• Introduction
• How to market your products and services
• Procurement Services Procedures
• Solicitation Documents
• Solicitation evaluation, award, performance, and payment
• Other University Policies

Introduction

The Office of Procurement Services agents are assigned specific commodities and/or services. The office's working hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The department is located on the first floor of Modular II.

Please refer any questions you may have to the appropriate Procurement Services agent handling the commodities or services you sell.

Click here for our staff listing.

How to market your products and services

The Office of Procurement Services maintains active lists of vendors for the purpose of soliciting quotations, bids and proposals for various categories of commodities and services as the needs are identified.

Contacting the Office of Procurement Services

Vendor Information

To best ensure that your business is considered for future competitive slicitations from Florida Gulf Coast University, you must complete both the Vendor Information Form and the appropriate Vendor Application Form from one of the following:

Domestic Suppliers must complete the Vendor Application Form and W-9.

Foreign Suppliers must complete the Vendor Application Form which includes the Foreign National and the W8-BEN.

An ACH Form (Automated Clearing House) is included in each packet.  Vendors are encouraged to provide this form, but it is not required.

Once all documents have been completed and signed, please email the appropriate Vendor Application Packet to the following email address Vendor@fgcu.edu.

We encourage all vendors to submit a catalog, line card, website or other listing of products/services offered along with their Vendor Application Packet.

If you do not have the ability to email the documents, you may mail them to the following address:

Florida Gulf Coast University
Office of Procurement Services
Modular II
10501 FGCU Blvd South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

If a vendor wishes to make personal contact with the appropriate Procurement Services agent, appointments are preferred.  Sales contacts with the Office of Procurement Services are normally scheduled between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.  To schedule an appointment, please contact the Office of Procurement Services at (239) 590-1130. 

The University's policy is that vendors are not to market products directly to departmental personnel. Contact the appropriate Procurement Services agent to make an appointment to discuss the commodities or services that you sell. You are encouraged to provide several "packets" of information or informational brochures on the commodities or services that you provide to the Office of Procurement Services. The agent can then disseminate that information to user department personnel.

Parking on Campus

A parking permit is required for all vehicles on campus. Parking instructions and permits are issued by Parking Services, located in the information booth at the main entrance or in the Campus Support Complex, (239) 590-1912. Valid permits allow parking in areas designated by Parking Services. Parking in handicap spaces without a permit, in front of fire hydrants, in fire lanes, on lawns or sidewalks is strictly prohibited and may result in towing at the owner's expense.

Procurement Services Procedures

Order Procedure and Dollar Thresholds

Quotations are not required for orders up to $5,000. Orders may not be split to circumvent the quote or bid threshold.

• Purchases between $5,000.01 and $10,000 require evidence of 2-3 verbal quotes.
• Purchases between $10,000.01 and $74,999.99 require evidence of 2-4 written quotes.
• Purchases of $75,000 or more, unless otherwise exempted, require competition through the sealed solicitation process.

Solicitation Documents

Invitation to Bid (ITB)

The Invitation to Bid is generally used to purchase goods and/or services with defined specifications. Responses must be in writing and must be delivered sealed to the Office of Procurement Services. Faxed responses from vendors are acceptable only if so stated in the bid.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

A Request for Proposal may be used in establishing contracts, which seek creativity or different ways of accomplishing a task; usually the specifications cannot be easily defined. Responses to RFPs must be in writing and delivered sealed to the Office of Procurement Services.

Quotation

A request for quotation may be issued via mail, telephone, email or a faxed request.

State Contracts

The State of Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Procurement Services, awards contracts through competition to cover designated state agencies for a period of one or more years. Although the University is not obligated to utilize state contracts, they remain an option the University may utilize when appropriate.

Responding to ITBs/RFPs

The ITB or RFP provides all the necessary instructions and a complete description of the requirement(s), with specifications, terms and conditions to enable the preparation of a solicitation.

Responsibility of Bidders

Prospective suppliers should be financially sound and able to perform fully, according to the specifications, delivery requirements, services and other stipulations in the ITB/RFP at the price(s) offered. In cases where the awarded contractor refuses to comply with the resultant contract, the University reserves the right to purchase on the open market and charge the contractor for any excess costs incurred.

Solicitation Requirements

Each responding vendor is responsible for carefully reading the ITB/RFP and understanding its contents. Vendors who have previously submitted solicitations for the same commodity or service should not presume that the specifications, terms and conditions are necessarily the same. There may be differences that would only be realized after carefully reading the entire solicitation document. Any questions related to the solicitation should be directed to the Procurement Services agent named in the solicitation document.

Solicitation evaluation, award, performance, and payment

Solicitation Opening

All ITB/RFP openings are public. For ITBs only prices are recorded along with the names of bidders. RFPs involve evaluations so other than recording the names of vendors submitting proposals no other information is recorded. Ten (10) calendar days after the opening or upon posting of an award, whichever occurs first, a solicitation becomes public record and can be reviewed by those who have submitted proposals. Exemptions under Florida law are few, so the University cannot guarantee that information submitted by the vendor, whether marked confidential or not, can be exempted from this requirement. If this is a concern for the interested bidder, then you may choose to not submit a solicitation at all.

Evaluation

During the period of evaluation and prior to award, possession of solicitations and accompanying information is limited to the University personnel involved in the evaluation process. At the discretion of the appropriate Procurement Services agent, vendors may be contacted where clarification of a proposal is necessary for proper evaluation; however, in doing so, no change is permitted in prices.

