6-Exhibit 2 Reverse Auction Package (Road Salt) final 5-10-2018.pdf

EXHIBIT 2

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES

REVERSE AUCTION

PACKAGE

Sodium Chloride (Bulk Road Salt) Invitation for Bid No. 6100045558

I. Purpose

This Reverse Auction Package contains instructions governing Bidder participation in the online reverse auction for Sodium Chloride (Bulk Road Salt), as well as rules for submitting electronic prices through the auction and information regarding the training process for the auction.

Attachments to this Reverse Auction Package include the Intent to Participate Form (Attachment A) and the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet (Attachment B).

II. Background Information

The Department of General Services (DGS) has reserved the right to conduct an online reverse auction for the purpose of obtaining prices for Invitation to Bid (IFB) No. 6100045558 for Sodium Chloride (Bulk Road Salt). If DGS determines that it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to conduct an online reverse auction for any or all of the bid item, the auction will be conducted in accordance with this Auction Package.

To be fully eligible to participate in the auction, a Bidder must do the following:

• Sign and return the Intent to Participate Form (Attachment A) with the bid package in response to the IFB by the date and time listed in the Calendar of Events.

• Participate in an auction training session conducted on the date listed in the Calendar of Events for this Reverse Auction Package.

• Participate in the auction, scheduled for the date and time listed in the Calendar of

Events for this Reverse Auction Package.

• Submit the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet by the date and time set forth in the

Calendar of Events.

III. Issuing Office

The Issuing Office for this event is DGS, Bureau of Procurement. The Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact for the Commonwealth for this reverse auction. Please refer all inquiries to:

Jean Halbleib, Commodity Specialist Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement 6th Floor, Forum Place, 555 Walnut Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101-1914 Telephone No. (717) 346-8188 Fax No. (717) 783-6241 jhalbleib@pa.gov mailto:jhalbleib@pa.gov

IV. Calendar of Events

Activity Completion Date

1. IFB 6100045558 posted on eMarketplace. The Reverse

Auction Package will be included with and part of IFB No.

6100045558.

May 10, 2018

2. Supplier bids due to Issuing Office. The Initial Bid Sheet and the Intent to Participate Form (Attachment A) must be included in the bid package upon submittal.

May 24, 2018 by 2:00 pm EST

3. Individual Supplier Training Session and Practice Auction:

Each Bidder will participate in an individual teleconference training session with DGS which will include a practice auction configured similarly to the live online reverse auction parameters. This practice auction will familiarize the Bidder with submitting pricing in a competitive environment prior to the live online reverse auction itself.

June 4-6, 2018

TIME TBD

4. Live Auction:

Bidders should log onto the online tool 20 minutes prior to the start of the Auction. An Event Manager will contact all Bidders prior to the opening of the Auction to confirm readiness.

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June 7, 2018 10:00 am EST

5. Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet Submitted (via Email):

Bidder’s final pricing entered within the online auction tool must be listed within the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet (Attachment B) provided. Bidders should state all pricing by line item detail and pricing should represent the Bidder’s best pricing that was submitted during the reverse auction.

The Bidder’s Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet is required to be submitted via email to jhalbleib@pa.gov.

June 11, 2018

4:30 PM EST

mailto:jhabowski@pa.gov

V. Reverse Auction Overview

a. An online reverse auction will be used to obtain pricing for Sodium Chloride. All Bidders participating in the reverse auction process are required to submit pricing electronically during a specified time frame. All prices submitted during the auction shall constitute valid and binding bids. DGS shall maintain the right to accept or reject all bids.

b. All participating Bidders will access the SRM auction platform via the internet from their own offices. A PC with a web browser and internet access are required to access and use this system.

c. The auction format allows Bidders to see how their price submittals compare against those of other Bidders, and provides the opportunity for Bidders to improve their chances for award by reducing their prices. The identity of all participating Bidders will not be revealed to other Bidders during the online auction. A bid tabulation reflecting the auction prices will be posted after the reverse auction.

d. At all times during a Bidder’s participation, the Bidder will have access to phone support to answer all questions related to the online price submittal system and the auction process. During the registration and training portion of the event, Bidder questions will be answered within 24 hours. During the online auction, Bidders will have real-time support throughout the entire event. Answers to questions from Bidders answered by DGS during the auction will be broadcast to all Bidders through the auction site.

e. Prior to participating in the online auction, a Bidder must, among other things, execute and agree to be bound by the online auction general terms and conditions through the Intent to Participate Form, which must to be submitted with the Bidder’s response to the

IFB.

