Request for Proposal. Credit (Purchasing) Card Services Program

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The Corporation of the City of Elliot Lake

45 Hillside Drive North,

Elliot Lake, Ontario

P5A 1X5

Request for Proposal

Credit (Purchasing) Card Services Program

Date of Issue

July 4, 2014

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Mandatory – The terms “must,” “shall,” “will,” or “is required” identify a mandatory item or factor (as opposed to “desirable”). Failure to meet a mandatory item or factor may result in the rejection of the Respondent’s proposal. Proposal – Written response to the RFP.

Respondent – The person, firm, or corporation submitting a proposal. RFP – Request for Proposal.

1.01 Purpose

The City is inviting proposals from respondents for the provision of corporate credit (purchasing) card program services.

The City currently uses credit cards for staff travel and minimal purchases of goods and services. The City is seeking efficiencies in its invoice payment processes and a purchasing card that offers rewards that may offer additional savings.

1.02 Submission of Proposals

Proposals must include the completed “Proposal Acknowledgement Form” attached in Appendix A. A designated signing officer authorized to bind the Respondent to the provisions of their Proposal must sign the “Proposal Acknowledgement Form”. Any amendments to the RFP issued by The City in accordance with Subsection 1.06 must be acknowledged on the “Proposal Acknowledgement Form”.

Each Respondent is asked to submit three (3) identical copies of their Proposal, sealed, and clearly marked as to contents.

All proposals must be received by:

Dawn Halcrow, Director of Finance, The City of Elliot Lake

45 Hillside Drive North, Elliot Lake, Ontario P5A 1X5

Project Name: Credit (Purchasing) Card Program Services

Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. local time, on July 22, 2014.

Proposals received after the closing time specified in the documents will not be considered and will be returned unopened.

Should a dispute arise from the terms and conditions of any part of the RFP, regarding meaning, intent or ambiguity, the decision of The City shall be final.

Faxed or electronic submissions will not be accepted in response to this RFP.

The onus unequivocally remains with the Respondent to ensure that the City receives Proposals delivered or sent by courier prior to the Proposal Submission Deadline, in accordance with the submission process described in this section. Proposals received after the Proposal Submission Deadline will not be considered and will be returned unopened.

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1.03 Contacts

All questions or inquiries must be made in writing (e-mail preferred) to Dawn Halcrow, Director of Finance [email protected], by no later than 4:00 p.m. local time, July 11, 2014

Respondents shall not contact other members of The City staff in preparing their Proposal. The City may disqualify a Respondent and/or their Proposal if it determines that inappropriate contact has been made.

1.04 Schedule

The schedule set out herein represents The City’s best estimate of the schedule that will be followed. If a component of this schedule, such as the issue date, is delayed, the rest of the schedule will be shifted by the same number of days.

RFP issue date July 4, 2014

Deadline for submission of questions (See Subsection 1.05) July 11, 2014

Answers to questions (See Subsection 1.05) July 15, 2014

Proposal Submission Deadline (see Subsection 1.02) July 22, 2014

Notification of Award by The City (target) August 2014

1.05 Required Review and Clarification

Respondents should carefully review this solicitation for any errors or omissions. Questions concerning clarification of the contents of this document must be made in writing and received by 4:00 p.m. local time on July 11, 2014. Protests based on any omission or error, or on the content of the solicitation, will be disallowed if these faults have not been brought to the attention of the Director of Finance. E-mailed requests for clarification are preferred. Responses to questions/clarifications will be posted on The City’s website by July 15, 2014.

In submitting a Proposal, the Respondent acknowledges that they have read, completely understood, and accepted the terms and conditions of the RFP in full. The City is not responsible for any misunderstanding of the RFP. The onus is on the Respondent to ensure that they understand all aspects of the RFP.

Under no circumstances shall the Respondent rely upon any information or instruction from The City, its employees, or agents unless provided in writing by the Director of Finance. The City, its employees, or agents shall not be responsible for any information or instructions given to the Respondent, with the exception of information or instruction provided by the Director of Finance, issued through formal addenda to the RFP.

1.06 Alternate Proposals

Respondents may withdraw a proposal by giving notice in writing prior to the proposal submission deadline and submit another Proposal. Respondents may submit proposals for more than one option, provided the proposal is in a separate envelope clearly marked as to contents. Only the last proposal received per option will be opened and put forward for evaluation.

1.07 Reserved Rights of The City The City reserves the right to:

a). make public the names of any or all Respondents;

b). request written clarification or the submission of supplementary written information in relation to the

clarification request from any Respondent and incorporate a Respondent’s response to that request for clarification into the Respondent’s Proposal;

c). adjust a Respondent’s scoring or reject a Respondent’s Proposal on the basis of i) a financial analysis;

ii) information provided by references;

iii) the Respondent’s past performance on previous contracts awarded by The City;

iv) the information provided by a Respondent pursuant to The City exercising its clarification rights under this RFP process; or

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d). verify with any Respondent or with a third party any information set out in a Proposal;

e). check references other than those provided by any Respondent;

f). disqualify any Respondent whose Proposal contains misrepresentations or any other inaccurate or

misleading information, or any qualifications;

g). disqualify any Respondent or the Proposal of any Respondent who has engaged in conduct prohibited by

this RFP;

h). make changes, including substantial changes, to this RFP provided that those changes are issued by way

of addenda in the manner set out in this RFP;

i). select the Respondent other than the Respondent whose Proposal reflects the lowest cost to The City or

the highest overall score;

j). cancel this RFP process at any stage;

k). cancel this RFP process at any stage and issue a new RFP for the same or similar deliverables; l). accept or reject any or all Proposals in whole or in part;

m). discuss with any Respondent different or additional terms to those contemplated in this RFP or in any

Respondent’s Proposal;

n). if a single Proposal is received, reject the Proposal of the sole Respondent and cancel this RFP process or enter into direct negotiations with the sole Respondent.

