STATEMENT OF WORK for OFFICE SUPPLIES, FURNITURE AND RELATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT. Request for Proposals

Transcription

1 for OFFICE SUPPLIES, FURNITURE AND RELATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT Request for Proposals Corpus Christi, TX

2 Table of Contents 1. General Scope of Work Definitions Approver ARO CBC Clear Rate Contract Administrator Cost Center E-Commerce Administrator E-Commerce System End User Fill Rate Full Line General Use Catalog Industry Standard Pricing Guide Initial Shipment Response Invoice Accuracy Rate Ordering Entity The College The Members Restricted Item Shopper Workflow Company Qualifications Basic Requirement Preferred Qualifications Quality Assurance E-commerce System Products and Services to be Provided Pricing Pricing Basis Price Changes Price Warranty Rebates and Discount Programs... 13

3 1. GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK - Page 3 of (the College) on behalf of itself and Coastal Bend College (CBC), is soliciting open market proposals from qualified companies (hereinafter referred to as "Seller") to enter into an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity requirements type contract for a complete line of office and stationary supplies and accessories; ink and toner; paper; furniture and furnishings, and related services as hereinafter described is a comprehensive community college in. Each year, over 24,000 students enroll in one of our 150 different credit and noncredit programs for academic, occupational, technical or continuing education. The College has approximately 750 employees within 100 divisions and departments. The College also supports tenant activities such as the Small Business Development Center and a branch office of the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. The College currently has sixty-eight (68) end users that only place orders that require additional approval; thirty-three (33) end users that place orders directly to the vendor without further approval; thirty-three end users that only approve orders; two (2) super user/administrators and one hundred and eighty-five active cost centers. Seller will pack and mark orders for desktop delivery directly to each Ordering Entity located at any of the College s current or future campuses or centers within the College s service region. The College s current locations include the East and West campuses, The Center for Economic Development, the Northwest Center and the Coastal Compass Education and Career Resource Center in La Palmera Mall Coastal Bend College is a comprehensive, public community college serving a diverse South Texas area. It is a student-centered institution committed to the highest integrity and to the development of an educational culture that supports creativity, encourages professional development, and promotes excellence in all areas. CBC anticipates having one (1) end user that will be the e-commerce administrator and order entry individual utilizing one (1) cost center. Seller will pack and mark orders for delivery to each of CBC s current or future campuses or sites within the CBC s service region. CBC current locations include the main campus in Beeville, and other sites in Alice, Kingsville and Pleasanton. Desktop delivery may be requested for the Beeville location at a future date Seller will periodically prepare and submit a consolidated invoice for all activity under the contract since the last invoice cycle. 2. DEFINITIONS: 2.1. Approver: A person designated by the director of an Ordering Entity or the Director of Purchasing to approve orders before they are submitted to the Seller ARO: After Receipt of Order. An order is considered to be "received" by the seller when it is delivered to the Seller via facsimile, phone or mail. An Internet order is "received" when an order confirmation message is generated by the e-commerce system CBC: Coastal Bend College including all sites and tenant organizations.

