Frequently Asked Questions Regarding MiCTA Service Corporation’s (MSC) RFP Process

• How does MSC define "Request For Proposal"?
• How is MSC's RFP different t han my organization's?
• What are the advantages of a collaborative RFP approach?
• What are the benefits of using MSC agreements?
• What participation commitment is an eligible organization required to provide?
• Why should MSC take on our bidding requirements?
• Won't the collaborative RFP take control away from my purchasing department?
• Can I use MSC's contract pricing as a negotiation tool with our own preferred vendors?
• What does MSC do that my purchasing department isn't already doing?
• What does MSC's basic RFP process entail?
• Are eligible organizations required to participate in an RFP initiative in order to use the resulting agreements?

How does MiCTA Service Corporation (MSC) define request for proposal?

An RFP is a written solicitation, issued on behalf of MSC “eligible organizations”, encouraging vendors to submit competitive proposals on products and/or services based on aggregated demand, requirements, and specifications, which reflect the needs of eligible organizations as a whole. The RFP document contains vendor response requirements, terms / conditions, standards, and specifications that are either required, preferred, or optional. “Eligible organizations” are non-profit colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, federal, state and local government units, health care providers, libraries and other non-profit entities.

How is MSC's RFP different t han my organization's RFP?

• Aggregation of Demand: MSC’s RFP aggregates the demand of eligible organizations. This demand provides more potential purchasing volume t han any one individual institution or organization has to offer a vendor. The higher the sales potential, the more attention vendors will give an RFP/Q..

• Eligible Organizations Contributions: Eligible organizations are encouraged to contribute in the development and evaluation of the RFP. Eligible organizations can lend their expertise by drafting sections of the RFP, evaluating vendor responses, contacting references, conducting financial verifications, etc. Eligible organizations contributions are strictly voluntary, and at the discretion of the Individual and their organization.

• Competition: Time is money! Therefore, vendors historically devote more time, effort, resources, and are more competitive when responding to RFP’s with high sales volume potential. In addition, manufacturers and corporations will authorize deeper discounts or “special program pricing” when competing for high sales volume projects.

• Contract Usage: eligible organizations, who commit support for the resulting agreements prior to the RFP’s release, strengthen the RFP by providing a minimum sales volume that vendors can use to secure more competitive discounts. Additionally, continued use of MSC Agreements further strengthen MSC’s position to negotiate deeper discounts during contract extension or rebid situations for like products and services.

What are the advantages of a collaborative RFP approach?

• Participation: Eligible organizations determine which RFP initiative they will participate in, and the level of participation by either 1) working on entire process from beginning to end, 2) working on-site with either the Development or Evaluation committee, 3) submitting product and technical specifications or RFP requirements, 4) working on off-site processes like references, financials and product testing, or 5) choosing not to get involved in the current project. Eligible organizations are not required to participate in the RFP process in order to take advantage of the resulting agreements.

• Project Scope: Each RFP encompasses the core requirements of most eligible organizations, but also allows flexibility for individual eligible organization purchasing requirements to be met. An RFP can be a detailed configuration list of products and services required that allows a one-to-one evaluation, or an open solution approach where the vendor recommends products and services based on the specifications provided. Both RFP formats allow each proposed solution to be subjectively evaluated on its own merits.

• Expertise: Individuals, from the various organizations and institutions with an interest in an RFP initiative, are recruited to lend their product/technical, business, and procurement knowledge and expertise. The RFP Development Committee ensures the requirements and specifications of eligible organizations as a whole are addressed, and the Evaluation Committee ensures a fair and ethical process by following good procurement processes and procedures.

• Industry Standards: Development Committee members work together to determine base industry standards that will ensure interoperability of products and/or services in-house as well as between off-site locations. Adhering to industry standards is becoming even more important as sister organizations join forces to run cooperative programs between eligible organization locations. Therefore, industry standards are frequently called out as requirements in the RFP document.

• Standardization: Eligible organizations electing to standardize on brands, models or system configurations will have few, if any, upgrade or interoperability issues in-house or between other eligible organizations, working closely with vendors and manufacturers, accomplish standardization by completing MSC’s intense product testing process, which generates a white paper report documenting test results. This paper is posted to MSC’s web site for eligible organizations to use when making their procurement decisions.

