RFR MED54 Amended 12-16-19.pdf

Updated: October 18, 2019

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

OPERATIONAL SERVICES DIVISION

Request for Response (RFR)

Document Title: Influenza Vaccine for the 2020 – 2021 Flu Season

Agency Document Number: MED54

COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-20-1080-OSD03-SRC3-43919

11/21/19

Amended Date: 12/16/19 All Amendments are in Red

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the entire Bid, which are all incorporated into the Bid.

Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@mass.gov or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.

Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFR information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case by case basis. A Bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the Bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the RFR. The SST reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

http://www.commbuys.com/ mailto:COMMBUYS@mass.gov

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Influenza Vaccine for the 2020 – 2021 Flu Season

RFR #MED54 / COMMBUYS Bid# BD-20-1080-OSD03-SRC3-43919

Issuing Entity Operational Services Department

Address One Ashburton Place, 10th Floor, Room 1017

City, State, Zip Code Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1552

Procurement Contact

Person

Gustav Pearson

Telephone Number 617-720-3101

E-Mail Address gustav.pearson@mass.gov

Procurement Category Medical

UNSPSC Codes 51-20-16-08 mailto:gustav.pearson@mass.gov

Contents

A. Introduction and Bid Overview

1. Description or Purpose of Procurement

2. Estimated Procurement Calendar

3. Submission of Bid Questions

4. Locating Bid Q&A

5. Bid Amendment Deadline

6. Late Bids will not be Considered

7. Debriefing

8. Applicable Procurement Law:

9. Acquisition Method:

10. Anticipated Contract Awards:

a. Estimated Number of Awards

b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award

11. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract

12. Anticipated Contract Duration

13. Estimated Value of the Contract

B. Procurement Scope and Description

C. Bidder Qualifications

1. Company experience

2. Employee and/or business technical/business experience, certifications, licenses

3. Financial stability including DUNS report, bankruptcy, litigation and contract defaults

4. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)

D. Commodity, Service, Environmental, and Cost Specifications

1. Commodity and/or Service Specifications

2. Service Requirements

3. Own Use Statement

4. Duty to Warn

Vendors may include a manufacturer’s duty to warn language with their bid. In general we will accept the duty to warn language that the Federal CDC accepts for use with its vaccine Contracts

5. National Vaccine Compensation Program

In the event a person suffers an injury from the vaccine all claims will be filed through VICP

6. Environmental Specifications

7. Compensation Structure/Pricing

E. Evaluation Criteria

1. Mandatory Requirements

2. Alternatives

3. Evaluation Components

4. Price

5. Supplier Diversity Plan (minimum of 10% weight)

6. Other desirable specifications PPD + EPP Total Evaluation 10% Weight

F. Statewide Contract Specifications

1. Use of COMMBUYS

2. Public Records Law

3. Reasonable Accommodation

4. Prohibitions

5. Non-Collusion

6. Minimum Quote Duration

7. Ownership of Submitted Quotes

8. Multiple Quotes

9. Evaluation – Best Value Selection and Negotiation

G. Performance Measures:

1. Continued qualification based on performance

2. Failure to perform contractual obligations may lead to the following:

H. Contract Management Requirements

1. All Statewide Contract questions must be directed to the Commonwealth Contract Manager

2. Provide timely responses to requests

3. Maintain professionalism and courtesy in dealings with OSD and eligible entities

4. Make appropriate staff available for periodic meetings with the Commonwealth Contract

Manager

5. Providing electronic documents for up-to-date transparent pricing

6. Change notification

7. Changes to Contractor’s information

8. Contractor account team

9. Single Point of Contact

10. Replacement of Contractor Staff

11. Adding commodities and/or services to the Statewide Contract

12. Requesting price adjustments

I. Catalogs and Ordering of Products and Services

1. Web sites specifically designed for this Contract

i. Electronic Signatures

ii. Ink Signatures

iii. Limits and Restrictions

iv. Document Pages

v. File Naming Conventions

vi. No Form Provided

There are no forms provided for: Continuity of operations plan, statement of insurance (typically

Accord form from broker), or authorization letters from manufacturers for distributors. Bidders must upload these as part of their submission

vii. File Size Limits

viii. File Format Restrictions

Reporting and Payment Due Dates

Quarterly Sales, Supplier Diversity Program expenditure, and Environmentally Preferable Products report

Statewide Contract Administration Fee and Report

J. Audit:

K. Other Terms:

L. Required Forms

M. RFR Attachments

Appendix 1: Required Terms for all Statewide RFRs

Appendix 2: Required Specifications

Appendix 3: Electronic Quote Submission Instructions

A. Introduction and Bid Overview

1. Description or Purpose of Procurement

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Immunization program (MIP) is a user of the

Contract. Each year MIP purchases and provides flu vaccine free of charge to entities that provide free flu shots to the citizens of the Commonwealth. Local cities and towns, counties, state colleges and approved purchase of service providers may also purchase vaccine from the Contract.

