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Supply Management

NOTICE - TO CINTAS AND UNIFIRST CLIENTS

Cintas and UniFirst On-Catalog eBuy Orders

Is your On-Catalog eBuy order current? The national contracts for custodial rental items have been in place for 2 years. Postal ServiceTM locations that have existing On- Catalog eBuy orders with Cintas or UniFirst must review each line item of their existing order and make sure quantities are sufficient to cover future invoices. Postal Service facilities should determine which line items are depleted or nearing depletion by checking the eBuy order status. If the status line shows closed or cancelled, you must create a new, On-Catalog eBuy order immediately. If you have questions about the status of your existing order, contact Cintas at 800-795-7368 or UniFirst at 800-480-5432.

It is the responsibility of each Postal Service facility to monitor its eBuy order quantities for custodial rental items each month through reconciling the eBuy Billing Summary Report. This is done through verification of the delivery tickets provided by the selected supplier to determine accuracy and maintain accountability.

The contract requires that once a Postal Service facility selects a supplier, that facility must remain with that supplier for a minimum of 2 years. The only exception to this requirement is if the facility has identified problems or issues to the Contracting Officer and Cintas or UniFirst has not adequately addressed the issues within a reasonable time frame (four to six deliveries after formal notification of the problem).

 

After 2 years, if a location determines that changing suppliers is in the best interest of the Postal Service, notification should be provided to the existing supplier at least 30 days before the change. The new eBuy order must be approved and acknowledged by the supplier before deliveries can begin. Postal Service locations should also be prepared to conduct a product inventory with their existing supplier to determine if any inventory is lost or damaged; validate missing inventory items; verify all outstanding invoices have been paid; and assure that replacement charges, if any, can be covered through the existing eBuy order. Coordination between the pickup of the existing supplier's inventory and the start of the new supplier's delivery is imperative.

Does your On-Catalog eBuy order meet the minimum delivery amount of $12.00? The Postal Service considers the contracts with Cintas and UniFirst as partnerships; therefore, Postal Service clients must be willing to work with their selected supplier to the greatest extent possible and not make unreasonable requests that would cause the suppliers undue financial hardship. With the increases in the cost of gasoline, it has become economically unfeasible for our suppliers to provide service to current Postal Service clients, or add new clients, whose orders amount to less than $12.00 per delivery.

Therefore, all Postal Service clients whose orders are less than $12.00 weekly, bi-weekly or monthly should re-evaluate their requirements with their selected supplier and develop a more cost-effective approach that takes into consideration changing both items delivered and frequency of delivery. A new, On- Catalog eBuy order must be entered to reflect changes in requirements or frequencies. If your location requires special considerations, you should contact the Custodial Products Team via e-mail at Help, Custodial.

- SCM Strategies,
Supply Management, 3-31-05

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