558-24__1_.pdf

Invitation No.: 558-24 Location: Statewide Commodity: Public Information Media Campaigns Services Pricing: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/PurchDocs/558pricing.xlsx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

State of Ohio, Department of Transportation

Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services Jack Marchbanks, Ph. D., Director

Bid Submission Deadline (Bid Opening Date):

March 21, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time

Submitted by:

Company Name:

Federal Tax ID No.:

Physical/Mailing Address: Remit to Payment Address:

Street Address:

P.O. Box:

City:

St:

Zip:

Contact Person and Phone Number:

(authorized to answer questions about your company’s bid)

E-Mail Address (required):

(person who filled out bid)

E-Mail Address (required):

(for notification of future bid opportunities)

Telephone Number 800 Number Fax Number

Return Properly Marked, Complete Bid Packages To:

contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov - Paper bids will NOT be accepted.

VENDORS MUST SUBMIT ANY QUESTIONS, CLARIFICATIONS, OR INQUIRIES REGARDING THIS

PROCUREMENT VIA THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Pages/PurchasePBQ1.aspx mailto:contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov

Attachments to be submitted in the emailed bid response:

Completed Front Page (Separate Attachment)

Completed Signature Page (Separate Attachment)

Completed Affirmation and Disclosure form (Separate Attachment)

Proposed Work Plan (Separate Attachment)

Completed Excel Pricing Page (Separate Attachment)

Anything Else You wish to Submit (Separate Attachments)

Send multiple emails, as needed, to complete your submission to contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov - Paper bids will NOT be accepted.

Zip files CANNOT be sent.

Invitation No. 558-24

SECTION I. GENERAL OVERVIEW

1.1 Overview

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is seeking proposals from providers for Public Information Media Campaigns Services. The intent of this Request for Proposal is to select the most qualified and highest scoring Proposer to provide these services.

Background

Part of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s mission is to keep people safe as they travel on Ohio roads. ODOT is seeking a contractor to engage in a comprehensive, wide-ranging public information campaign to raise awareness about traffic safety to Ohioans.

The details (content) of each public announcement/campaign will be provided to the Contractor by ODOT. The Contractor shall collaborate with the Agency to develop one or more of the following: the campaign message, creative assets, and target audience(s), recommend and negotiate media coverage, coordinate and reconcile advertising contracts, and evaluate the reach of each campaign. ODOT estimates spending up to $1.5M per State Fiscal Year on media advertising for various public information media campaigns.

Contract Duration

Once awarded, the term of the Contract will be for twenty-four (24) months, from the date-of-award. The State may renew this Contract for up to five (5) additional two-year term(s), subject to and contingent on the discretionary decision of the Ohio General Assembly to appropriate funds for the Contract in each new biennium. Any such renewal of all or part of the Contract also is subject to the satisfactory performance of the Contractor and the needs of the ODOT.

SECTION II. SCOPE OF WORK & SPECIFICATIONS OF DELIVERABLES

2.1 Scope of Work

ODOT is seeking an experienced Contractor to provide creative communication solutions for media program advertisements, utilizing a mix of platforms to include print, television, radio, digital, billboard, and social media. At the direction of ODOT and its divisions, the Contractor will provide planning, marketing, communication, advertising, and developmental services. The Contractor will also coordinate and implement existing campaigns as well as new campaign initiatives that they will develop under this contract.

Exceptional levels of account services are expected. All creative materials developed from this contract will be the property of ODOT. The Contractor will transfer the master files of all materials in formats approved by the Agency immediately upon completion of the work. The Contractor shall serve as an outsourced clearinghouse provider for ODOT.

ODOT will specify the public announcements, content desired, and confirm the availability of funding for desired services. The Contractor will assist ODOT in developing the media campaign, recommend and negotiate media coverage, coordinate needed artwork, develop creative work, coordinate, and reconcile advertising contracts, submit invoices to ODOT, and evaluate media approaches.

2.2 Proposed Work Plan

Vendors should include a Proposed Work Plan that addresses each of the Deliverables specified in Section 2.3, Specifications of Deliverables. Fully demonstrating how the vendor will fulfil each of the deliverables for the project.

2.3 Specifications of Deliverables

A. Providing expert advice and creative services on various short- and long-term projects to promote the mission and goals of the ODOT with a focus on media program advertisements.

Based on identified target audience(s), develop a detailed Media Plan for each campaign to include proposed dates, markets, locations, and estimated media impressions. This Media Plan may include, but is not limited to, radio and television airtime, publication space, outdoor space, social media, digital media, and any other media used for advertising and promotional projects. Costs for each segment of the plan must be allocated individually, the Contractor shall provide cost estimates for each campaign for ODOT review and approval.

