PKC was engaged by Marquette University Purchasing Department during the summer of 2016 to assist and guide them in developing a comprehensive request for proposal document to rebid the University’s foodservice contract. PKC used the RFP document that Marquette University had already developed with their specific concerns and questions by category and incorporated it into the PKC request for proposal document (at the University’s request). Marquette’s University’s Purchasing Department and PKC worked collaboratively to ensure that all the specific concerns of various departments and constituents of University, and the selection committee, were represented in the final document prior to issuance to bidders.
When the bids came in, PKC completed a full financial and comprehensive qualitative analysis of the bid submittals based on the specific and weighted criteria developed collaboratively by Marquette University and PKC. After delivering this detailed report, PKC assisted in facilitating follow-up calls with the selection committee to review the information, respond to questions and seek clarification from the bidders. Once the selection committee identified finalists, PKC helped develop an agenda for the finalist interviews and participated in facilitating these presentations. Following these on-site finalist interviews, a series of best and final documents were developed by the bidders to answer outstanding questions and negotiate some finer points to in order to identify an awardee.
Following this decision, PKC developed a draft management agreement which was approved by the University and issued to the awardee for their feedback, prior to an on-site contract work session between the University, PKC and the awardee. The draft management agreement included details from the RFP document, the bid submittal as well as the best and final response to ensure that all of the financial and programmatic promises made during the process were captured in the document. The one-day contract work session resulted in a contract that was very close to complete, subject to just a few verifications (it has since been finalized by the University). This process of facilitating a collaborative work session ensured that Marquette University optimized the turnaround time during the negotiation stage and prevented the typical process of dragging out final contract items and completion.
The process resulted in a significant capital investment for a new dining facility, along with numerous enhancements to programmatic elements including expansion of hours, sustainability initiatives, menu enhancements and new concepts.
