Solutions

DIBBS search, with the price history already read.

samsearch is an AI search layer over DLA DIBBS, the Defense Logistics Agency's bid board. It indexes every open solicitation by NSN, part number, NIIN, CAGE and plain description. It also parses the procurement history buried inside each package, and turns it into a unit price you can bid against.

Search the way the part is described, not the way it is numbered. See what it sold for. Get told the day a solicitation posts against your stock numbers.

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The price history is in the package, where nobody reads it

A DIBBS solicitation is a part number and a quantity. What decides the bid is what that part went for last time.

Procurement historyNSN 5330-01-467-1234

Top 3Top 5All rows

Average unit cost$22.28Straight average of 3 rowsWeighted average$22.43By 663 total unitsObserved range$21.65 to $22.60Across priced rows

CAGE	Contract	Qty	Unit	Awarded
6K404	SPE8E525P0089	359	$22.60	Oct 2024
6K404	SPE8E522P0812	186	$22.60	Mar 2022
6K404	SPE8E516V0722	118	$21.65	Jan 2016
6K404	SPE8ES14M0027	159	$22.25	Oct 2013
1ZKE3	SPM8ES12M1195	185	$26.00	Aug 2012

DLA publishes the history

Prior awards sit inside the solicitation package: winning CAGE codes, contract numbers, quantities, unit prices and dates, going back years. It is genuinely useful data.

Almost nobody reads it

It is fixed-width text inside a document you would only open for a part you had already decided to quote. The information is public and effectively invisible.

Parsed into an answer

samsearch pulls the table out of every package. The most recent awards produce a straight average, a quantity-weighted average and the observed high and low.

You choose the window

An award from a decade ago at a fraction of today's quantity should not weigh the same as one from last year. The number of rows included is adjustable, and the full table stays visible.

Weighted, because volume moves price

A straight average treats a 118-unit award and a 359-unit award as equally informative. The weighted figure reflects what was actually bought. The gap between the two tells you how price-sensitive the item is.

Old awards are shown, not hidden

A part with no award since 2013 is telling you something about the market. Averaging it into a current price would hide exactly that.

Search the way the part is actually described

The native DIBBS interface expects you to already know the number you are looking for.

By NSN, NIIN or part number

Exact match for when you have an identifier. National stock number, NIIN, manufacturer part number or CAGE code, with current and historical solicitations against it.

By description, in plain English

Describe the part or the capability. Semantic search returns solicitations whose nomenclature you would never have guessed, which is most of them.

By what you can actually supply

Filter to the federal supply classes, manufacturers and approved sources you hold. The feed becomes items you could quote, not the whole bid board.

Technical data flags surfaced

Whether drawings are available. Whether the item is source-controlled. Which CAGE codes are named on it. On a source-controlled item, price is irrelevant if you are not on the list.

Quantity and delivery up top

Quantity, unit of issue, required delivery days and destination are pulled to the front. On a supply solicitation those four fields are most of the decision.

Set-aside applied first

Small business, SDVOSB, HUBZone and 8(a) set-asides are filtered before anything reaches you, alongside the automated-award and simplified-acquisition flags.

The package, read on arrival

Even on a supply solicitation the disqualifying detail is in the attachments.

AttachmentsRead on arrival5 files · 214 pages

PDFSolicitation W912DR26R001468 ppRead
PDFAttachment 1, Statement of work94 ppRead
PDFAttachment 2, Wage determination11 ppRead
XLSXAttachment 3, Pricing schedule4 ppRead
PDFAmendment 000237 ppRead

What it says

ScopeFacilities O&M across 14 buildings, 1.2M sq ft

EligibilityTotal small business set-aside, NAICS 561210

EvaluationTechnical significantly more important than price

WatchMandatory site visit added by Amendment 0002

214 pages, summarised before anyone opened the package.

Read for you

The solicitation itself
Drawings and technical data packages
Packaging and marking requirements
Inspection and acceptance terms
Prior award history tables
Amendments to any of it

Pulled out as fields

NSN, NIIN and nomenclature
Quantity and unit of issue
Required delivery days
Approved source list and CAGE codes
Inspection point and FOB terms
Quote due date and time

Asked and answered

Is first article testing required
Are drawings available to us
What packaging level applies
Can we offer an alternate part
What did this last sell for

Alerts on the stock numbers you supply

DIBBS windows are short. The difference between finding a solicitation on day one and day five is most of the time you had.

Save the parts you supply
Stock numbers, federal supply classes, manufacturers or approved-source designations. Or describe your capability and let semantic matching do it.
Every new solicitation is matched
DIBBS issues continuously rather than in cycles. New solicitations against your saved items are picked up as they post.
AI qualifies before sending
Source restrictions, technical data availability and set-aside status are checked first, so you are not emailed items you cannot legally quote.
You quote while the window is open
The alert carries the quantity, the delivery requirement and the historical unit price, so the decision to quote takes minutes.

Graded against what you can actually deliver

A supply solicitation you cannot source is worth exactly nothing. Fit here means sourcing, certification and delivery.

