Request for Quotation (RFQ) for Service

RFQ No: FY2508

Issue date: January 20, 2025

Issuing organization: Catholic Relief Services, Liberia Program

Closing date: February 7, 2025 (extension requests must be received in advance of closing date)

Submission method: Sealed envelope(s)

Type of agreement: Blanket Purchase Agreement

Section I: Request for Quotation

1. Introduction

The purpose of the RFQ is to invite bidders to submit quotation for the procurement of catering, hall rental and hotel accommodation services. A Blanket Purchase agreement will be issued to successful bidder(s) to establish specific pricing levels and parameters for these services. The BPA will allow CRS to issue purchase orders, on an as-needed basis, for the procurement of these items over the next twelve (12) months.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion, or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

Post-qualification Actions

• Verification of accuracy, correctness and authenticity of the information provided by the bidder on the administrative, technical, and financial documents submitted.
• Inquiry and reference checking with entity that may have done business with the bidder.
• Inquiry and reference checking with other previous clients on the quality of performance of ongoing or previous contracts completed.
• Physical inspection of the bidder’s branches or other places where business transpires, with or without notice to the bidder.

2. Instructions to Bidders

Bidders are required to submit their proposals in two separate sealed envelopes (technical and financial proposal) enclosed in an outer sealed envelope with the reference number and addressed to:

Catholic Relief Services, Liberia Program

16^th Street Gardner Avenue

Seaside, C-140 Building,

Sinkor Monrovia, Liberia

Subject: RFQ FY2508

Bids must be received no later than February 7, 2025, at 4:00pm.

Failure to comply with these instructions may result in disqualification.

Expected delivery time: As per the issued call order

Softcopy of this RFQ, additional information or request for clarification can be requested at liberiarfq@crs.org.

3. Eligibility Criteria (Administrative evaluation)

Bidders must meet the following eligibility criteria to be considered:

• Submit bids no later than February 7, 2025, at 4:00pm.
• Submit a valid business registration
• Submit a valid tax clearance
• Submit a signed quotation submission form (Annex I)
• Submit a signed experience form (Annex II)

Admin Pass Mark

Pass or fail

• Submit a valid business registration
• Submit a valid tax clearance
• Submit a signed quotation submission form (Annex I)
• Submit a signed experience form (Annex II)

Section II: Technical Specifications

Contractual Obligation and Future Disqualification

The selected vendor(s) shall provide the services described in any call order issued by CRS under this BPA. CRS will be obligated to pay only for commodities ordered through a purchase order delivered in accordance with the terms/conditions of this BPA.

Section III: Proposals Content

The following documents must be submitted for the submission to be considered:

1. Technical proposal envelope

• Bid submission Form (Annex I)
• Experience form (Annex II)
• Valid Business registration & Tax Clearance
• Price Guarantee for 12 months
• Business Brochure/Profile with images of rooms and Conference Hall including all amenities
• Menu for catering services

2. Financial Proposal envelope

• Price Quote which complies with the specifications provided

Section IV: Terms and Conditions

• Delivery Location: As per the call order
• Latest Delivery Date: As per the call order
• Bid validity: Prices must be valid for 12 months from submission date.
• Payment terms: N30.
• Currency: USD.

Section V: Proposals Submission

1. Submission instructions

Quotes are to be hand delivered to CRS office for Monrovia bidders and via email for bidders based in the Counties on February 7, 2025, no later than 4:00pm.

Envelopes Labeling:

• Technical Proposal: Clearly label as “Envelope 1: Technical Proposal – Tender for Services
• Financial Proposal: Clearly label as “Envelope 2: Financial Proposal – Tender for Services

Both envelopes should be enclosed in an outer sealed envelope labeled with:

RFQ Number: FY2508

RFQ Name: BPA (Accommodation/Hall rental/Catering services)

Bidder’s Name and Contact Information

2. Important Notes

• Late submissions will not be considered.
• Incomplete or improperly labeled submissions may result in disqualification.
• Bidders may be required to provide additional information or participate in a clarification meeting.
• CRS reserves the right to accept or reject any quotation, and to annul the bidding process and reject all quotations at any time prior to the award of the contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Section VI: Selection Process

CRS will review received proposals within the deadline through a three-step process:

• Determination of eligibility.
• Technical review of eligible proposals.
• Scoring and ranking of the eligible proposals based on the assessment criteria outlined in Evaluation Methodology section to identify highest ranking proposal.

Section VII: Evaluation Methodology

The methodology of evaluation will be based on “Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS)” as follow:

• Technical quality and cost are both considered.
• Weighting is applied to quality and cost scores to determine the overall score.
• The proposal(s) with the highest combined score is selected.

Section VIII: Evaluation Criteria

Only submission that meets the eligibility criteria (administrative evaluation) will be considered for technical and financial evaluation.

1. Technical Evaluation – Weight: 40%

Technical Pass Mark: 70 points

2. Financial Evaluation – Weight: 60%

Arithmetical errors will be rectified on the following basis:

• If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total price that is obtained by multiplying the unit price and quantity, the unit price shall prevail and the total price shall be corrected.
• If the Supplier/Vendor does not accept the correction of errors, its quote will be rejected.
• If there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the amount in words will prevail.

