2016 Training in Review
As 2016 has come to a close, it is time to reflect on the success of the many training classes staff in the State Bureau of Procurement (SBOP) performed for learners. Part of the responsibility of SBOP is to provide a solid foundation for state procurement staff through an effective training program. Twelve instructors provided training in nine procurement areas to well over four-hundred learners covering thirty-two agencies or campuses in 2016. In addition, we kicked off a new type of training in a “Go To Meeting” format on how to use new contracts; the first was how to use the new copier contract. We owe a big thank you to each of our instructors. Without their willingness to volunteer their time and talents, our programs would not be successful. As we enter 2017, we strive to make our training courses the best they can be. We constantly evaluate the effectiveness of our training and, as in previous years, may make changes to the content or format to ensure we satisfy the needs of all learner types. We encourage you to register for our procurement classes in 2017. You can find a complete listing of courses and register online here. Please contact Mike Marean, KIT Section Chief, at (608) 267-2715 with questions.
Federal Surplus Property Program
Equipment at a Fraction of the Cost of Buying New. The Federal Surplus Property Program allows eligible organizations to obtain property that the federal government no longer needs and at a significantly reduced cost.
Eligible organizations include state and public agencies, nonprofit educational and public health entities (including programs for the homeless and impoverished), nonprofit and public programs for the elderly, public airports, and educational organizations of special interest to the armed services.
All eligible organizations must have an approved application on file before obtaining property from the program.
SBOP administers the program and all equipment obtained through the program is transferred direct to the customer. SBOP assesses a service fee of 5% of the original acquisition cost of the item for program operations. In addition to paying the service fee, customers are responsible for any costs associated with transporting the item from the holding facility.
In the last six months, SBOP has helped obtain boats, trucks and fire-fighting equipment for local police and fire departments, snow plow blades, compressors and construction equipment for county highway departments, and equipment, tools and electronics for schools and universities.
All equipment is available to view online at http://gsaxcess.gov using access code (4757ZA) and password (WISASP). If you find something you are interested in, contact us at wifederal@wisconsin.gov with the Item Control Number.
Please contact Nadine Malm, Contract Specialist, at (608) 266-5462 with questions related to obtaining property through the program. Please contact Cheryl Edgington, Enterprise Sourcing Section Chief, at (608) 266-1060 with questions related to eligibility. You can also direct any questions to wifederal@wisconsin.gov which is monitored by Nadine and Cheryl.
Contract Spotlight
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services. Contract 505ENT-M13-EAPSERVICE-01 for Employee Assistance Services will expire on February 28, 2017. The third and final renewal of the contract term has been signed and will run March 1, 2017 – February 28, 2018. A new RFP is scheduled to be released in summer of 2017. If your agency is interested in serving on the standards committee or evaluation committee for this procurement, please contact Cathy Neidner, Procurement Specialist Senior at (608) 266-3620.
Language Translation/Interpretation Services. Many agencies currently piggyback on Department of Children and Families contract 437001-M15-CFD0407-R01-00 for Language Translation and Interpretation Services. The current contract term will run through October 31, 2018. The plan is to have an enterprise wide contract in place and commencing on November 1, 2018. Work on the RFP has begun. If your agency is interested in serving on the standards committee or evaluation committee for this procurement, please contact Cathy Neidner, Procurement Specialist Senior at (608) 266-3620.
Computer Equipment and Related Services. Contract 505ENT-M17-WICOMPUTER-00 runs through November 11, 2019 with one two-year contract renewal available. A big thank you to everyone who offered their time and expertise in serving on the RFB development team. Seven awards were issued with manufacturers for Ace, Dell, HP Inc., and Lenovo. Three certified MBE vendors received awards on the contract. We have benchmarked the standardized configuration models on this contract against the optional NASPO Computer Equipment, Peripherals, and Related Services contract to ensure competitive pricing. Note that users of the contract may compare quoted pricing and negotiate even lower pricing or higher discounts when there is a larger volume being purchased. The contract also offers a discount off list for accessories and computer models that are not one of the standard configurations. As a convenience, value-add services such as asset tracking, software installation, and deployment are available. The contract is available for use by all state agencies, campuses and municipalities. WISBuy is in the process of enabling many of these vendors. We hope to complete the enablement process by early spring. This will give the ability to easily compare between this contract and the NASPO Contract. If you have any questions, please contact Brenda Derge, Procurement Specialist Senior at (608) 266-8613.
