116783 O3 Addendum 1 Q&A.pdf

STATE OF NEBRASKA ADDENDUM, QUESTIONS and ANSWERS 09/23/2015

ADDENDUM ONE (1), QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Date: 09/01/2023

To: All Bidders

From: Julie Schiltz, Buyer

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services

RE: Addendum for Request for Proposal Number 116783 O3 to be opened September 08, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time

Questions and Answers

Following are the questions submitted and answers provided for the above mentioned Request for Proposal. The questions and answers are to be considered as part of the Request for Proposal.

It is the Bidder’s responsibility to check the State Purchasing Bureau website for all addenda or amendments.

Question Number

Question State Response

1. The current proposed RFP due date does not allow Keefe adequate time to source the requested items. Keefe is requesting a two-week extension on the Holiday Gift Program RFP due date.

To meet the early October release of the Holiday Food Gift Program order form, at this time, NDCS will not be adjusting the bid opening date.

2. Will the DOC accept variance in product sizes?

There can be some flexibility in product size. If offering an alternative size, respondent should reflect the cost per package, ounce and total ounces as described on the cost proposal.

Respondent should refer to RFP Section V.H. Product Requirements and Restrictions.

Alternative offerings should be reflected on the cost proposal and described in the RFP response.

3. If a vendor can describe in their response, their existing process to accept, process and ship family/friends orders via a website with the domain name www.nebraskapackages.com (we own the domain but is currently inactive) and still accept inmate placed orders via NDCS forwarding them to us, all the while adhering to the dollar limit and package count as required, is there any way that NDCS could approve that method for use for Holiday 2023 rather than waiting to implement in later years?

We currently accept and ship over

1.7 million packages annually to state and county department of corrections. We have the ability to accept payment online, collect and remit the appropriate sales tax due to the state of Nebraska.

We provide this service currently to 4 County Jail operations in the state of Nebraska.

The current process proposed by NDCS is very manual and adds processing costs that must be accounted for in our bid prices that are part of the evaluation criteria.

We can demo a similar website currently in use at over 20 State Department of Corrections and active the domain www.nebraskapackages.com in a matter of days.

Due to the time restraints, an automated process may not be feasible for the 2023 season, but NDCS may entertain the option to determine what best meets NDCS needs.

Respondents are encouraged to provide alternative automated ordering process as an optional service including the cost and the implementation timeline for consideration as well as a response that meets the current RFP requirements.

Per Section II.F.Prices, The State will be given full proportionate benefit of any decreases for the term of the contract. If the awarded bidder and NDCS agreed to do an alternative process after the 2023 season, NDCS would expect any decreases in price to be reflected at that time.

Respondent may provide an alternative method of ordering in their response and include costs and the implementation timelines for the alternative

4. Per the RFP on page 27 under the Work Plan, it states: 3. Orders will be processed by NDCS staff and provided as a summary to the Contractor for ordering and package processing. a. The summary order list provided by NDCS will include the total number of items ordered. 4. Labels will include Incarcerated individual Name, individual number, facility, and housing location of the individual orders for delivery purposes. A detailed order list by incarcerated individual will accompany the labels However, per the RFP on page 28, C4 it states:3. Orders will be processed by NDCS staff and provided as a summary to the Contractor for ordering and package processing. a. The summary order list provided by NDCS will include the total number of items ordered. 4. Labels will include Incarcerated individual Name, individual number, facility, and housing location of the individual orders for delivery purposes. A detailed order list by incarcerated individual will accompany the labels

Please clarify if the vendor will receive orders prior to receiving labels or if orders and labels will be sent at the same time.

If labels are sent independently of the orders, does NDCS plan to sequence the labels in a logical manner? Please indicate what sequence method will be used.

Yes, contractor will receive the orders prior to the labels.

The reason for this is because sometimes incarcerated individuals are relocated to different facilities. Providing the most current information prior to shipments helps minimize the order being shipped to the wrong facility.

Through past experience NDCS has found this to be the most efficient and effective way to manage the orders.

NDCS does sequence the labels in a logical manner which is by facility, location (housing unit), incarcerated person(s) name and number.

5. Per the RFP it states the below for submission:

Upload via sharefile link -https://nebraska.sharefile .com/r-

NDCS has tested the site via Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. The link is working appropriately.

r0ee52bfe5a354b3880a 1 a586f86d8fb 7

As of now the link is not working – will this be corrected soon?

Please make sure there are no spaces in the link. If respondent continues to have issues, please call 402-479- 5718 prior to 12:00pm (CST) 9/8/2023.

https://nebraska.sharefile.com/r-r0ee52bfe5a354b3880a1a586f86d8fb7

6. It appears NDCS is requesting that the vendor package each order as an individual order and apply the label supplied by NDCS for package identification, is there any requirements as to the type of packaging required?

Bidder should refer to RFP Section V.J. Gift package security requirements and Section V.K. Package and delivery for packaging requirements.

7. May multiple orders be placed into a large cardboard box for shipping purposes or must each order be placed into its own cardboard box?

The bidder should describe this in their response in the RFP. It is acceptable for multiple orders to be in one box;

however, each individual order must be packaged as one inside the larger package. One package with multiple orders loose inside is not acceptable.

8. If there a maximum box size -width, height and length to adhere to?

Standard bulk packaging/ box is acceptable for street level delivery.

9. It appears that NDCS will receive all the money upfront for the orders and NDCS will audit each order to ensure that the dollar amount ordered is equal to the dollar amount prepaid (including sales tax) and those approved orders will be sent to the vendor for fulfillment

– is that correct?

Yes.

10. How and when will the vendor get paid?

a. How will the vendor know the prepaid amount that should be received for that order from NDCS? Will each order sent to the vendor indicate the validated dollar amount NDCS received from the buyer of the package?

Yes, each order will indicate the validated dollar amount received from the buyer, and a grand total. NDCS will also send a report listing total quantities and amounts for each item, and a report listing total quantities and amounts for each item by facility.

Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2403, “[n]o goods or services shall be deemed to be received by an agency until all such goods or services are completely delivered and finally accepted by the agency The State shall have forty-five (45) calendar days to pay after a valid and accurate invoice is received by the State.

Please refer to Section IV Payment for additional information.

https://nebraska.sharefile.com/r-r0ee52bfe5a354b3880a1a586f86d8fb7 https://nebraska.sharefile.com/r-r0ee52bfe5a354b3880a1a586f86d8fb7

11. Who will collect and remit Sales Tax due to the State of Nebraska?

a. Will the approved order form sent to the vendor from NDCS clearly show the amount of tax that is due and prepaid for each order?

Historically sales tax has not been charged on orders due to being food items.

12. Are the paper order forms numbered or have any way to identify a specific order from another one other than the inmate ID who the package is being ordered for?

NDCS creates an order form that is distributed to the incarcerated individuals and posted to NDCS website.

These order forms will contain the incarcerated individuals name, number, and facility.

The actual order forms are not provided to the vendor. The orders are entered into a database and summary reports provided instead, along with the individual orders (on a report from the database). The summary report NDCS will provide to the contractor will include inmate name, number, facility, and housing unit.

13. Will NDCS provide a summary sheet with an order identification number, prepaid dollar amount for the products and the prepaid dollar amount of the sales tax so the vendor has a way to audit the process to ensure that the vendor is paid correctly?

Yes, NDCS will send a report listing total quantities and amounts for each item, a report listing total quantities and amounts for each item by facility, along with individual orders/totals for each inmate identification number and amount.

Summary sheets may look like below:

This addendum will become part of the proposal and should be acknowledged with the Request for Proposal.

Questions and Answers