7-9.5 Suppliers Working With or on Postal Service Property

Just as Postal Service personnel are accountable and responsible for materials and property entrusted to them, in relation to the performance of a contract, Postal Service suppliers are also accountable and responsible when they are working with or on Postal Service property, especially those material and property types described above. The Postal Service may provide materials or other property to suppliers when it will result in significant economies, standardization, expedited production, or when it is otherwise in the Postal Service’s interest.

As the purchase is planned, the property to be furnished must be identified, and then specified in the RFP in sufficient detail (including requisitioning procedures) so that potential suppliers may evaluate it accurately. When special tooling or test equipment is associated with a supplier’s future contract performance, and the Postal Service will obtain identifiable special tooling or test equipment under a contract, the RFP must specify each item or category as a contract line item. A category of items costing less than $1,000 may be grouped as a single line item. Further information regarding RFPs, their development, and their publication, are discussed in detail in Section 2-24, Review and Finalize Request for Proposals (RFP).

Depending on the nature, scope, and complexity of the purchase and associated contract performance, the purchase/SCM team must consider the following: