It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution authorizing the Administration to establish a pool of qualified suppliers that will be used to solicit future Cisco product purchases and approving the initial pool of qualified suppliers as set forth in Exhibit A. The Resolution also authorizes the Administration to keep the ITB open to prequalify additional suppliers and delegates to the City Manager the authority to add suppliers to the pool, provided such suppliers meet the requirements of the ITB. Finally, the Resolution requires that any purchase in an amount greater than $100,000 shall be subject to the prior approval of the City Commission.

The City’s Information Technology Department utilizes various Cisco Networking Equipment (“Cisco”) products in its IT infrastructure system. To expedite the purchase of these items when needed, the City requested applications from authorized resellers who wish to participate in a pre-qualification pool that will be used to solicit future Cisco product purchases. Interested vendors were invited to submit an application indicating their intent to become prequalified.

The ITB was issued on September 3, 2021 with a bid opening date of October 4, 2021. The Procurement Department issued bid notices to 31,192 companies utilizing www.bidsync.com website. 75 prospective bidders accessed the advertised solicitation. The notices resulted in the receipt of six (6) responses from: CDW Government LLC (“CDW”), DISYS Solutions, Inc (“DISYS”), MGT of America Consulting, LLC (“MGT”), QBO Corporation (“QBO”), Sentinel Technologies, Inc (“Sentinel”), and Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc (“Sirius”).

The firms MGT and QBO failed to produce documents showing evidence of meeting the minimum requirements. The firm DISYS failed to provide documentation showing evidence that it meets the City’s Equal Benefits for Domestic Partners Ordinance 2005-3494. Therefore, the three (3) firms have been deemed non-responsive and cannot be considered for award with the initial pool of vendors.  However, the firms may resubmit their applications at a later date to be considered in a subsequent addition of suppliers to the pool.

The ITB required that the suppliers provide proof that they are authorized by Cisco to sell the proposed Cisco branded networking equipment to the City. The ITB also stated that following the review of applications, the responsive and responsible bidder(s) meeting all terms and conditions of the ITB would be recommended for award. In its due diligence, the Procurement Department found that CDW, Sentinel, and Sirius met the requirements of the ITB. Accordingly, CDW, Sentinel, and Sirius have been deemed responsive, responsible bidders meeting all terms and conditions of the ITB and are recommended for award.

According to a 2019 Community Satisfaction Survey conducted by ETC Institute, 68.6% of City residents are satisfied with the quality of City services. The primary goal of this ITB is to provide a new contract source for the City’s Information Technology (IT) Department to purchase essential networking equipment that enhances the City’s ability to deliver world-class service to residents, visitors, and businesses alike.

I concur with staff that it is in the best interest of the City to have a pool of prequalified suppliers for the purchase Cisco networking products from which proposals can be sought to purchase such products on an “as needed” basis.  Otherwise, redundant and time-consuming efforts would be required to seek proposals and qualify suppliers each time a need was identified. In order to continue to maximize competition by continuing to add suppliers, I recommend that the period for submitting applications be extended to be consistent with the term of the contract. New applicants that meet the ITB requirements will be added to the pool. Suppliers that do not perform well will be removed from the pool. 

Therefore, I recommend that the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, approve the Resolution, accepting the recommendation of the City Manager, pursuant to Invitation to Bid (ITB) No. 2021-060-DF, to establish a pool of suppliers that will be used to solicit future Cisco product purchases and approve the initial pool of qualified suppliers, as set forth in Exhibit “A;" further, authorizing the City Manager to keep the ITB open for the purpose of prequalifying suppliers and delegating to the City Manager the authority to add suppliers to the pool, provided such vendors meet the requirements of the ITB; and, providing that any purchase in excess of $100,000 shall be subject to the prior approval of the City Commission.