REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Transcription

1 RESPONSE COVER SHEET City of REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS Project No Qualification Statement for Independent Professional Technology Service Firms The undersigned, having carefully read and considered the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the above referenced solicitation, does hereby offer to provide services on behalf of the City of Pueblo in the manner described and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this RFQ. In submitting this Statement of Qualifications (SOQ), it is understood that the City of Pueblo reserves the right to reject any and all Statements, and to waive any informalities in the SOQs as submitted. Vendor represents it is qualified for work of this nature and has experienced personnel able to undertake the project and to provide the required services. The City may request information substantiating the Vendor s submittal. Failure to provide all information may result in a Vendor being refused qualification status. Vendor acknowledges that components of and responses to this Request may be included as a part of the final contract by reference. By signing below Vendor further states that its submission is made in good faith and is not founded on, or in consequence of, any collusion, agreement or understanding between it and any other interested party. Proposer must attach a Certificate of Good Standing from the state wherein Proposer was organized. (All contact information must be filled out) VENDOR: (Signature) BY (name/title) ADDRESS (office & PO Box) ADDRESS PHONE CELL FAX CONTACT PERSON & TITLE PHONE NUMBER & , (if different than above) Page 1 of 11

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE... 3 II. ERP CLARIFICATION / REQUIREMENTS... 3 III. CITY OVERVIEW... 4 IV. PROJECT PURPOSE... 5 V. INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTERFACES... 5 VI. EXPECTATIONS AND DELIVERABLES... 5 VII. INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION... 6 VIII. SCHEDULE... 7 IX. SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION... 7 X. QUALIFICATIONS... 7 XI. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTRACT AWARD... 9 XII. OMISSIONS... 9 XIII. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY... 9 XIV. COST OF DEVELOPING PREQUALIFICATION STATEMENTS XV. PROPOSALS OWNERSHIP / CONFIDENTIALITY / CONDITIONS XVI. REJECTION OF STATEMENTS XVII. DEBARMENT XVIII. PERA XIX. STATE-IMPOSED ILLEGAL ALIENS MANDATES XX. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Page 2 of 11

3 Project No Qualification Statement for Independent Professional Technology Service Firms The City of Pueblo ("City") is soliciting Statements of Qualifications from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Vendor Selection Consultancy Services firms with proven experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and other enterprise system solution implementations for municipalities of similar size and business processes as the City. This RFQ will be used to qualify vendors who will be invited to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for consulting services. Submittals will be received up to the hour of 2:00:00 PM (local time) on October 18, 2011, at the City s Purchasing Office, 230 South Mechanic Street, Pueblo, Colorado I. BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE The City of Pueblo is evaluating ERP software alternatives to replace and improve our current ERP software functionality. The City of Pueblo s objective is to develop, at a minimum, a Request for Proposal (RFP) document for an ERP system and/or applicable systems that will fit the enterprise architecture used by the City and that has the required municipal functionality for the different departments supporting the City of Pueblo. The role of the ERP Vendor Selection Consultant will be to guide the City of Pueblo in defining, asking and answering all of the essential questions that can be used to distinguish the leading ERP vendor candidates available in the marketplace. The efforts will involve defining the total solution and not just the functional application requirements. The ERP Vendor Selection Consultant must demonstrate knowledge and experience applying ERP software selection methodologies and provide their own tools and templates. In addition to the ERP Vendor Selection approach, vendors must be able to provide an independent and objective opinion of the ERP vendor market place. The City may also utilize an independent verification and validation (IVV) consultant for quality assurance of project including confirmation that all related business requirements were implemented as required and to assist the City's Project management with determining project progress and deliverables. The City may select an IVV from the vendors qualified through this process. II. ERP CLARIFICATION / REQUIREMENTS While the term ERP has many meanings and can be scoped in different ways, for the purposes of the RFQ, the term ERP is defined as the core system functions associated with the following high-level municipal governmental activities. Please note however, that this list is for illustration purposes only, ultimately this consulting engagement will refine this list to produce a core set of functions for inclusion in the RFP or RFP(s) that are determined as project deliverables. 1. Finance Management including General Ledger Accounting and Reporting 2. Cash receipting and Accounts receivable 3. Accounts Payable 4. Purchasing and Inventory including requisitions, purchase orders, order issuing and receiving, bid and contract management, vendor registration and asset disposal 5. Capital Asset Management 6. Project Management 7. Banking and Investment Management 8. Debt Administration Page 3 of 11

