1. Purpose. This request for proposals (RFP) provides information to enable potential Offerors to prepare and submit proposals for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's consideration. 2. Determination to use Competitive Sealed Proposal Method. As set forth in Bureau of Procurement Policy Directive 2018-1, the Secretary of General Services has determined that the competitive sealed proposals process generally is the most practical and advantageous method for awarding contracts to obtain the best value for the Commonwealth. There are no features of this particular Project that are inconsistent with the rationale set forth in BOP Policy Directive 2018-1 and the justification for the use of competitive sealed proposals set forth in BOP Policy Directive 2018-1 is hereby adopted for this Project. 3. Issuing Office. The Department of General Services (“Issuing Office”) has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be the Contact listed above, who is the Issuing Officer for this RFP. Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer. Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Offeror's proposal. Offerors must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. An Offeror who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Offeror may be disqualified. 4. Project Description. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (COPA), Department of General Services (DGS) is issuing this RFP for both Bulk and Bagged Trout Feed and Bagged, Medicated Trout Feed for use by the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). The trout feed is for use at the twelve (12) state fish hatcheries located across the Commonwealth. The twelve (12) state fish hatcheries have been divided into 6 regions of Pennsylvania. Each Region is identified as a separate Lot in this RFP. 5. Types of Feed. It is the intention of this RFP to procure from the selected Offeror(s) their advertised quality, trout diet feed. This RFP does not include a requirement for trout feed to be developed as a result of a PFBC specially defined fish diet. There are eight (8) types of trout feed required, in either bag or bulk delivery. If it is determined that additional types of feed are needed, they will be added in accordance with the Add or Delete Clause. 6. Lots. Each Lot is defined with the name and address of each hatchery or delivery location within that region. See Appendix A for a list of PFBC State Fish Hatcheries, by region. Appendix A also includes the transportation and delivery requirements for each hatchery or delivery location and a map identifying the locations. A detailed description of the types of fish food required by each hatchery or delivery location is included in Appendices B through I, Cost Submittal. Offerors are required to provide a per pound cost for each type of trout feed for each Lot they intend to bid. 7. Award. There are eight (8) Lots total and an award will be made for each lot. Offerors may submit a proposal for one, multiple, or all lots, but they must propose on all items included in a Lot. 8. Historical Volume. The historical volumes of fish feed purchased by region are identified in Appendices B through I, Cost Submittal. 9. Type of Contract. If the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be an Established Price contract and will contain the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP in the Buyer Attachments section. 10. Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP. 11. Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Offeror incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract. 12. Questions & Answers. Questions must be submitted using the Q&A Board within this event. Questions must be submitted as individual questions. Questions must be submitted by the posted deadline. All questions and responses are considered an addendum to and part of this RFP. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information, nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or the solicitation. 13. Addenda to the RFP. Any revisions to this RFP will be made electronically within this site. 14. Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic proposals must be submitted on or before the time and date specified. The Issuing Office will reject any late proposals. 15. Proposal Submission: To be considered, Offerors must submit a complete response to this RFP by the due date and time, from an official authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions. Clicking the submit button within this site constitutes an electronic signature. A proposal being timely submitted and electronically signed by the Offeror are the two (2) mandatory responsiveness requirements and are non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in an Offeror’s proposal, (2) allow the Offeror to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Offeror’s proposal. The proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed, whichever is later. If the Issuing Office selects the Offeror’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Offeror’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations. 16. Proposal Format: To be considered, the proposal must respond to all proposal requirements. Each proposal consists of two submittal components: Technical and Cost. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as attachments. The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Offeror’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and financial resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP. The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the Project, and the Offeror shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. 17. Alternate Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Offerors to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternate proposals. 18. Discussions for Clarification. Offerors may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process prior to contract execution. 19. Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The selected Offeror must perform at least 50% of the total contract value. Nevertheless, the contract will require the selected Offeror to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. Further, the Issuing Office will consider the selected Offeror to be the sole point of contact with regard to all contractual matters. 20. Proposal Contents. A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of Offerors’ submissions. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Offerors should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected. Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement described in subsection c. below. After contract award, the selected Offeror must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes. B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Offeror copyright designations contained in proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction. C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to the Additional Required Documentation section for a Trade Secret Confidential Proprietary Information Notice Form that may be utilized as the signed written statement, if applicable. If financial capability information is submitted, such financial capability information is exempt from public records disclosure under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26). 