2. Estimated Procurement Calendar

Action Date

Announcement of Intent to Procure 9/16/19

Bid Release Date 11/21/19

Deadline for submission of written questions through COMMBUYS “Bid Q&A”

12/10/19

Official answers for Bid Q&A published

(Estimated)

12/16/19

Training for Online Submission –

Contractors that have not previously submitted electronic quotes via COMMBUYS are strongly encouraged to attend training

Dates and Times Available:

Register

Course: Locate and Respond to Bids in COMMBUYS

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Live Webinar

Bid Amendment Deadline. Online Quote submission begins. Bid documents will not be amended after this date.

12/20/19

Deadline for Quotes/Bid Responses (“Bid

Opening Date/Time” in COMMBUYS)

1/7/20 3:00 PM

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vendor-webinar-how-to-locate-and-respond-to-bids-in-commbuys-online-training-tickets-49997979302

Notification of Apparent Successful

Bidder(s) (Estimated)

1/15/20

Final Negotiation (Estimated) 1/27/20

Completion of Online Catalogs (Estimated) 1/27/20

Estimated Contract Start Date 2/1/20

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this

Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on

COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid

Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

3. Submission of Bid Questions

The “Bid Q&A” function in COMMBUYS allows Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers regarding this Bid. All questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on

COMMBUYS (See “Locating Bid Q&A,” below). Questions must be asked prior to the Deadline stated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar. The Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) reserves the right not to respond to late questions. Bidder are responsible for verifying that their questions are recorded in COMMBUYS and appear on the Bid Q&A page.

Questions submitted to the SST outside of COMMBUYS or the Bidder’s Conference will not be answered.

Content entered must be suitable for public viewing. Bidders must not include inappropriate content, including but not limited to, information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, or collusory. The SST reserves the right to edit or delete any inappropriate content.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

Bidders and awarded Contractors are required to view the COMMBUYS requirements associated with this bid are responsible for compliance with those requirements.

4. Locating Bid Q&A

Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

5. Bid Amendment Deadline

The SST reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each

Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this

Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The SST and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

6. Late Bids will not be Considered

Bid responses must be received in full by the posted due date and time. Proposals received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration and deemed as non-responsive. Each offeror must submit all required bid response forms electronically through COMMBUYS. When submitting a quote electronically through COMMBUYS, please allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. The solicitation will end at the closing time listed in the RFR. If you are in the middle of uploading your proposal at the closing time, the system will stop the process and your quote will not be completed and received by the system.

7. Debriefing

The SST will conduct debriefings for unsuccessful Bidders, if requested within 14 calendar days of the resulting Master Blanket Purchase Order being posted on COMMBUYS. The SST will provide debriefing guidelines in advance of each debriefing.

8. Applicable Procurement Law:

Executive Branch Goods and Services MGL c. 7, § 22; c. 30, § 51, § 52; 801 CMR 21.00

9. Acquisition Method:

The acquisition method(s) to acquire goods and/or services from this Bid are identified below.

Check All Applicable (“X”): Category

Fee-For-Service

Outright Purchase

Rental (not to exceed 6 months)

Term Lease

License

Other:

10. Anticipated Contract Awards:

Check One (“X”):

Single Contractor

Multiple Contractors

a. Estimated Number of Awards

The target maximum number of Contractors is two per line item; the SST may award more or fewer contracts, if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so.

Contract renewals will be offered at the sole discretion of OSD. At a minimum, offers to renew will be contingent upon satisfactory contractor performance, compliance with reporting requirements, and adequate sales volume; OSD reserves the right to reduce the number of awarded contractors for the duration of the agreement.

b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award

If, over the life of the contract, the SST determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Solicitation but were not awarded

Contracts. If necessary, to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids. The SST also reserves the right to suspend the review of additional submissions or close the Bid for new Quotes entirely if it deems that the number of

Contractors awarded at that point adequately meets the needs of eligible entities. If, subsequent to such a decision, the SST determines that additional Contractors should be added, these may first be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Bid but were not awarded contracts. If necessary, to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Bid may be reopened to obtain additional Quotes.

11. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract

Statewide Contract – Open for Use by All Eligible Entities. Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the following entities:

1. Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions;

2. Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all

Departments and elected offices therein;

3. Independent public authorities, commissions and quasi-public agencies;

4. Local public libraries, public school districts and charter schools;

5. Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth;

6. Public institutions of higher education;

7. Public purchasing cooperatives;

8. Non-profit, UFR-certified organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth;

9. Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State

Purchasing Agent; and

10. Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing

Agent.

Each eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Contract.

Contractors will be responsible for marketing their goods and/or services to

Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities.

12. Anticipated Contract Duration

Contract Duration Number of Options

Number of Years/Months

Instructions

Initial Duration 1 year The initial term of this Contract is 1 year. The Contract will be executed for this Initial Duration and will run from the Contract Effective/Start Date of 2/1/19.

Renewal Options None Zero None

Total Maximum Contract Duration

1 Year One Year

13. Estimated Value of the Contract

The estimated value of purchase(s) resulting from this Bid is $1 Million. The

Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any Contract resulting from this Bid. Any estimates or past procurement volumes referenced in this Bid are included only for the convenience of Bidders and are not to be relied upon as any indication of future purchase levels.

The “Estimated Value (US$)” for this Bid was based on the following: derived by reviewing

Contractor sales reports to Commonwealth of Massachusetts eligible entities for the 2018-

2019 Flu Season.

The current contract MED53 (for the 2019-2020 Flu Season) is still active and data is not yet available for the full term of the contract. The total actual sales for the period from

February 2019 – September 2019 are $662,605.00.

B. Procurement Scope and Description

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the MED54 Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) are soliciting Bidders for the acquisition of Influenza Vaccine for the 2020 – 2021 Flu Season. The resulting Contract will be the primary Statewide Contract used by Executive Agencies of the

Commonwealth for the goods and services covered by the Contract. The Statewide Contract will also be available for use by other eligible entities listed below. Each Commonwealth

Agency and eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Statewide Contract. Contractors will be responsible for marketing their goods and/or services to Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities.

C. Bidder Qualifications

1. Company experience

a. Bidders must have enough capacity to deliver the required product and quantity.

Before a contract is awarded, the Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) may require a Bidder to submit additional proofs of this capacity such as a successful history of delivering similarly large quantities of influenza vaccine to other large users to the SST before the award is made. If the SST decides a Bidder lacks capacity, or cannot satisfactorily demonstrate its ability to deliver, it will reject the Bidder’s response.

2. Employee and/or business technical/business experience, certifications, licenses

Authorization letters from Manufacturers - All distributors must supply a statement from each flu vaccine’s manufacturer on the manufacturer’s letterhead that the manufacturer will supply the distributor with the quantity of vaccine the bidder is stating in its bid it can supply to the Commonwealth for the 2020-2021 flu season. The Commonwealth will only consider Quotes from distributors that obtain influenza vaccine directly from the manufacturers.

All Bidders must comply with Federal and State pharmaceutical distributor licensing requirements.

3. Financial stability including DUNS report, bankruptcy, litigation and contract defaults

Bidders must have enough financial stability as described in this section to demonstrate their capacity to meet the needs of the Commonwealth as a manufacturer or distributor.

Mandatory questions about this section posted in COMMBUYS must be answered for a

Quote to be considered. The SST reserves the right to disqualify bidders as not meeting capacity requirements based on bankruptcy/litigation information, or days past terms to pay.

4. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)

In a declared state of emergency where the safety and wellbeing of Commonwealth citizens are at risk, contractors may be asked to supply the Commonwealth with the commodities and/or services under the Statewide Contract on a priority basis. The

Bidder’s Quote should include the following: Indicate whether there is a written

Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) that describes how the company will continue to do business in case of an emergency. A list of emergency contact information including name, position/title, phone, email and cell phone. A list of the Bidder’s building location

(s) that would be available to serve the Commonwealth during an emergency. A description of the areas of Massachusetts that the Bidder could supply in the event of an emergency (e.g., Entire State, Specific City or Region).

D. Commodity, Service, Environmental, and Cost Specifications

1. Commodity and/or Service Specifications

a. Functional description

Influenza Vaccines: Injectable Inactivated Subviron, Nasal Spray Live Attenuated, recombinant HA, cell culture, for the 2020 – 2021 Flu Season.