4 - Page 4 of Clear Rate: The number of business days after the initial shipment that 100% of the lines on an order are delivered to the appropriate location Contract Administrator: Assistant Director of Purchasing or designee in the College s Purchasing Department responsible for administering the contract Cost Center: A unique identifier for accounting purposes E-Commerce Administrator: Individuals designated by the College and CBC to administer the system workflow and end user roles E-Commerce System: A web-enabled representation of a full line general use catalog, accessible via internet connection, individually tailored specifically for and Coastal Bend College End User: Any employee with authorized access to the e-commerce systems. An end user may be a shopper and/or an approver Fill Rate: The percentage of line items that ship complete, partials not included, on the initial shipment of an order Full Line General Use Catalog: Hard copy or electronic database containing office supply product information compiled and published by industry wholesalers such as S. P Richard or United Stationers. May be published with specially designed customized covers for retail distribution by office supply retailers Industry Standard Pricing Guide: An industry standard book or electronic database such as Moore O.P Services, S. P Richards, United Stationers, or other approved equal with product information, cost, retail price, and product identification number. This publication supplements the information found in the general use catalog. Distribution will be primarily to purchasing personnel Initial Shipment Response: The number of business days after receipt of an order that the initial shipment of the order is delivered to the Member s locations Invoice Accuracy Rate: Percentage of invoice records that accurately reflect the physical transaction being summarized for billing or credit Ordering Entity: A department, division, organization or tenant activity of or Coastal Bend College authorized to place orders for goods from the contract Restricted Item: An item that requires a valid College or CBC purchase order and may not be ordered via the e-commerce system by an end user other than those designated by the DMC Assistant Director of Purchasing or CBC Vice President of Student and Administrative Services The College: including all locations and tenant organizations The Members: DMC and CBC collectively Shopper: A person designated to order materials for an Ordering Entity Workflow: Automated rules-based approval process allowing individuals to place orders directly with Seller depending on their defined role(s). Ability to set purchasing restrictions by product selection, dollar amount, required authorizations, accounts, ship to locations or any combination thereof The words shall and must are mandatory requirements; should and may are permissive. 3. COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS:

5 - Page 5 of Basic Requirement Seller shall be in the business of providing and delivering the types of goods and services described in this SOW representing a substantial portion of their normal business operations, with a local presence and references, be able to provide ordering capabilities over the Internet via a userfriendly e-commerce system, provide products such as those available from United Stationers or SP Richards with the bulk purchasing power to guarantee lowest Government pricing, provide next day delivery services that include desktop and dock capabilities and have good references in the South Texas and Coastal Bend areas Preferred Qualifications A highly qualified Seller will have a strong local presence as well as a local staff, easily accessible by Ordering Entity employees and of adequate size to service the account. The Seller shall provide at a minimum, one (1) outside sales representative, one (1) inside sales representative and one (1) accounts receivable representative to act as primary contacts for the Member s Ordering Entities. These individuals or back-ups shall be readily available during normal work hours by phone or in person, and shall be knowledgeable of the products in the catalog and the terms and procedures involved in the program Quality Assurance Seller shall have a comprehensive quality program in effect during the life of the contract. Seller shall be solely responsible for the quality of the products and services provided by wholesalers, manufacturer s representatives or any other third party Seller's Delivery Performance objectives: The Seller is expected to achieve an initial shipment response of one (1) business day, a minimum fill rate of 95% and a clear rate of two (2) business days for standard catalog orders. Expected delivery dates for special order items must be clearly communicated to Ordering Entities and the Seller is expected to achieve a minimum on-time delivery rate of 95% Seller's Invoicing Performance objectives: The Seller shall achieve a minimum invoice accuracy rate of 95% with a target objective of 98% Seller's Credit Performance objectives: The Seller is expected to achieve a maximum ten (10) working day turnaround time for credit processing. Ten (10) day period begins once the item is made available to the Seller at our Central Receiving location E-commerce system The e-commerce system provided by Seller will be the primary method for end users to select items for purchase and to submit orders to the Seller. However, the Seller must also have the capability to receive faxed or ed purchase orders Member Specific URL/Login Seller shall have the capability of establishing unique URL/Login (sites) for each member in order to reflect the specific needs of each member such as; user profiles, work flow rules, cost centers, delivery locations and restrictions Security/Privay Seller shall provide state of the art security that protects the information provided by the Members and their Ordering Entities. Seller shall maintain and enforce a strict privacy policy. Seller shall under no circumstance make available any information, pertaining to the Members, to third parties without the express written consent of the Members End-user Experience Seller shall maintain and provide during the life of the contract an easy to use e- commerce system that accurately represents the contract product and price information with workflow capabilities. This will be a web enabled, searchable electronic product catalog that provides part numbers, product descriptions and prices and will be the primary method for end users to select items for purchase and, after appropriate approval, submit orders to the Seller.