VI. Lot Overview and Parameters

a. The auction will consist of eighteen (18) lots representing eighteen individual counties in the Commonwealth as set forth in the Initial Reverse Auction Bid Sheet. It is the intent of the Commonwealth to have the reverse auction take place over the course of one day.

The auction will consist of per ton pricing for each county for Sodium Chloride (Bulk Road Salt) for the Commonwealth agencies and pre-registered COSTARS members as set forth in the Specifications.

b. Bidders will be required to submit their Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet no later than close of business on June 11, 2018.

c. Listed below are the reverse auction parameters. These configuration details will be reviewed further during the individual training session.

1. Style: This Auction will be a reverse format, in which an Offeror’s price submittals may only decrease in value.

2. Information Release: During the reverse auction, Bidders will see their current price as well as the other bidders’ prices for each lot. However, the identities and number of other Bidders will not be visible at any time.

3. Starting Price: The Bidder must submit a starting price that is at or below the price submitted on the Initial Reverse Auction Bid Sheet.

4. Minimum Price Submittal Rule/Decrement: The minimum price submittal decrement is the amount by which Bidders will need to beat their previous lowest price in order to submit a new price. For this auction the minimum decrement is set at $0.25. If the Commonwealth determines that it is in its best interest to change the bid decrement, all bidders participating in the auction will be notified through the auction platform or by other appropriate means.

5. Tie Bids: While the auction platform will accept tie bids, DGS will not accept tie bids during the auction. If a bidder attempts to submit a bid that is exactly the same as another Bidder’s already submitted bid, DGS will notify the Bidders that there were multiple tie bids entered at the same time. The bid with the earliest time stamp will be considered the low bid. If time is remaining in the auction, other bidders will have the opportunity to submit new low bids.

6. Initial Duration: The initial duration for the first lot in which the reverse auction runs will be 15 minutes. Overtime may extend the auction duration past the initial time period. The auctions for all lots will start at the same time; however, the ending times for each lot will be staggered in 5 minute increments to ensure that all Bidders have the opportunity to improve pricing for the auctions in which they are bidding. If overtime occurs in a lot, the closing time for all subsequent lots will be extended until the current lot in overtime closes.

7. Extension Rule: Overtime activates for a lot when a price is submitted within the last

1 minute of the auction duration. Successive overtime extensions are activated whenever new price submittals are placed with less than 1 minute remaining. Each overtime extension will add 1 minute to the remaining time. There will be no limit to the number of extensions that may occur in overtime. The overtime period will end when no additional extensions are triggered and time expires.

VII. Training

DGS will train designated employees of each Bidder in a telephonic training and online session using a real time practice auction to familiarize the Bidder’s employees with the auction configuration details and the online price submittal system. Training will be held on the dates set forth in the Calendar of Events contained in this Reverse Auction Package. Please see the below steps:

VIII. Reverse Auction General Terms and Conditions

a. Auction Event Terms

1. The Commonwealth intends to use the online auction process for soliciting prices for the lots as described in the IFB. The Commonwealth is not acting as an auctioneer.

The pricing results of the reverse auction may become, at the Commonwealth’s sole discretion, part of any final contract between the Commonwealth and the selected Bidder(s).

2. The Bidder releases the Commonwealth, its agencies, officers, employees, and consultants from any liability with respect to the online auction event or the conduct of any participant in the online auction event, regardless of whether such liability arises under contract, tort, or any other theory. The Bidder acknowledges that it is under no coercion to agree to this term.

3. Prices which Bidders submit for the online auction event are legally binding prices without qualification. Price submittals may not be cancelled or withdrawn except as specified in these terms.

4. No partial price submittals are permitted. Bidders may only participate in the auctions for the lots for which they submitted initial pricing in response to the IFB.

5. Except as provided in Subsection 6, below or specifically requested by the Commonwealth, Bidders agree to submit initial pricing on the Initial Bid Sheet and auction prices online only through the auction website provided by the Commonwealth and not to submit prices via any other mechanism including, but not limited to, U.S. mail, courier, fax, E-mail, or orally.

6. Any Bidder experiencing difficulties during an online auction event must notify DGS immediately. "Difficulties" include any technical problem which interferes with the Bidder’s ability to participate in the online auction event and may include, but is not limited to: data entry errors, software problems, or hardware problems. If more than one Bidder experiences difficulties during the auction, DGS may cancel the auction and set up a new time and date.

7. Bidders must maintain security of passwords against unauthorized use.

8. Only those Bidders who have submitted initial pricing for lots in response to the IFB

(through the Initial Reverse Auction Bid Sheet) will be eligible to participate in the online auction event for those lots.

9. Prices submitted to the auction site or submitted through the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet shall not be withdrawn or modified by the Bidder for a period of sixty (60) days from the close of the auction or until a contract is fully executed.

10. If the Bidder is selected for award as a result of the reverse auction, it agrees that the price submitted through the online auction is the Bidder’s final price.

11. In submitting a bid and participating in the reverse auction, Bidders understand and agree that the Commonwealth will award the contract based upon the lowest price submitted by responsive and responsible Bidders during the auction.

12. DGS reserves the right to revise the closing date of the auction, cancel auctions, pause auctions, change posted quantities, and re-offer items that were previously withdrawn. DGS also reserves the right to extend auctions at any time at its sole discretion. DGS also reserves the right to reject all prices received through the online auction.

13. Bidders are responsible for ensuring that bids are submitted through the auction with sufficient time remaining in the auction. Bidders who choose to wait until the final minutes of an auction do so at their own risk. If a Bidder encounters difficulties, as defined above, in the last sixty (60) seconds of the auction, the auction will not be paused and the Bidder will be bound by its last valid price submittal.

14. In participating in the reverse auction, the Bidder understands that DGS will determine, in its sole discretion, which auction result, if any, is accepted. In addition, DGS reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to waive any technical deficiencies or errors with regard to bid packages and bid prices submitted.

15. DGS reserves the right to revise these terms at any time by Addendum.

b. Auction Site Terms

1. The auction web site and this service are provided “as is” and without any warranty, express, implied or statutory, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

2. The Commonwealth makes no warranty that the information on the auction site is accurate, that the auction site will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free. The Commonwealth makes no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the auction site or that defects, if any, in the software will be corrected.

3. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by the Bidder from the

Commonwealth or through the auction site shall create any warranty not expressly stated herein.

4. In no event shall the Commonwealth be liable for lost profits or any special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with the website (including suspension or interruption of service), or the services provided for the online auction event (however arising, including negligence).

5. Without limiting any other remedies, the Commonwealth may suspend or terminate an Bidder’s access to the website if the Bidder is suspected (by conviction, settlement, insurance or escrow investigation, or otherwise) to have engaged in fraudulent activity in connection with the site.

c. Bidder Response to DGS

1. Each Bidder’s auction response will consist of three (3) components: 1) the Initial Reverse Auction Bid Sheet submitted in response to the IFB, 2) the Reverse Auction;

and 3) the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet. Detailed instructions for completing the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet following the auction are contained in subparagraph c below. The price entered into the online auction tool for each lot for which the Bidder submits auction pricing shall be for 100 percent of the volume contained in each lot.

2. Once the auction starts, a Bidder must submit a price that is equal to or less than the lot price in the Initial Reverse Auction Bid Sheet submitted in response to the IFB. DGS maintains the right to retract the Bidder’s access to the system and pricing activity for failing to comply with this rule.

3. At the conclusion of the auction, Bidders must complete and submit the Final Reverse

Auction Bid Sheet. The Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet will reflect the Bidder’s lowest bid on the lot from the auction. Bidders shall submit the completed Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet via e-mail to the Issuing Officer, by close of business on June 11, 2018. The pricing in the Final Reverse Auction Bid Sheet submitted to DGS must be consistent with the Bidder’s prices submitted during the live online auction.

4. If these components are not satisfied, DGS may, in its sole discretion, reject the

Bidder’s bid for individual lots or all lots for which the bidder submitted pricing.

After the Bidder has submitted the spreadsheet via e-mail, the Bidder will receive a confirmation through e-mail that it has been received. If the Bidder does not receive a confirmation e-mail, the Bidder should contact the Issuing Officer.