Request for Proposal (RFP) for Establishment Standardized Grading System for Commodity Trading Platform

Transcription

1 Request for Proposal (RFP) for Establishment Standardized Grading System for Commodity Trading Platform 1.0 Introduction Since Katalyst s inception in 2002, the project has achieved significant job and income impact by increasing the competitiveness of micro, small and medium sized enterprises in selected urban and rural sectors. Katalyst follows a pro-poor, market development approach in promoting economic growth. It partners with a wide range of private and public sector organizations in order to leverage its resources and maximize impact. Katalyst is implemented under the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) of the Government of Bangladesh by Swisscontact and GIZ International Services. The project is jointly funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the UK Department for International Development (UKAid), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The services group of Katalyst is involved in developing markets for cross-sector business services which have relevance to a wide array of businesses irrespective of their industry-type or geographic locations. The group is currently focusing on cross sectors like rural distribution, rural supply chain, packaging, media, and information and communication technology (ICT) services market. Current assignment is commissioned under the ICT sector initiative of Katalyst, to introduce an information disseminating platform through telecommunication media that can enhance access to better information services for rural farmers/producers and small enterprises which in turn can benefit them through net income increase, by increasing sales revenue or reducing cost of production. 2.0 Background Agriculture is one of the driving forces of Bangladesh economy. It provides employment to around 25% of the workforce and perhaps constitutes the largest portion of the poor either as producer or labor. However, underlying constraints impinging on this sector result in its underperformance. These constraints range from poor sourcing of quality inputs to lack of information about better farming practices, crop care and market prices, to poor market linkages etc. These Page 1 of 6

2 realities compromise productivity and profitability of the farmers. One such constraint is the lack of access to timely and accurate information. While addressing the issue of access to timely and accurate information or absence of it, more often it refers to information regarding cultivation techniques, input availabilities and so forth. But if the issue of information regarding forward market access, such as information on current and future market price, information on market demand on product type and quality, volume of harvested marketable product at farm-gate markets around the country, is considered- the situation is more vulnerable. Hence, it is important to address the issue of access to information from the perspective of access to market that can benefit farmers/producers of agricultural products in Bangladesh. Benefits, among many other peripheral benefits for different stakeholders within the value chain 1 system, can arise from ensured higher price offers for quality products and assured buyers of products that reach certain standardized level. Access to market is ensured for the farmer/producer, if the crop meets the buyer s required standard. Therefore, the ICT sector sees the potential of a standardized product grading system as an important tool within the rural market in ensuring common standard parameters for individual crops across the board. Such development will eventually help the rural poor farmers to get easy access to markets, increase opportunities for higher income through better price; or assured, on time sales reducing the burden of uncertainty in selling their produce. Katalyst s market development approach, as mentioned in the brief, generally necessitates that partnerships with the private sector companies are formed based on the following core tenets: The intervention results in poverty alleviation of the targeted beneficiaries, which is at the heart of all the work of Katalyst. The private sector firm has the right incentive to undertake the commercial venture so that it continues with the venture even after Katalyst exits from the collaboration. The partnership between Katalyst and the private sector partner(s) is anchored in a costsharing basis. The interventions ensure that there is wider market development in terms of enterprises and targeted beneficiaries. Katalyst is currently venturing into a pilot activity with different private sector actors to introduce an agricultural commodity trading (ACT) online platform that will offer access to standardized grading system as a service among various other offers for both the buyers (i.e. bulk buyers) and sellers (farmers/producers) of agricultural products. 1 Value chain: The sequence of activities that a firm undertakes to create value, including the various steps of the supply chain but also additional activities, such as marketing, sales, and service Page 2 of 6

