Request for a Proposal
(“RFP”)
IBM Corporation and its Customers
RFP Date: 02/22/2011
RFP Due Date: 3/15/2011 4 PM EST
Revision 1.0
The information in this document shall not be disclosed outside the BUYER organization and those Companies specifically identified to respond to this RFP. It shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than to evaluate and respond to this RFP. If a contract is awarded as a result of, or in conjunction with, the submission of this document, the selected Supplier shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the information to the extent required to close an Agreement between the Parties.IBM Procurement reserves the right to award all or part of this Agreement. IBM also has the right not to award this Agreement to any supplier. This is a Request for a Proposal and does not constitute a commitment of funds. / Submitted to:
Multiple Participants
Send Responses to:
IBM General Procurement
Asia Pacific = &
EMEA&CEEMA =
&
Latin America =
&
North America
Content
Definitions 4
Background and objectives 4
Purpose 5
Scope 5
Response format 6
Solution to IBM 6
Response offer validity 6
Quotation requirements 6
Quotation design 6
Response time 7
Special bid 7
OEM Relationships…………………………………………………………………………………….8
Work Authorizations (“WA”) 8
Rescheduling/Cancellation of WA’s 9
Alterations to WA’s 9
Cancellation of WA’s for late delivery 9
Product Returns 10
Returns for Convenience 10
Returns for Convenience Qualifiers 10
Returned Products Requirements 11
Price Differences 11
Credits & Restocking Fees 11
Returns for Cause 12
Return for cause qualifiers 12
Returns for Cause Buyer Options & Credits 12
Volume Rebates 12
OEM rebates 13
GPS (BTO) Requirement...... 12
Most Favored Customer...... 13
Organizational Setup...... 13
Organizational requirements 14
Contacts 14
Escalation path 15
Escalation response time 15
Regular standard reporting 14
Quality reporting 17
Terms and Conditions……………………………………………………………………………………..15
Terms and termination 17
Payment terms 18
Breakdown / Audit Requests……….……………………………………………………………………16
Quality Performance for General Services 19
Responsibilities 19
Audits 19
Quarterly reviews 19
General Terms...... 17
Taxes...... 17
Billing 20
Currency 21
Ordering and Invoicing 21
Electronic Commerce 22
Non refundable expenses 22
Exchange of information 22
Compliance with Environmental Laws 23
Export Documentation 24
Supplier's use of Subcontractors 24
Third Party Code Warranty 25
Financial Reporting 25
Additional Personal Data Requirements for Supplier 26
Supplier and Supplier Personnel 27
Pay when paid clause 28
ITAR – International Traffic in Arms Regulation 29
Compliance requirements 29
Attachment A – Company Information 31
Attachment B – Product Information and Coverage 35
Transaction based pricing 35
Attachment C – Standard order process 36
Attachment D – Overall solution (B2B) 37
Attachment E – Staging Overview 40
Attachment F – Electronic Access to Stock and Order Information 41
Attachment G – GEO Requirements – North America 43
Attachment H – GEO Requirements – Latin America 44
Attachment I – GEO Requirements – EMEA 45
Attachment J – GEO Requirements – CEE&MEA 46
Attachment K – GEO Requirements – AP 48
Attachment L – Escalation path 49
Attachment M – Other Service Offerings 50
Appendix N – SCM BPS and leveraged agreement information 52
Definitions
“End Customer” means any IBM actual or prospective customer to whom IBM wishes to resell
Products purchased from Supplier under this Agreement;
“Product(s)” means connectivity hardware, software or any combination thereof;
“RMA” means Return Material Authorization
“OEM Supplier” means "Original Equipment Manufacturer" supplier of third party logoed
Products.
Background and objectives
IBM Global Procurement is responsible for buying products such as computer parts and services like Travel at the lowest possible prices in the industry. IBM Global Procurement purchases goods and services through three major areas: General Procurement, Systems Production Procurement and Technology Group Procurement. The Connectivity Commodity council, as part of General procurement, purchases all Cabling and Connectivity hardware and services including networked storage and wireless LAN, copper and fiber optic cabling materials and installation services, telephone hardware and services, and uninterruptible power supplies.
