Northwest Marine Technology Decimal Coded Wire Tags

The State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources Procurement Office issued RFP 180000001402 on February 23, 2018, to procure Northwest Marine Technology Decimal Coded Wire Tags for the Michigan DNR Fisheries Division. The solicitation required proposals for a contractor to supply decimal coded wire tags compatible with the NWT Mark IV Automatic Tag Injector, with a contract term of five years plus up to five one-year renewal options. Bidders were required to be either the manufacturer or an authorized dealer/distributor of the specified product, and proposals were due by March 23, 2018, following a thirty-calendar-day posting period. The evaluation process consisted of technical scoring across four equally weighted criteria—Product Quality, Service Capabilities, Delivery Capabilities, and Vendor Questions Worksheet—each worth 25 points for a total of 100 possible points. Pricing was evaluated on a tiered basis dependent on quantity ordered and a 90-day delivery timeframe, ranging from $155.00 per thousand tags for orders of 2,000-9,000 tags to $92.00 per thousand for orders of 1,000,000 or more tags.

The RFP was brand-specific, which effectively restricted competition to manufacturers or authorized representatives of Northwest Marine Technology products. Only one bidder, Northwest Marine Technology, Inc., located at 324 West Bay Drive, Suite 107, Olympia, Washington, submitted a responsive proposal meeting all mandatory minimum requirements. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or other organizational restrictions were noted in the procurement documentation. The award recommendation was made to Northwest Marine Technology, Inc., in the amount of $485,000.00, representing the best value to the State based on the sole responsive bidder's ability to provide the brand-specific product and competitive tiered pricing structure aligned with the State's anticipated procurement volumes.