• Product Testing: The RFP provides the opportunity to run objective product testing scenarios with the proposed products and/or services. Testing can consist of anything from a one-day off-site to a 2-6 week in-house process. Eligible organizations are encouraged to lend their technical expertise to this process in order to put products / services through a full battery of testing scenarios. Upon completion of the testing process, the team consolidates their test results in a white paper report. The white papers include details of the comprehensive testing process, product / service quality comparison, component interoperability and ease of installation / operation rating, and documentation of the quality of technical support services requested during the process. White paper reports are posted to the MSC web site, and password protected for eligible organization use only. This service provides valuable information to eligible organizations who may not have the time or facilities to product test prior to making a purchasing decision.

• Comprehensive RFP Evaluations: MSC’s RFP evaluation and analysis is a multi-phase scoring process. Evaluators subjectively score responses based on the weighted criteria as published in the RFP. The consolidated weighted score percentage becomes the vendor’s “total cost value” ratio. The cost value ratio is applied to each vendor’s cost proposal, which assists in determining the Endorsed (best value) or Approved (very good value) award recommendations.

What are the benefits of using MSC agreements?

• Time / Resource Savings: Eligible organizations using MSC agreements realize in-house cost savings in time and personnel resources, as well as product / service cost savings. Resources saved can then be dedicated to high profile projects that are unique to the organization / institution and has the potential of generating greater institutional cost savings. Additionally, eligible organizations are afforded an immediate comfort level with MSC selected vendors due to the extensive evaluation, analysis, and verification process conducted prior to awarding an RFP.

• Choices: MSC is all about offering choices whenever possible to eligible organizations. Therefore, the evaluation process recommends Endorsed (best value) and Approved (very good value) vendors who supply the same products, services, or categories of products / services. Eligible organizations can select from various agreements that best meet their individual requirements based on products and services offered, geographical coverage, maintenance / support services, etc. Eligible organizations can even compare just bottom line costs between Endorsed and Approved vendors whenever cost is the sole deciding factor or the organization requires three price quotes to approve a purchase. Multiple agreements for the same products and services not only provide eligible organizations with options, but it also motivates vendors to remain competitive during the term of the agreement.

• Living Document: Successful vendors are required to treat resulting MSC Agreements as living documents, committed to pass along price decreases upon occurrence, and offer new technology upon market release or product testing by MSC. A yearly contract review provides vendors an opportunity to offer additional incentives, products and services, as well as better pricing based on MSC purchasing volumes. Therefore, MSC pricing will always reflect current market c hanges. Additionally, eligible organizations will have an avenue to pursue leading edge technology to test and/or purchase.

• Contract Strength: The strength and value of any contract is determined by end-user usage volume. Therefore, MSC eligible organizations are encouraged to support the RFP process and successful vendors by using MSC programs for their procurement needs. Eligible organizations supporting MSC agreements generate interest among the various manufacturers and industries, which often initiates lower price offerings year after year. When working from a position of strength, MSC eligible organizations have the power to move technology in directions that is most beneficial to all end-users rather t han being most expedient for the manufacturers.

• Winners: Almost everyone is faced with doing more with less -- time, resources, and personnel. MSC offers eligible organizations an opportunity to actually accomplish more with less by encouraging participation in MSC sponsored RFPs, and utilization of resulting agreements to benefit their organization / institution. Not only will the eligible organizations look like a winner, but their organization / institution will also be a winner due to the efforts of MSC eligible organizations doing good things all eligible organizations.

What participation commitment is an eligible organization required to provide?

Eligible organization participation in the RFP process is invaluable, lends credibility to the process, and provides an element of involvement for all eligible organizations. Eligible organizations are not required to participate in any RFP initiative, but strongly encouraged to do so in order to take ownership of the process and potential outcomes. MSC covers the cost of meeting rooms, continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon breakout sessions and required office supplies, and eligible organization volunteers are responsible for their transportation to/from the meeting site, accommodations, and dinner. The cost to participate in one MSC RFP initiative is less t han most eligible organizations expend processing one RFP for commodity-type products and services. Additionally, all eligible organizations reap the rewards of “best value” (Endorsed) and “very good value” (Approved) agreements with vendors who have proven capability to deliver -- whether or not the eligible organization elected to participate in the RFP process. Often eligible organizations will opt to publish their own RFP only to find MSC programs provide better value t han they were able to obtain on an individual basis. Often these eligible organizations close their RFP, and take advantage of the MSC programs. The RFP process and resulting agreements are made available to all eligible organizations at no additional charge.

