COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION No. 900832
SPECIFICATIONS, TERMS & CONDITIONS
for
COUNTYWIDE BULK MAILING SERVICES
NETWORKING/BIDDERS CONFERENCES
at
10:00 a.m.on
May 11, 2011
at
Castro Valley Library
The Canyon Room
3600 Norbridge Avenue
Castro Valley, CA 94546 / 2:00 p.m.
on
May 12, 2011
at
General Services Agency
Room 1107, 11th Floor
1401 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
For complete information regarding this project see RFQ posted at http://www.acgov.org/gsa_app/gsa/purchasing/bid_content/contractopportunities.jsp or contact the person listed below. Thank you for your interest!
Contact Person: Stefanie Taylor, Contracts Specialist II
Phone Number: (510) 208-9610
E-mail Address:
RESPONSE DUE
by
2:00 p.m.
on
June 3, 2011
at
Alameda County, GSA-Purchasing
1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 907
Oakland, CA 94612
COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION No. 900832
SPECIFICATIONS, TERMS & CONDITIONS
for
COUNTYWIDE BULK MAILING SERVICES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 1 of 2
Page
I. ACRONYM AND TERM GLOSSARY 4
II. STATEMENT OF WORK
A. Intent 5
B. Background / Scope 5
C. Vendor Minimum Requirements / Specific Requirements 5
D. Debarment and Suspension 7
E. General Environmental Requirements 8
III. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
F. County Contacts 8
G. Calendar of Events 9
H. Networking/Bidders Conference 10
I. Submittal of Bids 11
J. Response Format 12
K. Notice of Award 13
L. Bid Protest / Appeals Process 13
IV. TERMS AND CONDITIONS
M. Term / Termination / Renewal 15
N. Quantities 15
O. Pricing 15
P. Award 16
Q. Method of Ordering 17
R. Invoicing 17
S. County Provisions 18
T. Account Manager/Support Staff 19
U. General Requirements 20
COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION No. 900832
SPECIFICATIONS, TERMS & CONDITIONS
for
COUNTYWIDE BULK MAILING SERVICES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 2 of 2
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A – Acknowledgement
Exhibit B – Bid Form
Exhibit C – Insurance Requirements
Exhibit D1 – Current References
Exhibit D2 – Former References
Exhibit E – SLEB Certification Application Package
Exhibit F– SLEB Partnering Information Sheet * Intentionally Omitted
Exhibit F-1 SLEB Information Sheet
Exhibit G – Request for Bid Preference * Intentionally Omitted
Exhibit H – First Source Agreement
Exhibit I – Exceptions, Clarifications, Amendments
Exhibit J – Standard Services Agreement Template
Exhibit K – Environmental Certification
Exhibit L – RFQ Vendor Bid List
Exhibit M – Response Content and Submittals Completeness Checklist
Exhibit N – Debarment and Suspension Certification
Specifications, Terms & Conditions
for Countywide Bulk Mailing Services
I. ACRONYM AND TERM GLOSSARY
Unless otherwise noted, the terms below may be upper or lower case. Acronyms will always be uppercase.
Bid / Shall mean the bidders’/contractors’ response to this RequestBidder / Shall mean the specific person or entity responding to this RFQ
Board / Shall refer to the County of Alameda Board of Supervisors
CFR / Code of Federal Regulations
Contractor / When capitalized, shall refer to selected bidder that is awarded a contract
County / When capitalized, shall refer to the County of Alameda
Environmentally Preferable Products / Products manufactured in a manner such that the impact on the environment is minimized throughout the entire lifecycle of the product by implementing sustainable practices during material sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and by providing products that can be used and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner
EPA / United States Environmental Protection Agency
Federal / Refers to United States Federal Government, its departments and/or agencies
F.O.B / Shall mean without charge for delivery to destination and placing on board a carrier at a specified point (Free On Board)
FTP / File Transfer Protocol
HIPAA / Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Labor Code / Refers to California Labor Code
PBTs / Persistent, Bioaccumulative Toxins including compounds such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and mercury as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and listed on the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/opptintr/pbt/
PO / Shall refer to Purchase Order(s)
Quotation / Shall mean bidder’s response to this RFQ
Request for Quotation / Shall mean this document, which is the County of Alameda’s request for contractors’/bidders’ proposal to provide the goods and/or services being solicited herein. Also referred herein as RFQ
Response / Shall refer to bidder’s proposal or quotation submitted in reply to RFQ
RFQ / Request for Quotation
SLEB / Small Local Emerging Business
Source Reduction / Refers to products that result in a net reduction in the generation of waste compared to their previous or alternate version and includes durable, reusable and remanufactured products; products with no, or reduced, toxic constituents; and products marketed with no, or reduced, packaging.