4 9. Special Assessments and Cost Recovery Accounting 10. Budgeting to include annual and payroll budgeting 11. Payroll including Payables Direct Deposit 12. E-Procurement 13. Sales Tax and Business Licensing - not a mandatory need, but may be considered for replacement 14. Reporting 15. Insurance and Pensions 16. Human Resources including risk management, benefits administration, recruitment management and workforce compensation 17. Timekeeping and reporting 18. Inventory 19. Code Enforcement 20. Community Development 21. Fleet Management 22. Fuel Management System 23. Work order and Asset Management 24. Employee Self-Service 25. Customer Information Systems 26. Citizen Access including on-line bill pay 27. Case Management/Municipal Court 28. Ticket Processing 29. Interfaces or data exchanges with other agencies such as County, State, Federal, Banks and Service providers. 30. Interfaces to in-house or other 3rd party applications The City is aware that separate systems may be required to address and provide the City with optimum functionality and growth. However, the City will require that interfaces between the external system and core system will need to be developed. III. CITY OVERVIEW The City of Pueblo is a City Council/City Manager form of government with 7 elected Council members. It has an approximate $72M annual budget with 55% of the revenue coming from sales and use tax revenues. The City has over 20 departments including 4 enterprises and employees approximately 1000 full, part, and seasonal employees. The City's population is approximately 105,000, and it is a multi-cultural and multi-racial rich community. It is located at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, and is the economic hub of southeastern Colorado and is a center for health care, education, and retail activity. With northsouth access from Interstate 25 and east-west access from State Highways 50, 10, and 160, thanks to the surrounding areas, which stretch from Kansas on the east, New Mexico on the south and as far as Durango on the west, Pueblo continues to grow economically despite its relatively flat population growth. The City directly provides many essential services for the betterment of the Pueblo community. These include fire protection, police services, infrastructure maintenance, planning, culture, recreation (80 plus parks in addition to numerous recreational activities), housing programs, and administrative services. A full list of departments is available at our website at City of Pueblo currently uses Sungard's HTE ERP system but the low ease of use, along with lack of integration, functionality and difficulty for expansion have been barriers to widespread implementation. We are looking for an ERP solution that is more user-friendly, robust and requires less administration. Page 4 of 11

5 IV. PROJECT PURPOSE The City s purpose is to select one vendor to establish a partnership with and provide consulting services to assist the City in completing a needs analysis, requirements definition set, RFP (s) development and evaluation, short-list creation of ERP vendors, lead vendor demonstrations, develop high-level project plan and provide recommendations for final award. The consultant will work side-by-side with the City's project team, and the City will make all final decisions for all products and final awards. At its discretion, the City may exercise the option to have the selected consultant actively participate in system implementation as the City's partner in project management oversight and quality assurance. Note: The City reserves the right to not enter into any contract, to add and/or delete elements, or to change any element of the coverage and participation at any time without prior notification and without any liability or obligation of any kind or amount. The City can renegotiate any aspect of the scope of work with the selected bidder prior to awarding any contract. The City currently utilizes Sungard's HTE system for much of its ERP functionality. Several City departments also utilize disparate or home-grown systems to provide functionality that HTE does not or cannot adequately provide. The HTE system has become obsolete and annual maintenance and support costs for maintaining HTE and the other disparate systems is becoming burdensome and expensive. In addition, with today's economy many of the departments do not have enough staff to continue utilizing manual processes or performing duplicate data entry between all of the systems. The City must consolidate and take advantage of operating efficiencies that an integrated system can provide. The City is using the term integration as the ability for disparate modules/components of an ERP system to work together seamlessly as a whole to perform the functions identified in the needs analysis/system specifications. This integration can be functionality offered by design in the system, or possibly through other means such as by API, web service, database connections or developed interfaces. All components of the system must be integrated. V. INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTERFACES The City of Pueblo's HTE system runs on an I.B.M. i-series mid-range computer with all other systems running on Dell hardware utilizing Microsoft Server 2003 and above, and MS Access 2003 and above, MS SQL 2003 and above. Experience with this infrastructure will be required. a. Possible Interfaces The City' Police Department uses Sungard's OSSI Record Management System and Computer-Aided Dispatch systems. Applicable interfaces to the ERP will be required including warrant and ticketing information ESRI - Geographical Information systems Innoprise Sales Tax Application NeoGov Applicant Tracking VI. EXPECTATIONS AND DELIVERABLES Below are the anticipated expectations and preliminary deliverables expected from the awarded consultant. The Consultant will be expected to identify: deficiencies within the current system (s) that can be enhanced with new software solutions as well as propose opportunities for improved system design and efficiency; Page 5 of 11

