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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
260000000522 Postage and Mailing Equipment Bidders who have questions for the above Solicitation must fill the sections below and attach the document in an email to the Solicitation Manager, as described in the Instruction to Bidders.
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| Answer (to be completed by the State) |
| 1 |
| Vendor Instruction, item 9, Award Recommendation |
| 6 |
| “The contract may be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder who…” Is it the state’s intention that a single award will result from this REFP or that multiple awards will be made? |
| Multiple awards depending on the service. |
| 2 |
| Software Terms and Conditions section 16/16.3 Termination for Convenience |
| 32 |
| Is the state’s intention that the termination for convenience applies to the Master Contract but not to any underlying leases written via the Master Contract? |
| Covers both. |
| 3 |
| SOW Section 1.4.2 |
| 60 |
| Currently the state allows suppliers to use their in-house captive leasing companies. Will that continue on the new contract? |
| Yes |
| 4 |
| SOW Section 1.4.2 |
| 60 |
| Will the state supply a list of pre-qualified finance leasing vendors? |
| No |
| 5 |
| SOW Section 1.5 Product Categories |
| 60 |
| Should there be a category for SAAS offerings as they relate to mailing and shipping equipment and solutions? If not, where should these be added in the Schedule B Pricing Document? |
| You can add a table to Schedule B if you are proposingSAAS products. |
| 6 |
| SOW Section 1.5 Product Categories |
| 60 |
| As IBI is now a decertified USPS requirement and the new USPS requirement is IMI, please confirm that anywhere in the RFP documents that reads “IBI” it should read “IMI”? |
| Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) is correct, not IBI. The document has been corrected. |
| 7 |
| SOW Section 5.2 Price Changes |
| 80 |
| Which Producer Price Index Industry code is being used by the state to determine increases? Most commonly utilized is Industry Code 333310333310. Will the PPI increase percentage at the time of submission be utilized? |
| There could be multiple codes used to help justify a price change. We would rely on the Contractor to provide what numbers they are using as part of their justification when requesting a price adjustment. |
| 8 |
| SOW Section 5.2 Price Changes |
| 80 |
| How often can we update the price book to include price changes? |
| See section 5.2 Price Changes regarding any changes to pricing. |
| 9 |
| SOW Section 5.2 Price Changes |
| 80 |
| How often can we update the price book to include new product deletions, replacements, and additions only? Given the current pace of technology, six months or more frequent intervals tends to be industry standard. |
| Annually. |
| 10 |
| Schedule E Data Security Requirements Sect. 5 Protection of States Info |
| 106 |
| Please confirm that all applicable software solutions and internet connected products proposed on any response to this RFP must be NIST 800-53 MOD/FedRAMP approved. |
| Any devices or software connected to State would need to be NIST 800 53 MOD/FedRAMP approved and any requests different from that would need to be approved by DTMB Cyber Security. |
| 11 |
| Section H1 and Section H2 |
| 115&118 |
| Is it the desire of the state to have two leasing offers? An FMV offer whereby the contractor retains title to the equipment and a lease to own offer whereby title to the equipment will pass to the state agency upon Installation. |
| The State holds the option to either lease or purchase equipment. |
| 12 |
| Software Terms and Condition, 44. Administrative Fee and Reporting |
| 46 |
| Postage must be excluded from this. Is this acceptable.? |
| Yes, this is acceptable. |
| 13 |
| Software Terms and Condition, 58. Entire Agreement |
| 50 |
| 1. FP would need to include, at minimum, the USPS terms and deposit acknowledgement/requirement. Is this acceptable? 2. Additionally, FP’s ownership of (any) the rented equipment. Is this acceptable? 3. Also, if there is a lease, those terms are separate. Is this acceptable? |
| There has to be a prefunded account for any of these. |
| 14 |
| General Requirements, 1.1.5 |
| 59 |
| FP not its dealers, can perform service on Pitney Bowes or BlueCrest Equipment. Is this acceptable? |
| Preference will be given to Bidders who can service Pitney Bowes and Bluecrest. |
| 15 |
| General Requirements 1.2.2 |
| 59 |
| 1. Within a certain timeframe, otherwise it is to be repaired. Is this acceptable? |
Repair or replacement of unsatisfactory equipment. The Contractor will replace a defective component in production equipment. The State will notify the Contractor in writing if the repair does not resolve the issue. This written notification will act as a cure letter allowing 15 days to have a resolution plan in place. During the warranty period, unsatisfactory equipment performance will require an even exchange of equipment of equal or greater performance at no additional cost. After the warranty period, the credit must be the amount paid at the time of purchase.
