Request for Proposal
Call Center Hardware Upgrade
Verizon Wireless
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS3
1.1. General Description of Work3
1.2. What Must Be Included with Bid3
1.3. Schedule of Bid Period Activities3
1.4. Location of Work4
1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting4
1.6. Owner Contact for Questions4
1.7. Pre-Award Surveys5
1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements5
1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation5
1.10. Ethical Standards6
1.11. Responsibility for Surety Bonds6
1.12. Proposal Format6
1.13. List of Bidders6
1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment7
2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK7
2.1. Engineering Contracts7
2.2. Construction Contracts8
3. PROPOSAL8
3.1. Breakdown of Bid Price8
3.2. Revisions and Extra Work8
3.3. Escalation Formulas9
1.4.Scheduled Completion Dates9
1.5.List of Subcontractors9
1.6.Key Supplier or Contractor Personnel9
3.7. Length of Time Bid Is Valid9
3.8. List of Bid Document Addenda Reviewed by Bidder10
3.9. Notice of Conflicts or Errors in Bid Documents10
3.10. Clarifications of Bids10
3.11. Bidder Signature10
4. SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS12
5. SPECIAL CONDITIONS12
6. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND CONTRACT AGREEMENTS13
Appendix A14
Appendix B15
Supplier/Bidder List15
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
Please follow instructions in its order to effectively understand this proposal. The bidder can face cancelation if instructions are not met. Bidders are responsible to fully understand these instructions. 1.1. General Description of Work
Verizon Wireless Call Center currently uses single monitors in their customer service department. They are interested in improving current condition to increase agent productivity and lower energy consumption. Verizon is looking for work in installing dual LED monitors. In current stand, they have 500 monitors to replace. With that, the call center will need 1,000 new monitors for a dual setup per desk.1.2. What Must Be Included with Bid
For Verizon Wireless Call Center to evaluate all bids, all listed information in the Proposal shall be provided. Since there are specific information that is mandatory for submission, there will be instructions in how information needs to be received and submitted. Below in the proposal section will also detail technical and procedure information that is required for this bid. The special conditions section will go over safety and environmental details.1.3. Schedule of Bid Period Activities
All bids shall be submitted by Jan 1st, 2020 by 12:00 AM CT. Bidders can also drop off their bid at the Call Center office at 120 N State St. Chicago, IL 60602. Bids will automatically be rejected if the deadline is not met. Deadline extension may be considered by December 1st, 2019. The company will push the deadline to Jan 31st, 2020 if needed. Bidders will be notified via email if a new deadline is needed by the company.
If an extension is not needed, the awarded bidder will be announced on Jan 15th, 2020. If an extension is made, the awarded bidder will be announced February 15th, 2020. Confirmatio ...
Request for ProposalCall Center Hardware Upgrade.docx
1. Request for Proposal
Call Center Hardware Upgrade
Verizon Wireless
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS3
1.1. General Description of Work3
1.2. What Must Be Included with Bid3
1.3. Schedule of Bid Period Activities3
1.4. Location of Work4
1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting4
1.6. Owner Contact for Questions4
1.7. Pre-Award Surveys5
1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements5
1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation5
1.10. Ethical Standards6
1.11. Responsibility for Surety Bonds6
1.12. Proposal Format6
2. 1.13. List of Bidders6
1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment7
2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK7
2.1. Engineering Contracts7
2.2. Construction Contracts8
3. PROPOSAL8
3.1. Breakdown of Bid Price8
3.2. Revisions and Extra Work8
3.3. Escalation Formulas9
1.4.Scheduled Completion Dates9
1.5.List of Subcontractors9
1.6.Key Supplier or Contractor Personnel9
3.7. Length of Time Bid Is Valid9
3.8. List of Bid Document Addenda Reviewed by Bidder10
3.9. Notice of Conflicts or Errors in Bid Documents10
3.10. Clarifications of Bids10
3.11. Bidder Signature10
4. SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS12
5. SPECIAL CONDITIONS12
6. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND CONTRACT
AGREEMENTS13
Appendix A14
Appendix B15
Supplier/Bidder List15
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
Please follow instructions in its order to effectively understand
this proposal. The bidder can face cancelation if instructions are
not met. Bidders are responsible to fully understand these
instructions. 1.1. General Description of Work
Verizon Wireless Call Center currently uses single monitors in
their customer service department. They are interested in
improving current condition to increase agent productivity and
3. lower energy consumption. Verizon is looking for work in
installing dual LED monitors. In current stand, they have 500
monitors to replace. With that, the call center will need 1,000
new monitors for a dual setup per desk.1.2. What Must Be
Included with Bid
For Verizon Wireless Call Center to evaluate all bids, all listed
information in the Proposal shall be provided. Since there are
specific information that is mandatory for submission, there will
be instructions in how information needs to be received and
submitted. Below in the proposal section will also detail
technical and procedure information that is required for this bid.