B. Performing media buying services that include planning; determining audiences;

selecting and recommending the appropriate platform(s); negotiating rates and placement of campaign material; frequency; tracking; monitoring; measuring campaign effectiveness; recommending and upon approval, implementing changes; and providing an analysis by the buy. Upon approval from the Agency, the Contractor will procure the media buy. Media spots will be reimbursed at cost by the Agency and invoices will be paid after payment by the Contractor is verified. Media platforms may include print, broadcast television, radio, digital, billboard, and social media. When published, the media platform shall not utilize “pay walls” limiting access to subscribers.

The Agency reserves the right to publish/share/broadcast/post/disseminate messaging via its own methods, both current and future. Messaging shall be formatted as necessary to allow for ease of sharing/production. Print media shall be formatted as necessary to allow ODOT to utilize state printing resources should they decide to do so.

C. Marketing to include researching and analyzing demographics to select audience(s), identifying opportunities to promote the Agency’s message, advertising, communicating, design, programming, maintenance, and securing sponsorships and seeking opportunities for partnerships that will promote program advertisements.

D. Providing interactive public relations direction to use the power of web/social media to maximize potential to establish communications with customers and potential target audience.

E. Preparing publications to include:

1. Printed material such as brochures, handouts, direct mail leaflets, photographs, newsletters, and press releases. All printed publications developed under this contract are to be transferred to the Agency in a format that is “printer-ready”. The Agency reserves the right to use other sources to obtain and meet its needs for printed materials developed by the awarded Contractor under this contract.

2. Digital and broadcast materials such as promotional videos, films, media relations, and multimedia programmers. The Contractor will design and create multimedia computer products that combine text with sounds, pictures, graphics, video clips, virtual reality, digital animation, and other forms of media.

3. Coordinate printing and distribution of artwork for advertising (including, but not limited to, billboards, bus sides and tails, gas pump toppers, and bus stop signage) purchased. On an as needed basis, provide creative services for production of artwork or marketing materials for various media campaigns.

F. Ensuring campaigns are completed within established timelines, distributed to the appropriate media outlets, and verifying the campaigns are run in their entirety and at the agreed frequency. Contractor will monitor campaign on all selected platforms and adjust as necessary to produce quality and effective campaigns. Meetings between the Contractor and the Agency will be scheduled and held on a routine basis to discuss the project(s) and finalize timelines.

G. Working under the direction of the Agency. The Contractor may be expected to collaborate and partner with existing suppliers to meet the Agency’s goals.

H. Billing the Agency monthly for work completed. All invoices are to be itemized and accompanied by copies of the Contractor’s invoices from suppliers for media buys and printed materials, where applicable.

I. Regularly reporting on the status of work in progress and completed campaigns.

1. Providing Monthly status reports during campaign development and after launching.

Status reports must include the portions of the work completed, media platforms selected, changes, indicate any recommendations for expanding the campaign’s reach, information on potential sponsorships and partnerships, and any additional project details that allow the Agency to make informed decisions on a campaign’s direction. Provide ODOT with anticipated media run dates as well as the deadline to submit final artwork to the Contractor for distribution.

2. The Contractor must submit a report, written or electronically, to the ODOT Contract

Manager, on all media outlet accounts monthly. The report shall include balances due including due date and late balances, payments made the previous month, charges/balances in dispute and any pending charges.

3. Performing post-campaign analysis to measure a campaign’s effectiveness. The

Agency is to be provided a written report that, at a minimum, will include the media platform(s) used, estimated reach of the campaign, identified opportunities and issues, any adjustments made, and any public feedback. The format of the report will be determined jointly by ODOT and the Contractor. This report must be submitted within sixty (60) days of completion of each media campaign.

4. Provide in-depth, written media evaluation of all media approaches utilized. Must be delivered to ODOT within thirty (30) days of the end of each campaign or monthly as required by the ODOT. Must include, but not limited to, answers to the following questions:

a. How many paid airings or print ads occurred, including estimated gross impressions for each media approach?

b. How many bonus match airings, print ads or other opportunities occurred, and within what time frame, including estimated gross impressions for each media approach?

c. Were there any problems which affected the planned media purchases and how those problems were resolved?

d. Were there any adjustments to the media plan that were made after the plan implementation and how the changes benefited ODOT?

J. The Contractor shall be prepared to develop and execute a work plan for identified campaigns, and upon notification of future projects, within fifteen (15) days of the award of a contract. The Contractor shall submit media plans for approval to ODOT within fifteen (15) days after ODOT issues a Purchase Order. The media services are to be provided within ten (10) days of ODOT approving the media plan.

K. Invoicing schedules will be determined after award. All invoices must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days from the last date of service or project.

ODOT RESPONSIBILITIES.

A. ODOT will provide the Contractor with clear media objectives in support of selected safety programs. The State will identify desired public announcements, content desired, and determine the available funding.

B. ODOT will issue a valid Purchase Order (PO) for media services prior to media services being needed.

CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.

The Contractor must meet all RFP requirements and perform Work as defined in the Scope of Work.

SECTION III. VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

3.1 Mandatory Requirements – vendors MUST meet, at minimum, ALL of the following qualification requirements:

1. Within the last five (5) years, the contractor must have experience in providing a media plan of similar services, acting as the prime contractor for a campaign spending over $1,500,000 using at least five (5) different media approaches over at least six (6) months. This experience includes providing media administrative services, managing media provider performance, and reporting.

