QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RESPONDENTS

Please ensure your proposal includes detailed responses to the questions below:

BENEFITS OF THE FIRM

1. The name, address, phone number, and email address for the authorized agent submitting the proposal.

2. Description of vendor including:

a. Vendor size/history

b. Scope of clients serviced and members

c. Annual dollar amount of current contracts negotiated

d. Organizational chart

3. Describe your firm's experience serving Indiana K–12 school nutrition programs: including the size and scope of your K–12 customer base, years serving K–12 customers, approximate annual K–12 sales volume, number of K–12 districts served, and organizational structure supporting K–12 customers.

4. Identify the specific personnel who will be assigned to CIESC Region 9 and describe each individual's role, responsibilities, backup coverage, and primary point of contact responsibilities. Include but not limited to:

a. Customer service

b. Account management

c. Pricing

d. Rebates

e. Commodities, K12, Processor link, PrimeroEdge

f. Delivery

g. Stockouts/substitutions

h. Reporting

5. Describe your customer support and escalation model for CIESC Region 9, including expected response times for routine questions, urgent operational issues, order concerns, delivery issues, shortages, pricing discrepancies, and emergencies. Identify support hours, escalation levels, backup coverage, and after-hours support. (e.g., evenings, weekends, or 24-hour support).

6. Provide at least five Indiana K–12 school district references that can be contacted to evaluate your firm's performance and service under comparable food distribution or GPO contracts. For each reference, provide district name, contact name/title, phone/email, length of service, annual approximate volume, and a brief description of services provided.

7. All CIESC Cooperative districts will be serviced out of the same distribution center. Identify the distribution center that will service CIESC Region 9, including facility name, address, ownership/operation, approximate capacity, geographic service area, and the CIESC Region 9 districts it will serve. Describe how the facility supports inventory availability, delivery reliability, and service continuity.

8. Rebates, Incentives, Discounts and Other Financial Benefits: Identify all rebates, allowances, discounts, incentives, credits, promotional savings, and other financial benefits available to participating CIESC Region 9 districts under your proposal.

For each benefit, vendors shall identify:

· Manufacturer or program name

· Eligible products or purchases

· Rebate, discount, or incentive offered

· Volume thresholds, tiers, exclusions, or other conditions

· Eligibility requirements

· Qualifying period

· Payment or credit method and frequency

· Whether the benefit is guaranteed or volume-dependent

· Required documentation or reporting

a. Vendors shall provide sufficient information for CIESC Region 9 and participating districts to understand, track, and independently reconcile rebates and incentives to actual purchases. Detailed calculation methodology, formulas, qualifying purchase information, and examples shall be provided through the Rebate Scenario Worksheet.

b. A rebate or incentive that cannot be independently verified based on the vendor's reporting and supporting documentation will not be considered a complete response.

c. Per USDA regulations 7 CFR 210.21, all rebates, discounts, or other applicable credits offered must go directly back to the School Food Authorities’ nonprofit food service account.

9. Provide your proposed fee structure for the initial contract term and each potential renewal period. Identify the distributor/service fee or markup, fixed fees for non-market-basket purchases, and any circumstances under which fees may change.

10. Provide information about how often price changes occur on items stocked for the school districts.

11. The Vendor shall comply with the Administrative Fee requirements outlined in Section 2.

a. Describe your process for calculating, reconciling, reporting, and remitting the CIESC administrative fee of $0.20 per delivered case, including payment frequency, reporting format, responsible personnel, and reconciliation procedures.

12. Describe the three key capabilities, services, technology, resources, and other differentiators that distinguish your firm from competitors in the K–12 school nutrition market. Identify the specific benefit these differentiators would provide to CIESC Region 9 districts.

13. Cooperative Program Value: If participation in your program requires membership, affiliation, or participation agreements, identify all membership levels, fees, dues, commitments, eligibility requirements, benefits, and any rebates, credits, or reimbursements available to offset those costs.

a. Vendors shall also address the following:

i. Describe all documentation and onboarding requirements necessary for a CIESC Region 9 district to participate.

ii. Describe any additional services, resources, technology, or benefits available through membership that would benefit participating districts.

iii. This solicitation applies to current CIESC Region 9 Cooperative members as well as future districts that may join the Cooperative during the contract term. Please describe the process for adding additional school districts to the contract, including any membership requirements, fees, approvals, or onboarding timelines.

OPERATIONS-ORDERS & DELIVERY

1. CIESC Region 9 requires a minimum 98% fill rate on original orders. Describe how your firm will achieve and maintain the required minimum 98% fill rate for CIESC Region 9. Describe your calculation methodology, monitoring process, reporting, and corrective action/service recovery process when performance falls below the required standard.

