City of Palo Alto (ID # 4006) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 8/19/2013 Summary Title: Approval of Staples Office Supply Contract Title: Approval of a Contract with Staples (NJPA 031210-SCC) in an Amount Not to Exceed $250,000 Per Year (Total $500,000 for a Two-year Term) from September 2, 2013 to September 2, 2015 for Office Supply Services From: City Manager Lead Department: Administrative Services Recommendation Staff recommends that Council approve, and authorize: 1) The City Manager or designees to execute the attached contract with Staples (NJPA 031210-SCC) in an amount not to exceed $250,000 per year (total $500,000 for a two- year term) from September 2, 2013 to September 2, 2015 for office supplies and related services; 2) The City Manager or designee to renew the contract for an additional three-year term, for a total of five years, should the cooperative contract with Staples be renewed or extended with the National Joint Powers Alliance. Background The City conducted a competitive solicitation process to establish a new contract for office supply goods. Staples was the low bidder resulting in an estimated savings to the City of $50,000 per year over the current contract and average spend levels. A summary of the solicitation process is included later in the report. Staff is recommending a two-year contract with Staples with the option to renew for an additional three years. Discussion In addition to providing office supplies at a lower cost, Staples will be offering a number of attractive service features. Using the Staples online ordering system the City will be able to encourage the purchase of sustainable office products. In key product categories, such as printer and copier toner and copier paper, the City will be able to restrict purchases to only City of Palo Alto Page 1 those products that are from sustainable sources. Staples offers next business day delivery, which will enable the City to reduce and eventually eliminate the storage and delivery of office supplies at the City warehouse and using City staff and vehicles. Another attractive feature that is consistent with City efforts to eliminate paper-based manual processes is the Staples online ordering system. The system will allow the City to phase out use of paper product catalogues for ordering and will eliminate paper-based billing. By entering into this agreement with Staples, the City will address many of the recommendations from the Audit of Contract Oversight and Office Supplies issued by the City Auditor in 2012. The main recommendations from the audit centered on whether the City was receiving the required contract discounts under the former office supply contract. With the Staples contract the City is taking advantage of a joint agreement (Attachment A) with the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) that offers the most competitive pricing for office supplies purchased by the City. The City is a member of NJPA (Attachment B). The NJPA is a Minnesota public agency that serves as a purchasing cooperative for over 50,000 member agencies. For the duration of the contact the City will monitor the discounts received on products to ensure the City is realizing the contract pricing afforded in the joint powers agreement. Under the previous agreement it was difficult to validate whether the City was receiving the best pricing. The solicitation asked for bids on the top 80 percent of office supply products and volume ordered by the City. Staples was the low bidder as show in the summary below.Summary of City of Palo Alto Page 2 Solicitation Process Proposed Length of Project Two years Number of Proposals emailed Three Total Days to Respond to Proposal Three Weeks Pre-Proposal Meeting Date Not Applicable Number of Company Attendees at Pre- N/A Proposal Meeting Number of Proposals Received: Three Company Name Location (City, State) Amount Staples Framingham, MA $150,779 Office Depot Albuquerque, NM $170,752 Office Max Boca Raton, FL. $187,888 Range of Proposal Amounts $150,779-$187,888 Submitted* *Pursuant to industry standards for evaluation purposes CPA evaluated 443 line items (out of a total of 2,575) of Office Supplies that account for 80% of total spend per year for Office Supplies from the current provider. Resource Impact The total estimated annual spending on office supplies across the City is $200,000. This funding is available in existing departmental budgets. Attachments:  Attachment A: NJPA Staples Advantage Contract (PDF)  Attachment B - NJPA Membership - City of Palo Alto (PDF) City of Palo Alto Page 3 National Joint Powers Alliance® (herein NJPA) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (herein