WISBuy
Did you know? Cart Records. WISBuy keeps all cart and orders accessible to end-users through the shop tab at the top left within WISBuy. This tab allows you to not only access previously submitted orders for the past 90 days, but also draft carts not yet completed. Draft carts are available for 30 days from the date they are created. Simply click on the shopping cart tab and choose the appropriate option. This is meant to make re-ordering products and completing orders easy and efficient. If you have shopping questions, please contact Ann Hommer at (608) 261-7014.
2017-19 Biennial Budget Initiatives
The Governor’s 2017-19 Executive Budget recommends modifying provisions related to the procurement of goods and services to: (a) increase the statutory threshold required for official sealed bids and proposals from $50,000 to $100,000; (b) increase the statutory threshold for which the Governor must approve a waiver to general bidding requirements from $25,000 to $150,000; and (c) require that waivers between $25,000 and $150,000 be signed by the DOA Secretary.
These proposals provide more streamlined administrative processes that will continue to promote competition, expand simplified bidding opportunities for Wisconsin and diverse businesses, maintain accountability and allow agencies to focus on more complex and strategic procurements. If you have questions related to this budget proposal, please contact Rick Hughes, State Procurement Director, at (608) 266-1558.
Staffing News
Jeannie McCarville recently joined the State Bureau of Procurement (SBOP) in the Enterprise Sourcing section as a Procurement Specialist. Jeannie spent the last three years working on the STAR procurement team where she provided technical assistance and training to end users. Prior to joining STAR, Jeannie worked as a purchasing agent at DNR conducting procurements for various goods and services and providing assistance and training to agency personnel. In her new role with SBOP, Jeannie will be managing contracts and solicitations for commodities and services including hazardous waste, solid waste disposal services, fuel and lamp/ballast recycling. You may contact Jeannie at (608) 264-9590.
Jodi Kitts recently joined the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program as an Equal Opportunity Specialist. She comes to us from the Wisconsin Elections Commission where she worked on “WisVote,” the statewide voter management system. There are more than 133,000 woman-owned businesses in Wisconsin, and Jodi will focus on growing the number of those companies certified as Woman Business Enterprises (WBEs). As someone who grew up in her family’s small business, Jodi is enthusiastic to support many woman owned businesses in our state that seek opportunities in the public and private sectors. The Division is pleased to have her as a member of the team and look forward to her contributing to the growth and development of the Supplier Diversity Program. Jodi can be reached at (608) 267-0297.
Jessica Vieira recently joined the KIT section team as a Training and Outreach Coordinator. Jessica has been a certified trainer in California and responsible for developing and providing a wide array of training to staff, clients and the community. Jessica will help analyze our current SBOP training programs and play a role in modifying our procurement training to ensure we are teaching the skills necessary for all learners to be successful in their daily jobs. In addition, Jessica will play a role in promotion and outreach of WISBuy, VendorNet, publishing the monthly SBOP newsletter, creating standardized forms and templates and other projects. You may contact Jessica at (608) 266-5452.
Hallee Kox recently joined the Consolidated Agency Purchasing Services (CAPS) as Purchasing Associate for DOA and the CAPS supported agencies. Hallee provides support in all areas of procurement: maintaining RFB/RFP/RPA records, tracking procurement workloads, approving requisition/PO change orders, and supporting the general office functions. She comes to us from DOT where she worked with statutory and program requirements as a transportation customer service representative. We look forward to her customer service skills providing the CAPS support agencies with excellent assistance. Hallee can be reached at (608) 264-9591.