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B6482 Office Supplies Inquiries & Responses

3/26/12

Q. In the instance where we do not stock the requested item but do stock a different “name brand” item, may we quote that item? For example, we stock Avery Binders but do not stock Wilson Jones binders. An Avery binder would be a name brand same or better quality.

A. Only national brands will be accepted private labeled products will not be accepted and the item being submitted must be of the same or better level of quality than the item being specified. The use of an inferior level product may result in the entire proposal being disqualified.

Q. There are several items that may be discontinued, or model/mfg. # has changed from year to year, etc. that we would not find an exact match to the item# provided but there is an item available that would be the best match for the item. Example would be a technology item where it has changed since 2011 or a furniture item where the finishes have changed or model # has changed.

A. Only national brands will be accepted private label products will not be accepted, the item being submitted must be of the same or better level of quality than the item being specified. The use of an inferior level of product may result in the entire proposal being disqualified.

Q. There are items listed that are currently considered a private label brand like Office Depot or Universal. We cannot quote another companies private label brand and would quote Staples brand. Just want to confirm that this is the expectation

A. All products listed as Office Depot brand have been removed and a revised workbook has been sent out, make sure you are using the workbook with “Rev 1” in its title.

Q. The bid document states that submissions must be on the supplied bid form. Attachment A does not provide enough room to answer many of the questions thoroughly. Can we have this document in word format or can we provide our answers on a separate proposal document?

A. Use the forms supplied first, and keep your replies as concise as possible. If additional space is required than use a separate document when necessary.

Q. The General Terms and Conditions are mentioned in the bid documents. I did find a General Terms and Conditions document on your website. Is this the General Terms and Conditions referred to in the bid document or are there any other terms and conditions?

A. Yes

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B6482 Office Supplies Inquiries & Responses

3/26/12

Q. Pg 4, Paragraph 3 – Bid only the items as specified by manufacturer’s number. Alternate or

private label products will not be accepted. What if a supplier doesn’t stock the exact same

OEM product but does have an equal OEM equivalent. For example, the District is requesting

Nestle Pure Life bottled water (MFG# 12052040) but a supplier only stocks Aquafina bottle

water. Should the supplier provide a price based on the Aquafina water or no bid (NB) the item?

A. Only national brands will be accepted private labeled products will not be accepted and the item being submitted must be of the same or better level of quality than the item being specified. The use of an inferior level product may result in the entire proposal being disqualified.

Q. Pg. 3 – Pricing – Definition of core list products. Are all the products, including the products

under each tab, on the spreadsheet B6482 Office Supply Usage F11 considered the core list?

A. There are eleven spreadsheets in the workbook which represent the core list

Q. Pg. 3 – Pricing – No rebates will be accepted, correct?

A. Rebates will not be accepted

Q. Pg. 7 – Evaluation continued (Pricing) – Does the District value the best overall pricing for the

entire program or the best pricing per item/category? Based on our understanding, the District

could award multiple suppliers based on items or categories.

A. It is our intent to award this bid to one bidder. However, we retain the use of multiple awards if

it is in the best interest of the District.

Q. Are P-cards used for payment? If so, what percentage (%) of the overall volume is purchased via

p-card?

A. P-cards would be used at the awardee’s retail location only, all other orders will be placed using

a purchase order whose payment will be processed as outlined in the bid documents.

Q. What is the estimated value of the entire opportunity?

A. The District projects the total value of the award to be in the range of $275,000.00 -

$300,000.00 but cannot guarantee this business, this is merely an estimate. However, once the

individual spreadsheets are complete the bidders should have some idea of the value of the

business by tabulating all spreadsheet together.

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B6482 Office Supplies Inquiries & Responses

3/26/12 Q. How many orders are submitted annually via email or fax?

A. Currently we are unable to get this information as the District’s ERP system down converting to

a newer version. However a rough estimate would be 1,500 – 2,250 annually, again there are

no guarantees to the accuracy of this approximation.

Q. How many associates place orders?

A. There are sixty two sites with multiple order personnel at each site, we estimate 75-100

personnel again there are no guarantees to the accuracy of this approximation.

Q. Are orders currently delivered to a specific area at each of the locations provided on pages 12 &

13 or are there multiple delivery points within the locations?

A. One delivery point to each location

Q. The documents generally reference General Terms and Conditions, Special Terms and

Conditions, The Form of Proposal and email correspondence. There were no General Terms and

Conditions attached that we could see. Can we get a copy of this?

A. See the District’s website: http://www.dmschools.org/departments/operations/purchasing-

central-stores/purchasing/open-proposals/

Q. Under Award of the Special Terms and Conditions the proposal indicates the vendor may be

required to complete a Sexual Offender Certificate. Can we get a copy of this?

A. A copy will be is attached to the email response

Q Reference to Pricing – 4th paragraph “Finally, the bidder represents to the District that the pricing offered under this proposal is their lowest available to public entities for the state of Iowa”. We would request that this requirement be removed in order for all bidders to be able to provide the District with the most aggressive proposal that is customized to meet the requirements of the District”.

A. The District asks the bidders to submit their best proposal for the information presented in this bid request. We ask their proposal be offered without collusion from another bidder and that is be final as there will not be any negotiations after the bid tabulations have been completed.

Q. Is the award process “all or nothing”? Meaning one vendor will receive everything? If I’m reading correctly, the award might be on an item by item basis?

A. It is our intent to award this bid to one bidder. However, we retain the use of multiple awards if

it is in the best interest of the District.