Staff Report #1
November 27, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Contract Award – Uniforms
Recommendation
That the Commission APPROVE the award of a contract with Talbot Marketing/Uniforms for the supply of uniforms for Operators, Inspectors, Dispatchers, Ticket Clerks and Fleet & Facilities employees, noting the contract is for a term of five years (January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2029) with a two-year renewal option available upon mutual agreement of the parties.
Background
The current contract with Mark’s Commercial for the supply of uniforms commenced on January 1, 2018, the result of an RFP and subsequent contract award. The original contract included a four-year term with optional extension up to four years. The contract was renewed in one-year increments for each of 2022, 2023 & 2024. When evaluating the extension for 2024, the general consensus was a need to issue a post-pandemic RFP for the supply of uniforms, but that timing was not sufficient to do a thorough review and RFP issuance at the time. As a result, the contract was extended for 2024, and work began early in the year to ensure an adequate amount of time was allotted to the RFP process to ensure the issuance, evaluation and potential transition would be successful.
On August 26, 2024, an RFP for the supply of uniforms was issued through Bids & Tenders with a closing date of September 20, 2024. Unfortunately, only one submission was received with the non-submitting vendors indicating that mandatory requirements with respect to sizing ranges and firm prices for the five-year period was not feasible. The evaluation team convened and concluded that in order to do a competitive evaluation, the terms should be adjusted and the RFP re-issued. The unopened bid was returned to the vendor and an updated RFP was re-issued with an amendment to exclude mandatory sizing and firm pricing through the term of the contract. The RFP was re-issued on September 26, 2024, with a closing date of October 25, 2024.
The amended RFP resulted in the submission and receipt of three compliant bids. The following table sets out the bid submissions and resulting evaluation rankings and annual cost, noting the annual cost estimates are based on the current complement and uniform replacement cycles and are exclusive of applicable taxes.
| Bidder | Evaluation Score | Evaluation Rank | Annual Cost |
| Talbot Marketing / Uniforms
Mark’s Commercial |
92
85 |
1
2 |
$304,655
$288,615 |
| Staples Professional | 69 | 3 | $366,585 |
The evaluation criteria included the bidders general understanding of the purpose and nature of the RFP, bidders experience / expertise within the transit/uniform sector including references, the detailed work plan (including the fittings process, delivery capabilities, alterations, exchanges/refunds), the ordering process, and product evaluation (colour, sizes, materials/quality). These factors accounted for 50% of the evaluation, with pricing making up the remainder.
Although not the lowest compliant submission in terms of pricing, Talbot Marketing received the highest evaluation score and thus overall ranking. The anticipation of overall service and quality improvements as outlined within the submission and subsequent presentation by Talbot Marketing was confirmed when discussing Talbot’s service performance with other referenced organizations. Talbot has provided firm pricing for 2025 and 2026 and will look to industry trends and metrics to support subsequent price increases if required.
Recommended by:
Shakeel Ahmad, Manager of Purchasing
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Craig Morneau, Director of Fleet & Facilities Manager
David Butler, Manager, Operations Administration
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager