STC fuel card management

The State of South Carolina is seeking a statewide term contract (STC) for comprehensive fuel card management services through the State Fiscal Accountability Authority's Division of Procurement Services. The solicitation requires a contractor to provide fuel cards compatible with both retail and state-owned fueling sites, maintaining access to at least 2,000 retail fuel outlets across all 46 South Carolina counties and 48 contiguous states. The state operates approximately 16,000 on-road vehicles and purchases around 15 million gallons of fuel annually from retail locations and 5 million gallons from agency-owned sites. Key deliverables include managing state-owned fuel tank inventories, maintaining fuel control terminals and automatic tank gauging equipment, providing web-based account and transaction management, and delivering accurate monthly invoicing. Evaluation criteria include pricing for non-OPIS-based fuels (30 points), website capabilities and management reports (20 points), best practices and security measures (15 points), qualifications and transition plans (15 points), emergency top-off plans (10 points), and site maintenance plans (10 points). Critical dates include a pre-proposal conference on December 19, 2023, questions due by December 20, 2023, proposal submissions due by January 22, 2024, and award notification scheduled for March 11, 2024.

The contract will have an initial three-year term with four optional one-year renewal periods, running from May 5, 2024, to May 4, 2031. While no specific set-aside designations are mentioned, the solicitation requires vendors to demonstrate financial capability and provide three references with comparable contract experience. The contract usage is mandatory for state government bodies and optional for local political subdivisions. Pricing must be structured using Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) daily rack average prices, with the state divided into four pricing zones tied to different fuel terminals. The contractor must provide pricing margins for various fuel delivery scenarios, including management services at state-owned sites (MS), commercial locations (MC), bulk fuel-only deliveries (MB), and optional tank maintenance programs (TM). No minimum purchase volumes are guaranteed, and the state requires specific fuel specifications including E10, non-ethanol unleaded, ultra-low sulfur diesel, and B5 biodiesel. While a specific contract value is not explicitly stated, the annual fuel purchasing volume of approximately 20 million gallons suggests a significant potential contract value over the initial three-year term and potential renewal periods.