November 26, 2018

Third Annual Wisconsin State Procurement Conference a Hit!

The State Bureau of Procurement hosted the Wisconsin State Procurement Conference at the Alliant Energy Center on October 31. The conference had over 160 attendees and featured ten unique breakout sessions on topics ranging from tech procurement trends, enterprise systems, the newest tools and the Bureau’s plans for shared services and other initiatives addressed by Executive Order 288. There was also active networking and new panels called “What’s Your Solution” where attendees shared their expertise and best practices from within their agencies. Morning and afternoon keynote speakers talked about the benefits of positive thinking and collaboration when managing projects. Conference materials can be found on the Procurement Conference website. Questions or feedback regarding this year’s conference may be addressed to Jessica Vieira at (608) 266-5452.

 

Ho Ho NO! Gifts from Suppliers

It’s the time of year when suppliers may want to show their appreciation by offering gifts to you or your agency. As State procurement professionals, we may not accept any gifts from suppliers. It is our duty to avoid the perception of impropriety and adhere to the personnel section on ethics for employees (Chapter ER-MRS 24 and s. 19.45(2), Wis.Stats.). If a supplier attempts to offer you a gift, simply refuse it and explain the need for procurement professionals to remain independent. If a supplier mails or brings a gift to your agency and leaves it without talking to anyone, best practices are:

  • Notify the supplier to retrieve the gift immediately.

  • Redirect the gift anonymously as appropriate to a local food pantry, homeless shelter or other charitable organization. Flowers may be donated anonymously to assisted living centers, hospitals or other charitable organizations.

  • Discard the gift.

 

Electronic Signature System Coming Soon

Effective November 1, the State Bureau of Procurement has signed an agreement with DocuSign to implement the use of electronic signature on procurement, purchasing and other related transactions. The Bureau will work with agencies over the next month to develop policy for how this agreement will be managed and to discuss training implementation. Contact Dan Kramarz at (608) 267-2715 with questions.

 

$150K IT and Private Consultant Purchase Request Form Changes

The required request form for $150,000 IT and private consultant purchases, per Executive Order 288, has been modified. Specifically, DOA-3310 has added fields that are specific to VMS contractor requests, and levels of criticality of a request have now been standardized. Other modifications to the policy guidance, PIM 18-003, have also been made. State agencies should use the most current version of this form and policy, both of which are available on VendorNet. Questions about these changes can be directed to doawispro@wisconsin.gov.

 

Contract Spotlight

Language Translation/Interpretation Services. The Department of Children and Families contract for Language Translation/Interpretation Services expired on October 31 and has been replaced by five mandatory Department of Administration contracts:

  • Written Foreign Language Translation Services: 505ENT-M18-WRITFORLANG-00, initial contract term from 9/1/18 through 8/31/20 with five awarded vendors;

  • Telephone Interpretation Services: 505ENT-M18-TELEINTERP-00, initial contract term from 10/1/18 through 9/30/20 with five awarded vendors;

  • VRI (Video Remote Interpretation) Services: 505ENT-M18-VRIFORASL-00, initial contract term from 10/1/18 through 9/30/20 with four awarded vendors;

  • In-Person ASL (American Sign Language) Services: 505ENT-M18-ASLINTERP-00, initial contract term from 11/1/18 through 10/31/20 with five awarded vendors; and

  • In-Person Foreign Language Services: 505ENT-M18-FORINTERP-00, initial contract term from 11/1/18 through 10/31/20 with three awarded vendors.

These contracts are mandatory for State agencies and optional for UW campuses. A waiver process is in place for emergency purposes only; end users will need to complete the newly created official form, DOA-3727 Waiver Request for Language and Translation Services. Contact Cathy Neidner at (608) 266-3620 for information regarding these contracts.

 

RPA Justifications: A Practical Guide

RPA Justifications: A Practical Guide is now available within the RPA automated system (https://RPA.wi.gov). This document is intended to provide helpful guidance on how to prepare a comprehensive justification when an agency is preparing a Request for Procurement Authority packet and responding to the standard questions/prompts.

To access the document, users will need to login to the website and enter the RPA portion of the system. The link to the document will be under the “New RPA” button. If you have any questions or would like to see additional tips addressed in this document, please email doawispro@wisconsin.gov.

 

Strategic Sourcing: Tips and Tricks

Registered Bidders List Queries: The following two queries can be especially useful when attempting to identify potential respondents to your solicitations. Access them by logging into PeopleSoft and navigating to Main Menu > Reporting Tools > Query > Query Viewer:

  • List of registered bidders by NIGP code: WI_SS_BIDDER_BY_NIGP

  • Complete list of registered bidders: WI_SS_ALL_REGISTERED_BIDDERS

Looking for additional resources for Strategic Sourcing? STAR agencies can access a variety of job aids, tools and resources on STARConnection (STAR Connection > Resources > Finance and Procurement > Job Aids > Search for “Strategic Sourcing”). If you would like to share a Strategic Sourcing tip or trick you’ve learned, please email your ideas to Jessica Vieira.

 

Staffing Updates

Cheryl Edgington is now the Deputy Director of the State Bureau of Procurement. Cheryl has spent the last five years as the Section Chief for the Enterprise Sourcing section and has a wealth of procurement experience from the Bureau and from the Department of Children and Families. Cheryl has experience managing in some of the most challenging markets including banking, financial and social services, among others.

Dan Kramarz joins SBOP as the new leader of the Knowledge Management, Improvement and Training (KIT) section. Prior to joining DOA, Dan worked as a project and portfolio manager at the Department of Health Services. Dan has significant experience in the public and private sectors leading training programs, strategic communications, process improvement and project management. Dan has a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University and a master’s certificate from the UW-Madison School of Business.