STC office supplies & paper

The State of South Carolina's Fiscal Accountability Authority, Division of Procurement Services is conducting a solicitation (5400026238) to establish statewide and regional term contracts for office supplies and copy paper delivery. The procurement seeks up to four contractors: one statewide and one for each of three geographic regions (I, II, and III), with the goal of providing inside, desktop delivery of office supplies to state agencies, institutions of higher education, and optional use by political subdivisions. Vendors must provide exact match SKUs for 90 percent of market basket items, with allowances for private label alternatives meeting form, fit, and function requirements. Delivery requirements mandate 2 business days for in-stock items and 4 business days for backordered items, with a mandatory 96 percent order fill rate. Key dates include a pre-bid conference held on January 3, 2024, proposal submission deadline of February 20, 2024 at 11:00 AM, award notification on March 7, 2024, and a contract term running from April 29, 2024 through April 28, 2029. The procurement will utilize an online reverse auction conducted by EasiBuy, LLC, with vendor pricing evaluated based on aggregate extended core market basket pricing and non-core category discounts.

The solicitation does not specify set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or incumbent vendors. The estimated annual spending is approximately $6.1 million from state agencies and an additional $6.4 million from political subdivisions, with historical regional spend distributions of 20% for Region I, 42% for Region II, and 38% for Region III. Contractors must remit a 1% administrative services fee to Procurement Services and a 0.75% transactional fee to EasiBuy. Price adjustments will be limited by Consumer Price Index (CPI) for office supplies and Producer Price Index (PPI) for copy paper, with potential semi-annual adjustments beginning in the second contract term. The State reserves the right to purchase from alternate vendors offering prices at least 10 percent below contract prices if the contract holder declines to match. Certain product categories are explicitly excluded from the contract, including information technology products, furniture, janitorial supplies, and break room supplies. No single bidder may be awarded both statewide and regional contracts, and all contractors must provide punch-out catalog functionality interfacing with SCEIS and accept payment by purchasing card at no extra charge.