The special conditions section will go over safety and
environmental details.1.3. Schedule of Bid Period Activities
All bids shall be submitted by Jan 1st, 2020 by 12:00 AM CT.
Bidders can also drop off their bid at the Call Center office at
120 N State St. Chicago, IL 60602. Bids will automatically be
rejected if the deadline is not met. Deadline extension may be
considered by December 1st, 2019. The company will push the
deadline to Jan 31st, 2020 if needed. Bidders will be notified
via email if a new deadline is needed by the company.
If an extension is not needed, the awarded bidder will be
announced on Jan 15th, 2020. If an extension is made, the
awarded bidder will be announced February 15th, 2020.
Confirmation of winning bid will be sent by phone and email.
Bid preparation meetings will be open on December 2nd, 2019.
In person meetings will begin on Dec 3rd-6th, 2019. Scheduling
can be made by calling the number on the cover page.
Unannounced bidders will be asked to leave the property if no
appointment has been made.
1.4. Location of Work
This project site location will be at 120 N State St. Chicago, IL
60602. Since 1000 monitors will add up a lot of space at the
company location, they will be shipped to a nearby storage
4. facility for security and safety. The storage facility is called
Chicago Storage Service which will be located at 150 N State
St, Chicago, IL 60602. Their business hours are Monday -
Sunday 7am – 10pm CT. In person meetings will begin on Dec
3rd-6th, 2019. Scheduling can be made by calling the number on
the cover page. Unannounced bidders will be asked to leave the
property if no appointment has been made.1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting
Pre-Bid meetings will begin on Dec 3rd-6th, 2019. Pre-Bid
scheduling can be made by calling the number on the cover
page. Scheduling dates must be within the listed timeframe.
Unannounced bidders will be asked to leave the property if no
appointment has been made.
Bidders who couldn’t get project questions answered at the open
meeting can bring their questions during the meeting. This
meeting will be addressed in a professional formal matter by the
project owner.1.6. Owner Contact for Questions
The project owner who will responder to bidder question will be
Milan Parekh. The project owner can be reached by phone at
847-619-0773 extension 100 or email at [email protected] The
project owner’s office is at 150 N State St, Chicago, IL 60602.
After Dec 6th, 2019 when the pre-bid meetings are finished, the
project owner will release a supplemental document to the
existing proposal. It will include all questions that were
received and announced during the pre-bid meetings. This
document will be uploaded on the current contract website and
will be released on December 9th, 2019. 1.7. Pre-Award
Surveys
When insufficient information from bidder is received and is
considered for winning, Verizon Wireless Call Center will open
a pre-award survey. Bidders who may need a pre-award survey
will be notified a week prior to a scheduled meeting at a
bidder’s facility.
Bidders who will be required for a pre award survey will need
5. to prove the contractor their capabilities to handle this project.
Verizon Wireless will evaluate bidder’s portfolio containing
experience, financial stance, company history regarding proper
business ethics. After that, Verizon will determine who to award
this contract.1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements
The requirements for a bidder’s bid are to be sealed before
submission. That will prevent the bid being realtered after
finalization. Bidders are required to place their paperwork
inside a 9 ½” x 15” envelope. Bidders will need to tap their
envelopes on both sides of pockets to prevent taper and will
need write “Verizon Wireless Call Center Bid”. Inside the
envelope bidder will need to include 4 copies of proposals. To
submit this bid, you will be required to drop off in person at the
address on the cover letter. This bid will be opened the day after
last due date.1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation
The main factor in picking a winning bid that’s reliable will be
the quoted price for 1000 monitors that fit the company
specifications. Two following factors will be on capability to
finish this project on time and have ability to install these
monitors.1.10. Ethical Standards
Ethical Standards for this contract include the following.
· Bidders are required to list their qualifications truthfully.
· Bidders are prohibited from sending gifts to other bidders or
the call center.
