How To Do Business with the State of California

Date: September 15, 2026
Time: 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM
Ballroom A

This session covers a general overview of the various types of procurements managed by the California Department of General Services Procurement Division. We’ll talk about the different leveraged procurement agreements and how to find opportunities on Cal eProcure. We’ll then focus the discussion to talk more about statewide commodity contracts and one time purchase solicitations. Suppliers will see sustainability requirements in these procurements and we will talk about what to look out for and what not to do. State procurement is very rigid and is layered with lots of laws and regulations. Not many people out there know how purchasing works and may be reluctant to submit a bid but this session is for those who are interested a quick session to hear about the process we do at the Dept. of General Services. It’s going to be presented by members of the branch who responsible for writing the technical and sustainability requirements in DGS’s solicitations. This branch is also responsible for evaluating bids to determine compliance to technical requirements so it’s a good opportunity for them to teach to help suppliers understand and for audience members to learn.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Have a general understanding of the complex landscape of state procurement
• Become familiar with the different units we have and who they could reach out to in the future
• Know what sustainability requirements are in a solicitation and understand what we’re asking for
• Learn from the presenters what we’ve seen suppliers should not do in invitations for bids.

Speakers:
Brenden Jiang, Engineering Branch Chief, California Department of General Services
Tony Wang, Senior Procurement Engineer, California Department of General Services