RFP) for the procurement of OFFICE AND CLASSROOM RELATED SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES RFP Opening March 12, 2010 2:00 p.m. CST At the offices of the National Joint Powers Alliance® 200 First Street Northeast, Staples, MN 56479 RFP #031210 The National Joint Powers Alliance® (NJPA) issues this request for proposal (RFP) to provide OFFICE AND CLASSROOM RELATED SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES, to NJPA, and current and potential NJPA Members from government, education to include Colleges and Universities, and non-profit agencies in all 50 states, and with potential international distribution. Specifications and details of this RFP are available beginning February 3, 2010 and continuing until February 24, 2010. Details and Specifications may be obtained by letter of request to Gregg Meierhofer, NJPA, 200 First Street Northeast, Staples, MN 56479, or registering and requesting RFP documents at www.noticetoproposedders.com, or e-mail at [email protected]. Sealed Proposals will be received until January 15, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at the above address. NJPA reserves the right to reject any and all Proposals. The text above is the Public Notice to Proposers to be used by NJPA. RFP Timeline February 3, 2010 and • Publication of RFP in the print and online Minneapolis Star Tribune, the February 10, 2010 NJPA website, and on the website of Proposednoticetoproposedders.com February 24, 2010 • Deadline for RFP requests February 26, 2010 10:00AM CST (cid:120) Pre-Proposal Conference (webcast – conference call) March 12, 2010 2:00 p. m. CST • Deadline for Submission of Proposals, and Public Opening of Proposals Direct questions regarding this RFP to: Gregg Meierhofer at [email protected] or (218)894-1930 RFP Procedures offers the methods for submitting questions. Page 1 of 47 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION N. Sales Tax A. About NJPA O. Shipping and Shipping Program B. Joint Exercise of Powers Laws P. Normal Working Hours C. Why Propose a National Cooperative 5. MARKETING PLAN Procurement Contract 6. PROPOSAL OPENING PROCEDURE D. The Intent of this RFP 7. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS E. Scope of this RFP A. Proposal evaluation process F. Expectations for Products/Services B. Proposer Responsiveness being Proposed C. Proposal evaluation criteria G. Certification – Firm offer to contract D. Cost Scoring Evaluation 2. DEFINITIONS E. Product Testing A. Proposer – Vendor F. Past performance information B. Contract G. Waiver of formalities C. Time 8. POST AWARD OPERATING ISSUES D. Proposer’s Response A. Subsequent Agreements E. Currency B. NJPA Member sign-up procedure 3. INSTRUCTIONS TO PREPARING YOUR C. Reporting of sale activity PROPOSAL D. Audits A. Pre-Proposal Conference E. Hub Partner B. Identification of key personnel F. Trade-Ins C. Proposer’s exceptions to terms and G. Out of Stock Notification conditions H. Termination of a Contract resulting from D. Formal instructions to Proposers this RFP E. Contents and tabbing of Proposal 9. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS Submission A. Advertisement of RFP F. Questions and answers about this RFP B. Advertising a Contract Resulting From G. Modification or withdrawal of a this RFP submitted Proposal C. Applicable law H. Value added attributes, D. Assignment of Contract products/services E. Proposers List I. Bid Security F. Captions, Headings, and Illustrations J. Certificate of Insurance G. Confidential Information K. Order Process and/or Funds Flow H. Data Privacy L. Administrative Fees I. Entire Agreement 4. PRICING STRATEGIES J. Force Majeure A. Line-Item Pricing K. Gratuities B. Percentage discount from catalog or L. Hazardous Substances category M. Legal Remedies C. Core List Pricing N. Licenses D. Hot List Pricing O. Material Suppliers and Sub-Contractors E. Ceiling Price P. Non-Wavier of Rights F. Volume Price Discounts Q. Protests of Awards Made G. Sourced Goods R. Provisions Required by Law H. Total Cost of Acquisition S. Public Record I. Requesting Product and Service T. Right to Assurance additions/deletions U. Suspension or Disbarment Status J. Requesting Pricing Changes V. Human Rights Certificate K. Pricing and Products Changes Format W. Severability L. Single Statement of Pricing – Historical X. Relationship of Parties Record of Pricing M. Payment Terms 2 of 47 1. INTRODUCTION A. ABOUT NJPA 1.1 The National Joint Powers Alliance®- (NJPA)- is a public agency serving as a national municipal contracting agency established under the Service Cooperative statute by Minnesota Legislative Statute §123A.21 with the authority to develop and offer, among other services, cooperative procurement services to its membership. Eligible membership includes cities, counties, governmental agencies, both public and non-public educational agencies, colleges, universities and non-profit organizations. This Minnesota Statute also allows for service to NJPA Member agencies in Minnesota and all other states. 