Matched on supply capability

Your federal supply classes, the manufacturers you distribute, and the approved sources you hold. Not keywords in a nomenclature string.

Source restrictions checked first

Items with an approved source list you are not on are filtered out before scoring, rather than sitting in your feed looking winnable.

Delivery feasibility considered

Required delivery days against the lead times you have told samsearch about. A part you can source in twelve weeks is not a fit for a thirty-day requirement.

Repeat demand surfaced

Items that recur on the same stock numbers are worth more than one-off buys. The award history shows which is which before you invest in a source.

Why DIBBS is worth the trouble

The volume is enormous

Solicitations issue continuously
Most are small enough to quote in an afternoon
Awards are frequently price-driven and fast
Repeat demand on the same stock numbers

The barrier is mechanical

No proposal to write
No past performance narrative
Automated award on many simplified acquisitions
A quote is a price, a date and a certification

The edge is information

Prior award prices are published
Incumbent CAGE codes are visible per item
Quantity breaks are inferable from history
Long gaps in award history signal an open market

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DIBBS?

DIBBS is the DLA Internet Bid Board System, the Defense Logistics Agency's portal for defence supply solicitations. It carries requests for quotation for parts, materiel and consumables identified by national stock number. It is separate from SAM.gov, so a company that only watches SAM.gov never sees DIBBS solicitations at all.

Does DIBBS show what a part sold for previously?

Yes. DLA publishes prior award history inside the solicitation package, including the winning CAGE codes, contract numbers, quantities, unit prices and award dates. The data is genuinely useful and almost nobody reads it, because it is fixed-width text inside a document you would only open for a part you had already decided to quote.

How does samsearch use the DIBBS price history?

It parses the award history out of every package and computes a unit price from it. You get a straight average across the most recent awards, a quantity-weighted average, and the observed high and low. The number of rows included is adjustable, because an award from a decade ago at a fraction of today's quantity should not weigh the same as one from last year. The full table stays visible so you can check the arithmetic.

Why is a quantity-weighted average different from a straight average?

Because unit price moves with volume. A straight average treats a 118-unit award and a 359-unit award as equally informative about what you should bid on a large order. The weighted figure reflects the quantities actually purchased, so on a large-quantity solicitation it is usually the better anchor. Showing both makes the spread visible, and that spread is itself a signal about how price-sensitive the item is.

Can I search DIBBS by NSN or part number?

Yes. Search by national stock number, NIIN, manufacturer part number or CAGE code for exact matches. Or describe the item in plain English and let semantic search find solicitations whose nomenclature you would not have guessed. Both run over open and historical solicitations.

Does samsearch read DIBBS attachments?

Yes. Drawings and technical data packages, packaging and marking requirements, inspection and acceptance terms and the award history tables are all processed on arrival. Quantity, unit of issue, required delivery days, approved sources and FOB terms are extracted as fields, so the decision to quote does not require opening the package.

How do I know whether I am allowed to quote an item?

samsearch surfaces the technical data flags from the solicitation before you invest time. Whether drawings are available, whether the item is source-controlled or has an approved-source list, and which CAGE codes are named on it. On a source-controlled item, price is irrelevant if you are not on the list, and that is worth knowing in the first ten seconds.

Will I be alerted when a solicitation posts for my parts?

Yes. Save the stock numbers, federal supply classes, manufacturers or approved-source designations you supply and be notified when a new solicitation matches. Alerts are qualified first, so you are not emailed items you cannot legally quote. DIBBS response windows are short, so the difference between finding a solicitation on day one and day five is a large share of the time available.

Can I ask questions about a DIBBS solicitation?

Yes. Sammy reads the solicitation and its attachments, then answers questions about first article testing, packaging levels, inspection points, alternate part offers and delivery terms. Each answer links to the source document and the phrase it came from.

Is DIBBS good for small businesses?

It is one of the most accessible parts of federal contracting. Many solicitations are simplified acquisitions awarded largely on price and delivery, with no proposal, no past performance narrative and no oral presentations. Set-asides are applied at the solicitation level. The real barriers are supply-side rather than administrative: sourcing, certification and delivery.

How is DIBBS different from SAM.gov?

SAM.gov carries federal contract opportunities above the simplified threshold across every agency. DIBBS carries DLA's supply solicitations, largely for parts and materiel, in far greater volume and at far smaller individual values. They are different systems with different registration and different award mechanics, and neither is a subset of the other.

Can I track DIBBS quotes alongside my other opportunities?

Yes. DIBBS solicitations move onto the same pipeline as federal, SLED, eBuy, grants and every other source, with due dates, tasks and reporting. For teams quoting supply work at volume, the value is usually in never letting a short window pass unnoticed rather than in any single quote.

See what your parts have been selling for.

A demo runs against the stock numbers you actually supply, with the award history priced out.

Book a Demo

DIBBS search, with the price history already read.

Search the way the part is described, not the way it is numbered. See what it sold for. Get told the day a solicitation posts against your stock numbers.

Book a Demo