Vendors who do not meet the above experience and qualifications will be disqualified from further consideration for contract award.

3.2 Organizational Experience and Capabilities – vendors will be evaluated based on the following:

1. Company Profile; history, organization, mission. Contractor demonstrates how they are a good fit for ODOT and its needs.

2. Vendor demonstrates understanding and expertise with media buys across multiple platforms.

3. Vendor demonstrates their ability to coordinate and implement successful campaigns.

3.3 Staff Experience and Capabilities – proposals should demonstrate significant expertise by assigning staff to key leadership roles. Proposals must include, at minimum:

1. Provide a staffing plan that includes qualified personnel that will be working on this project, their positions and duties as well as their experience and background as it relates to potential media campaigns.

2. Resumes/curriculum vitae of those key staff that describe appropriate education, experience and expertise needed for the project/program.

Sensitive Personal Information: It is the sole responsibility of the vendor submitting a proposal to remove all personal confidential information (such as home addresses and social security numbers) of vendor staff and/or of any subcontractor and subcontractor staff from resumes or any other part of the proposal package. Following submission to ODOT, all proposals submitted may become part of the public record. ODOT reserves the right to disqualify any vendor whose proposal is found to contain such prohibited personal information.

Proposal Submission Requirements

A. Delivery of Documents

Emailed submissions for this Request for Proposal will be received until 1:00PM eastern time on March 21, 2023, to the following email address:

contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov

Required for Submittal:

Completed Front Page (Separate Attachment) Completed Signature Page (Separate Attachment) An electronic pricing page (Separate Attachment) Anything Else You wish to Submit (Separate Attachments)

No proposals will be accepted after the date and time specified on this page. No hardcopy proposals will be accepted. ODOT reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. Timely receipt of proposals will be determined by the date and time the emailed proposal is received by the Office of Contracts. Receipt of proposals by any other mechanism other than email delivery to the Office of Contracts shall not be considered timely.

All materials submitted in accordance with this solicitation become the property of the State of Ohio and shall not be returned. All materials submitted in accordance with this solicitation shall remain confidential until Successful Proposer(s) are selected after Round 2 at which time all submitted information becomes part of the public record.

B. Inquires

Pre-proposal questions must be received no later than the close of business the Thursday prior to the scheduled opening date. An addendum being issued is dependent upon the information received and the impact on the competitive bidding process.

All pre-proposal inquiries must have the following: Name of the Sender, Contractor or Company Name, Phone Number, Project Number, Letting Date, a detailed description of the question.

Proposers are NOT to contact any other ODOT office, including District offices, for responses to pre-bid questions.

Department responses will be posted to the following website:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Purchase/PBQ-

Answers.doc

Proposal Inquiries may be submitted at this link:

https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Pages/PurchasePBQ1.as px

Based upon the content of any received questions/clarifications, proposal requirements may, solely at the discretion of ODOT, be modified, changed or deleted. Any such changes to this RFP will be communicated by addendum and published to the ODOT website at the following URL:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Lists/PurchaseUpcomingIT Bs/RFP.aspx

Proposal Response

The RFP Proposal response must contain information on how the Proposer intends to perform the services outlined in the RFP. Omission of required information may render a Proposer ineligible, and incomplete responses may result in the loss of points. The selected Proposer will become the Vendor of record with ODOT.

Proposers must submit a response for the following areas:

A. Implementation/Management Plan/Work Plan B. Organizational Structure/Staffing Plan C. Cost Proposal (submitted SEPARATELY ATTACHMENT) D. Completed Front Page E. Completed Signature Page http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Purchase/PBQ-Answers.doc https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Pages/PurchasePBQ1.aspx https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Pages/PurchasePBQ1.aspx http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Lists/PurchaseUpcomingITBs/RFP.aspx http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Lists/PurchaseUpcomingITBs/RFP.aspx

Implementation/Management Plan

The Proposer shall submit a statement of the Proposer’s understanding of the scope and his/her/their capabilities to perform the requirements of the RFP, along with a narrative of how the Proposer intends to implement and manage each of the tasks set forth in this RFP.

Provide a technical description of the methodology anticipated in the performance of the services described above. Other good innovative and creative approaches to accomplish the goals of the contract will be given consideration and should also be included in this section.

Organizational Structure

The Proposer must provide the names and résumés of each individual that will be working on the RFP. Designate the individual who will be committed to ensuring performance of all tasks under the prospective contract (Project Manager). Provide a résumé and contact information for the Project Manager. Please provide a staffing plan the list any other professionals who will be given key responsibilities in fulfilling the requirements necessary to perform the services. Provide supporting documentation, such as a résumé, for each individual summarizing their experience on similar assignments or projects. Each résumé must identify each employee with the years of service, educational background, the duties and responsibilities for that employer, and a phone number for a contact person. Identify each individual and the percent of time that each person would be assigned to each major task in the Scope of Services.

