The State of Hawai`i is a member of the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), a multi-state contracting consortium of state governments, which awarded contracts to several computer equipment manufacturers to make available computer equipment, software and services to participating WSCA members at volume discounted prices. The State Procurement Office (SPO), on behalf of various governmental purchasing jurisdictions within the State of Hawai`i, including the University of Hawai`i, has elected to participate in the WSCA computer contract and has issued SPO Vendors List No. 10-01 which is available on the Internet at http://www4.hawaii.gov/spo/pricefiles/10-01%20%20cr1.pdf.
Information Technology Service (ITS) strongly encourages departments to purchase from Dell Computer Corporation, via UH Dell Store. Departments are not precluded from purchasing computers from the other manufacturers. In an effort to standardize personal computer hardware within the UH system, ITS recommends purchasing Dell computers.
Q: What is Dell's shipping cost?
A: As of 3-8-2002, Dell has waived all shipping costs for UH departmental purchases.
Q: Due to the potentially high dollar amount of the purchases, are departments still required to solicit multiple quotations although they are purchasing from the WSCA contract?
A: Multiple quotations are not required for purchases in any dollar amount under the WSCA contract.
Q: My fiscal officer (FO) requires that I fill in a sole source form as I haven't gotten any other competitive pricing for the computers. My understanding was that we didn't need it. Why is my FO requiring it?
A: University procedures do not require a sole source justification for purchases of any dollar amount from the WSCA contract. However, based on internal departmental procedures, fiscal officers may impose additional procurement requirements, e.g., the sole source form. Furthermore, any WSCA purchase of $2,500 or more requires completion of FORM 95 "Price Reasonableness" which can be filled in by checking "Other" on the form and filling out the required information.
Q:Is it appropriate for Dell to include tax on its invoices since Dell does not maintain an office in the State of Hawaii?
A: Since Dell pays all requisite State of Hawaii taxes, it is appropriate for Dell to include a 4.666% tax for Oahu and 4.166% tax for neighbor islands on its invoices.
Q: Why is a Form 95, Determination of Cost or Price Reasonableness, required for WSCA purchases of $2,500 or more? What are some examples of acceptable price reasonableness determinations?
A: Unlike other University requirements contracts which were awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidders, the WSCA contract was awarded on the basis of a request for proposals in which price was just one of several evaluation factors. As a result, the final awards were made to the vendors who scored highest on all of the evaluation factors but not necessarily the vendors who offered the lowest prices. Therefore, in the absence of multiple quotations and to ensure that the purchase price is being evaluated and has been determined to be fair and reasonable, the Form 95 is required.
Q: What is the tax rate on Dell purchases through the WSCA contract?
A: The tax rate to use is 4.666% for Oahu, 4.166% for neighboring islands. The subtotal and shipping costs are both taxable
Q: What do I need to reference on the purchase order(PO) besides billing and shipping information?
A: The Dell quote number and WSCA contract number must appear on the PO. If it is an online quote (Equote) be sure to reference how it was saved online. Email address or Equote name is needed in conjunction with the Equote number.
Q: Do I need to FAX and mail the PO?
A: A FAXed copy of the PO will suffice.
Q: (7/1/2003) If I use Superquote to get quotes on computer hardware and software and I find cheaper quotes from Dell am I bound to purchase from the vendors who submitted quotes through Superquote?
A: If the Dell/WSCA quote is less than any of the SuperQuote quotes you receive, you may proceed to award to Dell under the WSCA contract and not make any award under the SuperQuote solicitation
We have created the following documents to assist you with the ordering and purchasing computers from Dell under the WSCA contract.
If you plan to order computers in quantity (10 or more) we highly recommend that you contact Dell to get a quote. Our representative is able to provide better pricing when you purchase in quantity than is offered on the Dell website.
UH Dell Higher Education Representative:
Jessica Johnson
| Phone: | 1-800-274-7799 Ext 72-63888 |
| Fax: | 1-512-283-4658 |
| Email: | Jessica_Johnson@dell.com |
Return to the UH Dell information page
ref: http://www.hawaii.edu/its/micro/pc/wsca.html
