BPM006272_Solicitation_Attachment_-_Experience_and_Capacity_MSC.pdf

Page 1 + Arizona Department of Administration RFP No. BPM006272 Statewide Facilities and Building Supplies: July 8, 2024

Attachment 2.1.3.10

Experience & Capacity

1.0 COMPANY PROFILE

The Offeror must include a narrative description of its organization. The narrative must include the following:

1.0 Brief overview of business operations, with an emphasis on experience in regard to the Scope of Work;

As a $4 billion nationwide distributor of MRO, industrial and metalworking products and offeror of a wide range of inventory management solutions and services, MSC Industrial Supply Co. (MSC) is fully positioned to meet the

State of Arizona’s (the State’s) solicitation requirements.

Product Breadth and Depth

With an expansive selection of 2.4 million products across nearly 40 categories, MSC maintains an offering with the breadth and depth to satisfy the State’s and Eligible Agencies’ product needs outlined in Section 3. Scope of

Work, 3.1.1 Product Categories. Please note, MSC is bidding on all Scope of Work categories with the exception of the following:

◼ Lumber

◼ Roofing

◼ Drywall

◼ Windows and Doors

◼ Related Services

With over 3,000 strategic supplier relationships, we also have access to thousands of additional industrial suppliers.

Our product line represents a broad range of MRO products and includes name brand, exclusive brand and generic products, such as:

◼ Safety/janitorial supplies

◼ Raw materials

◼ Measuring instruments

◼ Abrasives

◼ Tooling components

◼ Electrical supplies

◼ Machinery

◼ Hand and power tools

◼ Power transmission

◼ Cutting tools

◼ Fasteners

◼ Plumbing supplies

◼ Flat stock

◼ Materials handling products

MSC also has over 300,000 SKUs within our extensive exclusive brand offering. Categories include Cutting

Tools, Work and Tool Holding, Abrasives, Hand Tools, Material handling, Safety, Janitorial, Fluid Power and several other areas. From high-performance products to serving maintenance level function, our exclusive brands are competitively priced, alternatives to industry-leading brands, and can generate significant cost savings to the State’s

Eligible Users.

Page 2 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024

As the leading U.S. metalworking distributor, MSC provides customers with all the leading brands, including

Kennametal, Sandvik, Iscar, Seco, and Walter brands. Additionally, we offer high-performance exclusive brands that provide high-value, cost-effective alternatives for our customers.

Our massive catalog includes a provision that identifies ‘Good-Better-Best’ product offerings. Alternative products can be recommended through data analysis of indirect purchases, and lower-cost or higher-performance products can be recommended and tested as well. Our variety of options allows for the recommendation of the right-priced tool for the application rather than pushing a single manufacturer as an acceptable solution.

Key to our Public Sector customer satisfaction is our ease of ordering and the speed at which orders are picked, packed and shipped.

Ordering and Delivery Process

To meet the State’s ordering requirements outlined in 3.2.2 Ordering Capabilities, MSC offers a variety of methods to best suit the State and Eligible Agency needs:

◼ Online Ordering: Allows the State and Eligible Agencies to order online and offers a wide array of functions and information, including: real-time inventory; contract pricing; workflow management tools; and more.

◼ Eprocurement: MSC interfaces directly with purchasing portals, such as Ariba, SAP, Oracle and more to provide punchout and hosted catalogs for our customers. We also support EDI and XML transmissions.

◼ Telephone Orders: The State and Eligible Agencies can contact a Customer Care Associate at 800-672-4468 to place an order. Our live Associates are available Monday through Friday, 7am-11pm, ET, and Saturday, 8am-5pm, ET.

◼ Additional Ordering Methods: Customers can also order through e-mail at govteam@mscdirect.com at or fax at (800) 255-5067.

The State may use P-cards for purchases. MSC provides Level I, II and III line item detail reporting for transactions.

Over 61.1% of our orders are submitted digitally through our technology platforms (i.e., website, vending machines, and eProcurement). The remaining orders are placed via the telephone, fax and mail.

Whether orders are entered into an online processing system by our customer care representatives, or entered digitally as above described, the order is immediately transferred to the nearest CFC to a customer’s location.

