Common Acronyms: TPASS – Texas Procurement and Support Services TCMO – TPASS Contract Management Office TSB – TxSmartBuy TXMAS – Texas Multiple Award Schedule GCI – General Contract Information VPTS – Vendor Performance Tracking System VPR – Vendor Performance Report TDEM – Texas Department of Emergency Management

TERM CONTRACTS Automated contracts that reside on TxSmartBuy (TSB) Items conducive to an e-procurement environment POs are generated at the time of purchase on TSB ( to contractor) Typically awarded for a year, with 4 additional renewal periods Contracts include: prison food and vaccines MANAGED CONTRACTS Non-automated contracts that do not reside on TSB Usually agency-specific and not conducive to an e-procurement system POs issued straight from customer entity to contractor As with term, awarded for a year with 4 additional renewal periods Contracts include: live pullets, catfish and alcohol/drug testing services

TXMAS CONTRACTS Typically mirrors a GSA contract or other local or governmental entity contract Contracts are awarded via an “offer packet” process Have approved dealers who accept orders on behalf of the contractor, although dealers do not reside in the TSB system Also reside on TSB system, but can accept offline orders through approved dealers Contracts include: HVAC, tires, furniture, MRO, etc. TXMAS contracts can be found at:

State Agencies vs. CO-OPs – mandated use of TSB TPASS contracts stipulate that only POs issued through TSB are eligible for contract pricing For items on TSB, all orders against Term and TXMAS contracts must go through TSB, unless placed offline through an authorized TXMAS dealer Purchasing outside of TSB, or offering state contract pricing outside of TSB, violates competitive procurement requirements (you’re not technically making a state contract purchase if you don’t use the TSB system as mandated in the contract) Items purchased outside the system will not be covered by contract terms and conditions

Be sure to sign up for Gov Delivery Always check the GCI before each order, mainly on Managed contracts. This will ensure that you are aware of any price changes or other changes before making a purchase FYI – The process to update contract dates on the TPASS website is separate. (Master list of contracts versus the GCI page) If you want to add items to an existing contract or have TPASS establish a new contract for you, send an open market requisition to Open Market Requisition form can be found at:

Contracts that have been established and are activated in the event of an emergency or declared disaster – exception is the aerial spray contract for mosquito control, which can be activated by DSHS POs issued by either TPASS or DPS based upon receipt of a STAR form approved by TDEM

“That’s not my price!” “Just walk me through it” “I didn’t know I was supposed to respond” “I’m on the CMBL, why am I not getting any orders?” “I never got the PO” “Where does it say that?” “You’re picking on me because I’m a small business” “What’s this TxSmartBuy thing?” “I didn’t know I had a state contract” “Much like government rule of 1787, we won’t subcribe to the whims of kings and dukes…..”

124 Term Contracts, with $602M in online sales 104 Managed Contracts, with $62M in sales (8 months ending Aug. 2012) 637 TXMAS Contracts, with $342.5M in offline/online sales 1,128 Total Contractors on Term/Managed Contracts 564 Total Contractors on TXMAS Contracts 15.2M Total Dollar Amount of One-Time Buy Contracts for FY12 7 Full-time TCMO Staff to deal with it all Priceless! “There are some issues you can handle, for everything else there’s

TPASS VendorAgency

 Reduce risk by providing information on past performance.  Aid purchasers in making a best value determination when selecting vendors.  Identify vendors with unethical business practices, repeated delivery and performance issues, or exceptional performance

 “State agencies shall report a vendor's performance on any purchase of $25,000 or more…..” per Texas Administrative Code.  The Texas Government Code and as supplemented by Comptroller Rule delegates to CPA the authority to enforce contractor and vendor compliance.

 Reports are entered through CPA Web Applications Portal  Check with your agency Security Coordinator for access  Enter report within 60 days of item delivery or project completion (for services)  Exceptional and satisfactory reports are encouraged, not just complaints

 VPR’s submitted either on purchase orders not issued by CPA or on purchase orders not deriving from CPA Term Contracts will be forwarded to the issuing agency for resolution.  TPASS will assist with VPRs on other agency’s contracts as resources allow.

 TPASS will follow through with vendors not responding to negative reports within 14 days.  VPRs are subject to the Public Information Act.

 For assistance or questions:  Kit von Wupperfeld  Vendor Performance Coordinator  Phone:  Fax:  

 Bobby Pounds, Team Lead – (512)  Richard Olsen, Contract Specialist – (512)  Kristine Brock, Contract Specialist – (512)  Yvette Marietta, Contract Specialist – (512)  Erin Bennett, Contract Specialist (TSB) – (512)  Kit von Wupperfeld, Contract Specialist (Vend. Perf.) – (512)  Richard San Jose, Contract Specialist (TXMAS) – (512) TCMO dedicated