SERVING TENNESSEE GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM TENNESSEE AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built for cities, counties, and school districts, with documentation structured to hold up under comptroller review, no matter which framework your agency is governed by. PlanetBids automates and manual tasks and streamlines purchasing workflows for faster, more compliant, more competitive bidding for public agencies. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to Tennessee agencies, like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
Tennessee agencies Cooperative purchasing options are available to allow your agency to purchase PlanetBids without a new competitive solicitation. Ask our team about options for your agency type.
TRUSTED BY AGENCIES ACROSS THE SOUTH
From the Kentucky bluegrass to the Florida Everglades and from the big skies of Texas to the peach trees of Georgia, public agencies across the south rely on PlanetBids to run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW REWA EMBRACED DIGITAL PROCUREMENT
- Eliminated paper costs and travel to the ReWa offices to submit proposals and hear bid awards – replaced 1,000- to 2,000-page construction solicitations and large paper bid submissions
- All information related to a bid is stored and tracked in one place, with a central vendor portal for questions and answers and addenda release
- When issues arise, research can be conducted within PlanetBids – every step of the procurement process is tracked, helping defend a decision with hard facts
- PlanetBids handles all agency and vendor customer support, with a U.S.-based, in-house team of former procurement professionals and technical experts
"Customer service became a very important benefit for us. Some eProcurement systems might outsource or minimize this in their offering, but it's an important reason for our success. PlanetBids has tremendous customer support and has been there from the beginning for user adoption through ongoing support as issues might arise."
Stephanie Selman
Senior Purchasing Agent, Renewable Water Resources
TENNESSEE PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW TENNESSEE AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Tennessee has no single statewide purchasing code. A given county operates under any of several statutory frameworks that apply. PlanetBids is designed to conform to whatever guidance your agency must follow, helping small offices and one-person procurement teams eliminate time consuming and paper-heavy manual processes in favor of streamlined, automated, documented workflows that make compliance simple.
County Purchasing Law of 1957 & 1983
PlanetBids documents the public notice, bid opening and award for every solicitation run under whichever of the two county purchasing laws applies for your agency, giving you a record that demonstrates process compliance.
County Financial Management System of 1981
PlanetBids structures solicitation and award records to a consistent, repeatable format for counties, supporting the documentation standard the finance office must have on file.
County Uniform Highway Law
Centralize solicitation notice, addenda release and acknowledgement, and bid opening records for highway department purchases under Tenn. Code Ann. § 54-7-113, demonstrating defensible procurement.
Title 49 School Purchasing
Centralize and document RFP and bid posting, vendor notification, and award records for LEA purchasing supervisors, giving school officials an easily accessible, exportable file for board presentation and audit.
Division of Local Government Audits
Every notice, addendum, and bid opening is timestamped and centralized for easy access to provide a complete procurement trail to Comptroller's Division of Local Government Audit reviews.
Federal DBE Outreach
Automated vendor outreach logs and vendor-submitted business certification tracking generate good faith effort records required for federally-funded highway, transit, or airport projects under the USDOT-mandated DBE program.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
Cooperative Purchasing Options
Tennessee agencies may be able to purchase PlanetBids through an existing cooperative contract like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS), eliminating the need for a new competitive solicitation. Ask your PlanetBids rep about available cooperative vehicles for your agency type.
PROCUREMENT EXPERTISE
NPI-CERTIFIED
PlanetBids is certified as an Achievement in Excellence® (AEP) eProcurement Certified platform by the National Procurement Institute, meeting critical standards for Electronic Sourcing (AEP Criteria 7b) and Electronic Evaluations and Automatic Scorecarding (7c).
EVENT PRESENCE
INDUSTRY EVENT SPONSOR
PlanetBids is a proud member of NIGP and a regular attendee and sponsor of the NIGP Annual Forum, as well as attending annual American Public Works Association and Government Finance Officers Association events nationwide.
THE PLATFORM
EVERYTHING YOUR PROCUREMENT TEAM NEEDS, NOTHING YOU DON'T.
PlanetBids is a modular, end-to-end procurement lifecycle platform. Start with what you need and add modules as your agency grows.
Requests & Solicitations
Create, publish, and manage IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs from guided templates. Get live countdowns, drag-and-drop documents, and real-time status tracking.