In 2010 (YTD), the IBM Connectivity procurement organisation placed orders in 67 countries around the world. The countries of interest for this RFP are:
In 2010, the cabling (distribution and installer) spend in USD was as follows:
EMEA: $73.1M / Can: $14.2M / US: $66.5M / LA: $22M / AP: $87.5
This document and all the deliverables was written to cover all the requirements for all 4 geographies (56 countries) that make up 85% of IBM’s current cabling spend. The RFP attachments that your company has received is either (North America, EMEA/CEEMEA, Asia Pacific, or Latin America). If your company wishes to participate in the other geographies please send a note to and you will receive the pricing templates that must be populated for those specific areas. All due dates and deliverables are the same across all the RFP’s and are expected to remain the same.
Purpose
The purpose of this RFP is to identify a Geo/Country integrated distributor, which has the capabilities to support IBM’s worldwide growth strategy with a simplified but efficient solution, which will differentiate IBM from the global market.
With this solution, the awarded distributor is capable to support global or regional IBM projects with advanced supply chain solutions, which might include staging, pre-configuration, assembling, distribution, delivery, customs clearance and scheduled onsite deliveries.
Additionally, the awarded distributor will support the IBM Procurement Connectivity council in the targeted areas within this RFP to reduce the number of suppliers in all the GEOs, which provide a similar or the same service.
The awarded distributor will provide a cost-model that will help IBM reduce the cost of goods and supply chain cost while delivering cabling products in an expeditious/high quality manner.
The IBM Procurement Connectivity Council strategy is to select a prime distributor(s) for each of the GEOs that is able to deliver products of the referenced OEM’s cost effectively. In addition to this, and where it makes strategic sense, each GEO may select a secondary or third distributor for competitive bid purposes.
Scope
Vision:
“By 2013 our vision is to have competitive coverage in each country and preferably a globally integrated distributor, which will provide a visionary but feasible solution to IBM, including a supply chain, defined by a competitive, cost-effective, simplified and efficient solution, which will differentiate IBM from the global market.”
In scope are OEM products as listed in the (Attachment B - Product Information and Coverage) for which IBM is looking for an advanced supply chain solution for all GEOs.
In general, the pricing portion of this RFP is requesting a (no greater than %) pricing methodology. The formula can be found in Attachment B (Product Pricing Sheets). This markup is to include the following services without an increase to the markup % proposed to IBM.
· Bill of material creation
· IBM dedicated sales team
· Technical support
· Sales expertise
Maintenance and professional services are not in the scope of this RFP. But exceptionally, an IBM requestor may purchase such service from the distributor. Pricing for such services have to be agreed separately.
Response format
Please provide your response by e-mail to IBM to the referenced person in the contact details section in the following formats:
· PDF (or),
· Word document (saved as) (Supplier name.doc)
· Attachment B – Product Information and Coverage must be populated back to IBM in Xcel format
· Attachment B (part 2) - Product Pricing Sheets – These spreadsheets must be populated for each country that your company would like to participate.
Please submit the entire proposal/documentation back to IBM in a ZIP.file.
Solution To IBM
Response offer validity
The response offer validity is 180 days after submission of the latest version of your response.
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Quotation requirements
Quotation design
Any quotation/offer submitted by the distributor has to apply the following formal requirements:
· Supplier header with complete address and logo
· Quotation reference
· Date
· Complete IBM address, for example:
IBM Switzerland Ltd
Procurement
Vulkanstrasse 106 / P.O. Box
8010 Zurich
Switzerland
· Contract references (including SOW# and relevant country Participation Agreement)
· Offer validity
· Delivery date
· Part number, OEM Price, OEM discount %, distributor uplift %, Quantity, & net-price
· Transportation, handling and any other cost have to be shown in a separate line
· The contractual agreed Inco-term
· The offer is binding
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Response time
Standard response time for a quotation request with up to 49 line items is:
Request received before 4 PM / 24 hoursRequest received after 4 PM / Next day until COB
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For large configurations with 50+ line items, the response time is 48 hours.
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Special bid
Buyer may request for a special bid price either from the distributor or the OEM. It is expected that Supplier will, in good faith, negotiate with OEM for additional price reductions for the Buyer. Or if the Buyer has negotiated directly with OEM, Supplier will honor the additional discount.