The MED54 Bidders Price Sheet posted in COMMBUYS with this Bid contains the specific vaccine types and quantities to be quoted. Bidders must completely fill out the information for each individual line item on the Price Sheet on which they are bidding. If a product NDC is not yet available - state “not available, to be supplied later”. A Bidder may bid more than one (1) product on an individual line item. In some cases, the same exact product may be bid for more than one (1) line item on the Price Sheet but a bidder may only enter one price for the same exact product.

b. Warranties and product support

Approvals and standards (UL, CE, FCC, FDA, ASTM, IEEE)

The Bidder must either be the manufacturer or only buy influenza vaccine directly from the manufacturer and have an effective program in place that tracks the Pedigree of the drug (vaccines are included) from time of manufacture to sale. The influenza vaccines must be FDA approved for the 2020-2021 season. (See Definition of Pedigree in the

Glossary). In addition to being FDA approved for the 2020-2021 season, to be sold under a contract resulting from this RFR, influenza vaccines must be recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in their 2020-2021 season recommendations regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines.

c. Delivery Terms

i. The initial flu vaccine order should be delivered as early as possible. We would prefer delivery to begin in August 2020. Bidders must include a projected delivery schedule with their bid.

ii. All fuel charges or fuel surcharges are prohibited under this Contract and

Vendors must not bill such charges to Purchasing Entities.

iii. As specified in item 4 of the Commonwealth Terms & Conditions: “Upon immediate notification to the other party, neither the Department nor the

Contractor shall be deemed to be in breach for failure or delay in performance due to Acts of God or other causes factually beyond their control and without their fault or negligence. Subcontractor failure to perform or price increases due to market fluctuations or product availability will not be deemed factually beyond the Contractor's control.”

iv. MA Department of Public Health’s Immunization Program (MIP) requirements:

All influenza vaccine purchased by MIP must be sent to and distributed through the Federal Vaccine Management Business Improvement Project’s (VMBIP) distributor McKesson. Address: McKesson Distribution Center, 4100 Quest Way, Memphis, TN 38115. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the product in transit. All vaccine must be maintained and shipped under refrigeration. Delivery is FOB Purchasing Entity destination with Contractor maintaining ownership of product until delivery is accepted by McKesson.

v. All Other Purchasing Entities requirements

All influenza Vaccine purchased by Purchasing Entities other than MIP must be delivered to the address that the Purchasing Entity specifies. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the product in transit. All vaccine must be maintained and shipped under refrigeration. Delivery is FOB destination with Contractor maintaining ownership of product until delivery is accepted by the Purchasing Entity.

d. Returns/Disposal

Influenza vaccine is not returnable. A credit or refund check will be issued by the vendor for damaged or product delivered in error.

2. Service Requirements

Bidders awarded a contract must service/deliver to all parts of the Commonwealth.

3. Own Use Statement

All Pharmaceuticals purchased in accordance with this Contract are for use within

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Agencies and Eligible Entities, and will be dispensed in accordance with the guidelines of Abbott Labs v Portland Retail Druggists Association Inc. 96

S.Ct. 1305 (1976) for Hospital exemption under the Robison-Patman act. Absolutely no products will be resold or redistributed outside the aforementioned governmental agencies, i.e. the products shall be used for the institutions “own use” as defined in Abbott Labs v Portland Retail

Druggists Association Inc. 95 S.Ct 2655 1974. Furthermore, all goods and materials purchased in accordance with the Contract will be used in “traditional governmental functions” as that term is used in Jefferson County Pharmaceutical Association v Abbott Labs 103 S.Ct 1011 (1993).

4. Duty to Warn

Vendors may include a manufacturer’s duty to warn language with their bid. In general we will accept the duty to warn language that the Federal CDC accepts for use with its vaccine

Contracts.

5. National Vaccine Compensation Program

In the event a person suffers an injury from the vaccine all claims will be filed through VICP.

6. Environmental Specifications

View the Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) Procurement Program General Information, Requirements and Guidance for detailed information about the program at https://www.mass.gov/doc/epp-general-information-requirements-and-guidance/download.

a. Environmental Benefit Claims/Labeling

Environmental benefit claims concerning products or services must be consistent with the Federal Trade Commissions’ Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Terms. Product environmental claims are to include the industry standard the product meets and certifier.

Vendors must agree to offer and clearly label products with sustainability certifications and attributes, when available, within specific product categories. Documentation of the certification claimed by the vendor must be supplied upon request if it is not publicly available for verification (on either the vendor’s or certifier’s website).

Vendors claiming environmental benefits of their products shall list the appropriate benefits or industry standard it meets in the quarterly sales reports, if applicable, or on separate annual reports.

b. Required Environmental Specifications

A number of environmental product or service specifications have been designated as either mandatory or desirable for the Product/Service category by the EPP Program through EO 515 and can be viewed in the Minimum Environmentally Preferable Products and Services Specifications Guide at https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/09/wf/epp-specifications_0.xlsx. All statewide and executive department contracts are required to use these standards, unless otherwise noted in the RFR.

c. Bidder Current Environmentally Preferable Products/Practices Form

Bidders must complete this form, and submit it with their Quote. The form allows Bidders to communicate existing business practices that foster a sustainable approach to conducting their operations and reduce environment or public health impacts. Bidders may receive additional points in the evaluation phase of the RFR for the environmental initiatives they identify, however, bidders must substantiate all answers in order to receive additional points.