6 the effectiveness of the existing software solution in meeting the business needs of the City including the need for accurate and complete financial information, proper internal controls, and effective workflow processes; existing department-specific data or data needs that may be incorporated into a citywide software solution; and the ability of existing stand-alone systems to effectively integrate into a financial management software solution and the necessary components for successful integration. Please state whether or not you can comply with these expectations: Can Comply Cannot Comply Please provide a detailed response describing ability to provide or complete each of the deliverables below. Ability to complete a needs analysis and system requirement specifications. For example, what systems components are necessary and what form and level of integration is necessary with existing applications and processes. The expected results are to identify areas of overlap between systems as well as gaps not serviced by current systems. Ability to address the business process change that will occur upon implementation of a new ERP. Ability to work in conjunction with the City of Pueblo s ERP selection team to coordinate and drive the collection of business requirements from the different departments Ability to work with the City of Pueblo s Project Team and Project Manager to develop an RFP document to be sent to the appropriate vendors that offer ERP software that would potentially meet the needs of the City of Pueblo. Ability to work with the City of Pueblo's Project Team and the Project Manager to develop a predetermined methodology and criteria for evaluation of RFP. Ability to prescribe an RFP response format in the RFP that will support and facilitate the use of a predetermined RFP evaluation process. Ability to help the City of Pueblo evaluate the results of an RFP and aid in the selection of a vendor for a new ERP Windows environment system. Ability to work with the City of Pueblo s Project Team and the Project Manager to evaluate the results of the RFP to select the top three or four most qualified ERP software vendors. Ability to work with ERP vendors for demonstration of their capabilities to the City of Pueblo and all key users of their ERP system Ability to develop and coordinate demonstrations and evaluate the differences, advantages and disadvantages of each vendor based on the demonstrations and experience and independent knowledge of the ERP vendors Ability to assist with and participate in contract negotiations Ability to develop a detailed project plan for the implementation phase should the City opt to partner with awarded consultant for implementation VII. INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION The City may wish to utilize an independent verification and validation (IVV) consultant to handle quality assurance for this project. Your ability to or not to provide these services will not be scored; however, it will assist the City in gathering some data for use in the RFP. If the City chooses to pursue an IVV consultant, the IVV role will include, but may not be limited to: 1. An in-depth review of the foundational project documents (scope statement, business requirements, and product delivery) 2. A review of project status documents, meeting minutes, etc. Page 6 of 11

