If you've started researching how to sell products to the U.S. military's supply chain, you'll run into one acronym over and over: DIBBS. It sounds technical, but the idea is simple.
In one sentence: DIBBS (the DLA Internet Bid Board System) is the online marketplace where the Defense Logistics Agency posts the items it wants to buy, and where registered vendors submit price quotes to win those orders.
What DIBBS actually is
Think of DIBBS as a public bulletin board for government purchases. Every day, the DLA posts thousands of individual requirements — everything from work gloves to medical supplies to hardware. Each posting is called a solicitation. Vendors browse the board, find items they can supply, and respond with a price. It's less like a storefront and more like an always-open request-for-quotes system.
Who uses DIBBS?
Two sides: the government, which posts what it needs, and vendors — the businesses that supply it. A large share of those vendors are small businesses, and many are resellers rather than manufacturers. They don't make the product; they source it from a manufacturer or authorized distributor and deliver it.
What's in a solicitation?
Each solicitation on DIBBS spells out exactly what the government wants, so there's no guesswork:
- The exact item (often by part number or National Stock Number)
- The quantity needed
- The specifications and any packaging or marking requirements
- The deadline to respond
Your response is simply a price quote for delivering that exact item to spec.
What you need before you can use DIBBS
DIBBS itself is free, but you can't quote until you're set up upstream:
- An active SAM.gov registration (free) with a UEI
- A CAGE code (assigned during SAM registration)
- A DIBBS vendor account, created using that CAGE code
Once your account is active, you can subscribe to notifications for the product categories you supply so you're alerted when relevant items are posted.
Is DIBBS the same as SAM.gov?
No — they work together but do different jobs. SAM.gov is where you register your business as an official government vendor. DIBBS is where you find and bid on the DLA's specific requirements. You do SAM.gov first; DIBBS second.
Ready to go deeper? Read the full walkthrough: How to Sell to the DLA, and the step-by-step DIBBS Tutorial for Beginners.