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OEM Relationships
Supplier will reach out and establish relationships with OEM’s that are not part of your standard portfolio in order to fulfill IBM requests and requirements.
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How long (days) does it take to implement a new OEM relationship in your purchasing and delivery systems.
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Work Authorizations (“WA”)
IBM will authorize procurement through a Purchase Order, which may cover all Products, Services, and Maintenance required for an IBM Project, and the PO will be generated from IBM Global Procurement.
The Buyer’s respective Project Manager for the account will regulate when authorized Products, Services, and Maintenance are to be supplied/delivered, using a Work Authorization (WAs).
WAs are the only authorization for Supplier to deliver Product. WAs will: (1) specify the number of units of each part number that Supplier shall deliver; (2) reference this Transaction Authorization; and (3) state the location or locations where Products shall be delivered. Supplier shall only deliver Products to locations and in quantities that are specified in WAs. As long as WAs are issued consistent with this RFP and subject to Product availability, Supplier shall not have the right to reject such WAs.
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Rescheduling/Cancellation of WA’s
Buyer may reschedule a Delivery/Ship Date or cancel the WA of any undelivered Equipment or Program Products multiple times without incurring a charge.
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Alterations to WA’s
Buyer may do an alteration to a WA anytime before the effective ship date of the WA without incurring a charge.
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Cancellation of WA’s for late delivery
Buyer may cancel a WA for late delivery without incurring a charge.
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Product Returns
Notwithstanding any other provisions in the Agreement and in addition to any other remedies provided for in the Agreement, at law or in equity, Supplier will accept and Buyer may return Program Products and Equipment (collectively referred to as “Products” or “Product”) in accordance with the terms and conditions provided in this Section. Products may be returned in accordance with the Supplier’s product return policy in the event that such policy is more beneficial, than the return policies set forth herein, to Buyer. Opened shrink wrapped software, orders for less than two-hundred fifty ($250) dollars and opened consumable items are not eligible for return unless specifically agreed to otherwise by Supplier. Consumable items include paper, transparencies, toner cartridges, ink cartridges, data media and cleaning supplies.
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Returns for Convenience
Returns for Convenience Qualifiers
Buyer may return Products to Supplier at Buyer’s convenience, in accordance with this Section. Except as provided in the Section titled Returns for Cause, discontinued, end of life or withdrawn Products determined as of the date the Supplier or original equipment manufacturer provides notification of such status for Products, any products built or configured to customer specifications and Products requested to be returned under conditions in noncompliance with the sub-Section titled Returned Products Requirements, must be pre-approved for return by the Supplier. Freight costs for returned Products under this Section will be at Buyer’s expense. To allow for these Product returns the parties agree to comply with the following:
1. Buyer must notify Supplier of its intent to return Products within30business days after receipt of the Products;
2. within twenty-four (24) hours after receipt of Buyer’s notice, Supplier will issue Buyer a return merchandise authorization (RMA);
3. from the date Buyer receives Supplier’s RMA, Buyer will use commercially reasonable efforts to ship Products to Supplier within 30(thirty) business days if shipment is from domestic locations or within30 (thirty) business days if the shipment is from international locations.
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Returned Products Requirements
Products returned under this Section must:
1. be in their original box, carton or package with matching serial numbers;
2. be in new or like new condition with all original material;
3. have never been used by Buyer;
4. any shrink wrapped software must be returned with seals unbroken.
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Price Differences
If the price of the returned Product is less at the time of the return than at the time Buyer was initially invoiced for the Product, Buyer will not receive a credit for any such reduction in price; provided however, that Supplier must provide Buyer with documentation to support any claimed price reduction and Buyer must agree with such claimed amount, which agreement will not be unreasonably withheld.
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Credits & Restocking Fees
Upon receipt of the returned Products, Supplier will issue a credit to Buyer for the original amount invoiced, subject to set-off for any mutually agreed to price reduction as provided in the sub-Section titled Price Differences, and less a restocking fee based on Supplier’s reasonable, actual and necessary expenses incurred in the return of the Products but in no event greater than<Enter%>(_%) percent of the value of the Products. In the comments section, Please state what you’re the charge is for (restocking fee).