Research & Industrial Equipment and Supplies

This Request for Proposal (RFP #952642607) is issued by Virginia Tech on behalf of the Virginia Higher Education Procurement Consortium (VHEPC) seeking offerors to provide research and industrial equipment and supplies to VHEPC member institutions. The procurement encompasses general laboratory consumables, operating supplies, basic laboratory support items, industrial machinery and supplies, and related products for use across research and instructional environments within higher education institutions. Proposals must be submitted electronically through Virginia Tech's procurement portal at https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=VATech by May 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM, with inquiries directed to Levi Henry at (540) 231-7852 or lhenry29@vt.edu by April 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM. Evaluation will be conducted on a 100-point scale considering product/service quality (25 points), offeror qualifications and experience (25 points), service methodology and plans (25 points), cost or pricing (15 points), and Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned (SWaM) business participation (10 points). The resulting contract will feature a two-year initial term with options for four additional two-year renewals as negotiated, with no minimum order quantity requirements and all pricing inclusive of FOB Destination delivery. Required qualifications include worker's compensation insurance, general liability coverage of $2,000,000 combined single limit, employers liability insurance of $100,000, and automobile liability coverage of $500,000.

The procurement is structured as a Publicly Accessible Contract (PAC) open to all VHEPC participating institutions and other eligible public entities, with small, women-owned, and minority-owned business participation weighted in the evaluation criteria. Awarded contractors must register with Virginia's eVA procurement system and execute the mandatory PAC Agreement as a condition of award. Contractors electing to permit third-party access through the PAC structure must remit a one percent (1%) annual fee on revenue received from non-VHEPC entities and submit quarterly sales reports using the VHEPC Unified Quarterly Reporting Template. Contract performance will be evaluated based on customer satisfaction, warranty support, delivery reliability, and sales representation capabilities. Deep discounts off manufacturer list prices are expected in all pricing submissions. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the available documentation, though the multi-institution structure and long-term contract duration suggest significant potential revenue opportunity for qualified vendors.