Sign Procurement Law Change
Effective March 28, 2018, Act 146 amended sections of the procurement statutes to change how agencies and campuses procure signs. An interim policy, PIM 18-002, will be published soon to address many of the effects of this law. Specifically, agencies are advised that there is a new bidding threshold of $3,500 for signs only, and the form of bidding for such transactions is an official sealed bid. Simplified bidding is no longer an option for signs. Questions about these changes can be directed to Rick Hughes at (608) 266-1558.
New Website Features School Safety Contracts
On March 15, 2018, Governor Scott Walker issued Executive Order 279 directing the Department of Administration, State Bureau of Procurement to assist school districts by making available State contracts that provide security and safety supplies, equipment and services at competitively-bid prices and advantageous terms. This website, SchoolSafetyContracts.wi.gov, was created in conjunction with Governor Walker’s $100 million School Safety Plan. The State Bureau of Procurement welcomes participation in this important initiative by vendors, public and private school administrators and public safety officials. Visit the website to provide comments or to subscribe to website updates. Questions can be directed to doawispro@wisconsin.gov.
Contract Spotlight
Cooperative Purchasing Contract List. The Cooperative Purchasing Contract List, a listing of statewide and agency contracts that allow for cooperative purchasing, has been updated and is available online. You may access it through the link above, or by visiting SBOP’s website or the General Procurement tab on VendorNet.
Moving and Storage Services Contract. SBOP recently awarded a contract for Moving and Storage Services (505ENT-M18-MOVSTRGSVC-00) to six suppliers. This contract is effective April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 with yearly options to renew through June 30, 2022. This contract is for various moves of equipment, supplies and furniture, particularly as staff is moved or relocated between locations. This contract is also for use of offsite storage facilities for either short term (12 months or less) or long term (12 months or more) needs. Please contact Jeannie McCarville at (608) 264-9590 with questions about this contract.
TEO/Tone Commander Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Telephone Equipment and Support. The TEO/Tone ISDN Telephone Equipment contract (505ENT-M15-TEOTONEISDN-01) with Convergent Solutions will expire on June 26, 2018 and not be renewed. Note that certain equipment is reaching end-of-life availability and is being produced only as long as parts remain available. Contact Brenda Derge at (608) 266-8613 with any questions.
Iwatsu Key Telephone Systems. The Iwatsu Key Telephone Systems contract (505ENT-M14-IWATSUREPR-01) with Convergent Solutions will expire on September 30, 2018. Where possible, this legacy technology should be migrated to a Unified Communications solution. If you have questions, please contact Brenda Derge at (608) 266-8613.
Certification for Collection of Sales and Use Tax
In order to be eligible to do business with the State of Wisconsin, vendors must be registered, collecting and remitting Wisconsin sales or use tax on taxable sales of tangible personal property or taxable services in Wisconsin. The Department of Revenue is responsible for verifying that vendors and their affiliates are in compliance with the tax law and providing a list of ineligible vendors who are not in compliance to the Department of Administration. The State Bureau of Procurement in turn posts and distributes the list as the Certification for Collection of Sales and Use Tax Vendor Directory.
Before doing business with a vendor, regardless of the dollar amount, State agencies must ensure that the vendor does not appear in this directory. If an agency determines that it has an existing contract with an ineligible vendor, it should explain the law to the contractor and encourage registration to attain status as an eligible contractor, or contact the Department of Revenue at (608) 266-3969 or at witaxlink@dor.state.wi.us. If the contractor’s status remains unchanged, the agency must terminate the contract.
For more information about this law and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the Certification for Collection of Sales and Use Tax page on SBOP’s website.
Strategic Sourcing: Tips and Tricks
Bidder Registration: When performing bidder outreach, encourage bidders to register in eSupplier. Registered bidders who have added NIGP codes to their account will receive automatic notifications for solicitations matching their selected NIGP codes. In addition, registered bidders have the ability to submit electronic responses within eSupplier. While bidders who are not registered in eSupplier can view all solicitations, they will not receive automatic notifications from the system and are not able to submit responses electronically.