1.2 To this end, NJPA has established a series of procurement contracts with various Vendors of products/services which NJPA Members desire to procure. These procurement contracts are created in compliance with applicable Minnesota Municipal Contracting Laws. A complete listing of NJPA cooperative procurement contracts can be found at www.njpacoop.org. 1.3 NJPA’s publicly elected Board of Directors calls for all proposals, awards all Contracts, and hosts those resulting Contracts and offers them for the benefit of its Membership. 1.4 NJPA currently serves over 30,000 member agencies. Both membership and utilization of NJPA Contracts continues to expand at exponential rates. The value of our Contracts driven to our Members is reflected in our growth. B. JOINT EXERCISE OF POWERS LAWS 1.5 NJPA cooperatively shares those contracts with its Members nationwide through various “Joint Exercise of Powers Laws” established in Minnesota and most other States. The Minnesota “Joint Exercise of Powers Law” is Minnesota Statute §471.59 which states “Two or more governmental units…may jointly or cooperatively exercise any power common to the contracting parties…” Similar Joint Exercise of Powers Laws for each State of the United States can be found on our website at http://www.njpacoop.org/LEARN/About/Legal.html and clicking on that state at the bottom of the web- page. C. WHY PROPOSE A NATIONAL COOPERATIVE PROCUREMENT CONTRACT 1.6 National Cooperative Procurement Contracts create value for both Municipal buyers and their Vendors of products/services in two ways: 1.6.1 We save the time and effort of many municipal buyers bringing individual procurement proposals AND the time and effort of the Vendors in responding individually to those invitations. A single invitation for a cooperatively held contract can replace potentially thousands of invitations for the same items from individual NJPA Members. 1.6.2 We earn volume purchasing discounts which are passed on to our Members. A single awarded Proposal is likewise exposed to thousands of potential Municipal purchasing units nationwide creating efficiency and savings to the business community as they sell products and services to government and education agencies. 1.7 State laws that permit or encourage cooperative purchasing contracts do so with the belief that lower prices, better overall value and time savings will be the result. 1.8 The collective purchasing power of thousands of NJPA Members nationwide offers the opportunity for volume pricing discounts. Although no volume is guaranteed by a Contract resulting from this RFP, substantial volume is anticipated and volume pricing is requested and justified. 3 of 47 1.9 NJPA and its Members desire the best value for their procurement dollar as well as a competitive price. Pre-competed procurement contracts offer NJPA and its Members the ability to more directly compare non-price factors in their procurement analysis and it offers Vendors the opportunity to display those attributes without the timing and interpretation constraints of a typical individual proposal process. D. THE INTENT OF THIS RFP 1.10 The intent of this RFP is to award an Exclusive Single Award Contract to a qualifying manufacturer or distributor Proposer demonstrating a solution which meets and/or exceeds the requirements of NJPA and its Members within the scope of OFFICE AND CLASSROOM RELATED SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES. Qualifying Proposers must be able to demonstrate the knowledge of any and all applicable industry standards, laws and regulations; and the ability to both market to and service NJPA Members in all 50 states, All proposals received will be evaluated based on (among several other factors) their ability to provide the greatest utility to NJPA and NJPA Members and across the widest spectrum of products and services. 1.11A response to this RFP can be in the form of a Line-Item Pricing and/or Percentage Discount from Catalog or Category Pricing purchasing contract. NJPA desires a relationship with a vendor providing a broad array of equipment, products, supplies, accessories and services anticipated and generally requested and desired by NJPA members from the OFFICE AND CLASSROOM RELATED SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES industry. Those products and services must include those most commonly used and desired by NJPA and its Members. NJPA is seeking a Prime and Exclusive Vendor relationship to best serve the overall needs of NJPA and NJPA Members nationally. 