25-ITB-002-KP - Addendum 1 - Q and A.pdf

Ron DeSantis GOVERNOR J. Alex Kelly SECRETARY

Caldwell Building | 107 E. Madison Street Tallahassee, FL 32399

850.245.7105 | www.FloridaJobs.org | Twitter: @FLACommerce

An equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and service are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. All voice telephone numbers on this document may be reached by persons using TTY/TTD equipment via the Florida Relay Service at 711.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

ADDENDUM NO. 1

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 25-ITB-002-KP

SOLICITATION TITLE: Mail Services

RESPONSE OPENING DATE: 5/08/2025 @ 3:00 PM, EST

ADDENDUM NUMBER: 1

ADDENDUM PURPOSE: Q&A

ADDENDUM DATE: 4/28/2025

The Department hereby amends ITB No. 25-ITB-002-KP as noted within this Addendum. For revisions, underlines represents additions and strikethroughs represent deletions. All revisions are highlighted.

In the event of a conflict between previously posted information and the information contained herein, the information herein shall control. The information in this addendum is hereby made part of this solicitation. All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain in effect.

FAILURE TO FILE A PROTEST WITHIN THE TIME PRESCRIBED IN SECTION 120.57(3), FLORIDA STATUTES, OR FAILURE TO POST THE BOND OR OTHER SECURITY REQUIRED BY LAW WITHIN THE TIME ALLOWED FOR FILING A BOND SHALL CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF PROCEEDINGS UNDER CHAPTER 120, FLORIDA

STATUTES.

Any protest concerning this agency decision or intended decision must be timely filed with the Agency Clerk. Protests may be filed by courier, hand delivery, or U.S. mail at: Agency Clerk, Florida Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel, 107 East Madison Street, MSC 110, Caldwell Building, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-4128. Protests may also be filed by fax at (850) 921-3230, or by email at agency.clerk@commerce.fl.gov within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes and Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code (“F.A.C.”). It is the filing party’s responsibility to meet all filing deadlines. The Procurement Officer should be listed and copied in such filings.

The enclosed information has been provided for consideration in the preparation of your response to the above-mentioned solicitation.

This Addendum also includes the following change:

http://www.floridajobs.org/ http://www.twitter/ mailto:agency.clerk@commerce.fl.gov

4/28/2025

Change No. 1:

The Department’s response to timely submitted questions in accordance with the Calendar of Events.

Question Number

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference

Question Answers

Is this entire contract going to one vendor, or would I be able to secure just the courier portion?

Please refer to Section B.18 of the ITB.

How long is this contract good for?

Please refer to Section B.19 and B.20 of the ITB.

Is the payment dispursed before the start of service after or during?

Please refer to Section C.9.d of the ITB.

4 What requirements are you looking for in a courier service?

Please refer Section C.3.1 (Inbound Mail Services) and particularly Section C.3.7 (External Courier) of the ITB for detailed courier service requirements.

5 B.6 Definitions;

Imprint Postal Mail

Does the last sentence “May be used interchangeably with Pick and Pack.” Apply to this definition?

No

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

B.6 Definitions;

Copying

“Reproduction of original work in either color or black and white.”

From Pricing chart “Copying – Black and white impressions (includes Contractor’s provision of data processing and standard white paper)”

No Question Included

B.6 Definitions;

Storage and Warehousing

“A planned space for the efficient storage and handling of Correspondence.”

Correspondence = “All Mail Pieces that are not Postal Mail”

What is the volume of this mail that requires storage and how will the vendor receive this mail?

The primary use of Storage and Warehousing under this contract is for Contractor-provided envelope stock, as detailed in Section C.3.9.

Commerce is responsible for providing space to store excess envelopes (Section C.3.9.5, C.4.3).

Currently, there is no anticipated volume of 'Correspondence' (as defined in B.6, i.e., non-Postal Mail pieces) requiring separate storage by the Contractor under the Storage/Warehousing line item. If such a need arises, details and procedures would be provided.

8 C.2 Background/ Overview

“Mailing center operational hours (operational hours are defined as the time period the Contractor shall perform the services): Monday to Friday: Twenty-four (24) hours per day, excluding State holidays.

What support could be required of the Contractor during the house of 5:01 PM and 7:59 AM?

The majority of batches are ran after business hours. Usually between 7pm 6am the following day. There is potential for batches to be run 24/7.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

9 C.3 Contractor’s Responsibilities

7. “Contractor shall maintain all mail equipment in good working order.”

Please provide a list of mail equipment located at the on-site mailing center in the Caldwell building?

Please specify whether each item is owned by Commerce or the Contractor?