Not sure how to walk new users through the registration in eSupplier? You can refer bidders to the user guides in the FAQ section of the eSupplier website, or you can share the following steps:
Go to the eSupplier website. To register for free on eSupplier, companies should go to https://eSupplier.wi.gov.
Register for a WAMS username and password. You can find a link to “Create your WAMS ID” below the sign-in button on eSupplier. Once you have completed the WAMS registration form, you will receive an email with a verification link. Click the link and enter the required information.
Login to the eSupplier Portal for Bidders. Return to https://eSupplier.wi.gov and click the big blue “Enter Bidder Site” button on the right. Enter your WAMS username and password and sign in.
Register in eSupplier. Click the “Register” button once you’ve logged into eSupplier. You will be asked to enter an email address. If your VendorNet account was active at the time of the transition to eSupplier, entering the same email address you used in VendorNet will bring over any NIGP codes you had in VendorNet to your new eSupplier profile. Fill out your company information in the eSupplier Registration Form. We recommend not using any autofill functions when completing this form, especially if using Chrome. Click “Save” before returning to the Bidder Homepage.
Add NIGP Codes to your account to receive automatic notifications of solicitations. Once you’ve successfully completed your eSupplier registration, you will see your company information and Bidder ID number displayed on the Bidder Homepage. To the left of this information will be a link for “My NIGP Codes.” Click this link to add or edit the NIGP codes associated with your profile. These codes represent the services and commodity areas your company is interested in providing. You may add as many codes as is appropriate for your business. Once they’ve been saved, you will begin receiving automatic notifications by email for any solicitations issued by State agencies or the University of Wisconsin System campuses that match the codes saved to your profile.
Announce Event Online Feature: When using the “Announce Event Online” feature, the system will use the NIGP codes assigned to your event to filter the pre-announcement to the bidders with matching codes in their accounts. If you don’t have codes assigned to your event yet, everyone visiting eSupplier (including those who are not registered) will be able to see your pre-announcement.
Event Workbench: Don’t underestimate the usefulness of the Event Workbench (State of Wisconsin (STAR)> Strategic Sourcing > Event Workbench). There is a wealth of information available on this page, including:
The current status of the event
The availability date and response due date
Quick navigation to View History, Event Q&A and Scoring Results
Ability to copy an event, which will duplicate the framework and bid factors of a previous event
Ability to cancel an event
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.
Procurement Year End Close WorkCenter in PeopleSoft
When logging into PeopleSoft, you may have noticed the addition of a new tool, the Procurement Year End Close WorkCenter (available through the following navigation: State of Wisconsin (STAR) > Procurement Year End Close WorkCenter). This tool provides users with a central point of access to commonly used queries, PeopleSoft favorites, STAR announcements and graphical Snapshots needed for a successful year-end close and PO rollover. The WorkCenter provides accelerated features to identify, manage and reconcile encumbrance and expense activities of the Req-to-Check lifecycle.
The WorkCenter is designed to provide a user with just in time and on-demand data as well as visual elements to assist users in reconciling the relevant transactions. Users will be able to identify transactions that require action, run reports of transactions for further analysis and reconcile transactions from a single location. A user can further personalize the WorkCenter to provide access to additional links, pages and reports that are frequently utilized in managing information and daily work activities. Only users with the appropriate security will be able to access the WorkCenter and applicable features.
STAR agencies can view the Procurement Year End Close WorkCenter Job Aid through STARConnection.
Staffing Updates
Linn Schifano joins SBOP as a Program & Planning Analyst for the Knowledge Management, Improvement and Training section. Linn has a strong background in financial and data analysis and was most recently a lead consumer and residential analyst with the Business Intelligence Division of Old National Bank. Linn was responsible for residential risk pool analysis and tax performance. Prior to this, he worked with the Medicaid Program in the Bureau of Fiscal Management, Department of Health Services, where he was the lead financial oversight and risk analyst for the Badger Care Core Plan.