Why should MSC take on our bidding requirements?

Consolidating requirements of many organizations / institutions into one RFP offers vendors a larger sales volume potential, which in turn generates more competitive price points, incremental volume discounts, and “pot sweeteners” not offered to individual or small volume solicitations. Have you ever had an RFP/Q receive fewer responses t han required for a competitive bid, with costs nowhere near the price points you were expecting? Vendors standard responses in these situations is either “I don’t have time to cost out such small quantities.”, or “Company policy is to respond to projects that have more potential sales volume.” With MSC’s RFP’s, vendors realize the potential sales volume as well as the recognition value of being awarded a MSC agreement. Additionally, eligible organizations who elect to participate in a MSC RFP initiative also assume part ownership of the results of the project.

Won't the collaborative RFP take control away from my purchasing department?

Absolutely not. MSC’s goal is to harness the purchasing power of all eligible organizations in an effort to drive the market price down while contracting for high quality products and services. Eligible organization participation in the extensive RFP process allows them to take ownership of the process and resulting agreements. MSC does not have an interest in replacing purchasing departments, and prefers to form strong working partnerships with eligible organizations to provide “best value” and “very good value” solutions at the most competitive costs. MSC extends an open invitation to all purchasing professionals to certify the process by participating in the RFP development and/or evaluation.

Can I use MSC's contract pricing as a negotiation tool with our own preferred vendors?

All MSC Agreement pricing is considered confidential, and for “Eligible Organization Eyes Only”. That being said, eligible organizations using this type of negotiation tactic serve to weaken the MSC organization as a whole, and jeopardize the cost savings of those organizations that support the process and utilize the MSC agreements. Therefore, eligible organizations are encouraged to participate and support the RFP process rather t han undermine the foundation of the organization that serves so many so well.

What does MSC do that my purchasing department isn't doing?

MSC maintains a structured competitive bid process as do most purchasing departments. Where we differ is organizations are often required to accept “low bid prices” without factoring in the value of services before and after the sale, company stability, references, etc.. In addition to the bid process, MSC brings to the table:

• Vast resources in the technology, business, and purchasing fields to tap for technical expertise, industry experience, and business and finance skills

• Product testing services including coordination of vendors and eligible organizations, development of white paper results, and publishing test results to assist eligible organization making purchasing decisions

• Staff and resources dedicated to coordinating and/or providing in-depth project research, extensive proposal analysis, hosting vendor presentations and/or product demonstrations, and sophisticated negotiation skills

• Competitive negotiation process that evaluates all aspects of the vendor’s response to determine best offers, and then actively negotiates for additional discounts and/or incentives to benefit all eligible organizations.

• All services are provided to eligible organizations at no additional charge, which frees up the eligible organization’s resources to devote to high profile projects that are unique to their organization / institution and have the potential to generate significant costs savings.

What does MSC's basic RFP process entail?

MSC’s RFP and evaluation process is designed to reflect solicitation and evaluation requirements of all eligible organizations. The RFP process and estimated timeline minimally entails the following:

• RFP Preparation: Approximately 4 – 8 Weeks

• Includes solicitation of eligible organization requirements and specifications, participation in the development of the RFP, survey of the eligible organizations to determine project support, research of product and technical specifications, preparation of draft outline of specifications submitted, meeting with the Development Committee to prepare the final product / technical specifications and edit the RFP, and development of a vendor distribution list.

• Release RFP to Vendors & Post Documents to Web Site – Minimum of 28 days

• Includes sending an RFP release notice all vendors on the distribution lists, posting the RFP to the MSC web site, placing an ad in a national publication when applicable, holding a pre-proposal conference when applicable, , and addressing vendor inquiries and posting responses to the web site.