https://www.mass.gov/doc/epp-general-information-requirements-and-guidance/download https://www.mass.gov/doc/epp-general-information-requirements-and-guidance/download http://www.mass.gov/governor/docs/executive-orders/executive-order-515.pdf https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/09/wf/epp-specifications_0.xlsx https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/09/wf/epp-specifications_0.xlsx

d. Environmental plan

Awarded Bidders must agree to work with OSD and the SST to examine the feasibility of implementing an environmental plan throughout the life of the contract. Such a plan may include, but not be limited to, implementing energy initiatives, adopting and implementing sustainability policies or third party standards and/or certifications, or publicizing their environmental initiatives. The objective of this requirement is to actively encourage suppliers to incorporate sustainable practices throughout their business operations and further market such practices to Contract users. Bidders may include written proposals submitted as an attachment [name of attachment] to their Quote detailing a commitment to action contingent upon receipt of a Contract award

7. Compensation Structure/Pricing

a. Cost tables

Compensation will be based solely on the cost tables or catalogs supplied by the Bidder and accepted by the SST and incorporated into a catalog on COMMBUYS. Cost tables must contain all goods and services to be provided on this Statewide Contract. Compensation will be based on these cost tables, which will form the basis for the Contractor’s catalog in COMMBUYS.

The Cost Table is the MED54 Bidder’s Price Sheet posted in COMMBUYS as part of this Bid.

Bidders must completely fill out the information for each individual line item on the Price Sheet on which they are bidding. If the NDC of a product is not yet available, state “not available, to be supplied later”. A Bidder may bid more than one (1) product on an individual line item. In some cases the same exact product may be bid for more than one (1) line item on the Price Sheet but a bidder may only enter one price for the same exact product.

Compensation will be based solely on the Price Sheet supplied by the Bidder and accepted by the SST. The Price the Bidder enters onto the Price Sheet is the Net Price, which includes the Federal Excise Tax. Net Price is the final delivered price a Purchasing Entity will pay to a Vendor for a product prior to prompt payment discounts being taken by the Purchasing Entity.

b. Standard Business Expenses

Standard Business Expenses may be allowed with prior authorization from a Commonwealth Agency only but in no case will the amount be more than that allowed for Commonwealth of Massachusetts employees. (www.mass.gov/hrd - search for the term “Red Book”)

c. Prompt Pay Discount

All Bidders must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the Bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome.

Bidders must submit agreeable terms for Prompt Payment Discount unless otherwise specified by the SST. The SST will review, negotiate or reject the offering as deemed in the best interest of the Commonwealth.

The requirement to offer a PPD may be waived by the SST on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the Bidder. If a Bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in the Bidder’s Quote.

E. Evaluation Criteria

Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Any submission which fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and can be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the contractor to make minor corrections to the submission.

Bidder scores will be used to rank Bidders and will determine which Bidders will proceed to subsequent stages of the evaluation and/or enter into negotiations with the Commonwealth to receive a Contract award.

1. Mandatory Requirements

Mandatory Specifications must be met for a Quote to be evaluated and may be used to disqualify

Bidders. In addition, certain mandatory specifications have desirable components to them that may be evaluated by the SST. The SST reserves the right, in its discretion, to determine if non-compliance with a Mandatory Specification is insignificant or can be easily corrected.

Bid sections that include terms such as: “must”, “shall”, “will” and “required” are “mandatory.”

Failure to meet the requirements of a mandatory specification without providing an alternate that is acceptable to the evaluators may result in the disqualification of a Bidder's proposal.

2. Alternatives

Unless otherwise specified, Bidders may submit Quotes proposing alternatives which provide equivalent, better or more cost-effective performance than achievable under the stated Bid specifications. These alternatives may include related commodities or services that may be available to enhance performance during the period of the Contract. The Quote should describe how any alternative achieves substantially equivalent or better performance to that of the Bid specifications.

The SST will determine if a proposed alternative method of performance achieves substantially equivalent or better performance.

3. Evaluation Components

The following components will be some of the criteria considered by the team when evaluating each Quote: Each line item on the Bidders Price Sheet attachment will be evaluated individually and award(s) will be made by individual line item. Each line item has the potential of 100 points. The SST has the option of making more than one award per line item. The Bidder with the highest number of points determined by summing the Price Points, SDP points and

Additional Points will be selected by the SST for award of the line item. If additional awards are made for a line item, they will be in descending order of points earned. The following components will be some of the criteria considered by the team when evaluating each Quote.

4. Price

Please note that price will carry a significant weight in the evaluation process – 80% Evaluation

Weight.

