Active SLED Opportunity · TEXAS · PURCHASING SOLUTIONS ALLIANCE
AI Summary
Purchasing Solutions Alliance seeks qualified vendors to provide office supplies and related services under a cooperative contract for government, educational, and non-profit entities nationwide. The contract offers competitive pricing, broad product scope, and value-added services with an emphasis on vendor experience and operational capability. Proposals are due June 11, 2026.
Purchasing Solutions Alliance (PSA), a nationwide non-profit cooperative purchasing program of the Brazos Valley Council of Governments (BVCOG), is soliciting proposals from experienced and qualified vendors to provide office supplies and related services to PSA Members. The resulting contract will result in a cooperative contract to be used by PSA Members on an as-needed basis.
There is considerable potential sales value in being awarded a competitively bid public sector cooperative contract. PSA contractors have the advantage of promoting sales to governmental/educational entities without the need for the buyer to issue an RFP. This saves the buyer time and money from duplicating the competitive bidding process and managing the resulting contract. Many of our existing PSA contractors have been able to gain new customers because of the cooperative contracts.
The resulting contract from this RFP will be able to be used by local government agencies, certain state agencies, school districts, higher education, and non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations nation-wide.
We believe a PSA contract would enhance your competitive position in the government marketplace, and are eager to work with you to promote the best interests of our participating local governments and qualifying non-profit organizations.
PSA is a “Government-to-Government” procurement service for Local Governments, Districts, Political Subdivisions, Authorities, Schools, Universities, and qualifying Not-for-Profit Corporations. These agencies become Members of Purchasing Solutions Alliance by executing an Interlocal Purchasing Agreement, which is free of cost and imposes no minimum spending requirements.
PSA, acting on behalf of Members, solicits competitive offerings for the furnishing of products and/or services, resulting in a cooperative contract.
With a cooperative contract, all the hard work of the competitive RFP process is done in advance, and the vendors can then use the contract to make immediate sales to government agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations. In return, the vendors pay an administrative fee based on the amount billed to customers. The customers save time from writing their own RFP, and they reap the benefits of the competitive bid. Even the smallest of customers receive larger discounts than they could get on their own, because the contract is based on a much larger sales volume. It's a win-win situation for all parties.
PSA members include school districts, higher education, non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, local government agencies and certain state agencies. PSA members may use any combination of PSA contracts. All purchases are optional and no sales are guaranteed. Visit www.psabuy.org and click on the Membership tab in the main menu to view and/or download a list of PSA member agencies that have currently entered into Cooperative Interlocal Purchasing Agreements with PSA, eligible to participate in any subsequent contract.
Offeror must have extensive experience in supplying products to government agencies, schools, and/or universities to score all available points. The Offeror must be financially sound, to provide reasonable certainty the company will have the ability to provide excellent service throughout the life of the contract. Number of years in business and annual sales will be considered.
Proposals will be evaluated on the range, quality, and availability of products offered, including:
Qualified Offerors are financially stable, ethically sound, and have extensive experience in servicing the public sector. Offeror must have extensive experience in working with government agencies, schools, and universities. The Offeror must be financially sound, to provide reasonable certainty the company will have the ability to provide excellent service throughout the life of the contract.
Offeror’s ability to effectively service participating entities will be evaluated, including:
Proposals will be evaluated on the Offeror’s technology solutions and reporting capabilities, including:
Offerors are encouraged to list and provide detailed descriptions of any additional products and/or services that will enhance and add value to this Contract for PSA participating member entities. These offerings will be considered and evaluated. PSA reserves the right to accept any or reject additionally proposed products or services in the best interest of PSA and its participating member entities. Typical value added services include customer rebates based on spend, early payment discounts, and common office services such as shredding and document storage.
The Cost Proposal shall be evaluated based on the amount of discount provided and the overal low cost of products. If discounts vary by product category, the high-volume categories should have deeper discounts. Price escalations will be considered.
Points are awarded based on the expected value of the resulting contract to PSA. The following areas may be taken into consideration:
All proposals shall be evaluated to determine the extent to which they comply with the RFP requirements provided herein. All sections must be included with required signatures where needed.
Please upload your response here in one PDF document containing all sections:
For more information, see Instructions for Preparing Proposal.
Please upload your Cost Proposal file here. Use the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet provided as an attachment to this RFP and complete all necessary information. The uploaded file should be in Microsoft Excel format. See the section Pricing for information on how to complete the Cost Proposal.
Please upload your company references here. There should be at least three references. For each reference, provide the agency name and address, as well as the contact person's name, title, phone, and email.
Please upload completed Offeror Acknowledgement and Certification form here. This form was provided as an attachment to the RFP. Please make sure the form has been signed.
Do you have an employment or other business relationship with a BVCOG board member, a board member of the Brazos Valley Workforce Solutions Board, or their close family member? The respective board members can be found at these two websites:
Please upload the completed Conflict of Interest Questionnaire here.
Pursuant to the Texas Legislature House Bill 1295, Offeror must complete a Form 1295 through the Texas Ethics Commission website www.ethics.state.tx.us and submit a signed copy of the form to PSA with the RFP response.
Publicly traded companies are not required to submit this form. Is your company publicly traded?
Complete a Form 1295 through the Texas Ethics Commission website www.ethics.state.tx.us, then print them form, fill out the bottom section and sign the form. Upload the signed form here.
For the purposes of this form, an "interested party" with a controlling interest is any one of the following:
An "interested party" with an intermediary interest is any third party that was hired to complete the proposal response or the Form 1295 on behalf of your organization.
See ethics.state.tx.us/resources/FAQs for more information about Form 1295.
Please upload the Proposer Certifications here. The Proposer Certifications were provided as an attachment to this RFP.
Please upload your company Ethics Policy here.
What type of service is being solicited? PSA is soliciting [blank] from qualified firms... Example "PSA is soliciting proposals from experienced and qualified vendors to provide comprehensive insurance brokerage services from qualified firms..."
List services that would add value to this contract, such as equipment maintenance and repair services, end user training, discounts for early payment, etc.
What is the initial term of the contract? Format needs to look like three (3) years.
How many one-year extensions are there for this contract? Format needs to be like this-- three (3).
What is the RFP Number? Example - RFP 21-202.
When must vendors have their responses submitted? Just put the date here. Example April 8, 2021.
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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