RFP 6819 Z1 Addendum Two for Questions and Answers FINAL.pdf

ADDENDUM TWO

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Date: October 4, 2023

To: All Bidders

From: Matthew Hansen / Connie Heinrichs, Procurement Contracts Officers

AS Materiel State Purchasing Bureau (SPB)

RE: Addendum for Request for Proposal Number 6819 Z1 to be opened October 18, 2023 at

2:00 P.M. Central Time

Questions and Answers

Following are the questions submitted and answers provided for the above mentioned Request for Proposal. The questions and answers are to be considered as part of the Request for Proposal. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to check the State Purchasing Bureau website for all addenda or amendments.

Question Number

RFP

Section

Reference

RFP

Page

Number

Question State Response

1. II. Terms and Conditions

10 RFP states “Bidder is expected to read the Terms and Conditions and should initial either accept, reject, or reject and provide alternative language for each clause.”

Can each clause be accepted or rejected with a typed “X” or is the State expecting initials of the responder?

Each clause must be accepted or rejected using the initials of the respondent in the appropriate box, however, it is acceptable for the initials to be typed.

2. Section IV:

Payment, Item G

27 From [name redacted] legal department:

Should be edited slightly because [State] already charged things when they terminate for lack of finding. We'll likely have already paid the merchants, so they [State] still need to pay their existing bill. Can we, despite the non-negotiable label, edit slightly in the context of how payment cards work.

Contract verbiage cannot be altered at this stage.

3. Glossary of Terms

8 [Name redacted] considers subcontractors to be entities we hire expressly to work on this contract specifically, and not [name redacted] or [name redacted] or their customer base generally.

We simply want to be clear in our definition.

Relatedly, since this becomes part of the contract, how would the State prefer

Glossary terms are not subject to negotiation at this stage.

we incorporate our specific definition into our response?

4. Section VI Proposal Instructions, A.2.f

32 Will taking exception disqualify our bid?

[Name redacted]’s legal department’s position is that this request is not applicable in the context of the services [name redacted] provides (versus, say, a construction company).

We have thousands of customers, some of which have elected to leave/terminate.

Bidders must submit responses to all sections to be considered responsive to this RFP. If a bidder does not believe a section applies to them, the bidder may explain why in their response.

5. General Question

Would the state be able to provide a breakdown of annual gallons purchased retail, annual gallons used at private sites and annual non-fuel spend?

This information was pulled for the calendar year 2022.

State of Nebraska program administered by NDOT purchased 2,733,221 gallons of fuel costing $10,456,428. Total spend on non-fuel items was $47,738. The breakdown for retail and on-site is not available.

University campuses purchased 316,567 gallons of fuel totaling $1,364,887. Of that, 213,168.55 gallons totaling $860,242.59 were retail and 148,398.62 gallons for $504,644.39 were purchased on-site. Total spend in non-fuel items was $64,023.

6. General Question

Would the state be willing to accept this proposal via email, should the bidder not be able to comply with the ShareFile platform.

Proposal submissions will not be accepted via email. It is the State’s preference that all proposals are submitted via ShareFile, however, in addition to ShareFile the State will accept proposals via personal delivery or by mail. If the bidder wishes to use one of these alternative methods, the bidder must notify SPB of which method the bidder intends to use. The proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope and must be received by SPB by the opening date outlined in the Schedule of Events.

See Alternative Submission of Proposals below for further details.

ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Bidders should submit one proposal marked on the first page: “ORIGINAL”. If multiple proposals are submitted, the State will retain one copy marked “ORIGINAL” and destroy the other copies. The Bidder is solely responsible for any variance between the copies submitted. Proposal responses should include the completed Form A, “Bidder Proposal Point of Contact”. Proposals must reference the RFP number and be sent to the specified address. Please note that the address label should appear as specified in Section I.B of the RFP. on the face of each container or bidder’s proposal response packet. If a recipient phone number is required for delivery purposes, 402-471-6500 should be used. The RFP number should be included in all correspondence. The State will not furnish packaging and sealing materials. It is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure the solicitation is received in a sealed envelope or container and submitted by the date and time indicated in the Schedule of Events. Sealed proposals must be received in the State Purchasing Bureau by the date and time of the proposal opening per the Schedule of Events. No late proposals will be accepted.

The Request for Proposal form must be signed manually in ink or by DocuSign and returned by the proposal opening date and time along with the bidder’s Request for Proposal along with any other requirements as stated in the Request for Proposal document in order for the bidder’s Request for Proposal response to be evaluated.

It is the responsibility of the bidder to check the website for all information relevant to this Request for Proposal to include addenda and/or amendments issued prior to the opening date. Website address is as follows:

http://das.nebraska.gov/materiel/bidopps.html

Emphasis should be concentrated on conformance to the solicitation instructions, responsiveness to requirements, completeness, and clarity of content. If the bidder’s proposal is presented in such a fashion that makes evaluation difficult or overly time consuming the State reserves the right to reject the proposal as non-conforming.

By signing the “Request for Proposal for Contractual Services” form, the bidder guarantees compliance with the provisions stated in this solicitation.

The State shall not incur any liability for any costs incurred by bidders in replying to this solicitation, in the demonstrations and/or oral presentations, or in any other activity related to bidding on this solicitation.

The Technical and Cost Proposals Template should be presented in separate sections (loose-leaf binders are preferred) on standard 8 ½” x 11” paper, except that charts, diagrams and the like may be on fold-outs which, when folded, fit into the 8 ½” by 11” format. Pages may be consecutively numbered for the entire proposal, or may be numbered consecutively within sections. Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively within sections. Figures and tables should be numbered and referenced in the text by that number. They should be placed as close as possible to the referencing text.

This addendum will become part of the Request for Proposal and should be acknowledged with the Request for Proposal response.

http://das.nebraska.gov/materiel/bidopps.html