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  2. Requests for Proposals

Requests for Proposals

Requests for Proposals 2018-2019

Multi Regional Purchasing Cooperative (Region 9 ESC, Fiscal Agent) – www.mrpctexas.com

Responses must be submitted through the Public Purchase online system (www.publicpurchase.com).  Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions that may be helpful in submitting a response.  If you need additional informtaion, please contact Dana Parrish at dana.parrish@esc9.net or call 940-322-6928. 

 

Questions from Vendors/Answers
 

General/Applicable to All RFPs

Q – Is the bid entirely on-line?  Are we to upload the required documents or send them via email?
A – The response to the RFP is entirely online.  Everything should be completed directly online.  (EXCEPTION:  On RFP #2019-01, the “Consolidated Supporting Form” must be downloaded, filled out, then uploaded back to the response under “General Documents”.  On RFPs #2019-02 and #2019-03 the form is fillable online.)   If you receive an award, there will be additional documentation required about which you will be notified.

Q – Is this a recompete of a current contract?  If so, is there a public list of contract holders?
A – All three of the RFPs are issued every year during the month of March.  You can get the tabulation/evaluation for all three RFPs at www.mrpctexas.com.  The 2018 released tabulations are under the Vendors tab, and previous years' tabulations are under the Archives tab. 

Q – If this is a recompete, can you tell me what aggregate $$$ revenues were under the resulting contract(s)?
The MRPC does not track purchases made through the Instructional/General Catalog or the Technology Catalog contracts, so I am unable to give you a revenue amount for those.  Those are designed for schools to make purchases as they have need, but we do not ask for reporting from our schools or from vendors.

The total amount ordered through #2018-01 Combined Purchasing Line Item was $755,342.  This is a one-time purchase that is delivered in the month of July

Q – If this is a recompete, is there a list of the current awarded contractors?
A – The current awarded vendor lists for the Catalog RFPs are found on the MRPC website under the Vendors tab.

Q – Is there any service fee on purchase orders to be paid by the vendor?
A - There is one $20 annual registration fee.  This allows you to respond to any/all of the three RFPs that are issued each year by the MRPC.   We do not charge anything additionally to vendors - no percentage of sales, etc.

Q – Do members submit purchase orders directly to the approved vendor?
A - Yes.  For the Combined Purchasing Line Item RFP, purchase orders are issued directly by the schools to the awarded vendor in May for delivery of product in July (one-time purchase).  For the catalog RFPs (#2019-02 and #2019-03), member schools contact the vendor directly for quotes, then make purchases directly with the vendor as they have need (effective period August 2019 to August 2020). There is no guaranteed volume of sales for the catalog RFPs.

Q – Are there any post-secondary (colleges/community colleges) that are members of the MRPC? Are post-secondary schools eligible for membership in the MRPC?
A – There are not currently any post-secondary members of the MRPC.  You can obtain a full list of the approximately 130 member school districts at www.mrpctexas.com under the “Districts” tab.  Membership in the MRPC is initiated through interlocal agreement per the guideline of Texas Government Code Chapter 791.  If a post-secondary institution meets those guidelines, they may apply for membership.

Q – I just registered with Public Purchase for free.  It looked like we could respond to the RFP without any fee.  Is that not the case?
A – There is a $20 annual fee to respond to the MRPC Requests for Proposals through the Public Purchase system (www.publicpurchase.com).  The fee is collected as you are going through the response process in the Public Purchase system (payable by Visa, MasterCard or PayPal).  That is the only fee that is charged – no percentage of sales, etc., and we do not ask you to report sales.

Q – Can you please confirm that a 1295 Form is not needed for publicly traded companies? On the link under the FAQ, question 7 and answer (4), the form is not required for publicly traded business entity, which we are. 
https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/whatsnew/FAQ_Form1295.html#Who_Files 
Please advise if we still need to provide this form or if we can provide documentation verifying we are publicly traded in lieu of the form.
A – It is correct that publicly traded companies do not need to complete a Form 1295.  In addition, we will ask for the Form 1295 after the award.  We ask that is be submitted with the acceptance of award paperwork.

Q – The vendor information document is asking for additional contact information that appears optional and where I indicated no Felony conviction is asking for a name.
A – I apologize for the confusion - Public Purchase did not get the form entered into the system correctly, so it is asking for information in each area, even if it's not really needed.  Just put “NA” on all the fields like that: additional contact information in Vendor Information area; name of felon and details of conviction  on Felony Conviction area; and resident state and percentage in Nonresident Bidder area of the Resident/Nonresident Bidder Notice area if you are a resident bidder.  Hopefully we will get that fixed for next year’s cycle.  Thank you for your patience.

 


Regarding #2019-01 Combined Purchasing Line Item RFP

Q – Would you please provide the case weights for each trash can liner as well as the thickness (micron/mil) for the 24x33 trash liner (Item #MN-203-12)? Would you please provide the previous shipping label / bill of lading for each trash can liner (Item #MN-203-12 and #MN-203-40)?
A – The specifications for those items are as follows:
MN-203-12 – Trash Bags, minimum 16 gallon capacity, high density, 24”x33”, 1000 bags per box
MN -203-40 - Trash Bags, minimum 40 gallon capacity, minimum 1.25 mil, low density, 100 bags per box

Looking at previously awarded item for MN-203-12, the thickness was 6 microns, but that was not specified in the bid, so if your product meets the specifications but is a different weight, it could still be awarded.  The MRPC/Region 9 ESC did not order the product in 2018 so I do not have a shipping label / bill of lading available.

