Procurement Produce For my part in this webinar I am going to primarily talk about procuring produce and writing specs.

Intimidating or natural? So Procurement: Sometimes this big word is intimidating yet we need to remember it truly is just about buying. We do this all the time outside of our jobs. Let’s drill this down by thinking about purchasing a dishwasher. If you are only concerned about price then you would do an invitation for bid or Solicitation for sealed bid as Courtney stated. In our home life this might mean that you jump on the phone to call around and see who has the best price. On the other hand, if we want a stainless steel, under the counter dishwasher, that is energy efficient, delivered and installed we would want to do a Request for Proposal or Solicitation for Competitive Proposal as. In this case we may be willing to spend a little more if it is delivered and installed. This is obviously a very simplistic way of looking at Invitation for bids and Request for Proposals. When we prepare an IFB or RFP we need to send these off to prospective vendors. Basically what I am getting at it What is important when we purchase food? If price the primary factor we can do an Invitation for bid. If delivery times, Ordering procedures and product availability play a factor along with price, you would want to do a Request for Proposal. Invitation for Bid (IFB) or Request for Proposal (RFP)

RFP preparation for Produce what does the vendor need to know In this case you would want to do a Request for Proposal. Pricing for salad, or any produce for that matter, fluctuates constantly. The season, the weather, the availability all play a factor in what the cost will be. You typically will not find a vender who will guarantee a specific price on produce. If you do find someone, they are hedging their bets in their favor. They will quote you a fixed price at the high end of the market. With a request for proposal you have the ability to let your vendors know what you will need. This might include how many days you need deliveries. What time you can accept deliveries. What a typical health bar includes. How many meals you serve in a day. All this information assists vendors in giving you the best possible pricing with the ability to fluctuate cost as the market warrants it.

Instructions to Vendors With produce you want to let the vendor know how you want them to determine pricing. One way to do this would be the cost for a case of a product plus a flat fixed fee. While the cost of the case is going to vary as I stated earlier, the flat fixed fee will remain the same. It is important to note that this amount cannot be a percentage. As you can see by the example. If a case of apples cost $24.00 to the vendor and the vendor agreed to a $3.00 flat fixed fee. The cost to the district would be $27.00 a case. In your Request for Proposal, include wording to inform the vendor that you will be auditing their pricing periodically. This ensures they are following the contract. A case of apples costs the vendor $24.00. If the vendor offers cost plus fixed fee of $3.00 your cost would be $27.00

Statement of Need - specs Know your grade. Produce is graded based on the amount of imperfections that is allowed. It is up to you to determine what you are willing to except. If you order bananas for example, there are varying stages of ripeness. In stage 1-3 you will be receiving a fairly green banana. If it is in stage 3-6 it will be green tipped and a 7+ will be ripe. It’s important you let your vendor know how you want to receive your product. Remember the buy American clause. We are to purchase products that are produced in American as much as possible. It may also be important to know when the produce is grown locally. On this map I have Utah highlighted since nothing grows in my area of Wyoming. I have determined that the Salt Lake Utah region would be considered local for my district. Again, Make sure you spell out all your needs clearly on your Request for Proposal.

Spec example 1. What do you want to purchase Red Delicious Apples 2. What are your requirements Grade 1 3. What is the pack size you would like 125 to a case this could also be the # of pounds in a case 4. How many do you think you will purchase during the year 1000 cases Other specification Must be produced in the US Prefer locally grown when possible. (Locally grown is determined by each district) Produce deliveries will be needed Tuesdays and Thursdays between 6:30 and 10. Next I have written a sample spec. Start by stating what it is you would like to purchase. Note I didn’t just say apples but stated Red Delicious. Since this is the type I purchase most often. I made sure to state I wanted Grade 1 apples. These will have the least number of imperfections. I stated I want a box with 125 apples rather than giving a poundage. For me, I would rather know how many I am getting. This is my preference but may not be yours. Either way is fine. Finally you want to let the vendors know how many cases you expect to use. Your current vendor should be able to give you a usage form. This will tell you how many cases you have purchased to this point. Remember to pad your cases based on what you think you will use to complete the school year. The specification on #5 are things you would put in your Request for Proposal not on each item. The buy American clause is true for all produce available in the US. If you have a preference for locally grown, make sure you put that in your Request for Proposal.

Hand Written Spec 1. What do you want to purchase 2 oz Bagel 2. What are your requirements Whole Grain Individually Wrapped or Bulk Plain or Flavored 3. What is the pack size you would like 72 per case 4. How many do you think you will purchase during the year 350 cases 5. Do you have an example of a brand you have used? Lender’s (Pinnacle Food Group) 00074 6. You must allow the vendor to choose an alternative. This allows all companies that meet this specification an equal opportunity to put in price for consideration An equivalent that meets the above specifications will be considered On this slide I am showing an example of a hand written spec for non produce. I want to purchase 2 oz bagels. I know it has to be Whole Grain but do I want individually Wrapped or Bulk. How about Plain or flavored? If you want both cinnamon and plain bagels then they need to be listed separately. In this example I have given a suggestion of a Lender’s Bagel. I know that this product is bulk and has 72 - 2 oz bagels in a case. I would state that under my pack size. If the vendor wants to quote you a different product they will need to do the math. In my case I want 350 cases or 72 count. This would equal 25,200 bagels. It is up to the Vendor to determine the number of cases you will need is they quote you a 100 count case.

Another example of a spec. Another option for completing a product list is to use a company that offers assistance. I use interflex. I would imagine there are other companies out there that do the same thing. In looking at this slide you can see how each step walks you through the process so you don’t forget anything. I have found this electronic version much easier than hand writing all my product specs.

Questions? In closing, If you have any questions for me after this webinar, I would be more than happy to answer them. Here is my contact information.