The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida approve the City Manager’s recommendation pertaining to prequalification applications received, pursuant to Invitation to Bid (ITB) 2020-184-DF, for the prequalification pool of authorized Microsoft Surface resellers.   

On May 12, 2020, the City issued an Invitation to Bid ITB 2020-184-DF (the “ITB”). The purpose of the ITB is to establish a contract, by means of sealed applications, with qualified contractors for the establishment of a prequalified pool of authorized contractors in order to solicit future Microsoft product purchases, including, but not limited to, Microsoft Surface products, on an “as-needed” basis. The pre-qualified pool established shall create a source of viable contractors from which the City may issue Invitations to Quote (ITQs) for the purpose of expediting the purchase of Microsoft items required by City departments. Further, the item allows the City manager to add, or remove, contractors to the list of prequalified contractors during the term of the contract.

The ITB was issued on May 12, 2020, with bid opening date of June 2, 2020.  The Procurement Department issued bid notices to 20,057 companies utilizing www.bidsync.com website. 75 prospective bidders accessed the advertised solicitation. The notices resulted in the receipt of eight (8) responses from: ACP Technologies, HPI International Inc., Insight Public Sector, Inc., IT Devices Online, Inc., Microsoft, Mvation Worldwide Inc., PC Network Solutions, and Thomas Consultants, Inc.

The ITB stated that following the review of applications, the responsive and responsible bidder(s) meeting all terms and conditions of the ITB will be recommended for award.  In its due diligence, the Procurement Department found that all eight (8) bidders met the requirements of the ITB. Accordingly, ACP Technologies, HPI International Inc., Insight Public Sector, Inc., IT Devices Online, Inc., Microsoft, Mvation Worldwide Inc., PC Network Solutions, and Thomas Consultants, Inc. have all been deemed responsive, responsible bidders meeting all terms and conditions of the ITB and are recommended for award. 

I concur with staff that it is in the best interest of the for the establishment of a prequalified pool of authorized contractors to expedite quotes for the purchase of future Microsoft product purchases, including, but not limited to, Microsoft Surface products, on an “as-needed” basis.  Otherwise, redundant and time-consuming efforts would be required to seek proposals and qualify contractors each time a need was identified.  In order to continue to maximize competition by continuing to add contractors, 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.  Contractors 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, accept the recommendation of the City Manager, pursuant to Invitation to Bid (ITB) No. 2020-184-DF, to establish a pool of prequalified Microsoft authorized resellers, on an “as-needed” basis, and approve the following initial pool of contractors: ACP Technologies, HPI International Inc., Insight Public Sector, Inc., IT DEVICES ONLINE, Inc., Microsoft, Mvation Worldwide Inc., PC Network Solutions, and Thomas Consultants, Inc.; further, authorize the City Manager to keep the ITB open for the purposes of prequalifying additional contractors, delegating to the City Manager the authority to add contractors to the pool, provided such contractors meet the requirements of the ITB; and, further, provide that any purchase in excess of $100,000 shall be subject to the prior approval of the City Commission.