· Bidders shall disclose any relationships to prevent decision
making problems.
· Bidders will treat all parties with respect and professionalism.
· Bidders will follow company rules and outside laws during
this project.1.11. Responsibility for Surety Bonds
The cost of obtaining a surety bond will be the bidder’s
responsibility. Bond that work with this contract are payment
bonds. If using a bid bond, verification will be done by Verizon
Wireless call center and bidders will including it within the
final proposal. 1.12. Proposal Format
6. The bid proposal formatting shall be no more than 25 pages
including cover page. The requirements of a cover page are to
include the following.
· Printed on legal paper 8.5” x 11”
· 12-point font in Times New Roman
· Page number on the top right of each page1.13. List of Bidders
Verizon Wireless has already have numerous companies
offering to take this contract. Listed below are the current
companies asked to bid.
· Best Buy
· Tiger Direct
· DeVry Electronics
· Circuit Electronics1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment
After a bidder has understood the general project requirements,
they shall contact the contract company to provide a Letter of
Acknowledgement. Letters can me sent via email to the contract
owner. This allows the contract company to retrieve current
number of interested bidders.2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK
In this project, Verizon Wireless Call Center wants to replace
their current single set up monitors with dual led monitors. This
will improve employee efficiency and lower energy
consumption from the current high consumption single
monitors. Since there are 500 employees who need monitor
replacement. The company will need to issue each employee
with two monitors making the total amount of 1000 monitors.
This project will start on February 1st-28th for the selected
bidder. The call center will also provide a demo of instructions,
proposal and specification awarded bidder. 2.1. Engineering
Contracts
This Engineering Contract section is an agreement to the terms
of this project. This RFP will be tied with the Call Center and
Milan Parekh’s team. This will go over what the team will be
7. doing.
· All communication shall be made to the team leader Milan
Parekh.
· Location of work site is 120 N State St. Chicago, IL 60602
· Business hours are Monday - Sunday 7am – 10pm CT
· In person meetings will begin on Dec 3rd-6th, 2019.
· Scheduling can be made by calling the number on the cover
page.
· Appendix A & B are required to be finished by bidders
· A person who is specialized to review the equipment will be
available from the company.
2.2. Construction Contracts
This contract is an agreement to the construction details. It is a
legal binding agreement with Verizon Wireless and the awarded
bidder.
· Work site will be at 120 N State St. Chicago, IL 60602
· Call Center and awarded bidder agree on project finish date.
· Bid bonds are needed during the submission of the proposal to
confirm with the Contract owner of legitimacy.
· Cost of bonds are on the bidder.
· Letter of Acknowledgment is fully understood the item values
in this project.3. PROPOSAL
The cost of the needed LED monitor would be $1,000 for the
monitor and $100 for installation. Bringing to total to $1,000
for installation. Asus are the ones who manufacture these
monitors so pricing will have to be agreed with them.3.1.
Breakdown of Bid Price
Bid pricing is made up fixed costs like labor and materials. 3.2.
Revisions and Extra Work
8. There will be full reimbursement for parts that aren’t needed.
Revision Labor will also be refunded fully if needed. The price
to install each monitor is $100.
3.3. Escalation Formulas
In case there is an escalation of labor and material costs.
Escalation costs will be determined with the current labor and
material costs with this formula.
= $1100 * (1 + B2) ^ C2
$1100 = current costs
B= Material costs
C= Time 1.4. Scheduled Completion Dates
The amount of time it takes to assemble monitors and install
them will be detailed in the contract. The time of monitor
delivery will also be needed. 1.5. List of Subcontractors
The subcontractor chosen is Smith’s Tech Hardware. Their
employees will be doing the installation of monitors. The
contract will specifically state each person installing the
monitors. Bidders will be aware of the subcontractor’s expertise
to make sure they are experienced to handle this project.
Contract information will also be provided in need for reach.
1.6. Key Supplier or Contractor Personnel
Smith’s Tech Hardware will be in command of the project. His
name is Smith Jones. Jones will be contacting employees from
the call center in need for an LED monitor. Jones will organize
members to install them as well. He will also verify each
workstation to sign off everything was properly set up.3.7.
Length of Time Bid Is Valid
If there are not enough bids for consideration that can extend
the time for bid submission to 45 day. Doing so will extend all
9. other activity as well such as meetings, deliver and project
finish time. Evaluation of this bid shouldn’t take more than 6-8
weeks. 3.8. List of Bid Document Addenda Reviewed by Bidder
The addenda will include what reason bidders are bidding on.
