City of Denton
RFP for Supply of Technology Infrastructure Equipment and Software
Materials Management Department
901-B Texas Street
Denton, Texas 76209
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
RFP 6504
The City of Denton is seeking the best value solution for the:
SUPPLY OF TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT
AND SOFTWARE
NIGP CLASS and ITEM
209 / 28209 / 13
Issue Date: October 6, 2017
Response due Date and Time (Central Time):
Thursday, November 2, 2017, 11:00 A.M. C.S.T
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. COMMODITY OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION 3
3. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 3
4. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 4
5. PRE-SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE AND WALKTHROUGH 4
6. CONTRACT TERM 4
7. PRICING 5
8. PRICE ADJUSTMENTS 5
9. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING / PIGGYBACK OPTION 6
10. ADDENDA 6
11. BUSINESS OVERVIEW 7
12. EXCEPTIONS 7
13. SAFETY RECORD (Not Applicable) 7
14. DISCLOSURES 7
15. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 7
16. PRODUCT LITERATURE (Not Applicable) 7
17. EQUIPMENT SCHEDULE (Not Applicable) 7
18. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS 8
a. Submission Format 8
b. Electronic Submission Requirements 9
19. EVALUATION PROCEDURES 9
20. CONTACT BETWEEN RESPONDENT AND THE CITY 11
SOLICITATION CHECKLIST 12
ATTACHMENT A-BUSINESS OVERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE AND FORMS 13
ATTACHMENT B-SUBMISSION EXCEPTIONS 16
ATTACHMENT C-SAFETY RECORD QUESTIONNAIRE 17
ATTACHMENT D-REFERENCES 19
ATTACHMENT E-CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONNAIRE 20
ATTACHMENT F-ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 21
Exhibit 1 Pricing Sheet
Exhibit 2 General Provisions, Standard Terms and Conditions and Appendices
Exhibit 3 Scope of Work or Technical Specifications
Exhibit 4 City of Denton 36-Month Order History – Cisco, VMWare, VCE, and EMC
1. INTRODUCTION
In accordance with the provisions of Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 252 and 271, the City of Denton (the City) is requesting submissions to contract with an individual or business with considerable experience in providing goods or services of this solicitation. The responses and the cost solutions shall be submitted to the City of Denton in a sealed submission.
The awarded individual or business shall possess a proven track record of using innovative approaches to providing goods and services that represent the best value to their clients. The awarded individual or business shall have the ability to accomplish all aspects of the requested services. The selected individual or firm should be able to provide innovative methods to deal with municipal challenges, and cost effective solutions.
A firm may submit a solicitation response for one or more of the categories of product or services requested in this solicitation.
2. COMMODITY OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The City is seeking a term contract for the supply of datacenter and network technology infrastructure equipment and software to be purchased as needed over the contract term.
The products and services shall be accomplished per all exhibits identified in the table of contents.
3. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The following minimum requirements must be demonstrated in order for the submission to be considered responsive to the City of Denton. Any submission received, which is determined to not meet these mandatory requirements shall be immediately disqualified and rejected as non-responsive.
· Three (3) years’ experience providing similar products or services.
· Three (3) references from governmental entities for the products or services requested. The City prefers references from municipalities of similar size.
· Certifications for technology professional services i.e. Cisco, Dell EMC, VMWare, VCE, etc.
· The responding individual or business must be registered in the State of Texas, or the County of Denton, to provide the products or services required in the solicitation, and the individual or business must have all licensure required by the State to provide any services required under this contact.
To learn how to obtain information about filing with the State of Texas, or obtaining copies or certificates from the Secretary of State visit Webpage: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/copies.shtml; Phone 512-463-5578; or email .
· Authorized manufacturer or distributor authorized by the manufacturer for products identified in the Technical Specifications to sell to the City of Denton, Texas. Attach documentation such as a letter from the manufacturer or a line card.
· Submittal documents including a cover sheet, Solicitation Checklist, Attachments A -F and Exhibit 1, per the method described in SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS.
4. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The City of Denton reserves the right to change the dates indicated below:
Solicitation Schedule:
Issue Solicitation: 10/6/2017
Deadline for Submission of Questions: 10/23/2017 at 11:00 AM CST
Deadline for Submission of Responses: 11/2/17 at 11:00 AM CST
Interview(s) with top ranked firms: 11/10/2017
Evaluate and rank initial results: 11/14/2017
Completion of Negotiations: 11/17/2017
Official Award: 12/5/2017
The City of Denton is using the solicitation ‘Issue Date’ as noted in the Schedule of Events above as the official 30 day notification requirement for an interview with a firm.
5. CONTRACT TERM
It is the intention of the City of Denton to award a contract for a one (1) year period. The City and the Awarded Contractor shall have the option to renew this contract for an additional two (2) one-year periods. Materials and services undertaken pursuant to this solicitation will be required to commence within fourteen (14) days of delivery of a Notice to Proceed.
The Contract shall commence upon the issuance of a Notice of Award by the City of Denton and shall automatically renew each year, from the date of award by City Council, unless either party notifies the other prior to the scheduled renewal date in accordance with the provision of the section titled “price adjustments”, or the section(s) titled “termination” in Exhibit 2. At the sole option of the City of Denton, the Contract may be further extended as needed, not to exceed a total of six (6) months.
6. PRICING
Unit Pricing in Exhibit 1 shall include all fees and costs to provide the goods and services to the City. Unit pricing for goods shall include delivery costs, F.O.B. Destination.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)
MSRP is defined as the product sales price suggested by the manufacturer or publisher of a product.
City’s Discount
The minimum City’s discount for all products and services will be the percentage off MSRP as specified in all worksheets in Exhibit 1.
City’s Price
1) The price to the City shall be calculated as follows:
Unit Price = MSRP – City’s Discount
2) The City’s cooperative agencies purchasing products and services under this Contract may negotiate more advantageous pricing or participate in special promotional offers. In such event, a copy of such better offerings shall be furnished to the City upon request.
Shipping and Handling Fees
The price to the City under this Contract shall include all shipping and handling fees. Shipments will be Free On Board (F.O.B.) destination. No additional fees shall be charged to the City for standard shipping and handling. If the City requests expedited delivery, the City will be responsible for any charges for expedited delivery.
Mobilization/Trip Charges
Pricing for services provided under this Contract are exclusive of any mobilization or trip charges that may be incurred in the performance of those services. A minimum mobilization/trip charge shall be identified in this RFP’s pricing sheet (Exhibit 1). Trip charges may include personal vehicle mileage or commercial coach transportation, hotel accommodations, parking and meals; provided, however, the amount of reimbursement by the City shall not exceed the amounts authorized for Texas’ state employees as adopted by each cooperative agencies, when applicable; and provided, further, that all trip charges shall not exceed the maximum rates established for state employees under the current State Travel Management Program. Mobilization/trip charges may not be included as part of the amounts payable by the City for any services rendered under this Contract. Anticipated additional trip charges (travel expenses) must be pre-approved in writing by the City.
Firm Discount Rate
Discounts submitted are firm for the initial one-year period specified in the solicitation. Price decreases are allowed at any time. Price increases shall only be considered as stipulated below in “PRICE ADJUSTMENTS”.
Price Decreases/Discount Increases
Respondents are required to immediately implement any price decrease or discount increase that may become available. The City of Denton must be notified in writing for updating the contract.
7. PRICE ADJUSTMENTS
Prices quoted for the commodities described in the RFP may be adjusted, based upon changes to the MSRP; however, the discount levels shall remain firm for a period of one year from date of contract award. Any request for price adjustment must be based on the manufacturer’s catalog price list. The price will be increased or decreased based upon the annual percentage change in the manufacturer’s price list. The discount levels shall be determined and negotiated, if necessary, annually at least 60 days prior to the renewal date. The Contractor shall identify the products’ MSRP list price adjustments when City staff request a Bill of Material (quote) during the project design planning phase. After the project design planning phase is concluded, the City’s purchase order shall reflect the approved new pricing including the fixed discount level for each product.
