Instructions to Bidders.pdf

Revised 04-17-2024 - WVDCR

INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS SUBMITTING BIDS

1. REVIEW DOCUMENTS THOROUGHLY: The attached documents contain a solicitation for bids. Please read these instructions and all documents attached in their entirety. These instructions provide critical information about requirements that if overlooked could lead to disqualification of a Vendor’s bid. All bids must be submitted in accordance with the provisions contained in these instructions and the Solicitation. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of Vendor’s bid.

2. MANDATORY TERMS: The Solicitation may contain mandatory provisions identified by the use of the words “must,” “will,” and “shall.” Failure to comply with a mandatory term in the Solicitation will result in bid disqualification.

2A. PREBID MEETING: The item identified below shall apply to this Solicitation.

A pre-bid meeting will not be held prior to bid opening.

A Non-Mandatory PRE-BID meeting will be held at the following place and time:

A MANDATORY PRE-BID meeting will be held at the following place and time:

All Vendors submitting a bid must attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting. Failure to attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting shall result in disqualification of the Vendor’s bid. No one individual is permitted to represent more than one vendor at the pre-bid meeting. Any individual that does attempt to represent two or more vendors will be required to select one vendor to which the individual’s attendance will be attributed. The vendors not selected will be deemed to have not attended the pre-bid meeting unless another individual attended on their behalf. The required attribution of attendance to a single vendor should be addressed during the pre-bid but may occur at any time deemed appropriate by the Agency.

An attendance sheet provided at the pre-bid meeting shall serve as the official document verifying attendance. Any person attending the pre-bid meeting on behalf of a Vendor must list on the attendance sheet his or her name and the name of the Vendor he or she is representing.

Additionally, the person attending the pre-bid meeting should include the Vendor’s E-Mail address, phone number, and Fax number on the attendance sheet. It is the Vendor’s responsibility to locate the attendance sheet and provide the required information. Failure to complete the attendance sheet as required may result in disqualification of Vendor’s bid.

All Vendors should arrive prior to the starting time for the pre-bid. Vendors who arrive after the starting time but prior to the end of the Prebid will be permitted to sign in but are charged with knowing all matters discussed at the Prebid.

Questions submitted at least five business days prior to a scheduled pre-bid will be discussed at the pre-bid meeting if possible. Any discussions or answers to questions at the pre-bid meeting are preliminary in nature and are non-binding. Official and binding answers to questions will be published in a written addendum to the Solicitation prior to bid opening.

3. VENDOR QUESTION DEADLINE: Vendors may submit questions relating to this Solicitation to the Agency Contact. Questions must be submitted in writing. All questions must be submitted on or before the date listed below and to the address listed below to be considered. A written response will be published in a Solicitation addendum if a response is possible and appropriate. Non-written discussions, conversations, or questions and answers regarding this Solicitation are preliminary in nature and are nonbinding.

Submitted emails should have the solicitation number in the subject line.

Question Submission Deadline:

Submit Questions to:

Email:

4. BID SUBMISSION: All bids must be submitted electronically through wvOASIS or signed and delivered by the Vendor to the Agency on or before the date and time of the bid opening. Any bid received by the Agency staff is considered to be in the possession of the Agency and will not be returned for any reason.

4A. BID SUBMISSION

A bid that is not submitted electronically through wvOASIS should contain the information listed below on the face of the envelope or the bid may be rejected by the Agency.

SEALED BID:

BUYER:

SOLICITATION NUMBER:

BID OPENING DATE:

BID OPENING TIME:

FAX NUMBER:

5. ADDENDUM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Changes or revisions to this Solicitation will be made by an official addendum issued by the Agency. Vendors should acknowledge receipt of all addenda issued with this Solicitation by completing an Addendum Acknowledgment Form, a copy of which is included herewith. Failure to acknowledge addenda may result in bid disqualification.

The addendum acknowledgement should be submitted with the bid to expedite document processing.

6. BID FORMATTING: Vendor should type or electronically enter the information onto its bid to prevent errors in the evaluation. Failure to type or electronically enter the information may result in bid disqualification.

7. ALTERNATE MODEL OR BRAND: Unless the box below is checked, any model, brand, or specification listed in this Solicitation establishes the acceptable level of quality only and is not intended to reflect a preference for, or in any way favor, a particular brand or vendor. Vendors may bid alternates to a listed model or brand provided that the alternate is at least equal to the model or brand and complies with the required specifications. The equality of any alternate being bid shall be determined by the State at its sole discretion. Any Vendor bidding an alternate model or brand should clearly identify the alternate items in its bid and should include manufacturer’s specifications, industry literature, and/or any other relevant documentation demonstrating the equality of the alternate items. Failure to provide information for alternate items may be grounds for rejection of a Vendor’s bid.

This Solicitation is based upon a standardized commodity. Vendors are expected to bid the standardized commodity identified. Failure to bid the standardized commodity will result in your firm’s bid being rejected.

8. EXCEPTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS: The Solicitation contains the specifications that shall form the basis of a contractual agreement. Vendor shall clearly mark any exceptions, clarifications, or other proposed modifications in its bid. Exceptions to, clarifications of, or modifications of a requirement or term and condition of the Solicitation may result in bid disqualification.

9. REGISTRATION: Prior to Contract award, the apparent successful Vendor must be properly registered with the Agency and must have paid the $125 fee, if applicable.

10. UNIT PRICE: Unit prices shall prevail in cases of a discrepancy in the Vendor’s bid.

11. ELECTRONIC FILE ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Vendor must ensure that its submission in wvOASIS can be accessed and viewed by the Agency staff immediately upon bid opening. The Agency will consider any file that cannot be immediately access and viewed at the time of the bid opening (such as, encrypted files, password protected files, or incompatible files) to be blank or incomplete as context requires, and therefore unacceptable. A vendor will not be permitted to unencrypt files, remove password protections, or resubmit documents after bid opening to make a file viewable if those documents are required with the bid. A Vendor may be required to provide document passwords or removed access restrictions to allow the Agency to print or electronically save documents provided that those documents are viewable by the Agency prior to obtaining the password or removing the access restriction.

12. NON-RESPONSIBLE: The Director of Administrative Services reserves the right to reject the bid of any vendor as non-responsible, when the Director determines that the vendor submitting the bid does not have the capability to fully perform or lacks the integrity and reliability to assure good-faith performance.

13. ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION: The State may accept or reject any bid in whole, or in part.

14. YOUR SUBMISSION IS A PUBLIC DOCUMENT: Vendor’s entire response to the Solicitation and the resulting Contract are public documents. As public documents, they will be disclosed to the public following the bid/proposal opening or award of the contract, Freedom of Information Act in West Virginia Code §§ 29B-1-1 et seq.

DO NOT SUBMIT MATERIAL YOU CONSIDER TO BE CONFIDENTIAL, A TRADE

SECRET, OR OTHERWISE NOT SUBJECT TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.

Submission of any bid, proposal, or other document to the Agency constitutes your explicit consent to the subsequent public disclosure of the bid, proposal, or document. The Agency will disclose any document labeled “confidential,” “proprietary,” “trade secret,” “private,” or labeled with any other claim against public disclosure of the documents, to include any “trade secrets” as defined by West Virginia Code § 47-22-1 et seq. All submissions are subject to public disclosure without notice.

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