1.12 Non-Manufacturer Awards: NJPA reserves the right to make an award related to this invitation to a non-manufacturer such as a mass distributor if such action is in the best interests of NJPA and its Members. 1.13 Multiple Awards: Although it is NJPA’s intent to award a contract to a single Vendor, NJPA reserves the right to award a Contract to multiple Proposers where the responding Proposers are deemed to lack the ability to appropriately service a national contract or such action is deemed to be in the best interests of NJPA and its Members 1.14 Award by Board of Directors: An Award of Contract may be made by the NJPA Board of Directors based on the recommendation of the NJPA Proposal Review Committee and on the best interests of NJPA and its Members. NJPA is seeking a Prime, Exclusive Vendor relationship(s) to meet this need. The goal and intent of this RFP is to follow through with a proposal award and contract to be marketed nationally through a cooperative effort between the awarded vendor(s) and NJPA to its participating members. 1.15 Best Responsive – Responsible Proposer: It is the intent of NJPA to award a Contract to the best responsible and responsive Proposer(s) offering the best overall quality and selection of products/services and services meeting the commonly requested specifications of the NJPA and NJPA Members, provided the Proposer’s Response has been submitted in accordance with the requirements of this RFP. 1.16 Sealed Proposals: NJPA will receive sealed proposal responses to this RFP in accordance with accepted standards set forth in the Minnesota Procurement Code and Uniform Municipal Contracting Law. Awards may be made to responsible and responsive Proposers whose proposals are determined in writing to be the most advantageous to NJPA and its current or qualifying future NJPA Members. 1.17 Use of Contract: Any Contract resulting from this solicitation shall be awarded with the understanding that it is for the sole convenience of NJPA and its Members. NJPA and/or its members reserve the right to obtain like goods and services solely from this Contract or from another contract source of their choice. 4 of 47 1.18 NJPA’s Interest in a contract resulting from this RFP: Not withstanding its own use, to the extent NJPA issues this RFP and any resulting contract for the use of its Members, NJPA’s interests and liability for said use shall be limited to the competitive proposal process performed and terms and conditions relating to said contract and shall not extend to the products, services, or warranties of the Awarded Vendor or the intended or unintended effects of the goods and services procured there from. 1.19 Sole Source of responsibility- NJPA desires a “Sole Source of Responsibility” Vendor meaning the Vendor will take sole responsibility for the performance of delivered products/services. NJPA also desires sole responsibility with regard to: 1.19.1 Scope of Products/Services: NJPA desires a single provider for the broadest possible scope of the goods and services being proposed over the largest possible geographic area and to the largest possible cross-section of NJPA Members. 1.19.2 Vendor use of sub-contractors in sourcing or delivering goods and services: NJPA desires a single source of responsibility for products/services proposed. Proposer’s are assumed to have sub-contractor relationships with all organizations and individuals whom are external to the Proposer and are involved in providing or delivering the goods and services being proposed. Vendor assumes all responsibility for the products/services and actions of any such Sub- Contractor. E. SCOPE OF THIS RFP 1.20 Solutions Based Invitation: 1.20.1 All potential Proposers are assumed to be professionals in their respective fields. As professionals you are deemed to be intimately familiar with the spectrum of NJPA and NJPA Member’s needs and requirements with respect to the scope of this RFP. 1.20.2 With this intimate knowledge of NJPA and NJPA Member’s needs, Proposers are instructed to provide their proposal response in a format describing their solutions to those current and future needs and requirements. Proposers should take care to be economical in their response to this RFP. 1.20.3 Multiple solutions to the needs of NJPA and NJPA Member’s are possible. Examples could include: 1.20.3.1 Materials Only Solution: A Materials Only Solution may be appropriate for situations where NJPA or NJPA Members possess the ability, either in-house or through local third party contractors, to properly install and bring to operation those materials being proposed. 