Proposed Work Plan

Vendors should include a Proposed Work Plan that addresses each of the Deliverables specified in Section 2.3, Specifications of Deliverables. Fully demonstrating how the vendor will fulfil each of the deliverables for the project.

Cost Proposal

The Proposer shall submit a SEPARATE Cost Proposal in the emailed response. Any proposal in which this Cost Proposal is not included will be considered non-responsive and the proposal will be rejected. The Proposer’s completed Cost Proposal shall become a part of the contract upon award of the contract.

The Cost Proposal shall be submitted in the Excel format. As a separate attachment from the proposal.

Signature Page

A Signature Page must be included with a proposer’s response to this RFP. Submitted proposals not containing a signed signature page may be rejected and deemed non-responsive.

Technical Proposal Score Sheet

Scoring of Technical Proposal

Technical Proposals will be collectively scored by a Proposal Review Team (PRT) appointed by ODOT. For each of the evaluation criteria given in the score sheet, reviewers will collectively judge whether the technical proposal does not meet, partially meets, meets or exceeds each criterion, and assign the appropriate point value. The scoring is by consensus and one official score sheet will be completed for each technical proposal that is scored.

Criteria for Considering the Cost Proposal

The cost proposal will be reviewed by the PRT. The grand total of the vendor’s cost proposal will be divided by that vendor’s final technical proposal score. This compares the cost with the quality of the technical proposal, which will provide an average cost-per-quality point earned on the technical proposal.

ODOT may, at its sole discretion, negotiate with all technically qualifying vendors for a revised cost proposal. Vendors may then: 1) Submit one last and best offer; 2) request that ODOT view its original cost proposal as its last and best offer; or 3) May formally withdraw from further consideration. The vendor shall formally indicate its choice according to directions provided by ODOT at that time. Upon receipt of all last and best offers, ODOT will then consider those vendors’ revised cost proposals.

PHASE I: Initial Qualifying Criteria

The proposal must meet all of the following Phase I proposal acceptance criteria in order to be considered for further evaluation. Any proposal receiving a “no” response to any of the following qualifying criteria shall be disqualified from consideration.

ITE

M

PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA YE

S

NO

1 Was the vendor’s proposal received by the deadline as specified in the

RFP?

2 Did the vendor submit a proposal comprised of a Technical Proposal and, in a separate, attachment, a Cost Proposal?

3 Does the vendor demonstrate that within the last five (5) years, their experience in providing a media plan of similar services, acting as the prime contractor for a campaign spending over $1,500,000 using at least five (5) different media approaches over at least six (6) months.

This experience includes providing media administrative services, managing media provider performance, and reporting.

PHASE II: Criteria for Scoring of Technical Proposal

Qualifying technical proposals will be collectively scored by a Proposal Review Team (PRT) appointed by ODOT. For each of the evaluation criteria given in the following score sheet, reviewers will collectively judge whether the technical proposal exceeds, meets, partially meets or does not meet the requirements expressed in the RFP, and assign the appropriate point value, as follows:

0 6 8 10 Does Not

Meet Requirement

Partially Meets

Requirement

Meets Requirement

Exceeds Requirement

Technical Performance Scoring Definitions:

“Does Not Meet Requirement”- A particular RFP requirement was not addressed in the vendor’s proposal, Score: 0

“Partially Meets Requirement”-Vendor proposal demonstrates some attempt at meeting a particular RFP requirement, but that attempt falls below acceptable level, Score: 6

“Meets Requirement”-Vendor proposal fulfills a particular RFP requirement in all material respects, potentially with only minor, non-substantial deviation, Score: 8

“Exceeds Requirement”-Vendor proposal fulfills a particular RFP requirement in all material respects, and offers some additional level of quality in excess of ODOT expectations, Score: 10

A technical proposal’s total PHASE II score will be the sum of the point value for all the evaluation criteria. The review team will collectively score each individual qualifying proposal.

Technical proposals which do not meet or exceed a total score of at least 361 points (a score which represents that the selected vendor has the capability to successfully perform the project/program services) out of a maximum of 470 points, will be disqualified from further consideration, and its cost proposal will neither be opened nor considered. Only those vendors whose Technical Proposals meet or exceed the minimum required technical points will advance to PHASE III of the technical proposal score sheet.

ITEM # EVALUATION CRITERIA Weightin g

Doesn ’t

Meet

Partiall y

Meets

Meet s

Exceed s

WORK REQUIREMENTS

VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS AND

EXPERIENCE

The vendor has included a company.

profile, history, organization, mission.

Contractor demonstrates how they are a good fit for ODOT and its needs.

The vendor has demonstrated its understanding and expertise with media buys across multiple platforms.

The vendor has demonstrated their ability to coordinate and implement successful campaigns.

The vendor has provided a staffing plan that includes qualified personnel that will be working on this project, their positions, and duties as well as their experience and background as it relates to potential media campaigns.

The vendor has provided resumes/curriculum vitae of those key staff that describe appropriate education, experience and expertise needed for the project/program.

PROPOSED WORK PLAN - Vendors will be scored on each Deliverable as listed below.

Providing expert advice and creative services on various short- and long-term projects to promote the mission and goals of the ODOT with a focus on media program advertisements.

Performing media buying services that include planning; determining audiences; selecting and recommending the appropriate platform(s); negotiating rates and placement of campaign material;

frequency; tracking; monitoring;

measuring campaign effectiveness;

recommending and upon approval, implementing changes; and providing an analysis by the buy.

Marketing to include researching and analyzing demographics to select audience(s), identifying opportunities to promote the Agency’s message, advertising, communicating, design, programming, maintenance, and securing sponsorships and seeking opportunities for partnerships that will promote program advertisements.

Providing interactive public relations direction to use the power of web/social media to maximize potential to establish communications with customers and potential target audience.

Printed material such as brochures, handouts, direct mail leaflets, photographs, newsletters, and press releases. All printed publications developed under this contract are to be transferred to the Agency in a format that is “printer-ready”.

Digital and broadcast materials such as promotional videos, films, media relations, and multimedia programmers.

Coordinate printing and distribution of artwork for advertising (including, but not limited to, billboards, bus sides and tails, gas pump toppers, and bus stop signage) purchased.

Ensuring campaigns are completed within established timelines, distributed to the appropriate media outlets, and verifying the campaigns are run in their entirety and at the agreed frequency.

Performing post-campaign analysis to measure a campaign’s effectiveness. 4

Column Subtotal of "Partially Meets" points Column Subtotal of "Meets" points Column Subtotal of "Exceeds" points

GRAND TOTAL SCORE:

Based upon the Grand Total Technical Score earned, does the vendor’s proposal meet or exceed the minimum Technical score of 361 points?

Yes__________ No_____________ (If “No” vendor’s Cost Proposal will NOT be opened)

Cost Per Quality Point Vendors Total Submitted Cost: ________________ / Grand Total Technical Score:

Cost per Quality Point: _______________

The Technical Proposal with the lowest Cost per Quality point will be recommended for award of the contract. If two or more vendors are tied, the vendor with the higher Technical Score shall be the recommended vendor.

State of Ohio, Department of Transportation (ODOT) Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services

Terms and Conditions for Submitting Excel Pricing File in Bid Package (Last Revised 07/2020)

1. DOWNLOADING THE EXCEL PRICING FILE: Bidders can access and download the most current Excel Pricing File for this procurement by following the hyperlink provided below:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/PurchDocs/558pricing.xlsx

2. SUBMISSION OF EXCEL PRICING FILE: Bidders should submit the pricing page in the original excel format.

3. UNAPPROVED ALTERATIONS TO EXCEL PRICING FILE: Bidders who materially alter the original content of the Excel pricing file (e.g. specifications, formulas, etc.) issued by the Department may be found non-responsive and ineligible for award of this procurement.

4. CHANGES TO EXCEL PRICING FILE: The Department will only make modifications to the Excel pricing file by written addendum only. Where changes are necessary to the Excel pricing page, the Department will issue a new Excel pricing page indicating the revisions made and a revision date for the changes.

It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to check for issued addenda prior to submitting a bid package to ensure the most updated Excel pricing file is being utilized.

5. DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE: Bidders may electronically provide any descriptive literature (e.g. brochures, spec/cut sheets, drawings, MSDS, etc.) regarding the products and/or services offered by the bidder. As this literature may be publicly posted for viewing by purchasers, bidders must not submit any literature electronically in which they consider to be a trade secret, proprietary, or confidential in any way.

(the remainder of this page has been left intentionally blank) http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/PurchDocs/558pricing.xlsx

Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services

INSTRUCTIONS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR BIDDING

(Last revised 11/30/2020)

1. BIDDER REGISTRATION: The Department requires awarded bidder(s) to successfully register as a State of Ohio Supplier with the Department of Ohio Shared Services and successfully obtain an OAKS vendor identification number (OAKS ID) within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of contract award and execution. The Department cannot utilize awarded Contracts to purchase from a bidder who cannot obtain an OAKS ID from Ohio Shared Services. In the event an awarded bidder is unable to obtain an OAKS ID, the Department shall reserve the right to revoke its award to the bidder and immediately cancel any resulting Contract.

A Supplier Information Form and W-9 must be completed and sent back directly to Ohio Shared Services in order to register and apply for an OAKS ID. The following website can be accessed by bidders to obtain both the forms and specific instructions for obtaining an OAKS ID:

http://ohiosharedservices.ohio.gov/SupplierOperations/Forms.aspx

It is strongly recommended that all interested bidders not already registered with Ohio Shared Services submit the above paperwork prior to the bid submission deadline.

2. HOW BIDS MUST BE PACKAGED: All submitted bids in response to this procurement must be emailed to contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov – Paper bids will NOT be accepted.