State / Refers to State of California, its departments and/or agencies.
USPO / United States Post Office
II. STATEMENT OF WORK
A. INTENT
It is the intent of these specifications, terms and conditions to describe the various bulk mailing services required by County departments and agencies. The County is very interested in increasing the participation of certified small, local and emerging businesses (see County Provisions, Section V) in the contracting process. As a result, only bidders satisfying the locality requirements and certified by the County as a Small, Local Emerging Businesses (SLEB) by the bid submittal due date of this RFQ may participate in this competitive bid process.
The County intends to award multiple three-year contracts with two single year options to renew to all qualified bidders whose response meets the County’s requirements.
B. BACKGROUND/SCOPE
Currently, County departments/agencies establish individual bulk mailing services contracts. Documents and inserts are picked up by or delivered to the contractor for various bulk mailing services in accordance with the individual County department/agency’s specifications and timelines.
By contracting with multiple qualified SLEB vendors, the County hopes to create a cost-effective, competitive vendor pool that will be easy to work with and meets the specific requirements of each County department/agency for reliable, high quality bulk mailing services on a daily or an “as needed” basis.
At the conclusion of the bid process, the County will provide its departments/agencies a list of contracted bulk mailing SLEB vendors. Departments/agencies will contact vendors from this list to obtain a quote for their individual bulk mailing needs and establish long term working relationships with the vendors who submit the most economical quotes and provide the best service.
Some County departments/agencies also have storage requirements for boxed frequently mailed material. Under this County-wide contract, Contractors will be required to provide storage at no extra cost to the department/agency at their place of business or at a separate, secure location within Alameda County.
C. VENDOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. Vendor Minimum Qualifications
a. Vendor shall be certified by the County as a small, local and emerging business (SLEB) by the bid submittal due date. All bidders must submit Exhibit F-1 (SLEB Information Sheet) with their bid.
b. Bidder shall be regularly and continuously engaged in the business of providing bulk mailing services for at least three (3) years.
c. Bidder shall possess all permits, licenses and professional credentials necessary to perform services as specified under this RFQ.
2. Specific Requirements
Individual County departments/agencies will provide detailed job specifications to the awarded vendors when requesting quotes.
The specific requirements for all vendors are as follows:
a. Contractor’s facilities will be in a permanent structure, well-lighted, clean and properly maintained as solely determined by the County. County reserves the right to conduct site visits to Contractor’s premises prior to contract award to determine acceptability.
b. Contractor will be able to provide all labor, supplies, and materials to perform all bulk mailing services.
c. Contractor will provide all requested reports in the format and frequency required by the individual County department/agency.
d. Contractor will provide detailed postage reports for each day’s usage and a summary report indicating when the mail was picked up, the date it was mailed out, the serial number range of the documents, and the mail size (i.e. letter size, flats, small package, or parcels).
e. Contractor’s quotes will include all ancillary charges and shall be the maximum amount paid by County departments/agencies for any bulk mailing job. Any costs not clearly defined in Contractor’s quotation will be paid by Contractor.
f. Contractor will store all department/agency boxed printed materials in a locked storage area located on bidder’s premises or a separate, secure facility located within Alameda County at no extra cost to the County department/agency.
g. Contractor will be able to provide pick-up and delivery for those County department/agencies requiring such services.
h. Contractor will maintain the confidentiality of all mailings.
i. Contractor must have a secure, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site for data exchange.
j. Contractor will, where indicated, stamp mail items in preparation for delivery to the U. S. Post Office (USPO).
k. County departments/agencies will provide Contractor a postage reserve account with the department/agency’s current postage vendor. Contractor will email County departments/agencies to request the transfer of additional postage when postage balance reaches $100.
l. Contractor must use the most cost effective postage on all mailings.
m. Mailings will be delivered to the USPO sorted in an order that enables the County to receive the most economical pre-sort postage rates.
n. Contractor will provide service daily, except County holidays, if requested. When daily processing is requested, Contractor will deliver mailings to the USPO no later than 24 hours after Contractor takes possession of the mailings. Mailings picked up on Fridays or the day before a County holiday will be delivered to the USPO on the same day Contractor takes possession of the mailings.