The Contractor is responsible for providing all necessary mail equipment to perform the services, as outlined in Section C.3, items 7 and 39. The Sendpro Mail Center 2000 currently located on-site is owned by the incumbent vendor and will not be available to the new Contractor. Commerce does not provide mail processing equipment for Contractor use under this ITB.

10 C.3 Contractor’s Responsibilities

12. “Contractor shall test for biological, chemical, and explosive agents, as these terms are defined by the Code of Federal Regulations, of suspicious mail pieces. “

To complete testing for: biological, chemical, and explosive agents, requires sophisticated equipment and processes not covered in the State Term contract nor in the pricing Attachment B included in this

ITB.

Does Commerce want a detail description of what would be required to check for All of the mentioned hazardous materials and the associated costs included in this bid response? Should these costs be provided outside Attachment B?

Contractor is required by Section C.3.12 to have procedures for handling suspicious mail, including initial screening and following USPS Publication 166 guidelines. This primarily involves visual inspection, isolation, and notification protocols. Commerce does not expect the Contractor to maintain specialized laboratory equipment or conduct independent laboratory testing for biological, chemical, or explosive agents as part of the standard services priced in Attachment B. In the event external, specialized testing is deemed necessary by appropriate authorities (e.g., law enforcement, HazMat) after the Contractor follows initial handling procedures, Commerce will coordinate and be responsible for the cost of such external testing services.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

11 C.3.3 Printing Is NCOA ever required or will the data have already met move update requirements?

NCOA is not required we have address standardization software

12 C.3.3 Printing

Bid indicates same day mailing with files provided by 8:00 a.m.

Are all jobs subject to this timing?

What is the cut off time for files arriving after 8 AM subject to same day mailing?

Section C.3.2.c refers specifically to printing of daily mail documents placed in the queue by 8:00 AM EST. More broadly, Section C.3.2.d requires all outbound mail received by the Contractor by 3:00 P.M., EST to be processed and delivered to the appropriate carrier the same day (standard mail may be handled project-by-project). Files/mail received after the 3:00 PM EST cut-off would typically be processed for Next Day Delivery.

13 C.3.3 Printing; 11

“Contractor shall have the ability to provide copying services as part of mail processing when requested by Commerce. Contractor shall have the ability to make black and white and color copies. Contractor shall have the ability to make copies of various sized, which may include index cards, post cards, letter-size paper, and legal-size paper.”

Clarify that “copies” under this point is exclusively include is files provided for Document Composition Services?

Confirm that these services under this specific point would not be including the definition of “Copying (Color or Black and White)”.

The requirement in C.3.3.11 potentially involves both Document Composition Services and high-speed copying. Any copying performed under this requirement that aligns with the definition in B.6 should be billed according to the 'Copying (Color or Black and White)' per impression rates on Attachment B. Tasks involving formatting electronic information would fall under “Document Composition Services” priced per hour on Attachment B.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference

Question Answers

14 C.3.3 Printing

Do any documents require perfed paper?

Very limited; currently only two templates require perfed paper.

15 C.3.3 Printing; 6

What format are your current production files when sent to the vendor?

PDF files (compressed).

16 C.3.3 Printing

Do any of the documents contain more than 15 pages? If yes, What is the monthly volume of mail pieces over 15 pages?

A minimum of 500 documents with 15+ pages are processed daily(500 x 30 = 15,000). This could increase dramatically with legislative mandates, state emergencies, etc.

17 C.3.3 Printing

What are the average page counts per month that are simplex?

What are the average page counts per month that are duplex?

If the above cannot be provide, can you provide the percentage of work that is simplex?

75% - 80% of the printing is duplex.

18 C.3.3 Printing

Pricing grid has one price for production print however the bid specifies 8.5x11 & 8.5x14. Can you confirm we are to provide one price that covers either size?

Yes, however, currently there are no 8.5 X 14 printing.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

19 C.3.3 Printing Can you provide what percentage of the work is 8.5x14?

Currently, there are no 8.5 X 14 printing.

20 C.3.4 Folding, Inserting, and Metering

“All production mail is to be metered at the presort rate equivalent to the USPS current 3-digit postage rate. All correspondence mail that is not presorted is metered at the full USPS postage rate.”

Current USPS guidelines would indicate that this mail would be “metered at the AADC postage rate or better”, please confirm that under current guidelines this would be AADC rate.

Yes, the requirement in Section C.3.4 and C.3.5 for metering production mail at the presort rate equivalent to the USPS current 3-digit postage rate aligns with achieving, at minimum, the AADC (Automated Area Distribution Center) presort level discount under current USPS guidelines. The Contractor is expected to achieve the best possible USPS presort discounts for all eligible mail.

21 C.3.5 Mail Presorting;

The State of Florida State Term Contract for Mail Services has set postage billing in arrears of two weeks.