The qualified bidder with the lowest Net Price on their RFR MED54 Bidders Price Sheet for a line item will receive 80 Price points. The price points awarded to other bidders will adjust downward using a percentage calculation based on the lowest amount bid for a line item divided by the amount the bidder bid for a line item, multiplied times 80. For example, if the lowest amount bid for a line item is $9.00, and a bidder bids an amount of $10.00, the price points awarded to the bidder will be 72. (9.00/10.00 x 80 = 72 price points)

5. Supplier Diversity Plan (minimum of 10% weight)

More points will be awarded for higher percentage commitments to the SDP. If the bidders SDP plan (Form 1 posted on COMMBUYS as part of this Bid) is not acceptable (or not submitted) with the bid, zero points will be awarded and the bidder will be notified they have 3 weeks from the date of the notice to submit an acceptable plan or risk disqualification.

6. Other desirable specifications PPD + EPP Total Evaluation 10% Weight

Prompt Payment Discounts (PPD) -The SST will award more points for a higher percentage PPD offered on the PPD form (posted on COMMBUYS as part of this Bid).

Environmentally Preferable products (EPP) - The SST will award points based on a bidders EPP initiatives listed on the EPP form (posted on COMMBUYS as part of this Bid).

F. Statewide Contract Specifications

1. Use of COMMBUYS

Bidders and awarded Contractors are required to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the

Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the

Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the

Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Awarded contractors must comply with applicable COMMBUYS requirements outlined in Appendix

3.

2. Public Records Law

All Quotes and information submitted in response to this RFR are subject to the Massachusetts

Public Records Law, M.G.L., Chapter 66, Section 10, and to Chapter 4, Section 7, Subsection 26. Any statements in submitted Quotes that are inconsistent with these statutes shall be disregarded.

3. Reasonable Accommodation

Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFR information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case by case basis. A

Bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the Bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the RFR. The SST reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

4. Prohibitions

Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring

Department or any member of the SST regarding this RFR except as specified in this RFR, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders may contact the contact person using the contact information provided in the Header Information this Bid if this

RFR is incomplete or information is missing. Bidders experiencing technical problems accessing information or attachments stored on COMMBUYS should contact the OSD Helpdesk (see the document cover page for contact information).

5. Non-Collusion

By submitting a Quote, the Bidder certifies that the Quote has been arrived at independently and has been submitted without any communication, collaboration, or without any agreement, understanding or planned common course or action with, any other Bidder of the commodities and/or services described in the RFR.

6. Minimum Quote Duration

Bidders’ Quotes to this RFR must remain in effect for at least 90 days from the date of Quote submission.

7. Ownership of Submitted Quotes

OSD and the SST shall be under no obligation to return any Quotes or materials submitted by a

Bidder in response to this RFR. All materials submitted by Bidders become the property of the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will not be returned to the Bidder. The Commonwealth reserves the right to use any ideas, concepts, or configurations that are presented in a Bidder’s

Quote, whether or not the Quote is selected for Contract award.

Quotes stored on COMMBUYS in the encrypted lockbox are the file of record. Bidders retain access to a read-only copy of this submission via their COMMBUYS account, as long as their account is active.

8. Multiple Quotes

Bidders may not submit Multiple Quotes in response to a Bid. If a Bidder submits multiple quotes in response to an RFR that does not authorize multiple responses, only the latest dated quote submitted prior to the bid opening date will be evaluated.

9. Evaluation – Best Value Selection and Negotiation

The SST may select the Quotes(s) which demonstrates the best value overall, including proposed alternatives, that will achieve the goals of the procurement. The SST and a selected Bidder may negotiate a change in any element of Contract performance or cost identified in the original RFR or the selected Bidder’s Quote which results in lower costs or a more cost effective or better value than was presented in the selected Bidder’s original Quote.

G. Performance Measures:

1. Continued qualification based on performance

The SST reserves the right to suspend a Contractor for failure to meet the terms of the contract, including failure to timely file reports required under other sections of this solicitation, including Administrative Fee Report and Sales & SDP spending report.

2. Failure to perform contractual obligations may lead to the following:

a. Corrective Action, Suspension and Termination

b. Cover/Replacement Costs

c. Liquidated Damages

H. Contract Management Requirements

The individual listed in the Purchaser field in the Header Information section of the Master

Blanket Purchase Order is the Commonwealth Contract Manager. Awarded contractors will be expected to comply with the following:

1. All Statewide Contract questions must be directed to the Commonwealth Contract Manager.

2. Provide timely responses to requests

3. Maintain professionalism and courtesy in dealings with OSD and eligible entities.

4. Make appropriate staff available for periodic meetings with the Commonwealth Contract

Manager

5. Providing electronic documents for up-to-date transparent pricing

6. Change notification

7. Changes to Contractor’s information

a. Changes to the Contractor’s contact information, company name, legal address, payment address, tax identification number, authorized signatories, SDO-certification status, or EFT information must be promptly reported via email to the

Commonwealth Contract Manager. In some cases additional paperwork will be required to effect the change.

