviation at Richmond), the next two digits the fiscal year, then a letter for the type and a serial. We keep every aviation RFQ at /dla/{number} with the same fields DIBBS shows, plus the history DIBBS does not put on the same screen.

The four fields that decide it

• AMSC, the acquisition method suffix code. G means unrestricted: the government has the data and anyone can quote. A is also open. H, P, R and T mean source-controlled, data rights restricted, source approval required, or qualified products list: quote only if you are an approved source or can supply the approved source's part with trace. The page spells the code out.
• Set-aside. Small business, service-disabled veteran, HUBZone, 8(a), or none. If it is set aside and you do not qualify, stop.
• Quantity and unit of issue. Quote in the unit requested. A request for 12 BX of 100 is 1,200 pieces; a quote for 12 EA is wrong and loses.
• Due date and time. DIBBS closes at the stated time in Eastern time. The page shows days left; the badge turns red at three.

What the government paid before

The procurement history on the page lists previous awards of the same stock number with the winning vendor, the quantity and the unit cost, and the median over three years. Price a first quote near the median unless the quantity is far larger or smaller than the history. When the award is posted, the page records the outcome, so you learn who beat you and by how much.

Quoting

Quoting happens on DIBBS itself, with a DIBBS account and a CAGE code. Sellers here get every RFQ that matches a stock number they list on the dashboard, ranked by price edge against the history, with a prefilled quote. See what the government is buying this week.