Any request for price increase for the items listed under the Technical Professional Services section of this RFP’s pricing sheet (Exhibit 1) shall be based on the Consumer Price Index, Inflation Calculator, or competitive wage adjustment and capped at five (5) percent. The request shall be submitted in writing with supporting evidence for the need of such increase to the Purchasing Manager at least 60 days prior to contract expiration of each year. Respondent must also provide supporting documentation as justification for the request.
Request must be submitted in writing with supporting evidence for need of such increase to the Purchasing Manager at least 60 days prior to contract expiration of each year. Respondent must also provide supporting documentation as justification for the request.
Upon receipt of such request, the City of Denton reserves the right to either: accept the escalation as competitive with the general market price at the time, and become effective upon the renewal date of the contract award or reject the increases within 30 calendar days after receipt of a properly submitted request. If a properly submitted increase is rejected, the Contractor may request cancellation of such items from the Contract by giving the City of Denton written notice. Cancellation will not go into effect for 15 calendar days after a determination has been issued. Pre-price increase prices must be honored on orders dated up to the official date of the City of Denton approval and/or cancellation.
The request can be sent by e-mail to: noting the solicitation number.
The City of Denton reserves the right to accept, reject, or negotiate the proposed price changes.
8. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING / PIGGYBACK OPTION
The contract resulting from this solicitation will be available for use by all governmental entities, providing there is no conflict with any applicable statutes, rules, policies, or procedures. The governmental entities will have the option to use the pricing as agreed to within the resulting contract. Governmental entities will issue their internal purchase orders directly to the contractor(s).
9. ADDENDA
Respondents are required to acknowledge addenda with their submission. Respondents will be responsible for monitoring the City of Denton Purchasing website at www.dentonpurchasing.com to ensure they have downloaded and signed all addenda required for submission with their submission. Respondents should acknowledge each individual addendum on Attachment F.
10. BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Respondent shall complete the Business Overview Questionnaire as applicable per Attachment A.
11. EXCEPTIONS
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process allows for negotiation of the terms and conditions of this proposal. The respondent shall note any exceptions to the solicitation document, on Attachment B. The exceptions will be reviewed to ensure they meet the minimum specifications and requirements and will be ranked in accordance with the evaluation criteria. The City reserves the right to accept, reject or negotiate the exceptions provided.
Respondents shall itemize all exceptions on Attachment B. Additional pages may be added as necessary. Do not mark or change the text of the solicitation document, exceptions shall be noted only on Attachment B.
If no exceptions are taken, the respondent shall sign and return Attachment B in the appropriate signature block.
12. SAFETY RECORD
Not Applicable
13. DISCLOSURES
The individual or business must disclose any business relationship that would have an effect, of a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest statement must be signed as part of the contract negotiated with the awardee(s). (Attachment E)
14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Submit a signed acknowledgement by authorized agent of the responding firm (Attachment F).
15. PRODUCT LITERATURE
Not Applicable
16. EQUIPMENT SCHEDULE
Not Applicable
17. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS
The City of Denton will accept electronic or hard copy submittals until the date and time on the cover sheet of this solicitation. Any submission received after the date and/or hour set for solicitation opening will be returned unopened.
Electronic submittals may be emailed to with the solicitation number and name in the subject line. Please consolidate attachments as much as possible, and do not exceed 35MB total for attachments. Emails received by the City will remain unopened until after the due date and time. Only authorized Materials Management Staff will have access to the e-bid email inbox. Please do not email the buyer directly to ensure security of the proposal. Electronic proposals must be received by the City before the due date and time. The date and time used by the City shall be the official time. It is highly recommended that respondents do not wait until minutes before the due date and time to email their submission. It can take significant time for the email to reach the City.
Hard copy submissions may be hand delivered (by firm or express courier) to the address listed below:
City of Denton
Materials Management
SOLICITATION NUMBER AND NAME
901B Texas Street
Denton, TX 76209
The City of Denton reserves the right to accept or reject in part or in whole any submission, and to waive technicalities of the submission, in the best interest of obtaining best value for the City.
Each respondent is responsible for taking the necessary steps to ensure their submission is received by the date and time noted herein. The City is not responsible for missing, lost or late mail or any mail or email delays, internal or external, that may result in the submission arriving after the set time.