Supplier Portal FAQs

WSSC Water’s Supplier Portal serves as the central (and only) site for suppliers to register to do business with WSSC Water. To receive e-mail notifications on contract opportunities, suppliers must register in the WSSC Water Supplier Portal identifying their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry code for the commodity and services they wish to receive notifications. Each supplier must provide a primary NAICS code in their profile and may select additional codes. 

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced Nakes) was developed under the direction and guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the standard for use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data describing the U.S. economy.  NAICS is based on a production-oriented concept, meaning that it groups establishments into industries according to similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services. NAICS replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997.

• Yes, all firms are required to register.  
• Once in the WSSC Water Supplier Portal, go to the Business Classifications section (Step 2) and check all that are applicable to your firm.  
• Use the drop down under Minority Type, enter the certification number, certification agency and the expiration date.
• You will also need to enter this information in the Supplier Profile Attributes section.  
• Before completing your profile, click the Add Attachment and attach your most recent certification letter.  
• Your minority business status will not be considered until a verified copy of your certification letter from one of the five approved agencies is received.
• Please remember, as a MBE firm, all NAICS codes entered in your profile must be approved by your certification agency.
• Once all information is confirmed, the WSSC Water Supplier Portal profile will be updated to indicate that you are an eligible bidder for solicitations with a minority business status requirement. 

Yes! The WSSC Water​ Supplier Portal does affect current contracts awarded. In order to receive bid notifications or bid documents in the future, you must be registered in the WSSC Water Supplier Portal. 

The information in your supplier profile will be valid for as long as you do business with WSSC Water. However, in the future, you may receive a notification for your Certificates of Insurance, when added to your profile or if, you are an approved as a certified SLMBE supplier, you will receive notification if your Certificate expires.

No. You must register in the WSSC Water Supplier Portal in order to receive bid notifications that correspond to your NAICS code(s). 

Check to see if your NAICS code in your company profile matches the NAICS code(s) on the solicitation; Check the solicitation type to determine if it is a sheltered market (ex: MBE only or SLBE only). These are two frequent reasons why the solicitation detail will not appear.

Bid tabs should be posted 48 hours after the closing date. Log on as you normally would then:

1. Click on View Bid Opportunities and at the top of the page you will see “Select a Solicitation Status:”
2. Change the drop down box from Open to Evaluation; then click Go when it opens;
3. You should now see the bid tab as a PDF file that you can open with a click.

Type in “%united” then click on the magnifying glass.  Next, use the “quick select” button and it will automatically fill in United States for you. Additional guidance may also be found on page 6 and 51 of the document below.

WSSC Supplier Portal User Manual Version 2.0 (September 2020).pdf

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You do not get a password until your registration is approved, but you can contact the administrator to send you a status link, so that you can update your profile. Also, Your username will be the email address you entered on the first page of registration.

This is an integrated system, meaning you (the supplier), Procurement, and Accounts Payable will all have access to the same information, which makes it easier to track View bids and solicitations, upload invoices, post bids and solicitations, and make and receive payments.  

It varies.  The administrators are working very hard to approve registrations in a timely fashion.

More than likely, you already have a profile created and approved in the system, contact the administrator to find out if your company is registered and if so, ask to reset the password.

You can add as many contacts and use as you would like in the contact directory.

Yes, training has been scheduled, you can find the link to the schedule here: WSSC Water Supplier Portal Training Schedule and the user maintenance guide can be found here. 

• Negotiation = Solicitation 
• RFI = WSSC WaterRFI (Request for Information), WSSC Water RFQu (Request for Qualifications)
• RFQ = WSSC Water RFP (Request for Proposal), WSSC Water Multi-Step IFB (Invitation for Bid)
• Auction = WSSC Water IFB (Invitation for Bid), WSSC Water RFQ (Request for Quotation)