2. Describe how your firm determines and maintains inventory levels for products purchased by CIESC Region 9. How are CIESC-specific purchasing patterns, seasonal demand, historical usage, and anticipated volume used to establish stocking levels?

3. Describe your stockout and substitution management process from identification through resolution. Vendors shall address the following:

a. How and when are stock outs communicated to districts? On average, how much notice is given to make adjustments to orders?

b. Are substitutions provided before districts are notified of an out-of-stock item? If so, describe the approval process.

c. How are substitutions selected to ensure they meet the required product specifications, nutritional requirements, quality standards, and awarded pricing?

d. What documentation is provided for substitutions, including nutritional information, ingredient statements, allergen information, CN Labels and/or Product Formulation Statements (PFS), when applicable?

e. How are recurring stockouts monitored, reported, and addressed to minimize disruption and to CIESC Region 9 districts operations?

f. Describe your seasonal inventory planning process for back-to-school periods.

g. Provide one example of a recurring stockout issue your firm identified, the corrective action taken, and the result.

4. What is your firm’s order lead time and order cut off time? What is the process to add an item to an order after the order has been submitted? Please give as much detail as possible.

5. Can your firm provide customized order guides for each CIESC Region 9 Cooperative participating district? If yes:

a. Please describe the available options, including the ability to customize product selections, preferred items, pack sizes, brands, item numbers, and district-specific requirements.

b. Please describe the process for creating, updating, and maintaining individual district order guides throughout the contract term, including the timeline for updates and any associated costs.

6. What is your firm’s minimum order amount for delivery?

7. Please indicate if there is a fuel surcharge, tracking charge, truck charge, or trip charge associated with your proposal. What is the notification and implementation process for these charges?

8. Does your firm have any miscellaneous charges the CIESC Region 9 coop should be aware of?

9. How does your firm handle items that districts order that are not stocked in the distribution center servicing that school district?

a. Describe your process when an item is not available at the distribution center serving a participating district but is available at another warehouse or distribution center within your network. Will the vendor transfer available inventory before utilizing manufacturer direct shipment? Identify any circumstances in which the district could be charged additional shipping, direct-ship, transfer, or other fees.

10. Describe your firm’s process for managing special orders. Does your firm have the ability to establish a formalized special order process for CIESC Region 9 Cooperative districts, including order submission, approval, tracking, communication, and fulfillment timelines?

a. Pallet Restrictions: Describe your firm’s process for managing special-order items subject to pallet, minimum quantity, or manufacturer ordering restrictions. When a district’s requested quantity does not meet the required pallet or minimum quantity, describe how the district will be notified before the order is canceled, changed, or removed. The district must be given an opportunity to determine how it wants to proceed before the order is canceled or modified.

11. How does your firm support districts with products needed for seasonal events, special occasions, holidays, summer feeding programs, and other non-routine menu needs?

a. Please describe the planning timeline, ordering process, and inventory support provided to ensure product availability.

Vendors must explain:

· What notification will be provided and how much advance notice the district will receive.

· What options will be provided to the district, such as adjusting the quantity, selecting an alternate product, combining orders, or proceeding with the required quantity.

· How the vendor will ensure the district has an opportunity to make an informed decision rather than having the order automatically canceled or changed.

· How the final decision and order status will be communicated and documented.

12. Delivery Operations: How do you manage delivery routes, schedules, delivery windows, late or missed deliveries, and recovery?

a. Describe your process for route planning and establishing delivery schedules and expected delivery windows for CIESC Region 9 participating districts. Explain how you monitor delivery performance and address late, missed, shorted, damaged, or incomplete deliveries, including your recovery process, expected recovery timeframes, corrective actions, and communication with the affected district.

13. Delivery District Impact: How do you ensure deliveries minimize the impact on district operations and do not create staffing or overtime issues?

a. Describe how you will work with CIESC Region 9 participating districts to establish and maintain delivery schedules that allow deliveries to be received and completed within an appropriate timeframe. Explain how you will minimize delivery delays or extended unloading times that could require food service staff to remain beyond their normal work hours or incur additional staffing or overtime costs. Include how you will communicate and address deliveries expected to fall outside of the established delivery window.

14. Driver Management: How do you select, train, retain, monitor, and replace drivers serving CIESC Region 9 K–12 routes?

a. Describe how drivers assigned to CIESC Region 9 districts are selected, trained, and managed. Include your approach to driver consistency and retention, backup coverage, performance expectations, monitoring, customer service, and corrective action. Explain how driver issues are addressed and how replacements or backup drivers are provided when a driver is unavailable or does not meet performance expectations.