Documents needed for this proposal will be stated. An
explanation will be shown to what a bid will be doing.
It will go over that Smith Jones will be replacing employee’s
monitors to dual LED monitors. Documents needed would be
the contract, bid and proposal. Hourly rate will also be
disclosed with necessary regulation like licenses.
3.9. Notice of Conflicts or Errors in Bid Documents
Contract can contain errors and will be resolved before
finalization with the bidder. Wrongful information can include
pricing errors given to bidders.3.10. Clarifications of Bids
If a bidder answered a question unclearly, clarification will be
made to the bidder. This will also repeat what exactly this
contract entails which is the installation of led monitors to
employees of the call center who want it. Bid proposal can face
rejection if this is not clarified. 3.11. Bidder Signature
Bid pricing agreement will be signed and given to Verizon
Wireless Call Center. This allows proper documentation of the
agreement. Jones Tech Hardware would be signing this.
4. SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS
This timeline is a general idea of the process of proposal. The
call center company will seek for vendors across the state to
seek as many bids as possible.
Even though vendors can produce these monitors, delivery and
training will be at the responsibility of the vendor.
10. Leading considerations for bid awardee will be based by pricing
and previous expertise to handle project duties. 5. SPECIAL
CONDITIONS
· Any documents submitted to Verizon Wireless becoming
property of Verizon Wireless Call Center.
· Verizon Wireless Call Center has the right to remove this
request for proposal.
· Bid proposal will be notified via email if in case Verizon
Wireless Call Center cancels this proposal.
· Verizon Wireless has the right to ask at any moment to obtain
more information to their RFP.
· Any data provided by Verizon Wireless Call Center that will
be made public information from consultants will need written
approval first from the contract owner.
· Any business who works with Verizon Wireless Call Center
must prove ownership of insurance. Proof of insurance will be
required before start of project.6. GENERAL CONDITIONS
AND CONTRACT AGREEMENTS
This section asserts the terms and conditions what is expected
by bidders for Verizon Wireless Call Center. Submitting this
proposal to Verizon Wireless Call Center automatically subjects
the bidders to being aware of the general terms and conditions.
· Verizon Wireless has the right to reject bidders and any step
in the process.
· Bidders are subject to equal opportunity that applies to local
and federal laws regarding civil rights.
· Outside workers are not to discriminate any employee inside
Verizon Wireless Call Center. If violated, contractor will be
rejected from project.
· Insurance must be valid in the state and work with Verizon
Wireless Call Center. All parties outside the call center are
subject for verification before project start.
· Contract owner will monitor work performance from
11. contractors to ensure efficiency is being met during the project.
· Travel expenses for contractors will be approved first by the
contract owner.
· If any party can’t meet project requirements or breach the
contract during project period, Verizon Wireless can terminate
any party member. Verizon Wireless will compensate any party
member that is terminated without reason.
· Documents whether finished or unfinished if in case this
project is canceled, ownership will belong to Verizon Wireless
Call Center.
Appendix A
Acknowledgment Letter for bid no. ______
(RFP Description)
(Project Description)
Attention: ___________________________
Date: 10-16-2019
(contact representative)
Receipt of the above captioned Request for Proposal is hereby
acknowledged with the following comments:
We will submit a bid on or before ______________________
We will not submit a bid for the following reasons:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________
__________________________ has been assigned to be the
primary contact person for the bid submission process. The
12. contact telephone, fax, and e-mail are as follows.
Telephone 847-619-0073 Ext.100
Fax 847-619-0072
E-mail [email protected]
Designated
Officer ________________________________
Title ________________________________
Address ________________________________
________________________________
Appendix BSupplier/Bidder List
Supplier/Bidder
Contact #
Best Buy
323-345-3322
Tiger Direct
203-040-1231
DeVry Electronics
310-443-9105
Circuit Electronics
568-687-9030
How I chose these potential suppliers:
Suppliers have been chosen based of off reliability, and
dustiness to complete this proposal.
MGMT408—Contract and Procurement Management
RFP Template:
Template notes:
13. The formats of RFPs used by companies and government
agencies are seldom the same. The organization of the technical,
management, and commercial information included in RFPs
varies. There are six commonly used sections of information
that procurement groups include in RFPs. We will use these six
sections as a template for your RFPs.
