BWC Vendor Inquiry and Submission Guidance Attachment.docx

3.0 PROPOSAL INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSIONS IN THE STATE OF OHIO ONLINE PURCHASING SOLUTION The following sections provide details on how to get more information about this solicitation and how to respond to this solicitation. All responses must be complete and in the prescribed format.

3.1 SUBMITTING INQUIRIES

All inquiries relating to this solicitation shall be directed to the State Procurement website through the inquiry process. Offerors may make inquiries regarding this solicitation any time during the inquiry period. To make an inquiry, Offerors must login to OhioBuys, navigate to the solicitation, open the Inquiry tab and submit their inquiry. OhioBuys provides the primary platform for Supplier partners to engage in procurement activities with the State of Ohio. For additional information submitting inquiries, click on the Learner Guide “PowerPoint Presentation” below.

Learner Guide PowerPoint Presentation Offerors will not receive a personalized e-mail response to their question, nor will they receive notification when the question has been answered.

Offerors may view inquiries and responses on the OhioBuys Public Solicitations page by opening the Solicitation Overview and navigating to the inquiries section of that page. Our goal is to respond to all inquiries within three business days of receipt. We will not respond to any inquiries received after the inquiry end date.

We are under no obligation to acknowledge questions submitted through the Q&A process if those questions are not in accordance with these instructions or deadlines.

3.2 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

OhioBuys provides the primary platform for Supplier partners to engage in procurement activities with the State of Ohio. For additional information on submitting proposals see the “Viewing and Responding to Solicitations” Learner Guide or the “Viewing and Responding to Solicitations” Supplier Training Video linked below.

Viewing and Responding to Solicitations Viewing and Responding to Solicitations Once submitted, a proposal cannot be altered. Proposals shall be clearly marked with the Solicitation Title and Bid number. FAX and mail transmittals will not be accepted. Quotes/Proposals must be received in a timely manner.

All material submitted to and accepted in response to the solicitation shall become the property of the State and will be retained in accordance with the Ohio Public Records Act and Ohio records retention laws. THE CONTENTS OF ALL PROPOSALS ARE SUBJECT TO THE OHIO PUBLIC RECORDS ACT, SECTION 149.43 OF THE OHIO REVISED CODE, UNLESS OTHERWISE EXCEPTED BY LAW.

Any material for which claim of trade secret or other confidentiality is made must be sealed in a separate envelope and marked as Confidential, with an explanation of the basis for claim of confidentiality, including any statute exempting the information from disclosure as a public record. Any claim of confidentiality is waived unless this requirement is met. Any material not separately sealed and annotated will be released upon a proper public records request. Any proposal that claims that the entire contents of the proposal are confidential will result in the disqualification of that proposal.

We will make the final determination whether the information so marked is exempt from disclosure as an exception to the Ohio Public Records Act. After a contract is awarded, if we determine that the information separately sealed by any responder appears not to be exempt and may be released upon a proper request, the supplier will be advised of our intent to release the information.