8. Contractor account team

9. Single Point of Contact

a. Designate a Single Point of Contact (Contractor Contract Manager) for communications with the Commonwealth Contract Manager

10. Replacement of Contractor Staff

a. Promptly notify the Commonwealth Contract Manager regarding Replacement of

Contractor staff

11. Adding commodities and/or services to the Statewide Contract

Send an email to the Commonwealth Contract Manager with the requested item(s) and net delivered price(s) inclusive of Federal Excise Tax.

12. Requesting price adjustments

There will be no price increases during the duration of Statewide Contract MED54.

I. Catalogs and Ordering of Products and Services

Prior to the Contract Start Date, the Contractor will establish and enable a COMMBUYS-compatible online catalog, which may be hosted in COMMBUYS or by the Contractor. The catalog must utilize the Commonwealth commodity codes based on the United Nations Uniform Product and Service

Code (UNSPSC) and must provide Eligible Entities with the capability to order only those products and/or services authorized by the contractor’s contract with the Commonwealth from the

Contractor using COMMBUYS. The Contractor is required to maintain the catalog for the duration of the contract and must receive prior approval from the Strategic Sourcing Manager (SSM) before posting any updates or changes to the catalog, which must be consistent with the terms of the contract.

1. Web sites specifically designed for this Contract

a. Orders (Contractor’s Interface with Commonwealth Agencies)

b. Closed Bids based on the Master Blanket Purchase Orders

i. Commonwealth Agencies are required to obtain quotes from multiple

Statewide Contractors prior to issuing a Purchase Order. This will be done by issuing Closed Bids in COMMBUYS to awarded Contractors. Contractors will be required to use COMMBUYS to submit quotes in response to said

Closed Bids. Purchase orders under this contract will be based on awarded

Quotes.

c. Order procedures

d. Online/web capability

i. Online order/service status information only

ii. Online ordering commodities/service

iii. Online ordering and workflow

iv. Purchase order form for commodities and/or services

e. Order cancellations

f. Fiscal Terms

i. Bill Payment

All invoices issued pursuant to this contract are payable in accordance with the Comptroller’s Bill

Payment Policy: http://www.mass.gov/osc/docs/policies-procedures/accounts-payable/po-ap-commonwealth-bill-paying.doc http://www.mass.gov/osc/docs/policies-procedures/accounts-payable/po-ap-commonwealth-bill-paying.doc http://www.mass.gov/osc/docs/policies-procedures/accounts-payable/po-ap-commonwealth-bill-paying.doc

ii. Prompt Pay Discount

All Bidders must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt

Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the Bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome.

Bidders must submit agreeable terms for Prompt Payment Discount unless otherwise specified by the SST. The SST will review, negotiate or reject the offering as deemed in the best interest of the

Commonwealth.

The requirement to offer a PPD may be waived by the SST on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the Bidder. If a Bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in the

Bidder’s Quote.

iii. Late Payment Fees

Late Payment fees may be assessed only as authorized by the Office of the Comptroller:

http://www.mass.gov/osc/docs/ctrinfo/comptroller-regulations/815/cumulative-lpi-rates.doc

iv. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

All Bidders must agree to participate in the Commonwealth Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program for receiving payments. A link to the EFT application can be found on the OSD Forms page

(www.mass.gov/osd). Additional information about EFT is available on the Comptroller’s Vendor

Web site located at: https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp

Upon notification of award, Contractors are required to enroll in EFT by completing and submitting the “Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment Form” to the SST for review, approval and forwarding to the Office of the Comptroller, unless already enrolled in EFT. A link to the EFT application can be found on the Comptroller’s Vendor Web site (see above link). This form, and all information contained on this form, shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure through a public records request.

v. Creditworthiness

No public entity utilizing this contract shall be required, as a condition of purchase, to undergo any creditworthiness review or application process.

vi. Tax Exemption

Payment vouchers or invoices submitted to Massachusetts government entities must not include sales tax.

http://www.mass.gov/osc/docs/ctrinfo/comptroller-regulations/815/cumulative-lpi-rates.doc https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp

g. Supplier Diversity Plan (SDP)

Massachusetts Executive Order 565 reaffirmed and expanded the Commonwealth’s policy to promote the award of state contracts in a manner that develops and strengthens certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Minority and Women Nonprofit Organizations (M/WNPOs), Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (SDVOBEs), Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs).

