The first thing to understand about “no bid” contracts is that there is literally no such thing. What is referred to as “no bid” really means “sole sourced.” Sole sourced contracts are not put out to competitive bid, but are rather aimed at one supplier. The single supplier is given a request for a bid on a specified item or service, the supplier responds with a bid, the government accepts or rejects the bid, and if accepted, a contract is then negotiated and signed.