6 - Page 6 of Cost Center and Ship To Selection The e-commerce system must provide an easy means for end users with multiple cost centers to select the appropriate approved cost center and delivery location Decision Support - Seller's e-commerce system shall provide decision support to Ordering Entities by identifying items which the seller has identified as high quality, low cost, private label or other preferred items representing the best value to the College. Seller's e-commerce system shall have a "favorites" and a "previous orders" recall that each Shopper can use to for frequently or repetitively ordered items Purchase History Seller s e-commerce system shall provide an easy method for end-users to accomplish tasks such as track order, view order history or use previous orders to generate new orders Order Approval System must provide fast and easy method for orders to be approved, denied or modified. System should have method of notifying shoppers of changes to the order status Technology Upgrades During the life of the contract, technology improvements or system upgrades shall be made available to the Members on the same terms and conditions that Seller offers them to its most favored customers. System shall have a means to communicate upgrades/changes to the Members E-Commerce Administrators and end users in a clear and timely manner Information Technology Support The Seller shall have available professional information technology support staff Workflow Capabilities End User The e-commerce system must be able to accommodate a minimum of one hundred and thirty-six (136) end users. E-commerce system must provide an easy to use method for the E-commerce Administrators to set-up, de-activate or delete users. The system must also allow for assigning and restricting access to cost centers and delivery locations on an end user basis according to established workflow rules Ordering Entity - Cost Center: Each Ordering Entity may have one or more end users who may have one or more unique cost center codes which will ultimately be charged for the value of goods ordered and accepted. The Seller's e-commerce system must have a way to associate these cost centers codes with end users, restrict available cost centers an end user may access, assign only valid cost center codes to an order and to carry the cost center code through to the invoicing process. The system must be able to accommodate a minimum of one hundred and eighty-five (185) cost centers E-Commerce Administrators: The e-commerce system must provide the designated individuals with the capabilities to set up, delete or change user access, ship to addresses, workflow rules and view all transaction, reports etc Order Approval - Seller's e-commerce system shall provide capabilities for the review and approval of an order before it is submitted to the Seller according to established workflow rules Order Exceptions and Restrictions - The Seller shall have a way to block certain specific items or groups of items from being purchased via the e-commerce system. It is the Member s

7 - Page 7 of 13 - preference that the e-commerce system notifies the Ordering Entities that they can order these items using the purchase order process. The Ordering Entities should have the ability to view contract pricing for these items via the e-commerce system Products and Services to be Provided Products Commodities to be provided under this contract shall be all those included in the full line catalogs of such companies as S. P. Richards, United Stationers, or other equivalent full-line office products catalog except as noted in the following sections Product Availability Seller shall have the ability to support next business day delivery for best value items and the majority of the non-special order items available in the catalog provided Best Value Items The College has elected not to provide a core items list. Seller may propose a group of items that are high quality, low cost, private label or other preferred items representing the best value to the College Product Categories The primary category that will make up the bulk of the requirements for this agreement will be general office and stationary supplies. The College is also interested in including all categories listed in standard full-line catalog(s), in particular, the following categories with the noted restrictions, exceptions and special circumstances. Certain items as noted in the sections below shall be restricted from order placement by Ordering Entities. These items may be ordered using a valid purchase order generated by the Members. A method shall be made available to select users designated by the Members to process orders for restricted items via the internet, or fax Paper Members may purchase from other sources, depending on price and quality of product available, paper and paper products purchased in bulk quantity for general institutional use where the Members determine it is in their best interest Furniture and furnishings Excludes furniture not available from Seller's catalog(s) All furniture shall be restricted from purchase via the E-Commerce system The vendor may be required to unpack, assemble, and set up some items. If this is required, the Seller shall perform such services in a professional and workmanlike manner and upon completion of the work, shall remove from the site and properly dispose of all packing and packaging materials. No additional charge for unpacking, assembling and set-up will be allowed The College expressly reserves the right to issue a Request for Offers for new construction or major renovations Ink, toner and other printer supplies May exclude ink, toner and other printer supplies where the Members deem it is in their best interest to purchase these items under a separate contract Remanufactured toner specifications.