7 3. Review of the RFP and other various planning documents including but not limited to, project plan, communication plan, risk management information, test plans and acceptance criteria. If you are able to serve as an IVV, please provide: A detail response as to your experience as an IVV. A list of customers for whom you have acted as an IVV Your opinion of the importance of an IVV on a project this size and complexity VIII. SCHEDULE Statements of Qualification Due: October 18, 2011 Notification of Qualification: December 2011 RFP distribution 1st Quarter 2012 IX. SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION Vendors determined by City of Pueblo who possess the capacity to compete for this contract will receive a solicitation for an RFP response. Written notification will be sent to all RFQ respondents which will state whether or not you have been selected to respond to an RFP. X. QUALIFICATIONS All vendors must provide the following information in order for their proposal to be considered. Qualifications will only be considered from Vendors who submit complete responses to the following items. Failure of Vendors to respond to any of the following submittal requirements may be grounds for considering a qualification non-responsive and/or refusing qualification status. Please provide the following information: A. General An Executive Summary - should contain a brief statement of the proposer's understanding of the work to be done. Identify the points that make your firm uniquely qualified for this engagement. A Cover letter - should indicate the name, title, address, address, fax number, and telephone number of the proposer's primary contact for the project and be signed by an individual authorized to commit the company to a project of this scope. B. Previous Work Experience List at least five (5) engagements where your company has assisted a public sector client of similar size in defining requirements, developing an RFP, and selecting ERP software for an enterprise-wide implementation. Describe the project, start and end dates, the function/modules included, your role, the outcome, and how the engagement qualifies your company to perform Pueblo's project. List at least five engagements where your company has been the primary implementation services provider for an enterprise-wide implementation of an ERP software package. Address how the experience qualifies you to be the consultant for the City's ERP. Provide (3) references from municipalities; include name; location; physical description; delivery method; completion date; cost; and owner s name and current phone number. Page 7 of 11

8 C. Personnel and Organization Identify staff, including owner and/or principal, project manager, and any others to be assigned to this team. List any partners you might use and the services they will perform, including the number of years associated with you. Provide resumes of each person that will be associated with this project, describing specific experience and qualifications demonstrating their ability to perform the required work. Provide general information regarding your company s additional personnel resources, including office staff. Provide information regarding your current and projected workload. Include a description the project and the client The City is requiring that any business or organizational relationships with ERP software OEMs or resellers are disclosed as part of your response. Provide list of ERP vendors and systems that you have recommended to other cities our size in the last 5 years. Provide any previous or pending litigation of any kind. Any involvement in tort action for failure to perform must be disclosed and included with your response. D. Project Approach Provide an ERP sample project plan, defining major tasks and including methodology, of a project similar in size and scope to the City of Pueblo. Discuss the process to be used to define the City's business requirements and to select a proven ERP solution that best meet those requirements. Discuss your approach in putting together a budget estimate for an ERP solution including software, hardware, and implementation services Discuss your philosophy for communication with the City Project Manager, departmental staff, and selected ERP vendor (s). Discuss your philosophy in managing change, project risk and scope Discuss your Quality control including a gap analysis of City requirements that are not addressed by the ERP package. Discuss Project closeout. E. Company and Financial History Provide your company s history Provide information on your customer base and the business sectors you currently support, i.e. government, public etc. Indicate companies with which you currently have a partnership Indicate your financial strength within the industry and are financially sound and are likely to remain strongly committed for the next 5 years Disclose any legal, organizational, or marketing alliance relationships (including any business agency as broker, manufacturer, dealer, independent representative, or franchisee) your company has with OEMs or vendors of ERP software. Describe the nature of the relationship. Disclose any legal, organizational, or marketing alliance relationships (including any business agency as broker, manufacturer, dealer, independent representative, or franchisee) your company has with other software or hardware vendors (other than OEMs or ERPs), or implementation consultants. Describe the nature of the relationship. Disclose any conflict of interest that may potentially affect your ability to objectively advise the City on hardware, software or services, and ERP selection. Describe the potential conflict and any mitigating actions that would be taken. Page 8 of 11