1. Instructions to Bidders
2. Description of Work
3. Proposal
4. Specifications and Drawings
5. Special Conditions
6. General Conditions and Contract Agreement
The Instructions to Bidders section provides sufficient
information to bidders to allow them to prepare a responsive bid
proposal. Most of this information is not required in the final
contract for the work. The information in the Description of
Work, Proposal, Specifications and Drawings, Special
Conditions, and the General Conditions and Contract Agreement
sections is included in the final contract for the work. The
remainder of this template discusses each of these sections
included in RFPs.
Also, you will want to delete the description information (in
blue) after you have added your data under each section of the
template.
How to Make Sure You are Writing a Comprehensive RFP
1. The RFP should provide sufficient information for a bidder to
prepare a bid proposal that is responsive to each of the
technical, management, and commercial requirements specified
in the RFP.
2. The RFP should provide the necessary information
14. concerning contract requirements. When the information from
the successful bid proposal is combined with the requirements
in the RFP, all of the information required to prepare a contract
for the work should be available.
3. The management requirement in the RFP should define how
the contract work will be managed by the owner and the
contractor.
Request for Proposal Template
Name of the RFP topic you chose.
Name of your company (optional)
Company address (optional)
Company phone (optional)
Distribution list (optional)
Your name
Your e-mail address
PM598—Current term
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS9
1.1. General Description of Work9
1.2. What Must Be Included with Bid9
1.3. Schedule of Bid Period Activities9
15. 1.4. Location of Work10
1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting10
1.6. Owner Contact for Questions10
1.7. Pre-Award Surveys10
1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements10
1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation11
1.10. Ethical Standards11
1.11. Responsibility for Surety Bonds11
1.12. Proposal Format11
1.13. List of Bidders11
1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment11
2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK12
2.1. Engineering Contracts12
2.2. Construction Contracts13
3. PROPOSAL13
3.1. Breakdown of Bid Price14
3.2. Revisions and Extra Work14
3.3. Escalation Formulas14
3.4. Scheduled Completion Dates14
3.5. List of Subcontractors14
3.6. Key Supplier or Contractor Personnel14
3.7. Length of Time Bid Is Valid14
3.8. List of Bid Document Addenda Reviewed by Bidder14
3.9. Notice of Conflicts or Errors in Bid Documents14
3.10. Clarifications of Bids15
3.11. Bidder Signature15
4. SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS15
5. SPECIAL CONDITIONS15
6. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND CONTRACT
AGREEMENTS16
Appendix A17
Appendix B18
Supplier/Bidder List18
16. Note: Click somewhere within your table of contents, press F9,
select the “update entire table” radio button, and click “OK” to
refresh it automatically.
1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
The Instructions to Bidders section contains the information
that a bidder requires to prepare a bid proposal that is
responsive to each of the requirements that are included in other
sections of the RFP. Certain RFPs provide this information in
an Invitation to Bid letter as well as in the Instructions to
Bidders. The following sections discuss common items that are
included, in Instructions to Bidders (referred to as
Instructions).1.1. General Description of Work
The Instructions provide a general description of the work
covered by the contract. If there are detailed Description of
Work and Specifications and Drawings sections included in the
RFP, these sections are referenced in the general description of
the work.1.2. What Must Be Included with Bid
To properly evaluate the bid proposals when they are received,
all of the information requested in the RFP must be provided by
the bidders. Since several sections of the RFP may require that
bidders submit specific information, the instructions summarize
the specific information that must be submitted with the bids.
Much of the specific information that is required from bidders
is addressed in the Proposal section. The technical
specifications in the RFP may require that bidders submit
certain technical data and procedures with their bid proposals.
The management requirements in the Special Conditions may
specify that bidders submit information such as quality, safety,
environmental, and schedule program descriptions. The
commercial requirements can define financial or insurance
documents that must be submitted by the bidders.1.3. Schedule
of Bid Period Activities
The Instructions define the date when bids are due. Many RFPs
provide the specific time of day that bids must be received.
Most companies will not accept bids after the due date. If a
17. bidder notifies an owner in advance that it cannot meet the
specified bid submittal date, an owner may extend the deadline
for all bidders. Continued extensions of the due dates for bid
proposals cause confusion among the bidders and hard feelings
on the part of the bidders that complete their proposals on time.
The Instructions should clearly define the owner's position on
receiving bids after the due date in the RFP. The Instructions
specify the location where bid proposals will be received by an
owner as well as the due date.