8 - Page 8 of Vendor shall furnish remanufactured toner cartridges that have been fully remanufactured to specifications equal to or exceeding original equipment manufacturers (OEM) cartridge standards of quality and performance and approved remanufactured toner cartridge industry standards. Toner cartridges furnished to this specification shall meet or exceed the latest remanufactured toner cartridge standards, or the guidelines adopted by the Standardized Test Methods Committee (STMC), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), including the ASTM F 1856 Standards, ASTM F 335 and F 2036 Standards and ISTA Integrity Procedure 1A Standards (ISTA 1A) Vendor shall certify that its remanufactured toner cartridges have been tested in accordance with the above standards and guidelines and that its cartridges have met or exceeded those tests Vendors shall furnish documentation with this bid indicating the current and expected failure rate of toner cartridges supplied under this contract Print yield shall equal or exceed OEM rating for each cartridge Vendor will use packaging materials that are recyclable and/or reusable. Vendor will not use environmentally harmful material, such as Styrofoam in the packaging of products If requested by the College, vendors shall provide maximum of five cartridges from the items listed in this solicitation for testing and evaluation by College All defective toner cartridges will be returned to the vendor at vendor s expense. Vendor shall supply pre-paid mailing labels, or shall pick up defective cartridge(s) at the Members location If the Members have continued uncorrected problems with a particular model, or if there are page yields consistently below OEM standards or approved manufactured toner cartridge industry standards, the College may cancel the cartridge model from the contract or may cancel the entire contract with the supplying vendor If problems occur with printers due to a vendor s defective remanufactured toner cartridge, vendor shall provide: (1) a competent factory-trained authorized service technician to repair printer within two (2) working days, or (2) shall reimburse the County for any printer service performed due to the vendor s defective cartridge Due to the requirements above regarding quality standards, vendor cannot substitute toner cartridges from another manufacturer without prior written authorization by the College If such programs are available, seller may be requested to provide, at the option of the College, programs such as recycling for laser and ink jet

9 Services print cartridges Computer, printer and facsimile supplies and accessories. - Page 9 of Excludes software, computer CPUs, laptop computers, monitors, internal disk drives, internal circuit boards, memory chips and the like where the Members determine it is in their best interest or is required to purchase from other sources Minor electrical and electronic equipment Excludes all copiers, and 2-way UHF / VHF radios Portable space heaters, facsimile machines, photographic equipment, digital cameras, multimedia LCD projectors, and televisions shall be restricted from purchase via the E-Commerce system and may be purchased through other contracts if the Members determine it is in their best interest Other categories Inappropriate items such as food products; medications; break room equipment (such as cups, utensils, coffee filters, appliances); items considered decorative, personal, unnecessary or more costly than necessary to meet a legitimate agency need; and other items as from time to time determined by the members, shall be restricted from purchase via the E-Commerce system Ordering The majority of the orders will be placed via the e-commerce system The Seller must have the ability to accept faxed or ed orders The Seller should have the ability to accept purchase card orders The Seller should have the ability to provide same day service for emergency orders The Seller may substitute items that are equal or superior in quality to the requested item after obtaining authorization to do so from the Shopper. Unauthorized substitutions may be rejected by the Shopper as non-conforming goods Back orders will be allowed subject to the requirement that the Seller meet or exceed the target fill rate and clear rate performance goals. The Seller must notify the Shopper of discontinued items within the time allocated for initial shipment response. Backorders must be clearly marked on the initial and subsequent delivery ticket(s) Shipping and Deliveries Packaging, Packing and Marking Packaging - Commercial packaging will be acceptable for deliveries under this contract The College desires that packaging contains recycled material when available Marking - Each box or carton shall be clearly marked for delivery with the Ordering Entity s name and physical location (building and room number) Marking of Drop Shipments - Any equipment drop-shipped shall be clearly