Being the "low bidder" on an ITB/RFP does not necessarily mean that an award will be made to that vendor. The purpose of the evaluation process is to determine the "best buy" for the University, taking into consideration selection criteria in the ITB/RFP and the factors spelled out by procedure and statute.

Factors Determining Award

Some factors considered in addition to price may be quality, adherence to specifications, delivery, service, warranty, and other factors depending on the intended use of the commodity or service required. Note, ITBs can only be awarded based upon price, providing that quality, delivery, etc. are equal.

The University reserves the right to waive technicalities or minor discrepancies in any solicitation, if in its judgment and without any prejudice to any rights of other responsive bidders, the best interest of the University would be served.

Awards are made to the most responsible and responsive qualified bidder who meets all specifications, terms and conditions of the solicitation proposal.

The University reserves the right to make awards by item, groups of items or total solicitation, whichever it deems is in the best interest of the University. The University may also reject any solicitation, in whole or in part, or reject all solicitations if it determines that the lowest solicitation exceeds the funds available for purchase, or if the lowest solicitation is considered in excess of current reasonable market prices.

Solicitation Rejection

Any solicitation that does not meet, or substantially alters the specifications, solicitation terms or conditions of a proposal may be rejected in whole or part. The University reserves the right to reject any or all solicitations if the best interests of the University will be served.

The person signing the solicitation proposal or the authorized designee must initial errors, alterations, or corrections on both the original and copy(s) of the solicitation proposal. This includes erasures, alterations or corrections to unit price, total price, quantity, unit and description of commodities and/or service. Failure to do so will result in rejection of the solicitation for the applicable item or items.

Other factors that are cause for rejection of a solicitation (not inclusive):

• Solicitation is prepared in pencil or solicitation proposal is unsigned by vendor.
• Solicitation is received after the time and date specified for opening.
• Solicitation did not include descriptive or technical literature, specifications or samples if required in the solicitation proposal.
• Bidder fails to furnish solicitation surety if required in the solicitation proposal.
• Solicitations were received from vendors removed or suspended from the Bidders List.
• Other determinations, which in the judgment of the Director of Procurement Services, render the solicitation as non-responsive.

Posting of Award

After completion of the evaluation process, recommendations for the award of equipment, supplies, materials, and services are reviewed with the requisitioner, if applicable, before an award is made. Solicitation tabulations with intended award(s) will be posted for review by interested parties at the location where the solicitations were opened and will remain posted for a period of 72 hours.

Procedure for Filing Protests

Protests shall be handled in accordance with Chapter 120.57(3), Florida Statutes. However, the solicitation bond amount can be found in our University rules and is higher than the amount listed in the Florida Statues.

Review of Awards

After a contract award, interested parties can review the solicitation file or obtain the name of the successful bidder, price, and similar basic information through a written (including email) request to the Procurement Services agent. Vendors are encouraged to review solicitation files, during normal business hours, since much valuable information can be obtained that may be useful in future bidding situations. Photocopies are available for $0.10/single side page or $0.15/double side page.

Receipt of a Purchase Order

Shipment of goods or fulfillment of services by the vendor Should Not be made until receipt of the official University purchase order, if applicable, has occurred. Substitution of items specified in a purchase order is not permitted without the expressed written permission of the Office of Procurement Services. Should a vendor deliver goods and/or services without possessing a University purchase order you are advised that your payment is in jeopardy. Only the University's Procurement Services office is authorized to expend funds and issue purchase orders for goods and services on behalf of the University.

Deliveries

Unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents, all deliveries must be F.O.B. Destination at the vendor's expense. This expense may be included as a part of the product cost or as a separate line item in the solicitation response.

Unless otherwise stated in the contract documents, deliveries are to be made to Central Receiving. Freight deliveries can only be accepted at Central Receiving.

Invoicing and Payment

Unless otherwise stipulated on the purchase order or contract, all invoices should be submitted directly to the University's Accounts Payable Department. Florida sales and use tax is not applicable. Payment may be delayed if invoices or packages do not reference a University purchase order number.

Payment Terms

Payment terms shall be net 40 pursuant to University Regulation PR6:021 Prompt Payment to Vendors rule.

Complaints to Vendors

University departments are encouraged to directly contact vendors in an effort to resolve any dissatisfaction with product, warranty, or service performance. When problems are not resolved to the user's satisfaction, departments are encouraged to contact the Office of Procurement Services  for assistance. The Office of Procurement Services then forwards the complaint to the vendor. A vendor receiving the complaint is urged to act immediately to resolve the complaint. Vendors who do not act responsibly and quickly to resolve legitimate complaints may be removed from the approved vendor list.

Other University Policies

Removal from the Bidders List

The University may remove a vendor from its Bidders List or suspend a vendor from the Bidders List for up to twenty-four months. Examples or causes for removal from the Bidders List are as follows:

• Consistent failure to conform to solicitation or contract specifications, terms, and conditions.
• Consistent failure to make timely delivery.
• Failure to remit any monetary penalties imposed by the University.
• Collusion with other vendors or prospective vendors to restrain competitive bidding.
• Giving false or misleading information on the solicitation forms.
• Any violation of the State's Procurement Services regulations.
• Other information that suggests that the vendor is no longer responsible or qualified to do business with the University.

Tax Exempt Status

Florida Gulf Coast University is exempt from state sales taxes. The exemption number appears on the face of the vendor purchase order copy.