21. Best and Final Offers (BAFO). The Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with Offerors for the purpose of obtaining “best and final offers” in one or more of the following ways, in any combination and order: schedule oral presentations, request revised proposals, conduct an online auction, and enter into pre-selection negotiations. The following Offerors will not be invited by the Issuing Office to submit a Best and Final Offer: those Offerors which the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsible or whose proposals the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsive; those Offerors which the Issuing Office has determined in accordance with the Offeror Responsibility subsection, from the submitted and gathered financial and other information do not possess the experience or qualifications to assure good faith performance of the contract; and those Offerors who do not receive 75% of the Technical points available. The Issuing Office may further limit participation in the best and final offers process to those remaining responsible Offerors which the Issuing Office has determined to be within the top competitive range of responsive proposals. The Evaluation Criteria shall also be used to evaluate the Best and Final offers. 22. News Releases. Offerors shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements or any other public communications pertaining to this Project without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office. 23. Term of Contract. The initial term of the contract shall be one (1) year with four (4) one-year renewal options. Contract pricing will be negotiated at the time of renewal for each additional year. The Issuing Office will fix the Effective Date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Offeror and by the Commonwealth and all approvals required by Commonwealth contracting procedures have been obtained. The selected Offeror shall not start the performance of any work prior to the Effective Date of the contract, and the Commonwealth shall not be liable to pay the selected Offeror for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the Effective Date of the contract. 24. Notification of Selection for Contract Negotiations. The Issuing Office will notify all Offerors in writing of the Offeror selected for contract negotiations after the Issuing Office has determined, taking into consideration all of the evaluation factors, the proposal that is the most advantageous to the Issuing Office. Prior to execution of the contract resulting from the RFP, the selected Offeror must be registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Vendor Master file. In order to register, Offerors must visit the Pa Supplier Portal at https://www.pasupplierportal.state.pa.us/ or call the Customer Support Center at 877-435-7363. 25. Notification of Award. Offerors whose proposals are not selected will be notified when contract negotiations have been successfully completed, and the Issuing Office has received the final negotiated contract signed by the selected Offeror. 26. Debriefing Conferences. Upon notification of award, Offerors whose proposals were not selected will be given the opportunity to be debriefed. The Issuing Office will schedule the debriefing at a mutually agreeable time. The debriefing will not compare the Offeror with other Offerors, other than the position of the Offeror’s proposal in relation to all other Offeror proposals. An Offeror’s exercise of the opportunity to be debriefed does not constitute nor toll the time for filing a protest. 27. RFP Protest Procedure. The RFP Protest Procedure is on the DGS website at click here. A protest by a party that has not or has not yet submitted a proposal must be filed no later than the proposal submission deadline. Offerors may file a protest within seven days after the protesting Offeror knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but in no event may an Offeror file a protest later than seven days after the date the notice of award of the contract is posted on the DGS website. The date of filing is the date of receipt of the protest. A protest must be filed in writing with the Issuing Office. To be timely, the protest must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the seventh day. 28. Attachments to the RFP. All attachments to the RFP, including those contained in the Buyer Attachments and Additional Required Documentation sections, are incorporated into and made part of the RFP. 29. Evaluation Criteria. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal: A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 65% of the total points. All Offerors whose proposals comply with all aspects of the technical requirements shall receive 100% of the allotted technical points. Offerors whose proposals do not comply with all aspects of the technical requirements shall not receive any of the allotted technical points. B. Cost: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 35% of the total points. The cost criterion is rated by giving the proposal with the lowest total cost the maximum number of Cost points available. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Cost Formula set forth at the following webpage: click here 30. Small Business and Small Diverse Business Participation. The Issuing Office and the Department of General Services' Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities (BDISBO) identified this procurement as potentially eligible for the setting of Small Diverse Business (SDB) and/or Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE) participation goals. However, after analyzing the solicitation for subcontracting opportunities and researching available SDB and/or VBE firms to perform commercially useful functions, the Issuing Office and BDISBO have determined that the SDB and/or VBE participation opportunities for the scope of work for this procurement are de minimis. Therefore, the Issuing Office and BDISBO have declined to set SDB or VBE participation goals for this procurement. In addition, there will be no points allocated toward SDB/SB participation for this procurement. 31. Offeror Responsibility. To be responsible, an Offeror must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract. In order for an Offeror to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for selection for best and final offers or selection for contract negotiations: The total score for the technical submittal of the Offeror’s proposal must be equal to 75% of the available technical points; and The Issuing Office will award a contract only to an Offeror determined to be responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program. 32. Final Ranking and Award. After any best and final offer process is conducted, the Issuing Office will combine the evaluation committee’s final technical scores, the final cost scores, and the domestic workforce utilization scores. The Issuing Office will rank responsible Offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each in descending order. The Issuing Office must select for contract negotiations the Offeror with the highest overall score. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.

Bid Protests Not Available