Predictika · Purchase Method Check

Before an AI agent buys for a public agency, the purchase method is checked

Riverbend County, a fictional public agency, lets an AI agent prepare purchases. Before the agent places an order, the call goes to Predictika’s Purchase Method Check. It checks the category, the amount, the method chosen, the number of quotes, the funding, whether it is an emergency, whether the vendor is debarred, whether the purchase was split from a larger need, any sole-source justification, and the approval on record. Then it returns one verdict: allow, needs approval, or block.

Not legal advice. Riverbend County is fictional. The scenarios are illustrative. The limits and rules are a simplified model, not any real procurement code; they have not been reviewed by a procurement lawyer.

Scope: one purchase and the method chosen to buy it, judged against limits, quotes, formal methods and exclusion rulesSee everything this validator covers

This validator decides one thing: whether the chosen method is allowed for one purchase, given the facts. It is not a procurement system and not a legal opinion.

  • Actions — place one order in one of four categories: supplies and equipment, general services, construction or professional services.
  • Rules — debarred vendor, split purchases, amount above the method limit, too few quotes, wrong formal method, sole source without justification, sole source, cooperative contracts, emergencies, federal funds with an informal method, and amounts close to the micro-purchase limit.

Within these rules the validator handles any combination of the listed facts, not just the seven scenarios on this page. It does not collect the quotes, check the debarment list or read the justification; those are taken as stated facts.

What the validator sees: purchase facts, never the quotes or the vendor fileRead more

The validator takes facts as inputs: the category, the amount, the method, the number of quotes, the funding, whether it is an emergency, the debarment status, whether the purchase was split, whether a justification is on file, and the approval on record. These come from the purchasing system at the moment of the call. The validator never sees the quotes, the bids or the vendor file.

Two honest limits. The validator judges the facts it is given: if the debarment status is wrong, the answer follows it. And an order that never calls the validator is not checked; in this demo the agent calls it itself, and in a deployment the purchasing workflow makes the call.

The AI agentProposes a purchase and a method, says why it is fine, then calls the validator before ordering.
Predictika validatorReads the purchase facts, applies the rules, then returns one verdict.

8 scenarios in 6 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where purchasing tools get it wrong
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General statements about purchasing tools, not about any named product. We rest this on public descriptions of how such tools work; anyone running a specific product will know it better than we do.

    
What the validator caughtTypical toolPredictika
Matching the method to the amount and the categoryCannot do it
Purchasing systems list thresholds. Blocking an order whose method does not fit its amount and category, and naming the method that does, takes a rule across all three.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Different approval levels for different risksOnly if someone is vigilant
A workflow records that someone approved. Checking that the approver holds the level the purchase needs, a manager for a cooperative contract and the director for sole source, has to be added.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Reporting every finding at onceOnly with workarounds
Many tools stop at the first exception. A complete list for one purchase, with the level of approval needed, takes a rule set built to return it.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Amount above the limit for the methodOnly if someone is vigilant
A purchasing system can show limits. Stopping every order that picks a method its amount does not allow takes a rule that reads both.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Too few quotesOnly with workarounds
A quote count is a field someone has to compare against the method. A rule does that on every order.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Wrong formal method for the categoryOnly if someone is vigilant
A system can require a formal process above a limit. Requiring the right formal process for each category takes a rule that knows the category.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Purchase split to avoid a limitOnly if someone is vigilant
Each order looks fine alone. Catching splitting needs the link to the larger need to be a fact the rule can read.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Vendor is debarredOnly if someone is vigilant
Most tools stop at the first failing check. Returning every finding together takes a rule set designed to do that.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the request; approval findings need a person to sign off first.

    
1The vendor is on the debarment list and cannot receive public funds.
2This purchase was split from a larger need, which is not allowed because it avoids a purchase limit.
3An amount of 10001 is above what this method allows for Supplies and equipment.
4The three-quote method needs at least 3 quotes and only 2 were obtained.
5Construction must be bought by sealed bid, not by the method chosen.
6A sole-source purchase needs a written justification and none is on file.
7This is a sole-source purchase with a written justification. The procurement director must approve it.
8Buying through a cooperative contract. The purchasing manager must confirm the contract covers this purchase.
9This is an emergency purchase. The procurement director must approve it.
10Federal funds are used with an informal method. The purchasing manager must confirm the federal rules are met.
11An amount of 10000 is within 10 percent of the micro-purchase limit. The purchasing manager must confirm it is not part of a larger need.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Sole source: Sole source with no justification

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 80000 from the one vendor that makes them.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Sole source with no justification. A sole-source purchase needs a written justification and none is on file.
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2. Sole source: Sole source with a justification

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 80000 from the one vendor that makes them. The written justification is on file.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Sole source needs the director. This is a sole-source purchase with a written justification. The procurement director must approve it.
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3. Sole source: Director approval on record

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 80000 from the one vendor. The procurement director has approved the sole-source award.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Sole source needs the director. This is a sole-source purchase with a written justification. The procurement director must approve it.
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4. Purchase limits: One over the micro-purchase limit

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 10001 as a micro-purchase. It is a routine order and the vendor is known to us.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Amount above the limit for the method. An amount of 10001 is above what this method allows for Supplies and equipment.
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5. Quotes: Only two quotes

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 30000. I have 2 quotes and one is clearly the best price.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Too few quotes. The three-quote method needs at least 3 quotes and only 2 were obtained.
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6. Formal methods: The wrong formal method

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these professional services for 120000 by sealed bid. A formal process is the safest.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Wrong formal method for the category. Professional services must be bought by request for proposals, not by the method chosen.
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7. Splitting: A purchase split to stay under a limit

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 8000. This is one of several orders for the same project, each below the limit.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Purchase split to avoid a limit. This purchase was split from a larger need, which is not allowed because it avoids a purchase limit.
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8. Several problems: Debarred vendor, split purchase, over the limit

    
The agent's request. I'm buying these supplies for 15000 as a micro-purchase. The vendor gave us the best price and we need them quickly.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Vendor is debarred. The vendor is on the debarment list and cannot receive public funds.
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  • Purchase split to avoid a limit. This purchase was split from a larger need, which is not allowed because it avoids a purchase limit.
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  • Amount above the limit for the method. An amount of 15000 is above what this method allows for Supplies and equipment.
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  • Federal funds with an informal method. Federal funds are used with an informal method. The purchasing manager must confirm the federal rules are met.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. Riverbend County, a fictional public agency, lets an AI agent prepare purchases. Before the agent places an order, the call goes to Predictika’s Purchase Method Check. It checks the category, the amount, the method chosen, the number of quotes, the funding, whether it is an emergency, whether the vendor is debarred, whether the purchase was split from a larger need, any sole-source justification, and the approval on record. Then it returns one verdict: allow, needs approval, or block.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. I'm buying these supplies for 80000 from the one vendor that makes them.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. A sole-source purchase needs a written justification and none is on file.
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  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the request are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for different approval levels for different risks, a tool does this reliably only when someone is vigilant.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the written justification to on file.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
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  12. The one blocking finding is cleared; one approval remains for a person: sole source needs the director.
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  13. The agent resubmits once more.
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  14. The revised request. It sets the approval on record to procurement director. It removes the written justification.
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  15. It calls the validator once more.
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  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. The earlier finding is cleared.
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  18. One problem caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean request. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before the action runs.
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