1.20.3.2 Turn-Key Solutions: A Turn-Key Solution is combination of materials and services which provides a single price for materials, delivery, and installation to a properly operating status. Generally this is the most desirable solution as NJPA and NJPA Members may not possess, or desire to engage, personnel with the necessary expertise to complete these tasks internally or through other independent contractors 1.20.3.3 Good, Better, Best: Where appropriate and properly identified, Proposers are invited to offer the CHOICE of good – better – best multiple grade solutions to NJPA and NJPA Member’s needs. 1.20.3.4 Proven – Accepted – Leading Edge Technology: Where appropriate and properly identified, Proposers are invited to provide the CHOICE of an appropriately 5 of 47 identified spectrum of technology solutions to NJPA and NJPA Member’s needs both now and into the future. 1.21 Geographic Area to be Proposed: This RFP invites proposals to provide OFFICE AND CLASSROOM RELATED SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES to NJPA and NJPA Members throughout the entire United States and possibly internationally. Proposers will be expected to express willingness to explore service to NJPA Members located abroad; however the lack of ability to serve Members outside of the United States will not be cause for non-award. The ability to serve Canada, for instance, will be viewed as a value-added attribute. 1.22 Manufacturer as a Proposer: If the Proposer is a Manufacturer or wholesale distributor, the response received will be evaluated on the basis of a response made in conjunction with that Manufacturer’s Dealer Network. Unless stated otherwise, a Manufacturer or wholesale distributor Proposer is assumed to have a documented relationship with their Dealer Network where that Dealer Network is informed of, and authorized to accept, purchase orders pursuant to any Contract resulting from this RFP on behalf of the Manufacturer or wholesale distributor Proposer. Any such dealer will be considered a sub-contractor of the Proposer/Vendor. The relationship between the Manufacturer and wholesale distributor Proposer and its Dealer Network may be proposed at the time of the proposed submission if that fact is properly identified. 1.23 Dealer/Re-seller as a Proposer: If the Proposer is a dealer or re-seller of the products and/or services being proposed, the response will be evaluated based on the Proposer’s authorization to provide those products and services from their manufacturer. Where appropriate, Proposers must document their authority to offer those products and/or services. 1.24 Contract Term: A contract resulting from this RFP will become effective the date of execution by NJPA of the “Offering and Award” (Form D). NJPA is seeking a Contract base term of four years subject to annual renewals as allowed by Minnesota Contracting Law. Full term is expected, however will only occur through successful annual renewals. One additional one-year renewal-extension may be offered by NJPA to Vendor beyond the original four year term if NJPA deems such action to be in the best interests of NJPA and its Members. 1.25 Minimum Contract Value: NJPA anticipates considerable activity resulting from this RFP and subsequent award; however no commitment of any kind is made concerning actual quantities to be acquired. NJPA does not guarantee usage. Usage will depend on the actual needs of the NJPA Members and the value of the awarded contract. 1.26 Estimated Contract Volume: Estimated quantities and sales volume are based on potential usage by NJPA and NJPA Members. 1.27 Largest Possible Solution: If applicable, Contracts will be awarded to Proposer(s) able to deliver a proposal meeting the entire needs of NJPA and its Members within the scope of this RFP. NJPA prefers Proposers submit their complete product line of products and services described in the scope of this RFP. NJPA reserves the right to reject individual, or groupings of specific products/services proposals as a part of the award. 1.28 Contract Availability: This Contract must be available to all current and potential NJPA Members who choose to utilize this NJPA Contract to include all governmental agencies, public and private primary and secondary education agencies, and all non-profit organizations nationally. 1.29 Proposer’s Commitment Period: In order to allow NJPA the opportunity to evaluate each proposal thoroughly, NJPA requires any response to this solicitation be valid and irrevocable for ninety (90) days after the date proposals were opened regarding this RFP. 6 of 47