2-ADOT Narrative - Introduction.pdf

Introduction

To Whom it May Concern:

The Public Group, LLC, is pleased to respond to the request for proposal from ADOT for Online Auction Services and offer our solution to the challenges currently faced by your agency. We understand that the agency desires a response in providing Internet based surplus auction sales of excess agency inventory.

The Public Group offers an acclaimed online auction application, Public Surplus, which will allow the agency to enjoy significant returns from the sale of excess property while minimizing associated costs. This application is designed to meet the unique needs of government agencies. Public Surplus is the most comprehensive and easy-to-use online auction service available.

The online auction application, Public Surplus, for the disposition of surplus property currently makes its services available to any government agency in the United States of America.

We have a proven record of providing online auction services to over 5,000 agencies including state entities, cities, counties, public utilities, and cities. This includes numerous contracts in place in which the optional extensions have been executed until they were exhausted and required to go out to bid. This also includes over 200 current using agencies in the State of Arizona.

We focus on doing business with clients that are innovative and see the benefit of using online auctions from an economic and staffing standpoint. Our dedicated sales and support staff attend government trade shows and discuss our services and the benefit of online auctions via telephone with government clients. We do not expand our sales business beyond that which our support staff can handle. Our growth comes from providing the best customer support in the industry. Many of our new clients are word of mouth referrals that come to us from other users of our system. As the nation continues to adopt online practices for bidding and auction processes, The Public Group will continue to be the leader in the industry assisting agencies every step of the way.

The Public Group’s online auction application, Public Surplus, is completely web-driven. The only requirement the agency will need to manage for conducting an auction is to supply digital pictures of the items to be sold and upload them via a web browser. The Public Group will supply a dedicated customer support representative to provide onsite assistance with the loading of assets to the auction site if the agency requires assistance.

There is no software to install or maintain, and The Public Group takes full responsibility in keeping the auction site up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. The Public Group's staff assigned to your account will be available for consultation with site staff on an as–needed basis between 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Pacific (PT) Monday through Friday.

The Public Group has over fifteen (15) years of experience in the online auction business and extensive knowledge of how to use diverse advertising media in potential markets to attract bidders who are seeking the type of surplus property the agency has for sale. Providing first class customer service is the goal of The Public Group.

The Public Group will provide all training, manuals and on-site/online sessions the agency requires in order to be comfortable using our system. There will not be any additional charges for training and setting up of the system.

The Public Group will also provide dedicated customer support representatives to assist with any additional training and assistance needed throughout the entire usage of Public Surplus.

We provide in-person system training, webinars, online chat, as well as dedicated support representatives to assist with all the agency’s needs. Agencies also have access to our online Help section, where there are detailed instructions for how to create and manage auctions.

Our expert team is ready to assist the agency with a wide variety of marketing methods. The Public Group has found that there are several successful ways to increase the revenue and visibility of auctions, in addition to the customary advertisements in periodicals, newspapers and trade publications. Our buyer contact team has spent more than 15 years researching and developing the largest qualified buyer database for government agencies.

ADOT will benefit directly from this team calling on its valuable auctions to increase revenue where it is needed the most.

Our system provides a detailed audit record of all activity which allows for reallocation of surplus items internally and provides online auctioning for those items that are not internally reallocated.

The Public Group has created a tool that analyzes various metrics, i.e., names, addresses, phone numbers, etc., and sends an alert to our fraud department to evaluate the threat potential and minimize said threat. In addition to our threat protection, the seller has the ability to block any buyer they deem a threat from their criteria, to prevent them from bidding on their auctions. We use address verification with credit cards and bid deposits which greatly reduces the number of default bidders since the buyer will lose their bid deposit if they do not complete the purchase of an auction they won.

This proposal is in all respects fair and in good faith without collusion or fraud and that the signer of the proposal, Zackary Corbett has the authority to bind the principal proponent.

Zackary Corbett – Authorized for Communication and Representation of proposal.

Surplus Product Manager 1503 South 40 East Suite 350 Provo, UT 84606

(801) 932-7000 Ext 153 801-932-7001