Shipping Instructions.docx

This is a Shipping Instructions document that establishes delivery and product requirements for bidders responding to a procurement opportunity with an unspecified state or local agency. The document outlines mandatory shipping protocols that bidders must satisfy to be deemed responsible, including requirements that all freight charges and fuel costs be incorporated into bid pricing with delivery to the agency's warehouse. Products must be shipped on pallets and shrink-wrapped in clean, insulated trailers, and any freight that fails to meet agency specifications or arrives damaged will be refused. The agency reserves the right to request product samples for testing and will consider late deliveries—defined as arriving more than 30 days after purchase order receipt—as grounds for award to the next lowest bidder or re-bidding of the contract. Bidders are required to ship only the products indicated in their submitted bids and must provide proof of pack date and pack origin upon request.

All products must comply with applicable USDA grade standards for both product and container condition, with bidders bearing full responsibility for meeting these standards and all associated costs for pickup, replacement, and any warehouse expenses incurred by the agency. Canned products may not be received in frozen condition, and all items must be properly labeled with accompanying pack date code keys when requested. The agency will give preferential consideration to products packed in the USA. Should damaged packages be discovered within a pallet, the agency may set aside those packages for credit issuance or refuse the entire load, requiring the bidder to pick it up at their own expense. These shipping requirements are mandatory conditions for bid acceptance and contractor performance.