Orders are typically delivered within one to two days.

In the event of a local or regional breakdown, the flexibility of our order processing system allows us to shift work to an alternative location, providing our customers with as little interruption to service as possible.

Please note that due to our extensive network of field sales associates and specialists; same day shipping;

inventory management solutions (Vending, VMI, etc.), and the speed at which we pick, pack and ship orders, we have minimized the need for retail locations and will-call orders.

If a qualified, in-stock order is placed by the 8pm, ET, national cut-off time, the order will ship the same day. MSC maintains an approximate 99% fill rate.

For items critical to operations and items with long lead times, MSC may stock inventory at a mutually agreed upon location via a signed Customer Stocking Agreement.

Order status will be communicated to the State in a variety of ways:

Page 3 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024

◼ Order Confirmation: Eligible Agencies can either request an e-mail be sent by MSC confirming the order, or they may view their order status online at mscdirect.com.

◼ Notice of Backorder: Backorder information for online orders is available immediately as a result of real-time inventory information. Orders placed over the phone will also include instantaneous feedback on stock availability from the MSC Associate. Any orders that are faxed or sent via other electronic platform will receive an e-mail notification or phone call as soon as the backorder situation is identified.

◼ Shipping Notifications: Eligible Agencies may call a Customer Care Associate to track any order shipped via

UPS or FedEx. UPS tracking is also available online at mscdirect.com. If delivery of an order is delayed or incomplete, MSC contacts affected customers advising them of the delay and when the shipment will actually arrive.

◼ Substitutions: MSC does not automatically send a substitute item if the original item is unavailable. If we cannot ship the original item, we would contact the Eligible Agency and provide alternate item suggestions that would meet their needs and then let them decide accordingly.

Shipping and Delivery

Orders are shipped from the CFC with available inventory which is in closest proximity to a customer’s location. We may also ship very large orders or items we source directly from a supplier. Our CFCs are located in:

◼ Reno, NV

◼ Atlanta, GA

◼ Elkhart, IN

◼ Harrisburg, PA

◼ Hanover Park, IL

Qualified in-stock orders placed by the 8pm, ET, national cut-off time will ship the same day and we maintain an approximate 99% fill rate. Lead times on stock items are one to two days for UPS shipments and three to four days for LTL / Truck Shipments. Non-catalog / sourced item lead times are quoted upon request.

As all non-catalog and non-stock orders are shipped to our customers directly from the manufacturer, we are not able to guarantee any specific lead time. However, our dedicated Customer Care Representatives always do their best to have an order delivered in an acceptable time frame.

A majority of orders are shipped via UPS Ground. However, we utilize a network of carriers, including FedEx, USPS and other LTL carriers.

Ecommerce and Online Product Catalog

Our website – mscdirect.com – creates a user-friendly and seamless online experience to streamline sourcing and shopping experience for the State. Eligible Agencies will have access to a wide array of information and functions, including contract-specific pricing and quote tools; access to real-time inventory level information; customer-specific pricing; workflow management tools; customized reporting; and much more.

MSC also offers a host of methods to integrate with eProcurement systems in order to help the State streamline the procurement process for Eligible Users, including Punchout Catalogs. We partner with many of the largest eProcurement providers, including iValua and SAP, Ariba, Perfect Commerce, Oracle, and more. Additionally, we also support EDI (810, 850, 855, 856 and 997 documents) and XML (cXML, xcbl3, Exam standards) transmissions.

Page 4 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024

With our Punchout Catalogs, MSC can restrict specific items and / or categories from being purchased by Eligible

Agencies.

Product Requirements

The State can view our catalog at mscdirect.com. We can provide hard copies upon request.

As required, MSC will hold Market Basket (Core List) items firm for the first year of the contract. The Market Basket will be reviewed and refreshed on an annual basis to reflect Eligible Agency purchasing habits.

MSC has completed Statewide Facilities and Building Supplies BPM006272 Pricing Sheet_Rev1 and submitted with our response.

