Page 1 Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Request for Information (RFI) for Contract Management Software Solutions and Procurement Front-End System RFI Number: USAC-FI-2016-02-005-RFI Title: Contract Management Software Solutions (CMS) and Procurement Front-End System Sole Point of Contact: Keami Estep, Contracts Administrator II Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Email: purchasing@usac.org kestep@usac.org Phone: (202) 423-2654 Proposed Timeline: a. Issue Date: February 24, 2016 b. Last Day Vendor Questions: March 9, 2016 c. USAC Response to Questions: NLT March 18, 2016 d. Responses Due: April 1, 2016 SECTION 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION The Purchasing Department for the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) regarding available Contract Management and Procurement Front-End Software. This RFI is strictly for Contract Management and Procurement Front-End Software Solutions. Please note that this is not a solicitation for products and/or services and this inquiry will not result in an award or contract. The specifications and information gathered from this RFI will be used to evaluate the offerings of the current marketplace and may lead to the development and preparation of a formal Request for Proposal (RFP). USAC is soliciting information from commercial vendors, application service providers, associated integration service providers, and other interested parties capable of assisting USAC in meeting its objectives for a more efficient delivery of USAC contract and procurement management services. Information submitted by any interested party will be done so voluntarily and with the understanding that this RFI is for information gathering purposes only and is not a formal solicitation. Similarly, cost ranges will be used solely for budgetary analysis and establishing a potential target budget. Information presented during this information gathering process will not be considered as a response to any solicitation subsequently issued by USAC.
Respondents may be asked to provide a demonstration of their products and services. This would include a guided tour of their product, business capabilities and technology. Demonstrations may be presented at USAC offices located at 2000 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, through Internet web conferencing, or a combination of the two. No compensation will be made by the USAC for demonstrations. 1.2 VENDOR INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS Respondents may submit questions concerning this RFI to obtain clarifications on the information requested. All inquiries and questions are due no later than Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. Please submit all questions to purchasing@usac.org (Please put Question to RFI USAC-FI-2016-02- 005 in the subject line). 1.3 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS USAC will accept responses prior to 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, Friday, April 1, 2016. Responses received after this date and time may not be considered for review. Responses should be prepared simply and economically, and provide a straightforward and concise explanation of the information requested to be furnished. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity. Please submit one (1) hardcopy and one (1) electronic copy (PDF) of your response to the following address: Universal Service Administrative Company ATTN: Keami Estep, Contracts Administrator 2000 L Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 The electronic copy of the submittal may also be submitted to Keami Estep via e-mail at: purchasing@usac.org (Please put Electronic Response to RFI USAC-FI-2016-02-005 in the subject line). Respondents should note that any electronic copy being submitted via e- mail must be limited to a maximum size of 25 GB. 1.4 RESPONSE FORMAT The response should have numbered pages and also include an index or table of contents referencing the appropriate page numbers for the given sections. Page 2 Section I Maximum 5 pages i. Executive Summary a. A concise narrative of the entire response, highlighting any key or unique features. ii. Overview of the Software Solution iii. Capabilities and Limitations of the Software Solution
Section II Maximum 15 pages i. Response to Section 2.1(a) Preliminary Performance Characteristics a. Include screenshots documenting the process of creating a contract and procurement from source-to-settle. b. Firm s approach to document management with regard to the procurement process, i.e. storage, updating, audit trail, document sharing, notes, tracking of important information and dates c. Firm s approach to the automation, integration, and management of the procurement process, particularly the contract management process. d. Technology requirements, i.e. hardware and software e. Hosting options, cost benefits, advantage and disadvantage of each. f. Technology used in proposed solution. g. Additional available solutions for vendor management and procurement processes and how they integrate with the Contract Management Solution. h. Overview of recommendations on the time and resources needed on the part of both USAC and firm for implementation. Section III Maximum 3 pages (excluding Attachment A) i. Any additional information regarding the Software Solution a. Information presented here would include any marketing or advertising material. ii. Attachment A Respondent Information Section IV Maximum 3 pages iv. Detailed price (estimated) for each recommended solutions (please note that cost ranges will be used solely for budgetary analysis and for establishing a potential target budget). v. Price estimates for solutions should be detailed and include license, maintenance, upgrades, etc. 1.5 CONFIDENTIAL/PROPRIETARY INFORMATION Any restrictions on the use or inspection of material contained within the responses shall be clearly marked CONFIDENTIAL on each page in the response itself. SECTION 2 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 2.1 GOAL Page 3 The goal of this RFI is to identify Contract Management and Procurement Front- End Software Solutions to substantially meet the current and future procurement and contracting business requirements, monitor our expenditures, improve efficiencies in our processes, and ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The software solutions could begin to deliver immediate benefits to USAC procurement operations.