10 Deliveries - Page 10 of 13 - marked so that proper identification and delivery can be made by Central Receiving. The Ordering Entities Delivery Locations: The Seller shall deliver all orders directly to the Ordering Entities desktop location. For orders placed utilizing a purchase order, it will be the vendor s responsibility to ensure that signed delivery documents are delivered to the Purchasing Department for receipt processing Coastal Bend College The Seller shall deliver all orders directly to the designated location at each of the CBC sites Time of Delivery Unless special arrangements for an individual order are made by mutual agreement between the Member and Seller, all deliveries shall be completed between the hours, 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Friday. Seller will be expected to hold shipments accumulated during periods when the Members are closed for routine business (holiday breaks, severe weather conditions.) Receipt and Acceptance of Goods - Each order shall be accompanied by a priced delivery ticket showing the order identifier, the quantity, description and prices of all items shipped in the order as well as the cost center to be charged. Within a reasonable time after physical receipt, the Ordering Entity is responsible to inspect the goods to ensure they conform to the order. Risk of loss of the goods shall not pass from the Seller until the goods are inspected and accepted as conforming by the Ordering Entity Replacement of Non-Conforming Goods - The seller shall correct or replace with suitable merchandise within the standard delivery time for any merchandise rejected as nonconforming. Correction or replacement will be at no charge to the College. If correction or replacement is not completed in a timely manner, the College reserves the right, in addition to other remedies available, to purchase replacement goods from another supplier and charge any costs incurred, including additional costs over and above the contract price, to the Seller Invoicing Invoicing Policy - Sales shall be invoiced on an "as delivered / when delivered" basis. The Members shall only be invoiced for goods physically delivered to the Member. The Seller must provide delivery tickets and invoices that are acceptable to the Members. The Seller shall be responsible for billing in accordance with the established price structure for the contract. The Seller shall achieve a minimum invoice accuracy rate of 95% with a target objective of 98%. Amounts owed to the Members due to Seller errors, overcharges or because of rejected material or discrepancies on paid invoices will be, at the Members option, fully credited against future invoices payable by the Members, or paid by the Seller to the Members within ten (10) working days from Seller's receipt of a debit memo or other written request for payment from the Members. The Members reserve the right to withhold payment for an obvious billing error or in the event of an unresolved dispute over a specific transaction. The

11 - Page 11 of 13 - Members shall have the right at any time to set off any amount owed from the Seller to the Members against any amount payable by the Members pursuant to this agreement or any other contract or purchase order issued to the Seller. Repeated overcharges or other invoice errors may lead to contract default proceedings, a decision not to renew the contract, and removal of the Seller from the Members bidder list Invoicing Procedure Seller shall provide to the Members a consolidated billing statement for all transactions (sales and credits) since the prior statement. The periodicity of the billing statement shall be established by mutual consent of the parties. The billing statement shall be summarized and sub-totaled by cost center. Using the consolidated billing statement as an invoice, the Members will pay the invoiced amount. Along with the billing statement, the Seller shall make available in hard copy via the Internet, a transaction detail report to the E- commerce Administrators. This report will provide a line item detail of each transaction on the consolidated statement. The report shall be arranged by Cost Center sequence. It is the Member s preference to have an on-line review of the current Accounts Receivable statement. Seller is encouraged to suggest and help implement methods to streamline the invoicing and paying processes and eliminate all unnecessary transactional costs associated with this business activity. This might include, for instance, electronic transmission of invoicing data, electronic funds transfer of payment, et cetera. Seller may provide details of such methods in the response to the RFP or at any time during the course of the contract and identify cost savings to the Members if the proposals are accepted and implemented Credits, returns and exchanges Seller shall provide services to minimize returns such as; demonstration models, samples and product fairs Return Policy - Any item returned for credit or exchange will be returned in the original package, unless the item or its package was damaged in shipment, and in salable condition. An Ordering Entity must initiate a return for credit or exchange within a timely manner. The Ordering Entity shall be responsible for any return shipping charges plus a reasonable restocking fee (not to exceed 15%) for any special order items. It is important that returns be processed and picked-up or disposed of promptly and that credits are applied expeditiously to periodic billing statements. Seller shall have in place a method to notify the contract administrator of Ordering Entities with unusually high return rates Return Procedure Seller shall provide the Ordering Entity with a convenient method to contact the Seller (i.e. dedicated customer service representative, standardized form or on-line process) in order to obtain a Return Material Authorization (a.k.a. Return Goods Authorization, Credit Memo, etc.). It is the College s preference that all returns be processed at the end user location. CBC returns will be processed at a designated location for each of CBCV S sites. Seller shall process a credit invoice, less any applicable shipping or restocking fee, against the Ordering Entity's cost center code, within fifteen (15) working days after notification of the return by the Ordering Entity. Credits must include a reference to the original order identifier Reports The Seller shall provide performance reports to the Contract Administrator on a semi-annual basis. These reports shall include information about Seller s performance relative to the