• Evaluation Preparation – On-going process until RFP closing date

• Includes solicitation of all eligible organizations for volunteers to participate in the evaluation process, scheduling the Evaluation Retreat, preparing a list of potential vendors from the Intent To Respond forms, stamping in of vendor responses, notifying vendors of late responses, and preparing bids and office equipment / supplies for shipment to the retreat site.

• Evaluation Process: 3 – 4 Weeks

• Initial Response Review – Approx. 2 - 7 days based on number of respondents Includes a review of each vendor response to check off all required elements of the RFP, send vendors either a Deficiency Report for missing elements, insert a copy of DR response in vendor’s proposal, and develop evaluation forms for scoring vendors

• RFP Retreat – Evaluation – Approximately 1- 2 weeks Includes discussing and distributing a common evaluation form to the committee, conducting the read and scoring of each vendor response, consolidating vendor scores and evaluator comments, sending vendors a Clarification Report, sharing the vendor CR responses with the evaluation team, and coordinating the following processes:

• Financial Verification – review of all financial statements, Annual Reports, Dun and Bradstreet or Credit Bureau reports, contact bank officials and auditors, review Accounting Practices letter, etc.

• Subcontractors Verification – review all subcontractors that will provide products or services direct to all eligible organizations, and contact all subcontractor current and past customer references

• Customer References – contact all vendor’s current and past customer references

• Benchmark Cost Proposal – distribute any required benchmark cost proposals to vendors in order to conduct a side-by-side cost comparison between vendors– distribute any required benchmark cost proposals to vendors in order to conduct a side-by-side cost comparison between vendors

• Presentation / Demonstration – schedule vendor presentations / demonstrations or conference call with selected vendors as required by the committee

• Product Testing – schedule any required product testing, develop evaluation form for the process, coordinate the testing process, and prepare a white paper report of the results

• Best and Final Offer – Notify vendors of the opportunity to submit a BAFO, submit responses to the committee for evaluation, update any pricing options, contract terms, etc.

• All evaluation processes tie directly to the Evaluation Criteria and Weight Values defined in the RFP. Vendor scores for each evaluation process is entered into the Evaluation Criteria consolidated scoring sheet, which will determine the vendor’s final cost value ratio. This ratio is then applied to the vendors cost proposal to determine the best overall value and very good overall value proposals.

Recommend RFP Awards: Approximately 2 – 4 days

Includes a committee review of the consolidated scoring sheet, evaluator comments and cost proposals for each vendor, discussion of each vendor, motions for recommendation of Endorsed (best value) and Approved (very good value) awards, committee vote for each motion, and preparation of the award recommendation to forward to the respective Boards for review and approval

Project Wrap-Up – 1 – 2 Weeks

Includes preparation of a project Web page, process paper, evaluation criteria and weight value chart, Endorsed / Approved vendor award summaries, updated Daily Activity Report, RFP outline, individual vendor award announcements, etc.

Vendor Award Notification and Negotiations – Varies based on vendors

Includes a congratulatory e-mail notifying the vendor of their award, identifies the MSC negotiator, requests to schedule the first interaction, and attaches a copy of the MSC Master Agreement

1. Negotiations continue between MSC and the vendors until mutually agreeable contract terms and conditions are approved by both parties

1. Vendors not receiving an award are sent a “t hank you for participating” notice

Contract Execution and Eligible Organization Notification: Approximately 5 – 7 days

Includes submitting the final contract to the vendor for signature and executing the returned agreement, an award announcement is posted to the MSC web site and eligible organizations notified via e-mail

Project Wrap-Up: Posting - Upon award announcement

Includes posting a project web page, process report, evaluation criteria, individual vendor award summaries, RFP outline, updated Daily Activity Report, etc.

Are eligible organizations required to participate in an RFP initiative in order to use the resulting agreements?

No. eligible organizations are encouraged to support their organization by utilizing the resulting Endorsed and Approved agreements whether or not they have participated in the RFP process.

Participation in any RFP initiative is not a eligible organizations requirement, and is strictly voluntary. Participation can be as simple as submitting a project recommendation, e-mailing specific product / service requirements or specifications, participating in the development and editing of the RFP’s technical specifications, or on-site evaluation of vendor responses. MSC’s staff encourages and welcomes eligible organization participation all facets of the RFP process.