Vendor Management
Create a centralized vendor registry with real-time Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB certification verification. Automated outreach by commodity code generates good-faith effort documentation for State Comptroller pre-audit packages and Empire State Development utilization reports.
Compliance & Audit Trails
Every action is timestamped and logged, with automatic bid tabulation, sealed bid verification, and complete documentation trails that hold up to protests – $50B+ processed, zero valid protests.
Contract Management
Centralize awarded contracts with automated expiration alerts, amendment tracking, and insurance certificate management so you ever miss a renewal or compliance deadline.
Project Evaluation
Multi-round scoring with unlimited evaluators, consensus or individual scoring modes, and exportable matrices supports complex RFP evaluations for capital projects and bond programs.
AI with Guardrails
AI tools are built specifically for public procurement, with the compliance controls government agencies require. Get faster drafting and smarter vendor matching, within the boundaries your policies demand.
Requests & Solicitations
Create, publish, and manage IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs from guided templates. Get live countdowns, drag-and-drop documents, and real-time status tracking.
Vendor Management
Create a centralized vendor registry with real-time Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB certification verification. Automated outreach by commodity code generates good-faith effort documentation for State Comptroller pre-audit packages and Empire State Development utilization reports.
Compliance & Audit Trails
Every action is timestamped and logged, with automatic bid tabulation, sealed bid verification, and complete documentation trails that hold up to protests – $50B+ processed, zero valid protests.
Contract Management
Centralize awarded contracts with automated expiration alerts, amendment tracking, and insurance certificate management so you ever miss a renewal or compliance deadline.
Project Evaluation
Multi-round scoring with unlimited evaluators, consensus or individual scoring modes, and exportable matrices supports complex RFP evaluations for capital projects and bond programs.
AI with Guardrails
AI tools are built specifically for public procurement, with the compliance controls government agencies require. Get faster drafting and smarter vendor matching, within the boundaries your policies demand.
THE VENDOR ADVANTAGE
MORE QUALIFIED BIDDERS, ZERO VENDOR PHONE CALLS TO YOUR TEAM.
A deep, pre-qualified vendor network and a dedicated support team handles vendors for you, so your purchasing office can focus on procurement, not vendor phone calls.
VENDOR
NETWORK
40K+ qualified vendors ready to bid on your solicitations
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Vendors are matched to your bids by commodity code, no manual outreach lists required
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Agencies typically jump from 3-4 responses to 10-12 submittals per bid after switching to PlanetBids
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Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB classifications are built in to meet Tennessee's 30% MWBE utilization goals for state-funded projects
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Vendors can register and bid for free, removing the friction that keeps small businesses out
EXCLUSIVE
DEDICATED
VENDOR SUPPORT
We help your vendors so you don't have to
When a vendor has a question about your solicitation, how to upload documents, or how to register, they call us, not your purchasing office. Our dedicated vendor support team handles it directly so your team stays focused on procurement. For you, this means no more:
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Vendor registration help calls
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Document upload questions
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Bid submission troubleshooting
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Addenda & notification questions
Results: Fewer incomplete bids, more competitive responses, and hours back in your team's week, every single procurement cycle.
VENDOR NETWORK
40K+ qualified vendors ready to bid on your solicitations
-
Vendors are matched to your bids by commodity code, no manual outreach lists required
-
Agencies typically jump from 3-4 responses to 10-12 submittals per bid after switching to PlanetBids
-
Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB classifications are built in to meet Tennessee's 30% MWBE utilization goals for state-funded projects
-
Vendors can register and bid for free, removing the friction that keeps small businesses out
DEDICATED VENDOR SUPPORT
We help your vendors so you don't have to
When a vendor has a question about your solicitation, how to upload documents, or how to register, they call us, not your purchasing office. Our dedicated vendor support team handles it directly so your team stays focused on procurement. For you, this means no more:
-
Vendor registration help calls
-
Document upload questions
-
Bid submission troubleshooting
-
Addenda & notification questions
Results: Fewer incomplete bids, more competitive responses, and hours back in your team's week, every single procurement cycle.
