CPE Services

CPE is a non-profit member organization focused on the support, education and certification of cutting edge solicitation practices that emphasize attracting and hiring high performing vendors. It provides training and certification for procurement professionals, provides standardized documents, and a venue for procurement professionals to network and advance procedures, processes, and systems.

CPE offers a variety of opportunities for general education and certification. We offer an annual conference and are actively promoting regional events. These events provide general training, networking opportunities, and specific educational opportunities. CPE is engaging experienced researchers and educators throughout the US to provide educational and training opportunities. This specifically includes the consortium of researchers/professor of the Simplar Institute. CPE maintains full authority for certifications, with a professional certifying committee consisting of educators, practitioners, and other professionals.

Common Terminology

Solicitation

The process of asking for, or obtaining a good or service from a vendor, supplier, or service provider. During a procurement or tendering process, a solicitation is used as the formal mechanism/procedures for collecting bids, offerors, or proposals.

RFx

For simplicity, a RFx solicitation is a document that describes the methodology and approach for awarding a contract based on factors besides the lowest cost. These documents are commonly referred to in the industry as: Request For Proposal (RFP), Request For Tender (RFT), Request For Qualification (RFQ), etc.

Procurement Officer

The Procurement Officer is an individual that is responsible for outsourcing and contracting goods and services and the conduct of an RFx (preparing the document, issuing the document, receiving proposals, etc.) The procurement Officer can also be referred to the industry as: Buyer, Contracting Officer, Supply Chain Officer, etc