I do not have the case weight information.  Last year’s awarded items were as follows:
MN-203-12 – award notated Inteplast #417230
MN-203-40 – award notated Inteplast #417094
Perhaps that will assist you in determining case weights.

Q – How many samples should be sent for the trash can liners and the gloves?
A – One sample per item is sufficient.  There are usually 10-15 members at the evaluation meeting, but items are on display for the members to assess and/or are passed around to each member.  If you wish to send multiples, that is acceptable, but not necessary.

Q –  Can you please provide the complete bid tab from last year’s bid?
A – The complete evaluation/tabulation and the final awarded vendor/price list from last year’s cycle is available at www.mrpctexas.com under the “Vendors” tab.  (The current approved vendor lists for the catalog RFPs are also on that page.)

Q – The Conflict of Interest Form and Lobby Disclosure Form are not letting me submit even after filling them out.  Additionally, we don’t lobby at all so I was unsure how to fill out that form.
A – The Lobbying Disclosure Form and the Conflict of Interest form are only required if they apply.  Because they are not mandatory, even when you fill them out online, they won't show a check mark beside them.  If they do not apply, there is no need to complete them.

 

Regarding #2019-02 Instructional/General Supplies Catalog Discount RFP

Q –  I must be doing something incorrectly.  When I click the trash can icon for categories we want to “no bid” the response isn’t saved.  These appear as no response rather than no bid.  Can you assist me with this?
A – I’m sorry, I don’t know why that is happening.  However, we really do not want a “no bid” response on any categories, we only want the response on the categories to which you do wish to reply.  To double-check, when you are in the Edit mode, look on the left-hand side and there will be a box that says “number of items with response”.  Ensure that the number there reflects the number of categories to which you intended to respond.  If you need additional help, please call Dana Parrish at 940-322-6928.

Q –  Does MRPC charge a percentage fee for acting as the purchasing agent for the schools?
A – No.  The $20 registration fee that you pay as a part of your response in Public Purchase is the only fee that the vendors pay.

Q – I don’t see RFP #2019-02 listed in the Public Purchase.
A – On the upper right-hand side of the front page or home page, you should see “Select Region” and “Select Agency”. Under the region, click on Texas, then under agency, click on Multi Regional Purchasing Cooperative (alphabetical list). You should then see all three of the RFPs that are open for the MRPC.


If you get this message, click on the “Open Bids” at the left side.

You should then see the list, and you can click on the RFP to which you want to begin a response.

Q – The Instructional Supplies/Teaching Aids RFP does not list full/comprehensive curriculums as a proposal option.  Does this also include Early Childhood comprehensive curriculums that cover all content areas (math, science, literacy, social studies, etc.)?
A – The listed categories are very broad, so it is sometimes hard to figure out where your products best fit.  We suggest you reply to any of the content areas you think fit, and also to the Curriculum Supplements/Testing Aids category.  I would encourage you to respond to any category you think in any way reflects your product line.  

Q – Is a discount rate required for approval?
A – A discount rate is required for your response to be reflected in the Public Purchase system, but it is acceptable for the discount rate to be 0%.  Please enter the minimum discount rate you can offer (even if that is 0%), and then you can explain in the “Notes” field if your published prices are already discounted, based on volume, etc.  Use the “Notes” field to enter anything you would want the member schools to know about your company or your response.  Whatever you put there will print on the approved vendor list they will use.

 

Regarding #2019-03 Technology Catalog Discount RFP

Q –  Would Technology textbooks fall under this bid?
A – No.  Technology textbooks would be more appropriate for the Instructional/General Catalog RFP #2019-02, perhaps the Curriculum Supplements/Testing Aids or Career/Technical/Vocational Supplies categories.  You may find other categories that you feel would be appropriate and are encouraged to respond to any of those.

Q – Would two-way radios and accessories fall under this bid?
A – They possible could fall under the Audio-Visual category and/or the telecommunications category on this RFP.  You may also want to respond to #2019-02 Instructional/General Supplies Catalog RFP in the Maintenance/Facilities categories of Security Systems and/or Transportation Supplies if they are used for security and/or buses, and possibly Athletics-Equipment if they are used for athletic events.  We encourage you to respond to any of the categories you feel are appropriate.

Q – Would access control cards fall under this bid?  Proximity or Smart Cards.
A – We assume these are used for security purposes, so think it would be more appropriate to reply to RFP #2019-02 Instructional/General Supplies Catalog RFP under the Security Systems/Supplies category.

Q – Would a digital component for instructional materials fall under this bid?
A – There is a category for Software-Educational Applications.  If you think that is appropriate, you are welcome to respond to that category.  You might also want to respond to #2019-02 Instructional/General catalog RFP where there are many instructional categories, and again, you are encouraged to respond to anything you think is appropriate.  The one $20 fee you pay each year allows you to respond to any/all of our three RFPs (not $20 per RFP).

 

Region 9 ESC – none open at current time.

 

For information on any RFPs, contact Dana Parrish, Administrative Support, dana.parrish@esc9.net or 940-322-6928.