D. DEBARMENT/SUSPENSION POLICY:
In order to prohibit the procurement of any goods or services ultimately funded by Federal awards from debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded parties, each bidder will be screened at the time of RFQ response to ensure bidder, its principal and their named subcontractors are not debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded by the United States Government in compliance with the requirements of 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3016.35, 28 CFR 66.35, 29 CFR 97.35, 34 CFR 80.35, 45 CFR 92.35 and Executive Order 12549.
§ The County will verify bidder, its principal and their named subcontractors are not on the Federal debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded list of vendors located at www.epls.gov; and
§ Bidders are to complete a Debarment and Suspension Certification form, Exhibit N attached, certifying bidder, its principal and their named subcontractors are not debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded by the United States Government.
E. GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS: The requirements outlined in this section apply to all product categories contained in this bid.
1. Regulatory Compliance:
Service providers will be in compliance with all local, state, and federal environmental regulations. Service providers will also be in compliance with all worker health & safety regulations that apply to their operation.
2. Source Reduction and Packaging:
The County has a strong commitment to source reduction, minimizing waste generation, and reducing the County’s expenditure on waste disposal and recycling. Bidders shall provide bulk packaging, reusable, or minimal packaging in providing products to the County. Packaging will be both made from recycled materials and be recyclable. Contractors should explore and provide opportunities for the reuse of packaging materials.
Packaging shall not contain inks, dyes, pigments, stabilizers, or any other additives to which any lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium has been intentionally introduced. The sum of the concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium shall not exceed one hundred (100) parts per million by weight.
3. Pallets and Large-Volume Packaging:
Pallets and large-volume packaging materials will be taken back by the Contractors. The County encourages the use of pallets that meet the EPA’s minimum post-consumer recycled content guidelines for pallets that can be found at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/procure/products/pallets.htm. In the case of large-volume packaging, the County prefers that the Contractor reuse or recycle the material.
III. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
F. COUNTY CONTACTS
GSA-Purchasing is managing the competitive process for this project on behalf of the County. All contact during the competitive process is to be through the GSA-Purchasing Department only.
The evaluation phase of the competitive process shall begin upon receipt of sealed bids until a contract has been awarded.
All questions regarding these specifications, terms and conditions are to be submitted in writing, preferably via e-mail by noon on May 10, 2011 to:
Stefanie Taylor, Contracts Specialist II
Alameda County, GSA-Purchasing
1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 907
Oakland, CA 94612
E-Mail:
Phone: 510-208-9610
Fax: 510-208-9626
The GSA Contracting Opportunities website will be the official notification posting place of all Requests for Interest, Proposals, Quotes and Addenda. Go to http://www.acgov.org/gsa_app/gsa/purchasing/bid_content/contractopportunities.jsp to view current contracting opportunities.
G. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Event / Date/LocationRequest Issued / April 25, 2011
Written Questions Due / by 12:00 noon on May 10, 2011
Networking/Bidders Conference / May 11, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. / at: Castro Valley Library
The Canyon Room
3600 Norbridge Avenue
Castro Valley, CA 94546
Networking/Bidders Conference / May 12, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. / at: General Services Agency
Room 1107, 11th Floor
1401 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
Addendum Issued / May 20, 2011
Response Due / June 3, 2011 by 2:00 p.m.
Evaluation Period / June 3 - June 28, 2011
Board Letter Issued / June 28, 2011
Board Award Date / July 12, 2011
Contract Start Date / August 1, 2011
Note: Award and start dates are approximate.
It is the responsibility of each bidder to be familiar with all of the specifications, terms and conditions and the site condition. By the submission of a bid, the bidder certifies that if awarded a contract they will make no claim against the County based upon ignorance of conditions or misunderstanding of the specifications.
H. NETWORKING/BIDDERS CONFERENCE
Networking/bidders conferences will be held to:
§ Provide an opportunity for bidders to ask specific questions about the project and request RFQ clarification.