These reserved rights are in addition to any other expressed rights or any other rights which may be implied in the circumstances.

The City may reject any Proposal that:

a). Is incomplete, obscure, or does not comply with all of the material and b). That may cause or be perceived to cause a Conflict of Interest;

c). Does not comply with all applicable Municipal, Provincial, and Federal laws, codes, and regulations, which may be applicable to the Work performed subsequent to the RFP; or

The City may waive minor discrepancies that:

a). Do not affect responsiveness;

b). Are merely a matter of format;

c). Do not change the relative standing or otherwise prejudice other Proposals;

d). Do not change the meaning or scope of the RFP;

e). Are trivial, negligible, or immaterial in nature; f). Do not reflect a material change in the Work; or,

g). Do not constitute a substantial reservation against a requirement or provision.

The City shall not be liable for any expenses, costs or losses suffered by any Respondent or any third party resulting from The City exercising any of its express or implied rights under this RFP.

1.08 Errors and Omissions

The City shall not be held liable for any errors or omissions in any part of this RFP. The information contained in the RFP is supplied as a guideline for respondents and is not necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive. Nothing in the RFP is intended to relieve the respondents from forming their own opinions and conclusions.

1.09 Not Responsible for Preparation Costs

The City will not pay for any costs associated with the preparation, submittal, presentation, or evaluation of any proposal.

1.10 Proposal Expiry Date

Respondents hereby acknowledge that their proposals shall be irrevocable for a period of 120 days from the proposal submission deadline or until an agreement is signed with the successful respondent, whichever comes first. Extensions to this period may be granted with the mutual agreement of The City and the successful respondent, and may be initiated by either party.

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1.11 Electronic Copy of Request for Proposal

This Request for Proposal Document (and any other applicable attachments or addenda) is available in Adobe Acrobat format at The City’s website at www.cityofelliotlake.com. Any information contained in the Request for Proposal that is changed by the bidder (except for filling in the blanks) will be grounds for disqualification.

1.12 Basis of Award

The City reserves the right to award this proposal to one respondent or to not make an award against this proposal. Award is subject to The City of Elliot Lake Council Approval.

Section 2 Requirements

The City’s Finance Department administers the Corporate Credit Card Program, determines individual card limits, processes requests for new cards and cancellation of cards, etc. and the designated Corporate Credit Card Program Administrator is the primary contact with the bank.

Submissions should include and describe the following:

1. overview of company background

2. credit card program, including fees, interest rate(s), rewards, restrictions, minimum and/or

maximum spending limits

3. program safe-guards and security

4. online payment capabilities and reporting

5. payment process options

6. online reporting capabilities including access for individual card holders

7. describe customer service support services including but not limited to procedures for handling

disputed charges

8. value added elements, if any

Section 3 Proposal Format & Submission

The City discourages overly lengthy and costly proposals. In order to evaluate the proposals fairly and completely, respondents should provide all of the information requested in a clear and succinct format. Failure to provide all required information as detailed in this section may result in the respondent being disqualified or scoring poorly in the evaluation.

Each Respondent is asked to submit three (3) identical copies of their Proposal, sealed, and clearly marked as to contents (see 1.02 above)

Section 4 Selection Process

As part of the selection process, The City may contact one or more Respondents to clarify or obtain more information about their Proposal or to request the respondent to exhibit or otherwise demonstrate the information contained therein.

The City may also conduct discussions with respondents for the purpose of clarification. The purpose of these discussions will be to ensure full understanding of the requirements of the RFP and Proposal. Discussions will be limited to specific sections of the RFP identified by the Selection/Evaluation Committee. The Project Coordinator will only hold discussions with respondents who have submitted a proposal deemed to be reasonably acceptable for Award.

Section 5 Award

The City may make an Award on the basis of the proposals received without discussion. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the Respondent’s best terms/information, including all required documentation as listed in this RFP. The Successful Respondent will be notified of the Award in writing to the address given on the Acknowledgement Form (Schedule A).

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ROGRAM SCHEDULE “A” – PROPOSAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM

COMPANY ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Complete the following information and submit this section in the Proposal submission package.

Name of Proponent: __________________________________

Mailing address: ________________________________________________________________________

Website address: ___________________________ Email: ________________________________

Tel: _______________________ Fax: ________________________ HST #: ___________________

Contact name: __________________________________ Position: ________________________________

NAME OF OFFICER(S) OR PERSON(S) with authority to execute a contract for this project.

________________________________________ and _______________________________________

ACKOWLEDGEMENT OF DOCUMENTS RECEIVED AND AGREEMENT TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS: I, ________________________________, the undersigned HEREBY DECLARE AND ACKNOWLEDGE:

THAT I declare that no person, firm, corporation or other organization other than disclosed herein has any interest in this Proposal or any contract which may result;

THAT this Proposal is made by the undersigned without collusion or fraud with any other entity; THAT all statements in this Proposal are true and accurate in all respects;

THAT full disclosure has been made of any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest;

Executed by me/us this _______ day of _________________, 2014

Authorized signing officer(s) / person(s):

____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Print name Signature