NEW YORK STATE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
NEW YORK STATE STRATEGIC SOURCING
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 22549 May 10, 2012
This is NOT a Solicitation
On behalf of the New York State Office of General Services, the New York State Strategic Sourcing Team requests
information from vendors that provide medical and laboratory Chemicals and Biological Materials about their product
types and business models. See “Scope of Request” for additional details.
Purpose and Objective
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to acquire information regarding possible options and solutions
available in the marketplace for medical and laboratory Chemicals and Biological Materials, hereinafter referred to as
“Chemicals and Biological Materials”. New York State will use the information received from this RFI to review the
available options and solutions in making a determination regarding future contracting strategies. Vendors interested in
participating in any possible future opportunities are encouraged to respond to this RFI and sign up for Online Vendor
Registration for Bidder Notification Service (http://ogs.ny.gov/ovr/Default.asp) on the NYS OGS website under
classification codes 10, 12, 41, 42, 53, 56 and 76.
It is the objective of this RFI to:



develop a general understanding of current vendor demographics and capabilities;
obtain vendor feedback on working with New York State and other public and private sector customers regarding
possible operating models, leading practices, pricing structures and process improvements; and
solicit vendor perspective on the future direction for acquiring Chemicals and Biological Materials.
Vendor Roundtable
The New York State Strategic Sourcing Team will host a vendor roundtable in the morning of Tuesday, June 5, 2012 in
Albany, New York. Invitations are limited to those vendors that submit a response to the RFI. No more than two
attendees from each vendor shall be permitted to attend the roundtable. Specific time, location and agenda details will be
provided at a later date to vendors that submitted a response to the RFI.
Scope of Request
The scope of this request is for information about Chemicals and Biological Materials provided to New York State,
including both NYS Executive Agencies and the State University of New York (SUNY). Chemical and Biological Materials
include basic and specialized chemical and biological reagents and assay ingredients. The State spent
approximately$35.4 million on these products and associated ancillary costs (e.g. shipping/handling, gas tank rental, etc.)
during State Fiscal Year 2010-11.
Content of Response
Vendors are requested to respond to all questions included in this RFI. A response does not bind or obligate the
responder or the New York State Office of General Services to any agreement of provision or procurement of products
referenced. No contract can or will be awarded based on submissions.
Since this RFI is designed as a tool to collect information and will not result in a procurement contract for Chemicals and
Biological Materials by a state agency, it does not fall under the requirements of State Finance Law §§139-j and 139-k
(the Procurement Lobbying Law) and there is no restricted period. However, we ask that you direct your questions and
responses in writing to the email address listed below.
In order to facilitate the review of the responses, please provide the information in the exact order as listed below. You
may put answers within this document directly below each question, maintaining the original formatting of this document.
Please rename this document with the following naming convention: NYS CHEMICALS AND BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
RFI_VENDOR NAME.doc (.docx format is also acceptable).
If any of the information in the vendor response is considered confidential, proprietary or a trade secret, it must be clearly
indicated on the appropriate page of the vendor response. Release of such materials is governed by the NYS Freedom of
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NEW YORK STATE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
NEW YORK STATE STRATEGIC SOURCING
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 22549 May 10, 2012
This is NOT a Solicitation
Information Law, which in pertinent part requires the requester to provide specific justification as to why disclosure of
particular information in the response would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the vendor.
Please provide your response no later than 4PM EST on May 25, 2012 to the Chemicals and Biological Materials
New York State Strategic Sourcing Team: SST_MedLabSupplies@ogs.ny.gov
Company Demographics
Question
Company Response
Company Name
Division/Location
Headquarter Location
Contact Name
Title
Email Address
Phone Number
1. Are you a Small business enterprise?
Yes
No
2. Are you a Minority-owned business enterprise?
3. Are you a Woman-owned business enterprise?
4. Are you certified with Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) as
a Minority and/or Woman Owned Business (M/WBE)?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
A “New York State Small Business” is defined as a company that is a resident to New York
State, independently owned and operated, with 100 or fewer employees, and not dominant
in its field.
5. In what New York State counties can your company provide Chemicals
and Biological Materials products? If your company can provide
Chemicals and Biological Materials products statewide, list “All.”
6. In how many other states does your company supply Chemicals and
Biological Materials products?
7. Does your company have interest in acting as the primary vendor for the
provision of Chemicals and Biological Materials on a statewide basis?
8. When does your company’s fiscal year start and end?
Start
End
9. What was your company’s total revenue last fiscal year?
Question
10. Does your company provide the
following Chemicals and Biological
Materials? Please indicate the
approximate number of unique
items offered for each product
group and attach any additional
information (e.g. product price list
for each grouping).
Company Response
Product Grouping
Response
Chemicals – Basic (e.g. Methanol, Acetone, NH4OH)
Yes
No
Chemicals – Specialized (e.g. N N-Dimethylformamide
Anhydrous, Manganese Phthalocyanine)
Yes
No
Biologicals – Basic (e.g. Crystal violet, Safranin, Sodium
Dodecyl Sulfate)
Yes
No
Biologicals – Specialized (e.g. Antibodies, DNA, Enzymes)
Yes
No
Count
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NEW YORK STATE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
NEW YORK STATE STRATEGIC SOURCING
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 22549 May 10, 2012
This is NOT a Solicitation
Question
11. Does your company provide any of
the following? Please indicate the
approximate number of unique
items offered for each product
group and attach any additional
information (e.g. product price list
for each grouping).
12. Are there any additional products
your company provides?
13. Are you the original manufacturer of
the Chemicals and Biological
Materials products you sell? If so,
please indicate the percentage of
total sales that falls into this
category.
Company Response
Product Grouping
Response
Equipment – Basic (e.g. Centrifuge, Fridge/Freezer,
Balance)
Yes
No
Equipment – Advanced (e.g. HPLC, GC, Mass Spec)
Yes
No
Supplies – Basic (e.g. Gloves, Syringes, Pipette Tips)
Yes
No
Supplies – Advanced (e.g. Coated Microplates, Capsule
Filters)
Yes
No
Count
List additional product categories and number of unique products in each category.
Attach any additional information (e.g. product price list for each grouping).
Yes
No
Percentage
Operating Model
New York State (Executive Agencies and SUNY) currently operates numerous contract vehicles with multiple contractors
through OGS and other agencies. The acquisition mechanism and buying function is decentralized with each agency
responsible for individual interaction with contractors. The following questions pertain only to medical and laboratory
Chemicals and Biological Materials.
1. New York State is evaluating the potential to pursue new pricing and contract models. Please describe in detail the
pricing and contract models your company would recommend for Chemicals and Biological Materials and why your
company recommends this model for New York State (e.g. core list vs. full catalog, market basket, multiple vendors
vs. single vendor, vendor managed services, etc.). Include any recommendations and pros and cons of the
recommended model and how Chemicals and Biological Materials could be delivered through each model.
RESPONSE:
2. Please use examples to describe your company’s experience with states and/or private entities who successfully
implemented the model(s) your company is recommending and why the attributes of the entity are similar to New York
State.
RESPONSE:
3. What are cost-effective best practices that your company has used or seen used in this industry to deliver Chemicals
and Biological Materials?
RESPONSE:
Page 3 of 5
NEW YORK STATE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
NEW YORK STATE STRATEGIC SOURCING
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 22549 May 10, 2012
This is NOT a Solicitation
Total Cost of Ownership
New York State is evaluating various pricing mechanisms for each product grouping of Chemicals and Biological
Materials. Please respond to the following questions for each product grouping (chemicals-basic/specialized and
biological materials-basic/specialized).
4. A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model includes all relevant items that drive the total cost of a good or service
beyond the base product price (e.g. shipping/handling, tank rentals, etc.). Please provide any information your
company believes is important for New York State to include in the TCO model for Chemicals and Biological
Materials.
RESPONSE:
5. Please recommend best in class pricing mechanisms for Chemicals and Biological Materials to assist New York State
in its efforts to increase efficiency and control cost.
a) If your company recommends New York State should segment the Chemicals and Biological Materials
categories further , please include a description of the segmentation your company recommends and why.
b) Include best in class pricing mechanisms associated with each recommended Chemicals and Biological
Materials product segment. If you have a sample, please attach in your company’s response.
RESPONSE:
6. What factors contribute to price volatility and adjustments across the chemicals and biological material products
and/or services your company provides (e.g. feedstock price volatility, energy price volatility, liability associated with
hazardous material delivery, etc.)?
RESPONSE:
7. Is your company able to bid a fixed price for a given chemical or biological material for a one year period? A two year
period? If your company cannot bid a fixed price for either a one or two year term, what is the longest fixed price list
term to which your company is willing to commit and why? Please list the Chemicals and Biological Materials to be
provided for any period for which your company can bid a fixed price.
RESPONSE:
8. Please provide the length of term your company recommends NYS use for a contract for Chemicals and Biological
Materials?
RESPONSE:
Please explain why your company recommended the proposed length of term.
RESPONSE:
9. What information would your company like to see in a potential solicitation that would help your company price
Chemicals and Biological Materials products and associated ancillary costs? (If your company does not have interest
in providing these products to the State, please explain why.)
RESPONSE:
New York State Procurement Process
10. Please describe any current challenges your company has experienced with New York State procurement processes.
Please include any suggestions for improvement.
RESPONSE:
Page 4 of 5
NEW YORK STATE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
NEW YORK STATE STRATEGIC SOURCING
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 22549 May 10, 2012
This is NOT a Solicitation
Vendor Roundtable
11. Does your company wish to attend the vendor roundtable?
RESPONSE:
12. If yes, please provide the requested information for the two authorized representatives from your company:
Attendee 1
Attendee 2
Name
Email
Phone Number
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