3. WHAT NEEDS INCLUDED IN BID PACKAGE: Submitted bid packages should include, at a minimum, a completed Signature Page, a completed Excel pricing page, and all necessary supportive documentation, forms, and any other information required herein. The Department may deem a bid non-responsive for failure to submit any of the documents requested above.

4. PREBID QUESTIONS, DISCREPANCIES, AND CLARIFICATIONS: Any discrepancies, omissions, ambiguities, or conflicts in or among the bidding documents or doubts as to the meaning shall be brought to the Department’s attention by the bidder no less than three (3) business days prior to the bid submission deadline. All questions, discrepancies, clarifications, etc. must be submitted electronically (hyperlink below). During the competitive bidding process, bidders (and their agents) are prohibited from contacting any ODOT office, including District offices, other than the Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services section to obtain responses to any questions. The Department may find a bidder non-responsive for failing to adhere to any of the above requirements.

Pre-bid questions/inquiries must be submitted electronically through the following website:

Answers to Pre-Bid Questions/Inquiries will be posted on the following document available for download at the following website:

It is each bidder’s sole responsibility to check the website for updates to pre-bid questions and answers before submitting its bid package to the Department.

5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE BIDDING DOCUMENTS: When it is deemed necessary to modify these bidding documents, the Department will only do so by written addendum. The issuance of an addendum is dependent upon the information received and the impact on the competitive bid process. All issued addenda will be posted to the Department’s Upcoming ITB’s website and shall be automatically incorporated into the bidding/contract documents:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Lists/PurchaseUpcomingITBs/UpITBs.aspx

In addition to posting on the above website, the Department also may email addenda information out to all known bidders for convenience purposes only. The Department shall not be held responsible for a bidder’s http://ohiosharedservices.ohio.gov/SupplierOperations/Forms.aspx mailto:contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Pages/PurchasePBQ1.aspx http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ContractAdmin/Contracts/Lists/PurchaseUpcomingITBs/UpITBs.aspx failure to receive the email with the addenda information. It is the sole responsibility of all interested bidders to diligently visit the above-listed website to see if any addenda have been issued prior to submitting their bid to the Department. Those interested in obtaining addenda information via email for a particular procurement must send the Department its request in writing to the following email address:

Contracts.Purchasing@dot.ohio.gov

6. PRE-BID CONFERENCES: The Department reserves the right to hold mandatory or optional pre-bid conferences at its discretion. Conferences may be held either in-person or via webinar/phone conference formats. Bidders will be required to sign-in at all pre-bid conferences. The sign-in sheet for all pre-bid conferences is considered a public record, will be kept in the bid file, and will be shared with any requesting party. Additionally, any business cards collected during any pre-bid conference shall be considered public records and may be distributed out to all conference attendees. Any changes to the requirements or specifications of a procurement, as a result of the pre-bid conference content, will be made by written addendum and publicly posted.

For mandatory pre-bid conferences, the Department requires that those companies intending on submitting a bid be in attendance for the entire duration of the pre-bid conference. Mandatory pre-bid conferences will officially begin five (5) minutes after the scheduled date and start time at the location specified in the Special Terms and Conditions. Those bidders not in attendance at that time will be considered ineligible to submit a bid. The conference will be considered adjourned and complete when a representative of the Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services section indicates so. To be considered in attendance and eligible to bid, a bidder must have at least one representative of the company in attendance. A single representative cannot be present on behalf of two or more companies (bidders). Each company (bidder) must send its own representative on behalf of their organization. It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to ensure that the representative follows the sign-in procedures to properly document the bidder’s attendance.

The Department shall not be held responsible for a bidder’s failure to arrive at the meeting on time, properly sign-in, or failure to stay for the entire duration of the meeting.

7. WHERE BIDS MUST BE DELIVERED TO: contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov - Paper bids will NOT be accepted.

8. LATE BIDS: A bid received after 1:00 p.m. eastern time, on the bid submission deadline (bid opening date) established, shall be deemed “Late” and will not be considered for award of this procurement. The late bid package will be marked as late, remain sealed, and will be kept in the Department’s bid file to serve as official record of a late bid having been received.

Note: The Office of Contract Sales, Purchasing Services timeclock takes precedence over any other timekeeping device (e.g. cell phones, other ODOT clocks, wrist watches, etc.) and will be utilized by the Department to determine whether or not a bid was received by the 1:00 p.m. deadline.

9. BID OPENING PROCEDURE: Bids will usually be available within a day of the bid opening. Vendors can submit requests for the bid tab to contracts.purchasing@dot.ohio.gov.

10. BIDS FIRM: Once opened, all bids are firm and cannot be altered by the bidder. Once a Contract is awarded and executed, the Vendor shall deliver all products and/or services at the bid prices and terms contained in the Contract. All submitted bids shall remain valid for a period of sixty (60) calendar days after the date of the public bid opening. Beyond sixty (60) calendar days, bidders will have the option to either honor their submitted bid or make a written request to withdraw their bid from consideration. The Ohio Department of Transportation shall receive the benefit of any decrease in price during the sixty (60) day period.

11. WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS: A bidder may, by way of written notice to the Purchasing Services section, request to withdraw their bid response prior to the bid submission deadline. The request must be received by the Purchasing Services Section PRIOR to the start of the public bid opening (beginning at 1:01 p.m.)

on the date of the bid submission deadline. Such written notice must set forth the specific reasons for the bid withdrawal.

For requests to withdrawal a bid after the bid opening has begun, the bidder may request to withdraw their bid response from consideration if the unit bid price(s) submitted are unreasonably lower than the other bids received, provided the bid was submitted in good faith, and the reason for the unit bid price(s) being substantially lower was due to an unintentional and substantial arithmetical error or unintentional omission mailto:Contracts.Purchasing@dot.ohio.gov of a substantial quantity of material or labor in the compilation of the bid. Written notice of any such request to withdraw after the bid opening must be received by the Purchasing Services section within no later than forty-eight (48) hours of the scheduled bid opening.

The decision to allow a bid to be withdrawn is at the sole discretion of the Purchasing Services section. If the bid is to be awarded by category, lot, or group the withdrawal request will apply to all items within the category, lot, or group. All documents and conversations relating to any withdrawal request will become a part of the permanent bid file.

12. MODIFICATION OF SUBMITTED BIDS PRIOR TO BID OPENING: A bidder may request to modify their bid response prior to the scheduled date and time set for the public bid opening (i.e. bid submission deadline). To modify a bid response, the bidder must provide an alternate, complete bid package containing all required forms and necessary documents. The alternate bid package must have in the email subject line “REVISED”.

13. UNIT BID PRICES: The unit bid price(s) submitted shall govern the award of this procurement unless otherwise specified in the bid evaluation criteria. The unit bid price should be entered for each required bid item on the Department’s pricing page. Use of ditto marks, arrows, or other markings in lieu of the actual unit price may result in a non-responsive bid determination. Lot or group prices listed in the unit bid price area shall be considered as the unit price unless clearly identified as the lot price. Unless specifically allowed in the contract’s terms and conditions, requests to change or alter unit bid prices after the public bid opening are prohibited.

The following requirements also apply to unit bid prices:

a. DECIMAL POINT: Bidders should not insert a unit cost of more than two (2) digits to the right of the decimal point. Digit(s) beyond two (2) will be dropped and not recognized by the Department for the purposes of bid evaluation or contract award.

b. CREDIT CARD FEES: Bidders must incorporate into their unit bid price(s) submitted all costs and fees associated with the State’s use of a payment (credit) card.

c. DISCOUNTS: While bidders may offer to the Department discounts for prompt payment and other similar incentives, discounts and incentives these will not be used to alter the submitted unit bid price(s) for purposes of bid evaluation and contract award. This section only applies to bids awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder either by individual bid item or group of bid items and does not include bids which are awarded to all responsive and responsible bidders (i.e. Multiple Award Contracts).

d. MULTIPLE AWARD CONTRACTS: Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 5513.02, the Department may award Contracts to all responsive and responsible bidders for articles (i.e. bid items) meeting the general specifications provided. These are referenced by the Department as ‘Multiple Award Contracts’. Unit bid prices submitted for Multiple Award Contracts shall be considered by the Department as an amount-not-to-exceed unit bid price for the entire duration of the Contract. These awarded, amount-not-to-exceed bid prices often do not reflect potential quantity discounts, freight discounts, nor other similar discounts/incentives offered periodically by a distributor, manufacturer, or supplier. Where like or similar bid items are being offered by two or more awarded Vendors (bidders) on the awarded Contract, the Department reserves the right to obtain quotes from all awarded bidders on the Contract in order to achieve the best and most up-to-date pricing available to the Department at the time of ordering.

e. UNBALANCED BIDS: The Department will not accept unit bid prices that are deemed to be either materially or mathematically unbalanced. The final determination of an unbalanced unit bid price shall be at the Department’s sole discretion.

f. TIE BID PROCESS: If two or more responsive bids offer the same unit bid price, ODOT may break the tie as follows: during the bid evaluation process, the bidders that submitted tie bids will be contacted and given up to three (3) business days to submit a written revised unit price for the affected item or items. Bidders are not required to submit a revised unit price. In the event a tie still exists after the above-prescribed deadline has passed, ODOT will schedule a coin flip to be conducted in the presence of both bidders. The winner of the coin flip will be deemed awarded the affected bid item(s).

14. PREFERENCE FOR OHIO/BORDER STATE PRODUCTS: The bid award for this procurement may be subject to the domestic preference provisions of the Buy America Act, 41 U.S.C.A., 10a-10d, as amended, and to the preference for Ohio products under O.R.C. Sections 125.09 and 125.11 and Ohio Administrative Code Rule 123:5-1-06. A bidder must complete the enclosed Ohio Bid Preference Certification Statement form to be eligible to receive any applicable bid preferences.

15. RESPONSIVE BIDDER: A bidder is responsive if its bid responds to the bid specifications in all material respects and contains no irregularities or deviations from the specifications that would affect the amount of the bid or otherwise give the bidder an unfair competitive advantage.

16. MINOR INFORMALITIES OR IRREGULARITIES IN BIDS: A minor informality or irregularity is one that is merely a matter of form and not of substance. It also pertains to some immaterial defect in a bid or variation of a bid from the exact requirements of the invitation that can be corrected or waived without being prejudicial to other bidders. The defect or variation is immaterial when the effect on price, quantity, quality, or delivery is negligible when contrasted with the total cost or scope of the supplies or services being acquired. The Department either shall give the bidder an opportunity to cure any deficiency resulting from a minor informality or irregularity in a bid or waive the deficiency, whichever is to the advantage of the Department.

17. BIDDER RESPONSIBILITY: The Department will only award this procurement to what it deems to be a responsible bidder. The Department’s determination of a bidder’s responsibility includes, but is not limited to, the following factors:

a) experience of the bidder;

b) bidder’s financial condition;

c) bidder’s conduct and performance on previous contracts;

d) the bidder’s facilities;

e) the bidder’s management skills;

f) the bidder’s employees;

g) past experience and/or quality of bidder’s proposed subcontractors;

h) the bidder’s ability to execute the contract;

i) review of Federal and Department debarment lists;

j) bidder has history of successful performance on contracts of similar size and scope; and

k) current or impending legal actions against a bidder.

18. APPARENT CLERICAL MISTAKES: Clerical mistakes apparent on the face of the bid may be corrected, at the Department’s discretion, before contract award. The Department first shall obtain from the bidder a verification of the information intended and will attach written verification of the mistake by the bidder in the contract file and award documents. Example of apparent clerical mistakes are:

(1) Obvious misplacement of a decimal point or comma;

(2) Obvious incorrect discount factor; or

(3) Transcription error in Part Number.

19. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The Department reserves the right to request additional information to evaluate a bidder’s responsiveness to the procurement’s requirements and/or to evaluate a bidder’s overall responsibility. These requests may require the bidder’s submission of confidential materials (e.g. financial statements). If a bidder does not provide all of the requested information within the prescribed timeframe, the Department may find the bid non-responsive and ineligible for award.

20. PRODUCT SAMPLES: The Department may require bidders, by procurement or by request during bid evaluation, to provide sample supplies or equipment or examples of work, at the Bidder’s expense.

Samples must clearly identify the Bidder, the bid number, and the item the sample represents in the bid.

The Department will return samples that are not destroyed by testing, at the Bidder's expense, upon the Bidder’s timely request. The Department may keep the samples of the Bidder awarded the contract until the completion of the contract. Unsolicited samples submitted in response to this procurement will not be evaluated and the Department may dispose of them in any way it chooses.

21. SPECIFICATIONS: The Department is authorized by Sections 5513 and/or 125.02(B) of the Ohio Revised

Code to prepare specifications and establish contracts to obtain the supplies, equipment, and/or services referenced within this procurement. The purpose of the provided specifications is to describe the supplies, equipment, and/or services to be purchased and will serve as a fair and equitable basis for comparison of submitted bids. The Department may use any form of specification it determines to be in the best interest of the Department and that best describes the supplies or services to be purchased. Specifications may be in the form of a design specification or a combination thereof. If the department determines that a design, performance or a combination specification is not in the best interest of the Department, it may use brand name or equal specifications.

Unless otherwise specified in this procurement, all products, equipment, supplies, etc. offered by bidders must be in a new condition. A ‘new’ product is one that will be first used by the Department after it has been manufactured or produced. Used, reconditioned, or previously titled products, supplies, or equipment will not be considered for award of this procurement.

The Department uses qualified products list (QPL) and/or approved products lists (APL) developed by either itself or other qualified institutions to specify acceptable products and supplies that have been through proper application and testing procedures to verify conformance with technical and/or performance specifications. Where the Department requires products and supplies to be included on a specific QPL/APL listing, the Department will not accept bids for products/supplies that are not included on a specified QPL/APL at the time of public bid opening.

A bidder may not be compensated for damages arising from inaccurate or incomplete information in the procurement specifications or from inaccurate assumptions based upon the specifications.

22. USE OF BRAND NAMES: Unless otherwise provided in this solicitation, the name of a certain brand, make, or manufacturer does not restrict bidders to the specific brand, make, or manufacturer named, but conveys the general style, type, character, and quality of the article desired. Any article which the Department, in its sole discretion, determines to be the equivalent of that specified, considering quality, workmanship, economy of operation, or suitability for the purpose intended, may be accepted. The bidder is responsible to clearly and specifically identify the product being offered and to provide sufficient descriptive literature, catalog cuts and technical detail to enable the Department to determine if the product offered meets the requirements of the solicitation. Failure to furnish adequate data for evaluation purposes may result in declaring a bid nonresponsive.