Request for Proposal Phone System Replacement (RFP 13 04) For South Carolina Legal Services' and Intake Office 2109 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201

Transcription

1 Request for Proposal Phone System Replacement (RFP 13 04) For South Carolina Legal Services' and Intake Office 2109 Bull Street Columbia, SC Proposal Due Date: May 3, 2013; 5:00 p.m. EST

2 1. Summary South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS) is requesting proposals for a premised based phone system replacement (equipment, installation, training, maintenance, service and trade in), in accordance with the specifications, terms, and conditions as stated in the Request for Proposal (RFP). The premisedbased phone system replacement should provide our organization with an IP based unified communications system and call center. Planning should start June, 2013 with a complete installation and cut over date no later than November, Background SCLS is a non profit corporation, funded by grants from the federally funded Legal Services Corporation, the South Carolina Bar Foundation, and the South Carolina Bar, local United Ways, state court filing fees, and other federal, state and local funding. SCLS provides free legal services in a wide variety of civil (non criminal) legal matters to eligible low income residents of South Carolina. SCLS serves residents of all areas of the state with field offices located throughout South Carolina. SCLS' statewide Intake Office is based upon a call center model. It is a nationally recognized model within the legal services community. The Intake office's phone system is eleven+ years old with the majority of equipment no longer supported. SCLS wants to push the use of unified messaging and unified communications while consolidating the existing phones system components into a single system. 3. Period of Contract: Beginning June, 2013 through Completion Not Later than November, All Inquiries for Information should be directed to: Pat Muller, Information Technology Manager, (803) A copy of the Request for Proposal can be downloaded from: No inquiries will be accepted after May 3, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. EST The acceptance of a Response to this RFP does not obligate SCLS to purchase any system. 4. Proposal Preparation and Submission Deadline 3.1 General Instructions: 3.11 RFP Response: to be considered for selection, Offerors must submit a complete response to this RFP. All proposals must include one (1) soft copy and two (2) hard copies of a complete set of proposal, drawings and other documentation. All hard copy proposals must be submitted in an opaque, sealed envelope and addressed to: South Carolina Legal Services Attn: Pat Muller, I.T. Manager 2109 Bull Street Columbia, SC Page 2 of 8

3 3.12 All Proposals must be received in the SCLS office by 5:00 PM on May 3, Proposals received after this time will not be accepted. All proposals remain the property of SCLS. The vendor must provide a statement attesting that all information provided in its proposal to SCLS is true and accurate to the best of its knowledge. Proposals can also be ed to: patmuller@sclegal.org, subject: SCLS Phone System RFP. Inquiries regarding this proposal prior to the deadline can be sent by to patmuller@sclegal.org, or by calling Pat Muller at (803) All answers to each question will be distributed to all vendors. 4. Selection SCLS reserves the right to make a selection based on the vendor s ability to meet the requirements of this RFP and other related factors, not necessarily the lowest bid. SCLS may contact a vendor for more information and clarification of a bid prior to, or after, the submission deadline. The vendor receiving this contract must have experience with phone systems for legal services, call centers, and/or other non profit organizations. The successful bidder will be notified in writing. All bidders will be notified of the selection by regular US mail or address, if provided. It is anticipated that a vendor will be selected by May 31, Timeline Event Date Request For Proposal Issued April 16, 2013 Last Day for Questions/Clarifications April 26, 2013 Response to Bidder Questions April 29, 2013 Proposal Due May 3, 2013 Purchasing Decision May 17, 2013 Begin planning June, 2013 Begin installation of core components August, 2013 Cut over October, 2013 Sign off on finished phone system and features November, Existing Network Currently we have the following phone systems in place: SCLS' telephone system is a Siemens HiPath 3800 PBX with version 7 software. The Intake Office has a Vuesion ACD server with 8 port announcers, 12 agents, 1 supervisor and call center reports package. Our Intake Office has 8 lines with a capacity of 12. Call routing for limited English proficient (LEP) applicants is Page 3 of 8

4 handled by intake office staff as well as statewide staff with multiple language capability. The phone system has a separate queue to assist LEP callers. SCLS uses TTY and relay services to assist callers with hearing disabilities. The Intake Office s managing attorney has the ability to review wait times and dropped calls as well as generate reports to assist with call center management. SCLS intake office phone system provides recorded information on services provided as well as informational scripts on substantive areas of law while waiting and after hours. The recorded information is available in English and Spanish. * Total PRIs 55 (statewide) * Total of 158 digital phones statewide / 3 IP phones (desktop handsets) at Intake Office * T1s 2 offices: (Intake Office and Columbia) *T1s 1 (8 offices): (Charleston, Conway, Florence, Greenville, Greenwood, Orangeburg, Rock Hill and Spartanburg) SCLS has a MPLS wide area network in place: [See attached file South Carolina Legal Services Communications Diagram' pdf., Attachment A] 7. Project Scope SCLS is specifically requesting a premised based phone system quote for its Intake Office (Call Center) and SCLS' statewide organization to meet the following needs with features including, but not limited to: I. General phone system: A. General 1) Allow for 50% growth of trunks and total users 2) Single point administration for Intake Office (*all offices) 3) Custom hold music and announcements 4) Call distribution to extensions or groups of extensions 5) Routing menus for call distribution 6) Multi party conferencing 7) Exchange integration B. Receptionists 1) Automatic day and night mode transitions 2) Visual extension status through console or software C. Mobility 1) Soft clients 2) Follow me 3) Mobile phone integration (outbound calls, apps, etc) 4) Seamless handoffs between mobile and office. D. Voic 1) Voic through Page 4 of 8

