Soap Products And Accessories

OVERVIEW: The purpose of this Soap Products and Accessories ITQ is to qualify responsible and responsive Contractors to provide materials used by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Pennsylvania Correctional Industries (PCI) to purchase soap products and accessories to facilitate their soap manufacturing process.

ISSUING OFFICE: This ITQ is managed and administered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of General Services (DGS), Bureau of Procurement. All inquiries should be referred to:

James (Ben) Huffine, Commodity Specialist

Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement, 6th Floor

555 Walnut Street

Harrisburg, PA 17101-1914

Telephone: (717) 346-3847

Email: jahuffine@pa.gov

QUALIFICATIONS: Contractors interested in becoming an ITQ Contractor must meet the following requirements. Failure to meet the below requirement will result in the application being rejected. Each Contractor that meets the minimum qualifications will be awarded a contract. Award of a contract to a Contractor is not a guarantee of business.

A. Contractor must provide documentation showing two (2) years of experience in the appropriate commodity code selected under Material Categories.

B. Contractors must submit written certification from the manufacturer(s) stating that the soap materials they will provide through this ITQ Contract will be manufactured from beef tallow and coconut oil fatty acids and that they will not contain any fatty acids derived from pork.

C. Contractors are required to complete and submit the Iran Free Procurement Certification Form.

MATERIAL CATEGORIES: Contractors will need to choose the appropriate commodity code(s) to qualify for this contract. Contractors will select the appropriate code(s) under the Business Details section of the qualification process. The Commonwealth may add additional commodity codes as the need arises. The table below lists the appropriate commodity code and description of each service category.

GENERAL INORMATION/REQUIREMENTS:

A. Type of Contract. Upon determination that the Contractor meets the ITQ requirements, the Commonwealth will issue a contract to the Contractor. Upon receipt of a Purchase Order (PO) issued under this Contract, the Contractor agrees to furnish the requested services to the Commonwealth agency issuing the PO.

B. Order of Precedence. If any conflicts or discrepancies should arise in the terms and conditions of this Contract, or the interpretation thereof, the order of precedence shall be:

i. This Contract;

ii. The data resident on the ITQ web site and incorporated herein by reference at the date of execution of the Contract or issuance of an RFQ off of this Contract, whichever is later, including but not limited to the promises and certifications the Contractor made in qualifying for the Contract;

If any conflicts or discrepancies should arise in the interpretation of a PO, the order of precedence shall be:

i. The consulting service category definitions, descriptions, qualification requirements, and contract terms and conditions set forth in the RFQ;

ii. This Contract;

iii. The PO and any attachment thereto, including: (1) the Contractor’s Proposal, as accepted by the Commonwealth; (2) the RFQ.

C. Bid Protest Procedure (April 2016) The Bid Protest Procedure is on the DGS website. Click here

D. Post-Submission Descriptive Literature. The Commonwealth may, during its evaluation of the bids, require any Contractor to submit cuts, illustrations, drawings, prints, test data sheets, specification sheets and brochures which detail construction features, design, components, materials used, applicable dimensions and any other pertinent information which the Issuing Office may require in order to evaluate the product(s) offered. The required information must be submitted within two (2) business days after notification from the Issuing Office. Failure to submit the required information prior to the expiration of the second business day after notification shall result in the rejection of the bid as non-responsive.

E. Tie Bids/Quotes. All tie bids/quotes will be broken by the Issuing Office.

F. Prompt Payment Discounts. Prompt payment discounts will not be considered in making an award. If prompt payment discounts are offered by any Contractor, however, the Issuing Office will take advantage of such offer.

G. Sampling and Testing: The Commonwealth reserves the right to perform independent laboratory analyses to confirm conformance to specifications at any time. Should additional testing be necessary to address quality problems or contract disputes, this testing shall be done by a mutually agreed upon federally certified testing laboratory at the Contractor’s expense.

H. REPORTS: Contractors shall provide a quarterly usage report to DGS. This report shall include all orders received and should document the order #, order date, item description, quantity ordered, unit of measure and price. These reports should be easy to read and customer friendly and shall be in an electronic format utilizing Microsoft Excel.

REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ) PROCEDURES: Commonwealth agencies will issue an RFQ to qualified Contractors, through the Commonwealth’s Custom Portal, powered by the JAGGAER system. Contractors will respond to the RFQ in the system. The requesting agencies may require the qualified Contractors to furnish, upon request, additional documentation in the RFQ. The qualified Contractors selected for the RFQ process will receive a Purchase Order (PO) and will supply the service to meet the specific requirements as indicated in the RFQ.

Agencies will make a best value selection based upon the criteria set forth in the RFQ.

• Best Value: Refers to the process of selecting the quote which provides the greatest value to the agency based on evaluating and comparing all pertinent criteria, including cost, so that the Contractor whose overall proposal best suits the agency’s needs is selected for each individual project; and

• Low Cost: Refers to the lowest cost quoted from all proposals received that are deemed both responsive and responsible for the project.