MSBA Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment Seminar City of Peabody J Henry Higgins Middle School Daniel Doucette, Purchasing Agent, City of Peabody August 18, 2016
What about the City of Peabody ? • New building construction in 34 years as Purchasing Agent: 2 elementary schools, Public Services building, Council on Aging, Branch Library, Fire Station, Leatherworkers Museum addition • Many repair projects including historic renovations, building envelope repairs, MEP upgrades including major renovations to High School, school work under MSBA Green/Accelerated Repair • Member on several OSD procurement panels • Advocated to open up MHEC awards to municipalities – Peabody was the first municipal member to join • SOI for the Higgins Middle School project in first draft form back to May, 2007 – first classes in building next month City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
Teambuilding / Goals at early stage • Ascertain design team’s consultants’ initial goals and intentions • Review prior work of the subconsultants – get copies of their recent solicitations for similar schools/districts and find out the suppliers / products resulting from those solicitations. Talk to your peer(s) at similar schools, as to their complete experience • Understand that some elements of “building” specifications will affect FF&E and technology procurements much later > casework vs. loose furniture > is consistency of finishes expected in a typical classroom ? > installed kitchen fixtures vs. plug-ins and smallwares > decide early on passive or active classroom whiteboards > be mindful of technology and A/V install vs. sub-subs & “Paragraph E” during the bidding phase of the project City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
Goals for RFR and things to avoid… • Value-Added Offers best for the users • A short list of qualified and motivated suppliers compete • Best to manage a smaller number of sellers/suppliers • If you had a bad previous experience, you can leave a firm out • What-if discussions encouraged to get more ideas before sale • You can assess qualifications of people assigned by the possible seller(s) who will work with you – get buy-in of “A” team • Coordinate deliveries to the building among major suppliers Public bids do NOT allow for many of these goals to be achieved and introduces complexity and potential conflict. A well-written RFR for a controlled competition is an effective way to procure Furniture, Technology and Audio-Visual items City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
Plan the controlled competition End-Users reviewing products should have two or more choices at • least for each item evaluated, to promote competition among dealers and set up options should RFR response be unfavorable for the item Who are approved suppliers for each product being evaluated ? OSD • or MHEC award, or both ? How do any proprietary/standardized items or products decided for • the District intersect with likely possible sellers of remaining items to be supplied for the school ? Evaluate the trade-offs Do NOT engage suppliers/manufacturers/sales people until • consensus reached by the project team on short list of products Avoid seller exclusivity: Does a product have only 1 dealer - ASK Understand that “deal registration” may happen (tech) Manufacturer representatives do have valuable information, once • product is chosen, concerning pricing, ordering, etc. Sometimes they are last to know !! City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
Plan the controlled competition (2) City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
After RFR goes out to selected firms: Verify companies received package, call the contact name used. • Encourage them to ask questions, by means stated in the RFR Re-calculate your budget once RFR out, using items as specified • Nothing prevents an order being placed directly with the awarded • MHEC/OSD seller of an item/product, from the exclusive dealer/mfr Discourage firms offering substitutions in response packages • Remember that firms will NOT sell all items you specified • Review responses in hand against budget – look for high cost items • Evaluate offers of promotional pricing/value added if presented • Consider substitutions, only for items priced higher than budget • If overall prices are favorable, only then consider upgrades • Plan interviews with selected firms once responses received and get • firms to commit to team assigned for your project City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
When awards are nearly ready • Plan interviews with selected firms once review is nearly final and get firms to commit to team assigned for your project. See if additional offers might arise ( ex: added warranties, setup services, inventory tagging, etc.) • Hold a kickoff meeting with District project team and all major suppliers in attendance: everyone will hear about and can comment on schedule, logistics and approval process. All the vendors in this space pretty much know each other already… • Quickly confirm any fabric or color choices, and any other options associated with the items to be purchased City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
Questions ? Contact Information: email: purchasing@peabody-ma.gov phone: 978-538-5901 I will be available in a breakout session at end of the day today for about an hour for additional questions Thank you !! City of Peabody - Office of the Purchasing Agent: Higgins Middle School Project
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