15. Is your firm able to provide additional delivery days (more than once per week) when needed by participating districts? If yes, please describe any requirements or limitations.

16. Is your firm able to make weekend deliveries if access is granted from certain school districts? If yes, please describe the process and requirements.

17. New Vendor Onboarding and Transition: If your firm is selected as a new distributor/GPO vendor for CIESC Region 9, describe your proposed onboarding and transition plan for participating school districts. The plan shall demonstrate how your firm will transition districts from their current vendor(s) with minimal disruption to ordering, delivery, billing, inventory, and daily school food service operations. Address, at a minimum:

a. Transition Timeline: Provide a detailed timeline from contract award through the first scheduled delivery, including key milestones and responsible personnel.

b. District Onboarding: Describe how you will collect and establish district-specific information, including account setup, locations, delivery schedules, order requirements, contacts, pricing, tax-exempt status, and other necessary account information.

c. Ordering and Technology Setup: Describe the process for establishing online ordering accounts, user access, catalogs, pricing, shopping lists, integrations, and other technology requirements.

d. Product and Pricing Transition: Describe how awarded products, pricing, substitutions, special-order items, and district-specific products will be established and verified prior to the first order.

e. Delivery Transition: Describe how delivery routes, delivery days, delivery windows, minimum order requirements, and school-specific delivery instructions will be established and communicated. Describe how delivery drivers will be trained on district-specific delivery procedures, building access requirements, delivery locations, food safety expectations, and other applicable school requirements prior to making deliveries.

f. Training and Support: Describe training provided to district and school staff, including ordering, online system functionality, reporting, credits, returns, substitutions, and customer service procedures.

g. Communication: Describe your communication plan for CIESC Region 9, district administrators, school nutrition directors, and other designated contacts throughout the transition.

h. Transition Staffing: Identify the personnel responsible for onboarding and transition and describe their roles and availability during the implementation period.

i. Issue Resolution: Describe how transition issues will be identified, escalated, communicated, and resolved prior to and during the initial implementation period.

j. Transition Risk Management: Identify potential challenges associated with transitioning multiple school districts to your firm and describe the measures you will take to prevent service interruptions, missed deliveries, ordering issues, or other operational disruptions.

k. Transition Capacity: How many school districts can your firm successfully onboard simultaneously, and what resources would be dedicated to onboarding CIESC Region 9 districts?

l. Provide a sample implementation/onboarding timeline or transition plan that demonstrates your firm's ability to successfully onboard multiple school districts within the required implementation period.

OPERATIONS-ONLINE CAPABILITIES

1. Will CIESC Region 9 school districts have access to online ordering and viewing invoices/statements online?

2. Tracking/visibility - Describe the reporting and visibility available for CIESC Region 9 and participating districts through your online platform, including order status, delivery status, invoices, rebates, pricing, Buy American and required reports, and Co-op/district/building-level access.

3. Ordering functionality - Describe the functionality of your online ordering platform for CIESC Region 9 and participating districts, including product search, pricing visibility, inventory availability, lead times, nutrition/allergen information, CN Labels/PFS, Buy American documentation, commodity information, and Co-op/district/building-level access.

4. Additional Nutrition Software - Does your firm offer any value add software programs? If yes, please describe the software capabilities, availability, associated costs, training, and customer support provided.

a. name of software

b. functionality

c. included vs. additional cost

d. number of users

e. implementation

f. training

g. support

h. integration

OPERATIONS-COMMODITIES

1. The CIESC Region 9 Coop utilizes and relies on the USDA commodity program. Who will manage the commodity process between K12, Processor Link, PrimeroEdge and the districts?

a. Will your firm charge an additional fee to manage commodity items for the CIESC Region 9 Coop, and if so, please explain?

2. How often does your firm’s computer system connect with K12 and Processor Link systems to update commodity balances and record cases sold?

3. How will your firm ensure the CIESC Region 9 Coop districts are accurately receiving commodity credit off invoice?

4. What is the crediting process if your firm does not have the proper USDA commodity credit loaded into the invoicing system?

