Amendment 1 - Q and A for JPMC Food and Grocery Items B-50015 6.25.26.pdf

Illinois Department of Central Management Services

JPMC Food and Grocery Items RFP

26-416CMS-BOSS4-B-50015

Bid Amendment # 1

6/25/26

The following documents have been updated and REVISED versions are attached in BidBuy.

• REVISED BEP Utilization Plan – B-50015 6.25.26

• REVISED BEP Waiver Request and Review Form – JPMC Food and Grocery Items B-50015

6.25.26

• REVISED Commitment to Diversity Answer Form – B-50015 6.25.26

Please ensure to utilize the updated documents when submitting your proposal.

Question and Answer

Q1 Is USDA / USDC Grading and Stamping required? If so, on which items?

A1 Please refer to the RFP, Section F.1.1. The vendor is required to possess and maintain all federal, state, and local licenses, registration and certifications necessary to fulfill the requirements of this Contract. Should any product provided under this Contract be mandated for USDA/USDC grading and stamping, then the Vendor is responsible for adhering to that regulation.

Q2 Please explain the formula for Price Points in detail.

• Maximum Price Points X (Lowest Price/Offeror’s Price) = Total Price Points A2 The Maximum Price Points (192) will be multiplied by results of the (Lowest Price submitted divided by the Offeror’s Price submitted).

As an example, If Offeror A submitted the lowest overall price at $100, and Offeror B submitted the highest overall price at $200

• Offeror A would be awarded 192 points

• Offeror B points would be calculated based on the example below:

192 x ($100/$200) = 96 points

Q3 How does the State define “bi-weekly”?

A3 Delivery two times in the same week.

Q4 Is there a difference, if any, between the State’s use of “catalog” in Sec. A.6.1 and Sec. F.3.1?

A4 There is no difference.

Q5 Do catalog items, outside of the 234-line items, need to be submitted with pricing?

A5 Yes. Please refer to Section A.6.1 of the RFP document. Ensure pricing is submitted in accordance with Section C.1 and F.5.1.

Q6 How does CMS prefer Scope Identifier and Description to be filled out in the U-Plan?

A6 Scope identifier field should be completed by including the 5-digit NIGP code(s) for which the

BEP subcontractor is certified with the Business Enterprise Program that best identifies the goods or services they are providing under this Offer.

The description must clearly define the services and/or products the BEP-certified subcontractor will provide under the contract. The description must also include a detailed list of tasks, responsibilities, materials, and deliverables.

Q7 How will the State define Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary awardees in practice?

A7 Please refer to the RFP Section D.1.3.

Q8 In the event the State makes multiple awards, what will the method of award be? Line by line, by category, or full catalog offerings for each awardee?

A8 Should the State choose to make multiple awards, it will be by category.

Q9 Will the State allow follow-up questions for clarity?

A9 No.

Q10 Can a single corporation with multiple warehouses legal entity submit one statewide paperwork covering service performed by multiple operating companies/warehouses?

A10 Yes.

Q11 If affiliated corporate entities support performance, should all entity/entities be listed on Vendor

Disclosure/IPG Disclosure, Financial Disclosure, insurance certificates, tax forms, and State Board of Elections registration?

A11 All affiliated corporate entities should be identified on the Offer’s Vendor Disclosures/IPG

Active Registered Vendor Disclosures. Parent companies should also submit their own financial disclosures. Affiliated corporate entities should also be listed as an affiliate on the Offer’s Board of Elections Registration.

Q12 Must the exact contracting entity have active IPG registration, or is parent/affiliate IPG registration acceptable?

A12 There is no requirement that the Offeror (contracting entity) must have an active IPG registration. If the Offeror does not have an active IPG registration, then the Vendor

Disclosures will need to be completed and attached with the proposal in BidBuy. Disclosures are required from the Offeror (contracting entity)

Q13 Please confirm whether IDHR Public Contract Number and State Board of Elections registration must match the submitting entity exactly, or whether parent registration can satisfy requirements.

A13 IDHR (if applicable) and BOE registrations are required for the Offeror (submitting entity).

The parent company should be listed on the BOE registration as an affiliate.

Q14 Does BEP participation through transportation/logistics subcontracting count toward the 9% BEP goal if the certified vendor performs a commercially useful function?

A14 Yes.

Q15 Can the State confirm whether BEP spend is calculated on total contract sales, subcontract dollars, delivered value, transportation spend, or another basis?

A15 Please refer to the REVISED BEP Utilization Plan - B-50015, Part I Terms and Conditions, 4.

Expenditures Eligible for Goal Credit.

Q16 Will certified BEP vendors outside Illinois or certified by other recognized programs count, or must vendors be certified by Illinois BEP at time of proposal?

A16 BEP vendors must be certified with the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion (CEI) at the time of proposal.

Q17 If an Offeror cannot meet the full 9% goal, what documentation is required for a partial waiver and when will waiver determinations be made relative to responsiveness review?

A17 Please refer to the REVISED BEP Utilization Plan - B-50015, Part IV Waiver Requests and

Reviews and the Revised BEP Waiver Request and Review Form. The Commission on Illinois and Inclusion (CEI) will make the final determination on the waiver request. To obtain a CEI-approved waiver, the Offeror must complete all ten requirements of the BEP Act in detail, demonstrating their actions and efforts for each of the ten requirements.