5 II. III. Intake Office/ ACD: A. Call center routing 1) Simple process for custom recordings 2) Multiple queues 3) Supervisor consult (break less conferencing) B. Call center reporting C. Call center monitoring D. Call center call back E. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) software application that routes incoming calls on a first come first serve basis F. VOIP capability G. Interactive Voice Response (IVR). This feature allows applicants to request forms or materials to be mailed to them directly, offer 24 hour recordings on common legal matters, available while applicants are waiting in queue or after hours H. Skill based Routing query application about their language preference, age, etc. (ability to expand if grants awarded) for call routing I. Remote Access capability ability to link satellite offices to in house system J. Call Flow Control K. Computer Technology Integration (CTI) L. Live Call Quality Monitoring ability to listen in screeners call with applicant M. Real Time Call Reporting (robust reporting capability reports on calls and on screeners) N. Historical Call Reporting (robust reporting capability reports on calls and on screeners) O. Ability for system to generate automatic reports based on week, month, year and send in P. Contact History Database Q. Call Conferencing R. Record Calls S. Coach Agents T. Skills Based Routing U. Text to Speech Capability V. Auto Call Back Notification W. Information on Hold X. Hold times given to people in queue (announce their place and approximate hold times) Y. Ability to set the maximum hold time in queue Z. Ability for the phone system to be answered and routed to other locations, mobile phones, etc. in case of a natural disaster. Support & Maintenance A. Software/ firmware upgrades included in yearly maintenance. B. Vendor to stock critical system components. C. On site work at all locations included. IV. Existing Infrastructure Page 5 of 8

6 A. Provide testing to ensure network infrastructure is not only adequate but free of underlying issues that could be problematic to the quoted phone system. Items to be tested include: 1) Network wiring vendors may assume existing Cat 5 is adequate for bid purposes. Final site surveys may be performed at SCLS' discretion after initial review of submitted bids. 2) Network switches vendors should assume that each location will require a POE switch. 3) Network routers 4) Office to office connections FXO trunks are currently in place to allow four digit dialing between offices. Given the MPLS network in place, we expect to eliminate the FXO trunks and route via IP. V. Bid Structure A. The bid shall have two scenarios. The first scenario will address upgrades at the Intake Office (Call Center), and the second will address upgrades to SCLS' other nine (9) locations. [See attached file SC Legal Phone RFQ.xls, Attachment B] 8. Project Management (Vendor) 1. Describe your implementation plan and how long installation will take from the contract signing date. Include any installation considerations or prerequisites of which SCLS should be aware of. 2. Describe your proposed premised based system support, detailing size of technical team, organization and responsibilities, response time guarantees, and location, etc. 3. Describe system maintenance. Performed by whom? How often? At what cost? 4. Describe your approach to training and detail the requirements for user, administrator, and maintenance level proficiency. 5. Describe your disaster recovery/business continuity process. 9. SCLS' Responsibilities 1. SCLS will provide the vendor with a more detailed explanation for each item above as requested. 2. SCLS will be available for questions about functionality and features by the vendor. Page 6 of 8

7 10. Bidder Information Requirements RFP Format Please organize your response to SCLS' RFP in the following manner: Table of Contents Section 1: Executive Overview (summarize your response, which should be structured so anyone reading only this section has a clear understanding of the proposed premised based solution. Also, bidders must clearly identify the benefits afforded SCLS through the implementation of the proposed premisedbased solution. Section 2: Premised Based Solution Overview (provide a design narrative and diagram of the proposed premised based solution) Section 3: Bidder Profile and Capabilities (include the following information) Company Profile Company Name Company Address Company Telephone Number Company URL Years in Business Number of locations Number of employees Proof of liability insurance and amounts Equal opportunity policy Other products and services offered Include any warranties and guarantees offered by your company in the proposal Explain how the company supports non profits Section 4: Provide three (3) customers that have purchased comparable phone systems: Company name Business contact Company phone number 11. Technical questions [See attached file SCLS Technical Questions.doc, Attachment C] Page 7 of 8

8 12. Pricing All submitted bids need to fully satisfy all of the items outlined in the Project Scope. The successful vendor must guarantee that all delivered material, equipment, and/or services shall be as bid. SCLS will accept no substitutions unless prior to delivery, material/equipment has been inspected, found to be equal to the item(s) specified, and approved in writing by a representative of SCLS. All materials, products, and services offered must be standard, new, latest model of regular stock product or as required by the specifications and available to the phone system manufacturer. The bids need to include all items necessary for a turn key premised based solution with the exception of items such as wiring, power and circuits. Bids should be itemized to include service (different support plans, if any), installation, and programming, training, and equipment costs. Pricing must also denote ongoing and initial costs as well as any supplemental charges that may be incurred during our relationship. Software licenses should be a separate line item. Please include all relevant information regarding available financing along with the terms. Also include information for buying back our existing phone system, voic server and phones. RFP prices initially quoted by the vendor shall remain firm and not subject to increase during the term of any contractual agreement between SCLS and the successful bidder. In the event the price of any component(s) covered under this agreement shall decrease after the award of the contract, but prior to the installation, the cost for SCLS shall reflect the decrease in price. SCLS reserves the right to negotiate the price, delivery and terms of this RFP. Page 8 of 8