What does the term "bid rotation" refer to in procurement fraud schemes?

The term "bid rotation" in the context of procurement fraud schemes refers to a scenario where contractors coordinate among themselves to alternate who receives contracts. This practice often involves prearranging a sequence for awarding contracts to ensure that each contractor receives a fair share of the business over time. This can lead to inflated costs for the purchasing organization and constitutes collusion, undermining the competitive bidding process that is intended to secure the best value for a product or service.

In contrast to this, the other options do not accurately define "bid rotation." For instance, alternating contracts based on season implies a legitimate scheduling strategy rather than collusion among bidders. A system for amending contract values suggests changes to existing agreements rather than the initial awarding process. Submitting identical bids for all contracts typically relates to price-fixing rather than the systematic alternating of contract awards among competitors. Therefore, the correct understanding of "bid rotation" focuses specifically on the collusion aspect, where businesses take turns securing contracts in a non-competitive manner.