EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OPERATIONAL SERVICES DIVISION

Transcription

1 THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OPERATIONAL SERVICES DIVISION 1 ASHBURTON PLACE, ROOM 1017 BOSTON, MA Request for Response (RFR) Document Title: IT Advisory Services COMMBUYS Bid#: BD OSD01-OSD Agency Document Number: OSD June 23, 2014

2 Purchasing Department Operational Services Division Address 1 Ashburton Place, Room 1017 City, State Zip Code Boston, MA Procurement Contact Person Julie S. Sullivan Telephone Number (617) Address julie.s.sullivan@ State.MA.US RFR Name/Title IT Advisory Services RFR Number OSD COMMBUYS Bid Number Procurement Management Advisory Services Information Technology Services 1. Description or Purpose of Procurement: The Executive Office for Administration and Finance s Operational Services Division ( OSD ) is soliciting bids for the provision of a marketing and research analysis contract to support strategic business decisions. Specifically, OSD seeks consulting services from a firm that can provide expertise in a variety of areas related to OSD s new eprocurement Marketplace, COMMBUYS and other Commonwealth business initiatives. The first phase of the COMMBUYS Project, replacement of OSD s Comm-PASS procurement system occurred in March of Current Project initiatives include substantial communications, training and outreach efforts targeted to both required and optional system users, for both the buyer and vendor communities. Phase II of the COMMBUYS Project, currently underway, will result in additional functionality, including an interface between COMMBUYS and the Commonwealth s financial system, MMARS. Additional information concerning COMMBUYS can be found at: 2. Applicable Procurement Law Check Appropriate Box ( ): Type of Purchase Applicable Laws Executive Branch Goods and Services Goods and Services MGL c. 7, 22; c. 30, 51, 52; 801 CMR Human and Social Services MGL c. 7, 22, 22N; c. 30, 51, 52; 801 CMR 21.00; 808 CMR 1.00 Legal Services MGL c. 30, 51, 52 and 65; c. 7, 22; and 801 CMR 21.01(2) (b) 2

3 Grants MGL c. 7A, 7; St c. 206, 17; 815 CMR Acquisition Method: Check All Applicable ( ): Category Fee-For-Service Outright Purchase Rental (not to exceed 6 months) Term Lease Tax Exempt Lease-Purchase (TELP) License Other: Fixed Price using subscription method 4. Whether Single or Multiple Contractors are Required for Contract: Check One ( ): a. Estimated Number of Awards Single Contractor Multiple Contractors The target maximum number of Contractors is one. However, OSD reserves the right to award more contracts, if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so. b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award If, over the life of the contract, OSD determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Solicitation but were not awarded Contracts. If necessary to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids. 5. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract Check One ( ): Eligible Entities Limited User Contract Restricted to Use by Defined Entities Only. Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the issuing Purchasing Department, OSD. OSD reserves the right to add or remove additional authorized users during the contract term. Limited User Contract Restricted to Use by Issuing Entity Only. 3

4 6. Expected Duration of Contract (Initial Duration and any Options to Renew): Contract Duration Initial Duration Renewal Options Total Maximum Contract Duration Number of Options Number of Years/Months One year from the contract execution date through July 31, Two options to renew for periods of up to one year each. Three years. 7. Anticipated Expenditures, Funding or Compensation: Estimated Value of Procurement: $450,000 This number is an estimated total value for this contract. The funding for any contract resulting from this procurement is conditioned upon receipt of COMMBUYS Operating funds. 8. Contract Performance and Business Specifications: A. Scope of Services: OSD seeks a firm with varied expertise in all facets of project implementation. OSD is seeking the services of a senior level consultant to provide engagement oversight and strategic advice on an as-needed basis, who will assist OSD in responding to changing conditions to accelerate and/or improve Project performance and in the creation of a new all-encompassing procurement community from all areas of Massachusetts government. The Senior Level consultant would be responsible for ensuring the availability of other consultants, and access to industry research, with substantial expertise in areas related to the Project, including but not limited to the following: procurement/strategic sourcing platforms and best practices, communications, change management, training, process improvement, and business process reengineering. OSD seeks to utilize these resources on a limited, but regular, basis. It is expected that initial meetings with OSD s senior management would occur to establish priorities and identify areas of concern. Subsequent meeting would occur at least monthly, with more frequent availability to respond to issues as they may arise. The Assistant Secretary and the COMMBUYS Project Director, or their designees, will receive both verbal and written recommendations to improve COMMBUYS Project outcomes, along with coaching in the area of professional development and strategic thinking with a focus on COMMBUYS. 4