In planning their SDP commitment, certified Bidders must note that the commitment cannot be met by making expenditures within their own company or with parent or wholly owned subsidiary companies.

All bidders are required to make a significant financial commitment to partner with certified M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs, and/or SDVOBEs, DOBEs and/or LGBTBEs certified or verified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). Bidders must identify a commitment in the form of a specific percentage of sales made under the resulting contract that will be spent with an SDP Partner(s) on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis, using SDP Plan Form #1 – SDP Plan Commitment. This percentage commitment will extend for the life of any resulting contract.

This requirement extends to all bidders regardless of their certification status, and no bidder will be awarded a Contract unless and until the above requirement is met. Bidders may not list themselves or affiliates as SDP Partners. In order to ensure compliance with this section and encourage bidder participation, SDP Plans will be evaluated at 10% or more of the total evaluation score.

h. Instructions for Submission of Responses:

Responses must be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality contained in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix 3.

i. Electronic Signatures

Quotes submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab of the Bid in COMMBUYS. By selecting “Save & Continue” on the “Terms and Conditions” tab after accepting the terms and conditions of the bid, the submitter https://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-the-supplier-diversity-program-sdp attests that s/he is an agent of the Bidder with authority to sign on the Bidder’s behalf, and that s/he has read and assented to each document’s terms.

ii. Ink Signatures

Original ink signatures are required only after contracts have been awarded. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires Contractors to submit original ink-signature versions of the following forms:

a. Standard Contract Form

b. Commonwealth Terms and Conditions

c. Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing

d. Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute

W9 Form)

e. Electronic Funds Transfer Sign Up Form

Successful Bidders who agreed to the terms and conditions of these forms electronically via COMMBUYS online Quote submission tool must still submit the above forms with ink signatures within seven (7) calendar days of award notification or their contract may not be executed by the Commonwealth. Bidders who have previous contract(s) with the Commonwealth and have up-to-date, ink-signature versions of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions and Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute W9 Form) on file with the Office of the State Comptroller may submit copies of the signed forms. However, a new Standard Contract Form and Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing with original ink signatures must be submitted for each new contract with the Commonwealth.

iii. Limits and Restrictions

iv. Document Pages

Bidders should submit no more than three (3) double-sided pages in minimum 10 point font (excluding the required forms and attachments) of narrative in response to the questions asked and information requested. If Bidders exceed the page limits, the SST may make provisions to penalize the Bidder in the Evaluation Criteria, read and evaluate only those pages up to the page limit referenced above or take other steps as determined by the SST.

v. File Naming Conventions

Files submitted via COMMBUYS must follow the file naming convention specified below.

The Description entered during the file upload process ensures each file is readily identified by Company Name and content. The File Name assigned by the Bidder as stored on their computer or network must be structured such that each file can be processed by the upload tool. The upload tool will reject any file name that includes spaces or symbols, like the brackets [ ] some systems apply when files are downloaded from the Internet.

RFR Section or Description File Name

Quote Component Enter in COMMBUYS during upload

Assign when creating files

RFR Submission

Checklist

RFR Submission

Checklist CompanyName_CheckList.docx

Bidder’s Price

Sheet

Bidders Price Sheet CompanyName_PriceSheet.docx

Bidder’s Questions

Form

Bidders Questions

Form

CompanyName_BiddersQuestions.docx

RFR Section C 4 -

Continuity of

Operations Plan

(COOP)

Continuity of

Operations Plan

(COOP)

CompanyName_COOP.docx

RFR Section E.5

Non-Collusion

Non-Collusion CompanyName_NonCollusion.docx

RFR Section

Appendix 2 PPD

Prompt Payment

Discount CompanyName_PPD.doc

Section H 1 g. SDP

Plan

Supplier Diversity

Plan (SDP) Form 1 CompanyName_SDPform1.docx

RFR Section

Appendix 2 EPP

Additional

Environmentally

Preferable Products

(EPP)

CompanyName_EPP.docx

Insurance Accord or Broker’s

Form CompanyName_Insurance.pdf

RFR section C 2 manufacturers authorization letter(s)

Manufacturer’s

Authorization CompanyName_MFR_Authorization.pdf

vi. No Form Provided

There are no forms provided for: Continuity of operations plan, statement of insurance (typically Accord form from broker), or authorization letters from manufacturers for distributors. Bidders must upload these as part of their submission.

vii. File Size Limits

The system will not accept files that approach or exceed 10 MB. If a large file fails to upload, the Bidder must save the contents as multiple files. Note the naming convention used above which illustrates distinguishing multi-part files through use of Part 1, Part 2, etc.