12 4. PRICING STATEMENT OF WORK - Page 12 of 13 - contract requirements such as initial shipment response, fill rates, backorders, clear rates, invoice accuracy rates and other information that the College may from time to time determine to be of interest Seller must be able to also provide standard and on-demand reports that can accurately account for but not be limited to, such things as specific item purchases and returns (e.g., quantity, frequency, which Ordering Entities purchased which items, etc.), dollar amounts spent by Ordering Entities, high dollar value line items purchased, unusual or abnormal purchasing patterns or activity, and status of payments on the Members account and vendor performance The e-commerce system should provide a means for the E-commerce Administrators to research activity by Ordering Entity, cost center, order identifier or item stock number for all cost centers and Ordering Entities. End users should have the same functionality limiting the information according to the workflow rules. Reports and research capabilities shall be available for orders purchased via any method Marketing, Documentation and Training Catalog Copies - Seller must furnish a minimum of two (2) paper copies of the full line general use catalog used as the basis of the contract, or an equivalent product, to all Ordering Entities during system implementation. New catalogs must be provided within two (2) weeks after Seller takes possession of the catalogs Marketing The Seller shall assist the Members with marketing the contract to the Ordering Entity shoppers. This may include such activities as product fairs, flyers, special announcements on the e-commerce system, or other activities approved by the Contract Administrator. Under no circumstances however shall the Seller make available to shoppers any special promotional campaigns whereby the shopper as an individual or the Members as institutions are promised special rewards or prizes for purchasing materials from the contract Documentation The Seller shall provide any documentation, user guides, etc., necessary for efficient use and operation of the office supply order system Training The Seller shall provide initial user training for all shoppers and any staff administering the systems and shall also provide periodic refresher training and new user training throughout the life of the contract Pricing Basis The pricing basis will be determined by agreement of the parties during contract formation. Once established, the pricing basis shall not change for the life of the contract, including renewals or extensions It is the College's preference that items are sold at prices that are either fixed for the duration of a contract period or priced at standard mark-up over cost. The College will also consider pricing offers on a discount from list basis. Variable discounts for specific categories must clearly identify the items within each category The cost or list price basis, as applicable, shall be taken from an industry standard pricing guide. Seller must indicate which Column prices will be utilized and notify the College in the event of any changes. Copies of the current guide used shall be provided to the Contract Administrator and

13 may be internally distributed to the Member s Comptroller, auditor, or other Member employee There shall be no minimum order size for delivery Price Changes -Price changes shall be allowed as a result of changes in the industry standard pricing guide used to establish the cost or price baseline. Price changes shall be limited to two (2) in a single contract term. The College shall be given thirty (30) day written notice of any proposed price changes. The College reserves the right to negotiate or reject any such proposed price increases. Copy paper price proposals shall be firm, fixed price for the first six (6) months of the agreement. Thereafter, price adjustments may be proposed with thirty (30) day written notice, proper justification/manufacturer documentation must accompany any such request Price Warranty - Seller shall represent and warrant that the prices charged for goods ordered under this agreement do not exceed the prices charged by Seller to other customer(s) in substantially similar transactions. In the event Seller reduces the prices that it charges other customer(s) in substantially similar transactions, Seller shall immediately notify the Contract Administrator of such a fact and shall offer such reduced prices to the College, retroactive to the date when such reduced prices were first offered to such other customer(s). All shipments made on or following the effective date of the reduced prices shall be made at these prices. Seller shall also represent and warrant that the prices charged under this agreement do not and will not violate and federal, state, county, or municipal law or regulation relative to price discrimination, price-fixing or price stabilization and further agrees to indemnify and hold the College harmless from any such violations Rebates and Discount Programs Seller shall make provisions for early/prompt payment discount for goods and or services. This discount will be considered as an evaluation factor along with other rebates and discount programs that may be offered. - Page 13 of 13 -