Within a warranty timeframe that would be the expectation.
| 16 |
| General Requirements 1.4.2 |
| 60 |
| FP has a leasing partner that must be utilized. Is this acceptable? |
If the Contractor allows the purchase of Equipment to be financed, the State must be able to obtain financing using the finance or leasing entity of the State’s choice, including but not limited to, from the State’s prequalified finance leasing vendors
Yes
| 17 |
| General Requirements 1.5 Product Categories |
| 60 |
| USPS current requirement is IMI not IBI. Will this be amended? Is a product in all categories required? |
| Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) is correct, not IBI. The document has been corrected. No, a product in all categories in not required. |
| 18 |
| General Requirements Product Categories 1.5.5.5 |
| 61 |
| USPS weight limit is 70lbs. Will this be amended? |
| USPS weight limit is 70lbs. This has been corrected in the document. |
| 19 |
| General Requirements Transition 1.6 |
| 68 |
| Requires upgrade and change of equipment, returning the old equipment to the old provider. Is this acceptable? |
1.6.1 Bidder must provide a transit plan in Schedule G.
The current vendor would be responsible for taking out the old equipment.
| 20 |
| General Requirements 1.1.5 |
| 59 |
| 1.1.5 Be able to service existing Pitney Bowes and Bluecrest equipment. |
Due to USPS regulations, leasing-company constraints, and OEM contractual requirements, Quadient is not authorized to perform maintenance or service on equipment manufactured by Pitney Bowes or Bluecrest. These manufacturers restrict service activities to their own certified technicians or authorized partners.
Given these limitations and the fact that Quadient is one of the four USPS approved providers of postage metering devices, is this requirement negotiable or subject to modification—for example, allowing existing Pitney Bowes and Bluecrest equipment to remain under their respective OEM service agreements while Quadient services only Quadient-provided systems under this contract?
Preference will be given to Bidders who can service Pitney Bowes and Bluecrest.
| 21 |
| General Requirements 1.3 |
| 59 |
| 1.3.4 Provide on site service on an immediate need service call basis. |
Can the State please further define this requirement?
Service calls must be returned within 30 minutes. If issues can’t be resolved within 1-hour, onsite service must be scheduled and performed within 3 hours.
| 22 |
| General Requirements 1.4 |
| 60 |
| 1.4.2 states "if the Contractor allows the purchase of Equipment to be financed, the State must be able to obtain financing using the finance or leasing entity of the State’s choice, including but not limited to, from the State’s prequalified finance leasing vendors." |
Would the State allow vendors to submit their own finance company as an option as part of their bid response?
Yes, State has the option to choose.