Would the Department of Commerce consider the same?

Postage billing in arrears of two weeks versus one month?

Section C.3.5.10 specifies that postage shall be invoiced monthly in arrears. The terms and conditions stated in the ITB, including the monthly postage invoicing requirement, shall remain as specified for this solicitation.

22 C.3.9 Envelope Services

Are month volume estimates available for the following:

Average monthly volume by envelope size?

Average page count by envelope size?

Approximately 290,000 per month:

Size 001 - approx. 250,000 Size 002 – approx. 8,000 Size 003 – approx. 8,000 Size 004 – approx. 25,000

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

23 C.3.9 Envelope Services

5.” Excess envelopes will be stored at a Commerce facility. Contractor shall coordinate with Commerce for the delivery, storage, and retrieval of envelope stock. This will be done timely to avoid delays in processing Commerce mail. Commerce will not be charged by the Contractor for the storage of envelopes.”

No Question

24 C.3.9 Envelope Services

There is not any documentation on the invoicing of envelopes.

Will Commerce accept invoicing for envelopes at the time of order placement? If no, what are the invoicing procedures for envelopes?

Commerce will reimburse the contractor for envelopes as a pass-through cost once the envelopes have been received.

25 C.3.9 Envelope Services

Can you provide typical volumes that envelopes would be ordered at by envelope version?

Commerce purchases approximately 3.5 million envelopes annually across all types listed in Exhibit 1. Order frequency and quantities per type vary based on usage rates and inventory levels, often involving bulk orders placed a few times per year to optimize pricing. Specific historical order patterns are not available, but usage aligns with the monthly volumes provided in response to Question 22.

26 C.3.9 Envelope Services

Can you provide additional envelope specs including window size and placement?

See Updated Exhibit 1 – Envelope Images.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

C.6 Staff Qualifications and Performance Criteria

“Mail Processing, Local Courier Service, Scanning and Indexing, and Storage and Warehousing.”

What is the specific scanning and indexing capability requirements?

Please provide the volume of Scanning and Indexing over the most recent 12-month period?

“Scanning and Indexing” per Section B.6 refers to converting paper documents to digital formats with indexing for retrieval. While there has been no requirement for this specific service (priced per page on Attachment B) over the past 12 months, Commerce requires Bidders demonstrate this capability for potential future needs. Specific requirements (e.g., document types, volume estimates, required index fields, resolution, output format) would be defined if and when the service is requested.

Note: Routine scanning of barcodes on returned mail for tracking purposes is considered part of standard mail processing, not the 'Scanning and Indexing' service line item. Exhibit 3 shows barcode examples related to mail processing, not specifications for the Scanning and Indexing service.

28 C. 7 Background Screen

“Contractor or Contractor’s employees, agents, or subcontractors, who in the performance of this Contract will be assigned to work in a position determined by Commerce to be a position of special trust are required to submit to a Level 2 background screening and be approved to work in a special trust position prior to being assigned to this project.”

Please provide what roles require Level 2 background screen for current services provided by the incumbent contractor.

Pursuant to Section C.7, all Contractor staff handling mail or possessing access to Commerce print data or personally identifiable information (PII) would require a Level 2 background check.

ITB Page Number, Section Number, Subsection Reference Question Answers

ITB Page #29 Section C.3.3 Printing ITB Page #30 Section C.3.4 Folding, Inserting, and Metering Section C.3.5 Mail Presorting

Please provide the volumes for each Mail Processing Services (Group One) activity over the most recent 12-month period.

Printing Folding and Inserting Sorting Copying

Approximate annual totals:

Printing – 9.9 million

Folding/Inserting – 502,500

Sorting – 502,500

ITB Page #28 Section C.3.2 Outbound Mail Services

Please provide the volume of stamped and unstamped outbound mail collected by the Courier and On-site Mail Service team that require metering and delivery to the post office over the most recent 12-month period.

Volume of mail is approximately 2.1 million pieces.

31 C.3.6 On-Site Personnel 1.o.

What are the volumes for bullet 4:

“folding, inserting, scanning,” What type of folds are required?

What type of envelopes will be used?

What is the indexing or filing requirements for the scanning requirement?

Could this work be processed offsite?

We currently do not capture this information.

Yes, this can be processed offsite as long as Florida Commerce approved security measures are in place.

32 Attachment B

There is location for folding and inserting up to 15 pages. There is not a location for Folding and inserting over 15 pages.

Should there be a location in Attachment B for Folding and Inserting over 15-pages?

No

33 Attachment B

Based on the pricing grid folding and inserting up to 15 pages are the same price regardless of the size of the envelope being used? Can you confirm #10, 6x9 and 9x12 all bill at the same rate?

Yes