Tollway Seeks Firm to Help Streamline Fleet Parts Operations

| October 3, 2013

 

ILLINOIS TOLLWAY SEEKS FIRM TO HELP STREAMLINE FLEET PARTS OPERATIONS

New vendor will supply and manage Tollway vehicle parts inventory

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – The Illinois Tollway today issued a request for proposals (RFP) from prospective vendors to provide a streamlined system to supply and manage the vehicle parts inventory required to operate the agency’s diverse fleet of more than 745 vehicles, including snowplows, emergency assistance vehicles, squad cars, mowing tractors, front-end loaders, trailers, pick-up trucks, roadway sweepers and others. The Tollway is the first state agency to implement this type of vendor-managed inventory program for its entire fleet operation.

Under the new contract, the selected vendor would be responsible for obtaining and overseeing distribution of a wide range of vehicle parts and equipment to serve the agency’s 12 vehicle repair facilities across the 286-mile system. The vendor will also be responsible for providing on-site staff to manage the Tollway’s fleet inventory at both the agency’s central warehouse and its largest automotive repair facility. The Tollway typically spends about $2.6 million annually for replacement parts and other vehicle supplies.

“We believe that this innovative approach will provide the most efficient and effective management of our fleet parts inventory and, ultimately, increase our ability to keep more Tollway vehicles on the road and working to ensure safe and convenient travel for our customers,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur.

The Illinois Tollway currently has contracts with numerous vendors to supply parts for different vehicles and equipment, which can result in increased time to purchase critical replacement parts and also increases operational costs. Contracting with one firm to oversee the supply and management process will help the Tollway to reduce the average yearly number of contracts, reduce transaction costs and processing times to secure parts and services and more easily eliminate unused inventory of obsolete parts.

The initial term of the contract is for five years, with the Tollway having the option to renew the contract for five additional years. The Tollway plans to have the new vendor-managed system operating by early 2014. RFP written responses are due to the Illinois Tollway on November 4 by 10:30 a.m. For more information and to download the RFP, please visit www.illinoistollway.com.

About the Illinois Tollway

The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations. The agency maintains and operates 286 miles of interstate tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80).

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