The State of Minnesota intends to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) for provision of laboratory consumables and supplies to State of Minnesota agencies and Cooperative Purchasing Venture (CPV) members in the near future with the purpose to award a contract(s).
This Request for Information (RFI) is being sought for the purpose of soliciting information related to the next solicitation event for laboratory consumables and supplies. No contract will result from any response to this RFI. The State of Minnesota will not pay for any information herein requested nor is it liable for any cost incurred in preparing a response to the RFI. Responses to this RFI will be considered non-public information until after the RFP process has been completed. The State reserves the right to contact responders and request additional information and/or schedule a meeting(s).
The State publicly posted solicitation event number 2000017404 on February 13, 2026, and issued an intent to award decision on September 14, 2026. This event did not meet all of the State’s laboratory consumables and supplies needs, and this RFI is intended to inform the next solicitation and learn from potential responders if adjustments may be mutually beneficial.
Responders should provide thorough answers to the enumerated questions below.
**Response Format and Deadline**
Respond to the following RFI questions. Provide a Microsoft Word document with your answers numbered to match the following enumerated questions to the agency contact listed below via email.
Provide a response to this RFI on or before November 3, 2026, at the following address:
Agency Contact: Brian Mulhern
Office of State Procurement
112 Administration Building
50 Sherburne Ave
St. Paul, MN 55155
Telephone Number: 651-201-2449
E-Mail Address: <Brian.Mulhern@state.mn.us>
Questions may be directed to the contact listed above. We appreciate your response to this request.
**Section 1: Contact Information**
**Please fill out your company name and contact information below.**
Responder’s Legal Name
Address
Contact Person
Email Address
Telephone Number
**Section 2: RFI Questions**
**Please provide responses to the following RFI questions noted below.**
**Solicitation Interest**
1\) Is your company interested in participating in the next solicitation event targeting laboratory supplies and consumables?
2\) What barriers or obstacles may prevent your company from submitting a response to a future solicitation?
3\) Are there specific reasons, such as specifications, terms or conditions, that prevented your company from participating in the previous solicitation event? If so, explain the reasoning and what suggested changes your company would propose to address those concerns.
**Pricing Format**
5\) Would your company participate in a lab consumables solicitation requesting a discount off percentage to be applied to a provided Retail Price List or catalog? For example, event number 2000017404 was publicly posted with this pricing format.
6\) Would your company participate in a lab consumables solicitation requesting fixed pricing for a posted list of items required by the State?
7\) Can your company explain potential benefits or restrictions to either a discount off or fixed price format? Do you have examples of how either option has worked well for other government entities?
8\) Could your company provide an example of the best State lab consumable offerings in accordance with your preferred pricing format?
**Legal and Policy Requirements**
9\) Does your company meet the State legal requirements pertaining to Minnesota Department of Human Rights Certifications? For reference, the following link directs to the MDHR website which explains the application process and current certification statuses: <https://mn.gov/mdhr/certificates/>. The State anticipates potential contracts exceeding $100,000 and $500,000 which would require Workforce and Equal Pay Certifications respectively.
9\) If not currently MDHR certified, are you willing to meet the State legal requirements prior to executing an award?
\[Partial description. For the full description, log into the [Supplier Portal](https://guest.supplier.systems.state.mn.us/psc/fmssupap/SUPPLIER/ERP/c/NUI_FRAMEWORK.PT_LANDINGPAGE.GBL).\]
**Event ID/Reference Number:** **UNKNOWN**
If an Event ID/Reference number appears, this Solicitation Event is being conducted in the SWIFT system. All project documentation and vendor submissions should be completed at the State of Minnesota Supplier portal. Log in to the [Supplier Portal](https://guest.supplier.systems.state.mn.us/psc/fmssupap/SUPPLIER/ERP/c/NUI_FRAMEWORK.PT_LANDINGPAGE.GBL?&) to view this event. You will need to search for Event ID/Reference Number in the portal.
If the Event ID/Reference Number shows “Unknown”, then the full description can be found for this event in the State of Minnesota list of solicitations (select the appropriate page): [Goods and Services Solicitation Postings](https://osp.admin.mn.gov/GS-auto) or [Professional and Technical Solicitation Postings](https://osp.admin.mn.gov/PT-auto). You may locate it using the Ref. # that appears above.