Q18 Can the State clarify how price will be calculated for evaluation when Offerors bid different category coverage or only selected category lines?

A18 The State intends to award a single contract to the response and responsible Offeror with the highest overall evaluation points. If the State chooses to award multiple contracts based on selected categories, the State will evenly divide the 192 price points amongst the eight

(8) categories for evaluation.

Q19 Does the required Excel/CSV catalog need to include every item offered nationally, every item in usage exhibits, or only the products the Offeror commits to make available under this contract?

A19 Please refer to the RFP, Section A.6.1. The Offeror should submit their offerings for each of the food or grocery item categories that will be available under this contract. See additionally, Section F.3.1.

Q20 For item substitutions/equivalents, what product data must be provided to show compliance with specifications?

A20 The State does not specify what product data must be provided for compliance. It is the

Offeror’s responsibility to provide products that meet the specifications outlined within the RFP and subsequent contract with the awarded vendor. Please refer to the RFP, Section B.3 for various specification requirements. and Section D.2.6 for brand name equivalency.

Q21 Please provide current delivery frequency by facility, average order size, and estimated annual delivery count by location.

A21 Since this is a Joint Purchase Master Contract (JPMC) that is available to all governmental units and qualified not-for-profit entities throughout the State of Illinois, that information is not available as the variations in frequency, order size, etc. differ between orders and between locations. The Offeror will be evaluated based on their proposal related to statewide delivery. See F.3.4 of the RFP.

Q22 Please provide order lead time requirements by facility and product class, including whether orders are placed weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or in advance for pallet/drop-ship purchases.

A22 Please refer to the answer to Question #21.

Q23 Are deliveries primarily pallet-drop dock deliveries, inside deliveries, segregated by dining facility, or a mix by location? Please provide examples by facility type.

A23 Please refer to the answer to Question #21. Additionally, see Section B.3.7 of the RFP.

Q24 Are there designated delivery windows, security procedures, appointment requirements, background check requirements, or vehicle/driver requirements for DOC/DJJ/DHS/DVA facilities?

A24 Since this is a Joint Purchase Master Contract (JPMC) that is available to all governmental units and qualified not-for-profit entities throughout the State of Illinois, the awarded vendor will be responsible for working with each ordering entity on their specific delivery requirements

Q25 Please confirm whether glass/pull-tab restriction applies to all customers under the JPMC or only

IDOC, IDJJ, DHS, and DVA facilities.

A25 The glass/pull-tab restriction applies to those agencies as mentioned in Section B.3.15 of the

RFP Document. Since this is statewide Joint Purchase Master Contract which is available to Governmental Units and Qualified Not-For-Profit Agencies, the awarded vendor would need to work with all customers on their specific restrictions.

Q26 Please confirm whether DHS dairy packaging restriction applies to all DHS locations and all dairy products, or only certain dairy categories.

A26 Yes, the DHS dairy packaging restriction applies to all DHS locations and dairy products.

Q27 Is the State requiring the COI to name State of Illinois generally, CMS, each ordering agency, or each governmental unit/qualified not-for-profit as additional insured?

A27 Please refer to Exhibit E - State of Illinois Standard Terms and Conditions Section 11, which indicates the COI should name the State as an additionally insured.

Q28 Will subcontractor approval be required prior to award for BEP subcontractors, or after execution under Standard Terms Section 3?

A28 Subcontractor approval will be prior to award.

Q29 Please define required contract usage reporting cadence and fields, including BEP subcontractor payment reporting and participating governmental/nonprofit agency spend.

A29 Please refer to the RFP document, Section A.6.3, Exhibit B - JPMC Food and Grocery Items

State Usage FY24 and Exhibit C - JPMC Food and Grocery Items State Usage FY25, attached in BidBuy are examples of usage reports. Refer to the Revised BEP Utilization Plan - B-50015 for BEP subcontractor payment reporting, specifically Section 5. Monitoring Contract Compliance.

Q30 If multiple awards are made, how will ordering entities be required or encouraged to use primary vs secondary/tertiary vendors?

A30 Refer to the answer for question #7.

Q31 What date should be used for pricing submission that will be used in evaluating all proposals?

A31 Proposal due date, as pricing received on that date will be used in the evaluation of all proposals.

Q32 It has been noted that your top 200 items account for 80% of total purchases and represent 186 or more cases per year, what are the expectations of submitting a price proposal on all items?

A32 Offeror may submit a quote on any or on all the food categories (Please refer to the RFP document, Section F.5.1). Offers will be evaluated on their breadth of catalog offerings, see Section F.3.1.

Q33 There is redundancy in SKUs on the market basket (ex. 4 green beans). Is the cause due to functional differences in the items, or due to substitutes with the incumbent supplier?

A33 These are functional differences in the items based on ordering entities needs.

Q34 For accuracy purposes we are requesting that brand (mfg. names) and mfg. codes be provided for the market basket.

A34 There are no brand specific requirements for this RFP. The Offeror should provide the product brand/item that best meets the line item requirements. See Sections B.3.14 and D.2.6 of the RFP.

Q35 Considering the volume of data, SKU's and uncertainty around market basket effective date, we request your consideration of a modest 2-week extension of the bid due date.

A35 It is in the State’s best interest to extend the proposal due date to accommodate sufficient time for Offeror to review this bid amendment and updated BidBuy attachments.

The State is extending the proposal due date and time to: July 29, 2026, at 2pm