Customer Service and Program Management

A key factor to the successful relationships MSC has built with our customers is the exceptional Account

Management Teams created to serve each of our public sector customers. Brandon Buell, Account Manager, Public Sector (AMPS), will be the State’s dedicated single point of contact and will oversee the overall program management and contract compliance.

The State and its Eligible Agencies will have access to a robust network of field associates and specialists. The following are some of the roles who would service The State sites:

◼ Business Team Leader – Will lead the local operations and support team; ensuring contract compliance; and meeting or exceeding the State’s expectations.

◼ Key Account Sales Consultant (KASC) – The KASC’s primary focus is sales support and bringing solutions that can help drive cost savings and inventory reduction, as well as the coordination of all sourcing and purchasing needs. The KASC will also serve as project manager for the local account relationship.

◼ Vendor Managed Inventory Specialists (VMIS) – The VMIS provides vending, VMI, and other inventory management support. The State’s VMIS interfaces with end users on the production floor to provide support for our products and to identify continuous improvement activities.

◼ Category Specialists – MSC maintains teams of category-specific specialists to meet Eligible Agency needs.

Specialized by industry, these associates focus on delivering documented value to our customers:

• Metalworking Specialists: MSC’s Metalworking Specialists primary responsibility is to deliver documented value to our customers resulting from the product testing they administer on site, and may also offer educational training to Technical Schools in aspects of the machinist trade. The costs savings our

Metalworking Specialists document includes a variety of areas of productivity, including tool performance

(speed/feed); cycle time; tool life; and other critical components of the manufacturing process.

Our proprietary Ap Op (Application Optimization) software solution enables our metalworking specialists to document productivity savings for customers for a range of applications, including grinding, milling, turning, threading, sawing, hole-making, metalworking fluids and other manufacturing process improvements.

In addition to MSC’s own recommendations and tool testing, MSC will also solicit the advice and assistance from our unmatched roster of metalworking suppliers. Our alignment and engagement with them enables

MSC to address multiple applications across our customers’ facility, and therefore allows for more testing and savings documentation.

• Industrial Safety Consultants: MSC maintains a staff of Industrial Safety Consultants dedicated to meeting our customers’ safety needs. They partner with our customers’ safety teams and bring their file://///SRVSTFFS10v/Customer_Contract_Management/RFP/State/State%20of%20Arizona_6-24/Drafts/mscdirect.com

Page 5 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024 expertise to support customer programs by leveraging our supplier relationships to conduct site surveys, personal protection assessments and facility audits. As MSC provides compliance-based training that can be conducted onsite or via WebEx conferences, we can tailor the program to meet customer needs. All

MSC Industrial Safety Consultants maintain multiple certifications including: QSSP Certification, OSHA 30-

Hour Certification, Competent Person, and other certifications.

In addition to local support, Eligible Agencies may also contact MSC’s Public Sector Customer Care Team whose responsibility is to deliver a high-quality, seamless and personalized experience in support of all the State’s service needs. Our live associates have access to all State-specific data, including pricing and discounts, and can receive orders and quote requests, provide digital support, source items, provide real-time inventory status, recommend product alternatives, provide advanced technical support and much more. They are available Monday through

Friday, 7am-11pm, ET, and Saturdays, 8am-5pm, ET and can be reached at 800-672-4468 or via email at govteam@mscdirect.com.

Our account management teams and the relationships they develop with their customers are a crucial part of how we approach any challenge or issue resolution.

If the State and its Eligible Agencies have a question or issue, they would reach out to their local sales associate or our customer care representatives. These knowledgeable field and customer service representatives have access to all program-specific information and are typically able resolve challenges upon first contact. In the rare instance a resolution cannot be reached in a single call, MSC will get back an acceptable response, typically within one business day.

If the issue cannot be resolved on the local level, it would be escalated to the State’s AMPS, who will work as expeditiously as possible to reach a solution.

As a distributor of 2.4 million products, MSC does not maintain a warranty program beyond our return policy, which may be found at Return Policy at www.mscdirect.com.