5 The successful bidder must demonstrate the capability to provide: 1. Access to analysts via telephone or in person on all the areas of expertise provided by the bidder 2. Access to on-line and hard copy research 3. Research resources 4. Ability to post bidder s research documents (fully referenced) on the Commonwealth s intranet 5. CIO level programs that provide access to CIOs worldwide through a facilitated networking platform 6. Client website that includes book marking capability 7. alerts when new research is posted 8. Regular notifications of trends and items of interest customized to end user interest. 9. In person meetings at least monthly to discuss OSD initiatives and strategies. 10. A primary point of contact with expertise in IT strategy. B. Business Requirements/Specifications a. Contract Documents The order of priority of documents to interpret a Contract shall be as follows: the printed language of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, the Standard Contract Form, the Department s Request for Responses (RFR) solicitation document and the Contractor s Response to the RFR solicitation, excluding any language stricken by a Department as unacceptable and including any negotiated terms and conditions allowable pursuant to law or regulation, followed by the Statement of Work, if applicable. b. Added Value Qualifications It is desirable for Bidders to identify additional qualifications that have not been requested in this RFR, to the extent that the Bidder believes these will be of value to the Commonwealth in making a decision. 5

6 c. Contract Changes: OSD and the selected Contractor may negotiate either during a renewal period or as business conditions require, a change in any element of Contract performance or cost identified in the original RFR or the selected Contractor s RFR Response. Such changes must result in lower costs or better value than was presented in the selected Contractor s original RFR Response. d. Bidder Communication Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring department except as specified in this RFR. Bidders must contact Gary Lambert, Gary.Lambert@state.ma.us if the RFR is incomplete or the Bidder is having trouble obtaining any required attachments. No other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders questions submitted prior to the due date for Bidders questions will be answered and posted back to COMMBUYS. See the timeline with dates in Section 1 of this RFR. e. Ownership of Data Data collected from a third party on behalf of the Commonwealth by the Contractor, as part of Contract performance, shall become the property of the Commonwealth. Data provided to the Contractor by the Commonwealth shall remain the property of the Commonwealth. Contractors may not release or make use of such data except as provided by the Contract or as authorized in writing by the Project Sponsor. f. Effective Duration of Responses Responses must remain in effect for at least 120 days from the submission deadline and thereafter until either the Respondent withdraws the Response in writing, a Contract is executed, or the procurement is cancelled, whichever occurs first. Fiscal Terms: Responses must include an itemization of all proposed costs on a monthly and (cumulative) annual basis, for the entire three-year period during which the engagement may continue. 1. Acceptable Costs Costs that are not specifically identified in the Bidder s Response will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFR. The Commonwealth will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by Bidders responding to this RFR. 2. Expenses The Bidder must agree that, if it is awarded a Contract from this RFR, the Bidder will assume all costs for expenses including but not limited to: travel, meals, parking, and out-of-pocket expenses. 3. Shipping and Delivery Fee Exemption 6

7 The Commonwealth will not pay for any shipping or delivery fees unless specifically itemized in the Contract. 4. Payment All bills will be paid in accordance with the Commonwealth s Bill Payment Policy. See: Invoices for items ordered, delivered and accepted shall be submitted by the Contractor directly to OSD. a. Payment Schedule For the purposes of determining the Prompt Pay Discount, the number of days will be counted from the date of invoice or delivery, whichever occurs last. C. Bidder Qualifications a. Government and Non-Government Solutions Provider The bidder must have been in business for greater than 5 years providing this type of service to both government and non-government clients. i. Customer base and history The following information is required for the 12 months preceding the RFR submission date: What is the total customer base? Segment the customer base by major geography (Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America). What is the government customer base? Segment by base by major geography then by federal/state/local. Subject Matter Areas: Document the number of new subject matter areas added each year for the past 5 years. Document the number of articles published within each subject matter area for the past two years. b. Customer References Bidder must submit a list of at least three (3) customer references that have used the proposed solutions for a minimum of 12 months preceding the RFR submission date. One of the customer references must be state or federal government, and the remainder references must be Fortune 100 or 500 companies whose primary business is information technology. Reference listing must include the mailing address, address, telephone number and the name of a contact person. Bidders must have acceptable experience of successfully providing services comparable to those described in this RFR to clients whom have similar requirements, scope of service(s), and quantities as those of those of the Commonwealth. The PMT shall be the sole judge of what is acceptable 7