3 3.0 Objective The purpose of the RFP is for the Service Provider to propose, coordinate and lead a small team of professionals who would actively work with Katalyst and other implementation partners of the overall project to develop a Standardized Grading System for an on line agriculture commodity trading platform, which would help the trading platform by offering a cost-effective and competitive service for its client(s) and ensure future usage and growth of the overall service offer of the project. The service provider would be responsible for meeting the following objectives: 1. Present an elaborate proposal and implementation plan for introducing standardized grading system for the selected agricultural produces. 2. Propose planned timeline for executing different stages of the overall planning keeping in consideration the harvesting periods for each of the selected crops. 3. Identify potential public and private bodies to integrate into such system, the possible constraints of trying to work with them, and the possible ways to resolve those issues. 4. For each of the selected products, identify the stages of grading, the activities involved, the responsible actors, and the compliance procedure to be followed at each stage of grading to attain the required quality. 5. Preparation of a standardized grading system manual with detailed product grading, for selected crops, based on common parameters. It should help develop a generic understanding of commodity quality issues. 6. Conduct training of the ACT platform owner, agro goods procurement companies and relevant stakeholders. 7. Develop a monitoring/performance measurement system that can be used by concerned owner of the platform for measuring performance of different service agents against certain benchmarks. Page 3 of 6

4 8. Propose a continuous validation process of the grading system that can ensure costeffectiveness and competitiveness of the grading service to its clients and vendors in the long run. 9. Propose an expansion plan for the service to include other types of agricultural produces and detail on the commercial feasibility and usability by other potential private sector clients. 4.0 Scope The assignment will focus on developing standardization for perishable vegetable items during the pilot stage. The service provider needs to plan its implementation strategy with provision of expanding its service nationally and over a broader spectrum of crops. The service provider needs to spend a considerable amount of time in the field with Katalyst and its project partners to investigate existing agro-trading practices and comprehend different common value addition activities within various crop value-chains. 5.0 Reporting The service provider will report to Katalyst with all the deliverables and as per the needs of the project. In terms of periodicity, s/he will provide weekly updates to Katalyst about the progress of the program. The findings/reports will be shared with concerned partners of the project as well. Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of tasks and recommendations in respect to the given assignment and in light with its relevance with overall project integration. 6.0 Expected Timeframe Possible Areas of Work Finalize activity planning with other project partners Weeks Page 4 of 6

5 Finalize list of crops for standardized grading system Identify potential public and private bodies to integrate into such system and formulate collaboration strategies Identify grading stages, activities and responsible actors for each of the selected products Prepare a standardized grading system manual, in association with the project partners, for achieving crops of desired quality Develop a monitoring/ performance measurement system for different service agents Conduct training for the ACT platform owner, agro goods procurement companies and relevant stakeholders Feedback from User Develop a final module on standardized grading system targeted to the ACT platform owner, agro goods procurement companies and relevant stakeholders Final report preparation and submission 7.0 Next Step Considering the schedule, the following timeline is likely to be followed for awarding the contract: Sending out the RFP for bidding Last date of submission of technical and financial bid Award Contract Start of Assignment Technical and financial proposals should be submitted by 22 November 2011 by 4:00 pm (Date and Time of submission). Hard copies of the proposals have to reach the Katalyst office at House 20, Road 6, Baridhara, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh in the tender box. At the same time Page 5 of 6

6 soft copy of the technical proposal should be send to A soft copy of the financial proposal to be added in CD format in the tender box along with the submitted hard copy. The agency should submit their Technical and financial proposals separately in sealed envelopes, each mentioning the reference: ICT/2011/RFP on top of the envelope. The technical bid should outline, among others the methodology, the deliverables, and detailed time plan. The financial bid should be on activity based costing including VAT. Its Organization profile including the CV of the people who will be involved in this assignment List of clienteles Copies of legal documents (trade license/company registration, TIN and VAT registration number etc.) The proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Sl # Criteria Points 1 Conceptualization 20 2 Quality of technical proposal in term of research design, methodology 20 3 Competence, qualification of personnel in the team 15 4 Relevant Experience/capacity of the organization 15 5 Time Planning 10 Sub-Total 80 6 Proposed Budget 20 Total 100 A contract will be issued to the successful bidder based on technical and financial scores. The winner will be selected for the contract after examining all the received proposals. After selection of the contracting organization, the final terms of reference and cost would be finalized mutually with the selected organization. Page 6 of 6