WHO WE ARE
Built by procurement professionals, for procurement professionals
PlanetBids was founded specifically for the public procurement industry, and we understand the needs of procurement professionals. That origin matters, as every feature, every workflow, and every support interaction are designed to reflect how actual purchasing teams manage work under budget pressure, public scrutiny, and legal compliance requirements.
Designed for public procurement since 2000
We're not an ERP company that added a procurement module. We're not a startup that pivoted into GovTech. We're not a big conglomerate chasing a new market. We are a 25-year-old company whose entire business is built around making procurement professionals more effective.
100% US-based support staff with procurement backgrounds
Our in-house support team includes people with real public procurement backgrounds. When you call with a question about sealed bid procedures or vendor protest prevention, you're talking to someone who has managed that process themselves and understands your issues.
A solid foundation of PlanetBids agencies
550+ agencies. 1,000+ users. 99% retention. Zero valid bid protests across $50B+ in contracts processed. Our company has stayed focused on one thing for 25 years, and we have the track record to prove it.
WHAT TENNESSEE PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Can our Tennessee agency purchase PlanetBids without going through a new bid process?
Potentially yes, depending on your agency type and purchasing thresholds, cooperative purchasing options may be available that allow Tennessee agencies to execute a contract without issuing a new competitive solicitation. PlanetBids is currently available on the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) cooperative. Contact our team to discuss the procurement paths available for your specific agency.
If a direct procurement path is preferred, our team can provide pre-approved legal resolution language addressing common counsel concerns.
Which purchasing law applies to my county, and does PlanetBids handle that for us?
We cannot know which of Tennessee's purchasing laws applies to your county or agency, and PlanetBids doesn't determine which law you fall under. Contact your county attorney or the County Technical Assistance Service to determine that. PlanetBids doesn't specifically conform to any one purchasing law or process. It is designed to be customizable to your agency's needs, requirements, and thresholds to help you stay compliant no matter the regulations you face.
Do we still have to publish a legal notice in the newspaper for new solicitations?
That depends. Many Tennessee purchasing statutes still reference newspaper publication requirements. PlanetBids does not currently post solicitations or RFPs to any local publications. PlanetBids does, however, post all solicitations to your dedicated PlanetBids vendor portal, where agencies can register and download bid documents for free and submit secure, encrypted digital bids. The vendor portal helps you reach a larger audience of potential bidders for more competition and outreach compliance.
Will PlanetBids help with our Comptroller audits?
PlanetBids provides a timestamped, exportable record of every bid solicitation, addenda release, vendor communication, and award documentation, which is typically responsive to Division of Local Government Audit purchasing compliance. Final sufficiency is determined by your auditor.
We're a small utility district under the Utility District Law. Is PlanetBids overkill for us?
Not at all. PlanetBids is designed to scale to your agency's size and requirements, from enterprise-grade metropolitan cities with massive procurement teams to single-user, small-board, low-volume posting workflows.
How does PlanetBids support school purchasing under Title 49?
PlanetBids centralizes RFP and bid posting and vendor notification for LEA purchasing supervisors, with an exportable record for board presentation and audit.
Can our development district use PlanetBids on behalf of member counties?
Yes, for grant-funded regional procurement, PlanetBids can be used by an engineering firm, consultant, or central body representing several member agencies. Governance and authority should be confirmed against the specific terms involved.
How long does implementation take?
Most agencies are up and running within a few weeks, including implementation, integration, vendor migration, customization, and training. There is no need to add or move around staff to manage the transition. In some cases, agencies with tight deadlines can be live in just a few days.
PlanetBids does charge a one-time setup fee that covers all implementation, customization, and training.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBids is a SaaS subscription platform with no per-bid, solicitation, or vendor fees. Pricing is tiered based on desired features and functionality, number of full user licenses required, and number of solicitations released annually. Because of the custom nature of our pricing, we recommend reaching out to our sales team for a quote tailored to your agency.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR TENNESSEE AGENCY?
Book a 30-minute demo with a member of our dedicated public sector sales team. We'll show you the platform, walk through the TIPS contract process, and answer questions specific to your agency type.
Available on TIPS cooperative with no new RFP required
Documents and timestamps every step of your procurement workflow, regardless of the purchasing law you follow
US-based in-house support with extensive procurement expertise
Pricing is tiered, with options for any agency size and budget
99% client retention means our clients love us