FY20 - FDES - New Contract, Direct and Bulk Mailing

The Michigan Department of Treasury issued RFP 200000001072 on May 4, 2020, to procure a contractor to provide Address Updating, Direct Mail, and Bulk Distribution Services. The solicitation sought a vendor capable of delivering comprehensive mailing solutions including address updating services, direct mail capabilities, and bulk distribution to support the state's tax booklet distribution and related communications. Key qualifications required included demonstrated experience with address updating services, production capabilities to meet tight distribution timelines, and the ability to handle confidential state data securely. The evaluation criteria weighted technical evaluation at 70 points (service capabilities), state of Michigan experience at 20 points, general vendor questions at 5 points, and acceptance of confidentiality and data file destruction requirements at 5 points, with a minimum score of 80 points required for price evaluation consideration. The proposal submission deadline was June 4, 2020, with an original posting date of May 4, 2020. The contract structure called for an initial three-year term with two optional one-year renewal periods.

Two proposals were received and evaluated by a Joint Evaluation Committee comprised of four departmental staff members. Wolverine Mailing Packaging, Warehouse Inc. was selected as the award recipient based on superior technical performance, scoring 98 of 100 technical points compared to the competing bidder DialogDirect's 91.5 points, with particular distinction in address updating experience and demonstrated production capacity for the state's distribution requirements. The awarded contract value totaled $112,903.92 for the three-year contract period, equating to $37,634.64 annually, representing competitive pricing that aligned with the vendor's technical excellence. The unsuccessful bidder, DialogDirect, submitted a lower three-year price of $112,508.34 but was deemed not responsive due to lack of prior address updating experience, incomplete pricing submission, missing customer service and technical support contact information, and exceptions taken to production rate and liquidated damages requirements.