5. Does your firm provide any reports or tools to help districts manage their commodity pounds with manufacturers?

6. Will CIESC Region 9 Coop districts have the ability to order USDA commodity items year-round?

7. CIESC Region 9 Coop currently goes directly to manufacturers with a separate bid for commodities.

a. Will your firm guarantee stocking, availability, and delivery of awarded commodity items that meet established volume thresholds? If not, please explain any limitations or requirements.

b. If CIESC Region 9 does not conduct a Direct-to-Manufacturer (DTM) bid to establish commodity items, how does your firm determine which USDA commodity products will be stocked at the distribution center serving CIESC Region 9? Describe the factors considered, including product demand, district purchasing patterns, manufacturer availability, volume requirements, inventory commitments, and any other stocking requirements or limitations.

c. Does your firm apply a separate markup, fee, handling charge, or administrative fee to USDA commodity products? If yes, please describe the pricing methodology.

d. Describe your process for managing commodity products, including ordering, inventory tracking, processor coordination, delivery, reporting, and issue resolution.

e. If your firm does not support cooperative-managed commodity bids or has restrictions on commodity participation, please clearly identify those limitations and provide alternative solutions.

POLICIES/PROCEDURES

1. Describe your pricing methodology and price-management process for CIESC Region 9, including how manufacturer cost changes, market fluctuations, fixed fees, bid allowances, rebates, pass-through values, and other adjustments are reflected in pricing. Describe how and when CIESC will be notified of price changes and what supporting documentation will be provided.

2. Describe your pricing audit process, including audit frequency, methodology, documentation provided, discrepancy resolution, corrective action, and the frequency with which CIESC may request an independent or cooperative pricing audit.

3. Describe your process for identifying, reporting, correcting, and preventing pricing discrepancies, including credits issued, response times, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.

4. Please provide as much detail as possible about your firm’s procedures regarding:

a. Credits / Returns

i. Describe your credit, return, pickup, and restocking fee policies, including eligibility, timelines, documentation, and circumstances where fees may apply.

b. Service failures

i. Describe your process for resolving shorts, mis-picks, damaged/spoiled/expired products, and late or incomplete deliveries, including notification, recovery delivery timelines, credits, and escalation.

c. Product changes

i. Describe your notification process for product recalls, discontinued items, reformulations, specification changes, and product substitutions.

d. Product recalls

i. Describe your food recall management process, including notification timelines, lot-level traceability, communication to affected schools, product removal, replacement/credit procedures, and documentation.

5. What are your firm’s payment terms for school districts?

6. Describe the standard and customizable reports available to CIESC Region 9 and participating districts.

a. Include sales by district/school, contract compliance, pricing, rebates, fill rate, on-time delivery, order accuracy, and other performance metrics.

b. Identify reporting frequency, delivery format, level of detail, customization capabilities, and data available for reconciliation and audit.

c. Will reports be accessible electronically?

d. Provide a sample report or redacted example of each standard report requested.

7. Describe how your firm will manage and document compliance with the individual background-check requirements on employees or vendors that enter school buildings of participating CIESC Region 9 districts. Explain how compliance records will be maintained, updated, and made available to districts.

8. Please describe any issues your firm might have with manufacturers and/or brokers presenting new items to the CIESC Region 9 Coop at monthly meetings.

PROCUREMENT/SLOTTING

1. Describe your procurement process for K–12 food products and provide procurement documentation for one representative commercial item demonstrating how the product was competitively sourced, priced, awarded, and maintained in compliance with applicable procurement requirements.

2. Identify any differences, limitations, or additional requirements associated with procuring, stocking, delivering, and managing USDA commodity products compared with commercial products. Explain how those differences would affect CIESC Region 9 districts.

3. What are the terms of your manufacturer contracts including:

a. Length of Contract

b. Ability to Renew

c. Firm Pricing

d. Price Fluctuations and Requirements that Must be Met

e. Administrative Fees

4. Describe your firm’s process for adding new products to your inventory. Describe the level of influence CIESC Region 9 Cooperative and participating districts have over products and new products stocked at the distribution center. Describe your firm’s process for adding, maintaining, and discontinuing products in the distribution center serving CIESC Region 9 Cooperative participating districts.

a. Describe the process, approval criteria, required volume commitments, lead times, and any limitations associated with adding new items to your available product catalog.

b. How will CIESC Region 9 Cooperative and participating districts be notified when a product is discontinued, removed from inventory, or otherwise becomes unavailable? What notice will be provided, and what options will be available for replacement products?

c. c. Under what circumstances may the Vendor decline a request to stock a product or discontinue a product requested by CIESC Region 9 Cooperative or a participating district? Describe the communication that will be provided.

d. d. How will your firm notify CIESC Region 9 Cooperative districts about contract changes and new contract opportunities?

e. Describe your firm’s process and slotting requirements to bring new items in stock for the CIESC Region 9 Coop.