Green Requirements and Sustainability

We offer over 20,000 products that carry environmentally preferred certifications or contain environmentally preferable attributes. Beyond third party certifications, MSC works with suppliers to identify other products that reduce water and energy consumption, utilize pre- or post-consumer recycled content, contain biodegradable properties and exhibit other preferable characteristics.

Throughout our catalog and website, all green product alternatives are clearly identified. MSC offers 24,000

Environmentally Preferrable Products (EPPs) across the categories we supply. Eco-friendly classifications include these:

◼ Green Cleaners and Fluids: We offer a wide variety of non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners, degreasers and cutting fluids that have less of an impact on the environment and are safer to handle and store.

◼ Energy Conservation: Hundreds of products are available to help you save energy, conserve our natural resources and support our overall goal of protecting the environment, including energy-efficient lamps and lighting, photo-luminescent signage and safety products, HVAC products and automatic hand dryers.

◼ Water Conservation: MSC carries a host of plumbing fixtures and supplies that promote water conservation.

◼ Renewable Energy Source: We also carry products that can be reused and kept out of the solid waste stream to preserve the environment and sustain natural resources, such as power tools, flashlights and two-way radios that can be powered by rechargeable batteries.

mailto:govteam@mscdirect.com https://www.mscdirect.com/customer-service/return-policy

Page 6 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024

◼ Energy Star®: Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.

Department of Energy that promotes energy-efficient consumer products. MSC offers a variety of Energy Star heating and cooling products.

◼ NEMA® Premium: NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) established an energy-efficiency motors program providing highly energy-efficient products for consumers. Our selection of NEMA premium products and motors can help you save lower energy operating costs and improve overall system reliability.

◼ Recycled Products: MSC offers a number of recycling solutions and products manufactured from post-consumer content, such as plastic recycling bins made from 30% post-consumer content, can liners, various paper products and fluorescent lamp recycling kits.

◼ Low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): New environmental regulations in many states have prompted the development of low VOC paints and finishes that are less harmful to the consumer and environment. We provide a wide array of low VOC items.

◼ Greenhouse Gas Free: MSC has many products that are Greenhouse Gas Free and do not contain any global warming agents.

Other green product certifications and attributes based on the EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

Program include Green Seal, Safer Choice, ECOLOGO, GREENGUARD, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), WaterSense, Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus, USDA BioPreferred Biobased, Sustainable Forest

Initiative (SFI), SCS Certified green products, and others.

Analytics and Cost Savings

The MSC program also maintains extensive reporting capabilities. We can generate reports detailing purchasing history at individual locations along with other numerous spend and savings reports. The State will gain valuable insight and visibility into spending trends, usage, and more. The reports may be generated in real-time by authorized individuals and set to be exported and automatically sent via email or FTP.

Reports can also be customized and delivered at a frequency (monthly, quarterly, etc.) which best suits our customers’ needs. Sample reporting includes:

◼ Freight Report by Location

◼ Freight Report by Ship via Summary

◼ Order Source Detail

◼ Order Source Summary

◼ Procurement Card Report Detail

◼ Procurement Card Report Summary

◼ Performance Ratings

◼ Spend and Savings by Product Line

◼ Spend and Savings by Location

Another service MSC can provide to the State is the valuable insight into usage and spend achieved through our

Consumption Analysis. We are able to evaluate our large data sets and provide The State with insights into the most impactful SKUs. The SKUs would be broken out into three categories (In Scope, Out of Scope, and Item

Outside of MSC’s core competency. We can then identify which SKUs make up the majority of the State’s consumption and also identify where the SKUs would fit in within our solutions offering.

Page 7 + The State Request for Proposal No. AS24-85 Building Maintenance, Repair and Operations Supplies : July 8, 2024

When the implementation process is complete, our Associates will conduct both formal and informal Continuous

Improvement Reviews to identify new areas for cost savings, discuss program compliance and performance. The

State’s dedicated team will continue to drive cost savings, inventory optimization and improve data governance. Our associates will calculate the total savings and provide our Cost Saving Documentation. Additionally, we will have access to detailed dashboards that summarize Vending and Procurement Health by analyzing the movement of

SKUs, compare purchase orders (manual vs. automated) and counts, etc.