STC desktop specialty paper

The State of South Carolina's State Fiscal Accountability Authority, Procurement Services Division, issued a solicitation for a Statewide Term Contract (STC) to supply desktop specialty paper to governmental units and political subdivisions. The procurement encompasses 65 line items of paper products, including offset paper, carbonless paper, vellum cover stock, gloss text and cover stock, opaque paper, and specialty items like silk dull text and cover stock. Bidders were required to submit offers for all line items to be considered for award. The solicitation opened on March 31, 2023, with questions due by April 12, 2023, and a non-mandatory pre-bid conference held via Microsoft Teams on the same day. The offer submission deadline was May 8, 2023, with an expected award announcement on May 16, 2023. The initial contract term is one year, beginning May 26, 2023, with four optional one-year renewal periods, potentially extending the contract to a maximum of five years. Delivery requirements included a 30-day fulfillment window from purchase order receipt, with inside desktop delivery to customer-designated locations. All items must be new and meet Green Seal Environmental Standards for recycled products.

However, the solicitation ultimately resulted in a "No Award" notification, as no responsive bids were received for any items in the solicitation. The Materials Management Office cancelled the procurement in accordance with South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code sections 11-35-1710 and 19-445.2097, and will not re-solicit the requirement. The solicitation did not specify any specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations. While the original solicitation indicated mandatory use for state governmental bodies and optional use for political subdivisions, the lack of responsive bids means no contract was established. The procurement was structured to be open to vendors capable of supplying the specified paper products, with an administrative services fee of one percent of total dollar purchases required to be collected and remitted quarterly by the contractor. Potential vendors could protest the cancellation by submitting a written protest to the Chief Procurement Officer within ten days of the notification.