Notice of Intent to Award RFP 190000001338 - EMC Lease

The State of Michigan's Department of Technology, Management & Budget, Central Procurement Services issued RFP #190000001338 to procure a lease-to-purchase agreement for EMC hardware and software equipment. The solicitation was posted on the SIGMA VSS platform on March 8, 2019 (per the clean version) or March 15, 2019 (per the redlined version), with proposals due on March 15, 2019 or March 22, 2019 respectively, allowing seven days for submission. The procurement sought lease financing proposals for EMC equipment with a proposed contract term of five years utilizing annual payment structures. Six responsive bidders submitted proposals by the respective deadlines, and the Joint Evaluation Committee evaluated all proposals based on providing the best value to the State, with primary emphasis on the interest rate offered and total financed amount. The evaluation criteria prioritized the lowest interest rate and most favorable financing terms among compliant proposals, with the solicitation manager identified as Lisa Spitzley for bidder inquiries and debriefing sessions with unsuccessful vendors.

No set-asides or restrictions were noted for small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, or other designated enterprise categories in this procurement. Dell Financial Services, LLC was recommended for award as the awardee providing the best value with the lowest interest rate of 1.15% and total award amount of $3,183,184.20, representing an amount to be financed of $3,083,658.48 with annual payments of $630,990.59 over the five-year term. Competing bidders included Banc of America Public Capital Corp, Fifth Third Commercial Funding, Inc., Hewlett Packard Financial Services, Inc., Key Government Finance, Inc., and TD Equipment Finance, Inc., whose interest rates ranged from 2.49% to 5.15% with total bid amounts spanning from $3,183,184.20 to $3,392,641.05. The award was pending State Administrative Board approval at the time of the notice, which was posted on March 23, 2019, with a final due date of March 27, 2019 for any protests or appeals.