9 F. Differential Statement Provide specific information that differentiates your company from other qualified, competing companies, specifically in regards to this project. Please limit your statement to one (1) page. G. Other Information Please feel free to include any other information that may help us understand your company and its approach to providing technology consulting services and related ERP experience to governmental entities. Provide a sample of all applicable contract, licensing, and software agreements including non-appropriation clauses H. Submittal Format Submittals are to be spiral-bound or stapled and placed in a sealed envelope with an appropriate label identifying the contents. Provide eight (8) copies of the qualification documents (one of which shall be unbound and untabbed). XI. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTRACT AWARD The City shall evaluate and select the qualified vendors. Once the qualified Vendor list is determined, the City will solicit those Qualified Vendors to provide cost proposals breaking down the costs for all requested and optional services. A. Interviews - Submittals will be reviewed and the selection committee will select a preliminary list of submitting companies whose submissions appear to satisfy the requirements of this Request. Companies will be notified of their selection and may be invited to personally interview, which will be scheduled as soon as possible after sufficient review of each submittal. Invited companies key staff, including the proposed project manager must be in attendance at the interview. B. Scoring Criteria The Selection Committee will score the qualification submittal based upon the following breakdown: Previous Experience with ERP requirement definition and software selection (20%) Personnel Qualifications and Experience (20%) Ability to perform the Scope of Work (30%) Project Approach and Methodology (15%) Financial Security (10%) Compliance with RFQ format and completeness of response (5%) XII. OMISSIONS Should the City omit anything from this Request which is necessary for a clear understanding of the work, or should it appear that various instructions are in conflict, then the submitter shall secure written instructions from the Purchasing Department at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time and date of the opening of submissions as stated above. XIII. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY The City of Pueblo is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Vendor will commit to and meet the nondiscrimination and equal employment requirements of Section 1-8-3, P.M.C. (copy provided on Purchasing website). Minority and Woman Owned Businesses are encouraged to submit Prequalification statements. Page 9 of 11

10 XIV. COST OF DEVELOPING PREQUALIFICATION STATEMENTS All costs related to the preparation of the prequalification statements and any related activities are the sole responsibility of the companies. The City assumes no liability for any costs incurred by respondents throughout the prequalification process. XV. PROPOSALS OWNERSHIP / CONFIDENTIALITY / CONDITIONS All Proposals, including attachments, supplementary materials, addenda, etc. shall become the property of the City and will not be returned to the proposer. The only documents that will be considered confidential will be financial statements or trade secrets that are specifically marked CONFIDENTIAL on each page. All other documents submitted to the City will be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. Proposals that are copyrighted or marked CONFIDENTIAL in their entirety will be rejected and not receive consideration for award. This RFQ is not a contract and alone shall not be interpreted as such but rather serves as an instrument through which proposals will be solicited. XVI. REJECTION OF STATEMENTS No submission shall be accepted from, or contract awarded to, any person, company or corporation that is in arrears to the City, upon debt or contract or that is in default, as surety or otherwise, upon any obligation to the City, or that may be deemed irresponsible or unreliable by the City. Prospective companies may be required to submit satisfactory evidence that they have the necessary financial resources to perform and complete the work outlined in this Request. XVII. DEBARMENT By submitting its Prequalification Statement, all prospective vendors certify that neither the company nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, in the process of debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any federal department, agency, or any municipality, including the City of Pueblo. XVIII. PERA The Contract documents for the Project will provide that Vendor shall reimburse the City for the full amount of any employee contribution required to be paid by the City of Pueblo to the Public Employees Retirement Association ( PERA ) for salary or other compensation paid to a PERA retiree performing contracted services for the City. XIX. STATE-IMPOSED ILLEGAL ALIENS MANDATES The Contract documents for the Project will contain provisions for enforcement of state-imposed mandates prohibiting illegal aliens from performing work. XX. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The City of Pueblo appreciates the time and effort invested in the preparation of submittals in response to this Request, and thanks you for your interest. For information concerning the scope of the RFQ, interested parties may contact Lori Pinz, Information Technology Director at (719) , via fax (719) or at lpinz@pueblo.us up to three (3) business days prior to submittal deadline. For information concerning Request for Qualification procedures and regulations (i.e. submission deadline, forms required, etc.), interested parties may contact Naomi Hedden, Director of Page 10 of 11

11 Purchasing at (719) , via fax (719) or at up to three (3) business days prior to submittal deadline. Any changes or revisions to our published RFQP specifications will be through written addendum posted on the Purchasing Department web page and via the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System. It is entirely the vendor s responsibility to check the City Purchasing website ( for any addenda that may be available. It is also the vendor s responsibility to contact either Lori Pinz for technical questions or Naomi Hedden for procedural questions within three (3) business days prior to bid openings if further clarification is needed on any subject matter within this RFQ. Page 11 of 11