At this time, USAC has limited knowledge of a comprehensive CMS solution that provides these tools and services, via secure internet access, that provides a complete cradle-to-grave solution to efficiently manage every aspect of the process. a. Preliminary Performance Characteristics At this time, the preliminary performance characteristics have been identified for consideration of the RFI results. The characteristics of the envisioned comprehensive CMS are listed below. This is not an all-inclusive list and is not meant to restrict the capacities of the software. Contract Management o Interoperability with a Procurement Front-End System o Create a comprehensive, fully searchable electronic database of all contracts o Automate and accelerate the entire contract lifecycle (negotiation, revisions, approval, evaluation and renewal) Contract authoring Workflows Automated notifications Vendor compliance Price verifications o Contract synchronization to Microsoft Outlook Functionality o Standardize and control contract development o Strengthen operational, contractual, and regulatory compliance o Permit users to easily perform data analysis, run reports and assist with the approval and review process of contract documents o Track expiration and milestone dates o Track insurance certificate o Ability to add custom fields and reports o Ability to integrate with multiple procurements o Ability to manage multiple vendor awarded contracts and Task Order based contracts (IDIQs, BPAs) o Ability to track and manage contract amendments/modifications and link to parent contract o Ability to track and manage contract costs (i.e. award value, contract amendments costs, invoices and invoice schedules, and payments) o Standardization of contract creation with enforced required use of approved templates, language, terms and conditions o Ability to support Digital (Electronic) Signatures o Dashboard for quick review of all contracts Dashboard for each contract Cycle time, amount by type of contract, amount by personnel, cost savings, cost avoidance, contract Page 4
expiring by month, etc. Procurement Front-End System o Requisitions Management Functionality supporting the automated creation and management of purchase requisitions from users/requestors. o Workflow Management Functionality supporting the automated routing of multiple types of Purchase Requisitions according to pre-defined approval and other business rules. o Solicitation Management End-to-end automated management of solicitation events including but not limited to Request for Proposals (RFPs), Request for Quotes (RFQs), Invitations for Bids (IFBs), and Request for Information (RFIs). o Analysis and Reporting Functionality supporting a potentially broad range of areas including standard procurement reports and supporting graphics based on transactions through the system (e.g. requisition pipelines, contract cycle times, award by vendor, award by department, award by dollar amount, award by procurement year, etc.) o Vendor Management (Desired Functionality) Functionality supporting the registration and management of USAC vendors to include reporting on vendor performance including, quality, service, delivery, costs, and other metrics o Functionality to prioritize and assign purchase requisitions to purchasing specialist o Interoperability with Contract Management Solution o Dashboard for quick review of purchase requisitions Dashboard for each purchase requisition Page 5
ATTACHMENT A RESPONDENT INFORMATION The purpose of this attachment is to provide USAC with the respondent company s general information and contacts for follow-up on any questions, clarifications and to possibly schedule a demonstration of the respondent s products and services relative to this RFI. Respondent Company Name: Address: City: State: Zip Code: Phone Number: Contact Name: Phone: Title: Email: Contact Name: Phone: Title: Email: Page 6