| 23 |
| Pricing, 5.2Price changes |
| 79 |
| Will vendors be permitted to regularly update their product catalogs— including adding new SKUs, newly released equipment, accessories, and software—throughout the life of the contract? If so, what is the State’s required process and frequency for submitting catalog updates for approval? |
| Annually. |
| 1 |
| Given the substantial volume, technical depth, cross‑agency requirements, and complexity of RFP 260000000522, will the State consider extending both (1) the deadline for vendor questions and (2) the proposal submission due date? Additional time would allow vendors to thoroughly analyze the detailed specifications, prepare accurate pricing across numerous product categories, confirm compliance with multi‑agency security requirements, and develop complete responses that fully meet the State’s expectations. |
| The date was moved out already once. The State is not planning to extend the proposal due date at this time. |
| 25 |
| Schedule B |
| 90 |
| n Schedule B – Pricing, can the State clarify how software should be categorized and listed within each product category? Specifically, should software (e.g., mail/shipping management software for use with mailing systems, addressing software for use with address printers, inbound parcel tracking solutions, document enhancement software for use with folder inserters) be itemized under the same category as the related hardware, listed as a standalone software section, or organized in a separate pricing tab? |
| Software and hardware should be itemized under the same category as related hardware. |
| 26 |
| SOW Mailing Furniture 1.5.34 |
| 68 |
| Under the “Mailing Furniture” and “General Furniture” categories in Schedule A, can the State confirm whether Intelligent Parcel Lockers are considered an allowable furniture item under this contract? If so, should vendors include parcel lockers within the furniture catalog, or will parcel lockers be treated as a separate equipment category? |
| No, we do not use smart lockers. |
| 4 |
| Is the State amenable to inclusion of vendor terms as it relates to USPS postage meter rental which is not covered by the State's term? |
| The States terms would govern any quote. |
| 28 |
| Schedule H2 Hardware Removal and Disposal |
| 121 |
| The RFP requires the Contractor to remove and dispose of all hardware from State premises, including hardware replaced or deemed nonconforming. Under USPS regulations, our company is authorized to remove and dispose of only our own equipment. We are not permitted to remove or dispose of hardware owned by another vendor. |
Can the State confirm that this requirement applies only to the Contractor’s equipment and not hardware belonging to previous or third‑party vendors?
Equipment at PMM that would be removed is owned by the SOM.
| 29 |
| General Requirements 1.2 Equipment Performance |
| 59 |
| Section 1.2.1 requires the Contractor to ensure equipment maintains 95% uptime. Can the State please clarify that this uptime requirement applies specifically to mechanical or equipment‑related failures, and does not include downtime caused by factors outside the Contractor’s control—such as user error, environmental conditions, delays in site access, or application‑specific changes (e.g., introduction of new paper stocks or materials that require system adjustments)?” Can the State clarify the structure of the anticipated award - will it be one vendor per category or multiple vendors across categories? |
| 95% up time is specific to mechanical and equipment-related failures. It doesn’t include factors outside the vendor’s control (user error, environmental issues, etc.) |
| Can the State please clarify the expectations for USPS postage meters - the bid lists USPS IBI-compliant capabilities, however the current standard is USPS IMI Intelligent Mail Indicia. Each approved manufacturer has a schedule from the USPS for removing IBI meters from service by the end of 2027. |
| The USPS postage meters should be Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI), not IBI. This has been corrected in the document. |
| 31 |
| Software Terms and Conditions 46. Contract Modification and 58. Entire Agreement |
| 47&50 |
| Section 58 (Entire Agreement) and section 46 (Contract Modification) of the RFP states that no additional terms of the contractor may be added. However, the RFP also states under section 45 that other government entities may purchase from this contract, and some of those entities may require incorporation of their own local terms and conditions. Can the State clarify whether participating or piggybacking government entities are permitted to add their own supplemental or local terms and conditions to the resulting contract? If so, what is the process, and are there limits on what may be added? |
| We would allow MiDeal members or other States to modify terms if needed if they choose to piggyback off our contract, however , no additional terms may be added through a quote or invoice to the contract. The only way to allow terms to be added is via a change notice. |
| Schedule B – Pricing (Section A: Equipment, Accessories, Maintenance and Repair Services) Should configuration‑specific add‑ons be listed within each individual product category table (as separate line items associated with the base unit), or should all add‑ons—regardless of category—be itemized solely under Section 40: Accessories? | Comment by Hampton, Kristen (DTMB): @Beck, Melissa (DTMB) I’d recommend they keep the configuration-specific add-ons be listed within each individual product category table. |
| Software and hardware should be itemized under the same category as related hardware. | |
| 33 |
| Schedule G – Transition In and Out |
| 114 |
| Is the State looking for financial assistance to settle existing contracts with vendors as a part of the transition plan? If so, can the State please provide a list of all those contracts and their remaining obligations. If not, please elaborate on the expectation of the transition plan. What is the expected size and timing of the initial statewide rollout? Does the State expect a one‑time transition or ongoing equipment refresh cycles? For transition‑in, will the prior vendor be contractually required to cooperate during equipment swap‑outs? |
| Would not be expecting to settle existing contracts. It would be a transition through life of contract. |
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