8 experience. The PMT reserves the right to contact and/or visit any party listed as a reference. It may also utilize other sources of information about the product(s) and/or service(s) proposed by the bidder where these sources are publicly available. c. Capability Bidder must provide information demonstrating their staff is of sufficient size and experience to complete the requirements outlined in this RFR. Specifically the bidder must describe: The number of areas of expertise supported by your organization The average number of active analysts that support each area of expertise Average years of experience per analyst d. Bidder s Financial Strength i. Dun and Bradstreet/Open Ratings Reports The Bidder must request the Past Performance Evaluation Report and the Supplier Evaluation Report from Open Ratings. Alternatively, if a Bidder has copies of these reports prepared within one year of the date of Response submission, the Bidder may submit copies of the reports in the Response. Bidders should be aware that Dun and Bradstreet produces many different types of reports; submission of Dun and Bradstreet reports other than those listed above is not acceptable. These reports may take several weeks to complete. Proposals will not be deemed complete until the reports have been received, but the Bidder may submit their Proposals in advance of receiving the reports. If the reports have not been received prior to final RFR scoring, the Response will be disqualified. Bidders should work with Open Ratings to ensure that their references can be contacted and that the reports can be submitted by the deadline. It is recommended that Bidders request these reports as soon as possible. The PMT reserves the right to disqualify a Response from a Bidder whose Supplier Evaluation Reports has a Supplier Risk Score greater than 4. Bidders must use the attached Dun and Bradstreet form in requesting these reports. The SSST may, in its discretion, accept alternate documentation to demonstrate a Bidder s financial strength, but is not obligated to do so. 9. Supplier Diversity Plan (SDP) Plan (minimum 10% weight) Bidders responding to this RFR are required to submit a Supplier Diversity Plan. Requirements for the Supplier Diversity Plan are included in the Required Specifications document. Submittal of an acceptable Supplier Diversity Plan will be a condition of contract execution for the selected vendor. 10. Environmentally Preferable Products Products and services purchased by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 515, issued October 27, Under this Executive Order, Executive Departments are required to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance public health by procuring environmentally preferable products 8

9 and services (EPPs) whenever such products and services perform to satisfactory standards and represent best value, consistent with 801 CMR In line with this directive, all Contracts, whether departmental or statewide, must comply with the specifications and guidelines established by OSD and the EPP Program. EPPs are considered to be products and services that help to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, protect public health and the environment, and promote the use of clean technologies, recycled materials, and less toxic products. 11. Evaluation Criteria Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes. The following items will factor into the vendor scoring listed below to determine the Best Value for the Commonwealth: 1. Ability of the Bidder to meet the business needs as shown through the Bidder s understanding of OSD s business needs and the reasonableness of the Bidder s proposed approach. 2. The Bidder s experience providing similar services for other similarly situated entities. 3. The Bidder s proposed implementation plan and how that aligns with the deadlines as identified by OSD. 4. Price OSD s final selection of a Bidder will be based on its determination of which Response/Quotation represents Best Value for the Commonwealth. 12. Instructions for Submission of Responses: Responses must be sent via the Create Quote functionality contained in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix B. Any submission which fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found nonresponsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and can be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the vendor to make minor corrections to the submission. 9

10 13. Estimated Procurement Calendar REQUEST FOR RESPONSE Procurement Activity Date Time Bid Release Date June 23, 2014 n/a Deadline for Submission of Questions through COMMBUYS Bid Q&A Official Answers for Bid Q&A published (Estimated) Bid Amendment Deadline / Online Quote Submission Begins. Bid documents will not be amended after this date. Deadline for Quotes/Bid Responses ( Bid Opening Date/Time in COMMBUYS) Notification of Apparent Successful Bidder(s) (Estimated) June 26, 2014 June 30, 2014 June 30, 2014 July 9, 2014 July 14, :00 PM EST 1:00 PM EST 4:00 PM EST 11:00 AM EST Negotiations (Estimated) July 21, 2014 Estimated Contract Start Date July 21, 2014 Bidders are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the procurement calendar for this Bid. a. Online Questions (Bid Q&A) Written Questions must be entered by pressing the Bid Q&A tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the Online Questions Due date and time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). The issuing department reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder s responsibility to verify receipt of questions. It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the address of the Bidder s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder s/awarded Contractor s designated address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder s/awarded Contractor s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including or spam filtering. 10

11 Written Responses to Questions will be released on or about the Responses to Questions Posted Online date indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). (Written questions and responses will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab for this Bid in COMMBUYS.) b. Bid Amendment Deadline The Purchasing Department reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS. c. Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening Date/Time) See the Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening) Date and Time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). d. Estimated Contract Start Date July 21, 2014 is the approximate start date. The actual start date will be the Contract Effective Date which is the date the Contract is executed by the parties. 14. Required Forms Responses to this RFR must contain the following documents: Check if applicable ( ) Form/Document Notes/Instructions (If any) Commonwealth Terms & Conditions Request for Taxpayer Identification Number & Certification (Massachusetts Substitute W-9 Form) Standard Contract Form and Instructions Wet Ink Signature Required Wet Ink Signature Required Wet Ink Signature Required Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing Wet Ink Signature Required EO 504 form Electronic Submission Authorization for Electronic Funds Transfer Electronic Submission Additional Environmentally Preferable Electronic Submission Products/Practices Supplier Diversity Plan Form 1 (SDP Plan Electronic Submission Commitment) Prompt Payment Discount Form Electronic Submission Business Reference Form Electronic Submission 11

12 The above attachments are available as attachments as part of the Bid record on RFR Attachments Appendix A: Required Specifications Appendix B: Electronic Quote Submission Instructions Appendix C: Required Specifications for Information Technology Appendix D: RFR Other Specifications 12