Offers that are found technically compliant shall be evaluated based on the lowest offer.

Financial scores are assigned to each proposal based on the cost evaluation, using the following formula: the lowest cost proposal receives the highest score 100 and other proposals are scored relative to the lowest cost.

Illustration: X and Y represent respectively the lower offer and offer of vendor John Doe for which the score needs to be calculated, respectively: Score (John Doe) = (X/Y) * 100

3. Combining Score Calculation

The total score for each bidder will be the sum of the weighted technical score and weighted price.

• Technical score and financial score are combined using the predetermined weights.
• Combined Score = (Technical Score x 40) + (Financial Score x 60).

Section IX: Award Criteria

The contract will be awarded to the bidder with the highest combined score, calculated based on the weighted technical score and the financial score. The evaluation committee will consider both technical and financial criteria to determine the bidder that offers the best overall value for money, ensuring the required technical specifications are met while achieving cost-effectiveness.

Section X: Rejection of Award

CRS may reject any quote that is not substantively responsive to the terms and conditions of the RFQ.

CRS is not bound to accept the lowest or any quote and reserves the right to accept any quote in whole or in part and to reject any or all quotes without assigning any reason therefore and to Contract on any of the terms offered or on different terms.

CRS will send a Notice of Award to the winning bidder. The winning bidder agrees to acknowledge the purchase order or contract by email upon award within one (1) business day under the terms and conditions stated herein.

Section XI: Cost of Providing Quotes

Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the quote, and CRS will not be liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation.

Section XII: Clarification and Amendments of Request for Quotation

To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of Quotes, CRS may, at its discretion, ask the Supplier/Vendor for clarification of its Quote. The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and no change in price or substance of the Quote shall be sought, offered, or permitted.

CRS may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective supplier/vendor, amend the Request for Quotation. To afford prospective suppliers/vendors reasonable time to consider the amendments in preparing their offers, CRS may extend the deadline for the submission of quotes. Any amendments will be published in the same manner as the present tender.

Section XIII: Important Additional Information

General terms and conditions of CRS applicable to goods and services can be downloaded at the following address: http://CRS.org/vendor-terms/vendor-terms.pdf or obtained upon request from the CRS’ office and are applicable within the national legal context.

Vendors must not be associated or have been associated in the past directly or indirectly with a firm or any of its affiliates which have been engaged by CRS to provide services for the preparation of the design, specifications, and other documents to be used for the procurement of the goods under this request for quotation.

Bidders, Suppliers and Service Providers, while conducting their activities, are expected to comply with the following policies and regulations:

• CRS Terms and Conditions: http://CRS.org/vendor-terms/vendor-terms.pdf.
• CRS Suppliers and Service Provider Code of Conduct: https://www.CRS.org/sites/default/files/supplier_code_of_conduct.pdf.
• Global Fund Code of conduct for supplier: https://www.theglobalfund.org/media/3275/corporate_codeofconductforsuppliers_policy_en.pdf.

Annex I. Quotation Submission Form FY2508

The following document is part of this request for quotation and must be completed and returned with your offer.

Quotations must be completed according to the instructions in this request. Quotations must be completed in English, signed, and returned to CRS before the specified deadline. CRS’s terms and conditions applicable to goods and services are provided in Section XII: Important Additional Information.

I, the undersigned, having read CRS’s terms and conditions applicable to goods and services for the request for quotation No. FY2508, as stated in the attached document, hereby offer to provide the goods and services specified in this request for quotation at the price or prices indicated, in accordance with all specified specifications, and subject to CRS’s terms and conditions applicable to goods and services established or specified in the document.

I, the undersigned, declare that:

1. Our company and our personnel have no conflicts of interest in any activities that could represent, if we are selected, a conflict of interest with CRS.
2. Our company confirms that the bidder or subcontractors have not been associated, or in any way involved, directly or indirectly, in the preparation of the project, specifications, and/or other documents used in this tender.
3. Our company, its affiliates, or subsidiaries (including subcontractors or suppliers of any part of the contract) have not been declared ineligible by CRS in accordance with Section I. 3: Eligibility Criteria.
4. We have not offered and will not offer any gift and/or favor of any kind in exchange for this request for quotation and will never do so during the execution of any awarded contract.

I, _______________ (Name of authorized signatory) ________, certify that I am ____________________ (position) _____________ of ________________ (legal name of the company)________________; by signing this request for quotation for and on behalf of (legal name of the company) _______________________________, I certify that all information contained in this document is accurate and true and that signing this offer falls within my authority.

Annex II. Past Experience Form for FY2508

Purchases orders or contracts signed by both parties must be provided for each experience.

Annex III. Submission Checklist for Bidders

• ☐Bid submission Form.
• ☐Price Quote which complies with the specifications provided
• ☐Reference list
• ☐Business registration & Tax Clearance
• ☐Price Guarantee for 12 months
• ☐Business Brochure/Profile with images of rooms and Conference Hall including all amenities
• ☐Menu for catering services