It is helpful to provide the bidders with an estimate of the date
when the contract will be awarded. This date is consistent with
project schedule requirements. Providing this date in the
Instructions gives the bidders an indication of when contract
work will begin and establishes the completion date for the
project groups responsible for evaluating the bids for the
contract.
If there are specific meetings scheduled during the bid
preparation period, the dates for these meetings are defined in
the Instructions. For example, there may be a pre-bid meeting to
explain the RFP and answer bidder questions. The owner may
also want to schedule project site visits and meetings with
specific bidders to review their technical and management
capabilities.1.4. Location of Work
The Instructions give the location of the project site. Material
and equipment contract bidders need this information to
determine shipping costs. If shipments must be made to a
storage facility not at the project site, the Instructions provide
the location of the storage facility. Service contract bidders may
need to visit the site to obtain information necessary to
complete their bid proposals. The Instructions provide
information on how site visits are arranged with an owner. If
the project site is in a remote location, the Instructions provide
directions on how to get to the site.1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting
Pre-bid meetings can be held after the RFPs are issued and prior
18. to the bid due date. Pre-bid meetings may be referred to with
other titles in RFPs, such as a pre-proposal conference in
government RFPs. If an owner intends to have a pre-bid
meeting, the Instructions provide the location, date, and time of
the meeting. The Instructions may also describe the purpose of
the meeting and how answers to questions from bidders will be
handled. The answers to the questions from bidders are
normally handled in a formal manner since they are a
supplement to the information provided in the RFP.1.6. Owner
Contact for Questions
It is important that an owner designate one individual to act as
the contact person for questions from bidders during the bid
period. This organizational approach assures that questions are
handled in a consistent manner and that all bidders receive the
same answers to questions. The answers to individual questions
from bidders during the bid period that are not responded to at a
pre-bid meeting are also important supplemental information to
the original RFP. The procurement group representative
assigned to a contract is often the designated contact person for
an owner. The Instructions specify the name of the person in the
owner's organization that is responsible for responding to bidder
questions. The Instructions also specify the telephone number
and address of the contact person. The Instructions define the
procedure that will be used for providing answers to all bidders
when one bidder asks a question concerning requirements in the
RFP.1.7. Pre-Award Surveys
Certain owners perform pre-award surveys of specific bidders to
obtain information on technical and management capabilities.
These surveys are performed after the RFP is issued to the
bidders and prior to award. The surveys can require detailed
presentations from bidders regarding the technical and
management approaches that they will take on a contract. The
Instructions inform the bidders of the subjects that are covered
at these meetings. The surveys are usually conducted at the
bidder's facility since the adequacy of a bidder's facility is part
of the survey. The timing of a pre-award survey is established
19. on an individual bidder basis. 1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements
Many RFPs require that bid proposals are sealed when
submitted to an owner. This provides a measure of security that
bids have not been altered after they were prepared. The
Instructions define the sealed bid requirements. Requirements
for addressing the bids to the proper party are defined in the
Instructions. If the bids are not required to be sealed, the
Instructions address the acceptability of telegraphic and
facsimile bid proposals and bid proposal modifications. The
Instructions specify the number of copies of bid proposals that
are required.1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation
There are advantages in defining the basis that an owner will
use in evaluating bid proposals. If an owner intends to give
significant weight in its bid evaluation to factors such as
technical, quality and schedule control capability as well as
quoted prices, the bidders should be aware of this fact.
This gives them the opportunity to emphasize the strengths of
their technical and management programs. They may propose
stronger programs in these areas if they believe that this will
improve their chances of contract award. The Instructions
should define the basis that an owner will use to evaluate the
bidders for contract work.1.10. Ethical Standards
Many owners include ethical standards that the owner and the
supplier or contractors are required to follow in their
relationships with one another prior to and after the award of a
contract in the Instructions. These standards often come from
corporate procurement policies. They include such item
restrictions on gifts and entertainment from suppliers and
contractors to owner personnel.1.11. Responsibility for Surety
Bonds
If another section of the RFP does not specify the exact
requirements for surety bonds for a contract, the Instructions
clarify the types of bonds required and the cost responsibility
for providing the bonds.1.12. Proposal Format
If the RFP requires that bidders prepare detailed proposals
20. describing how they will accomplish contract work activities,
the Instructions define the format required for the proposals.
Limits may be placed on the length of different sections in the
proposal to ensure that overly lengthy proposals are not
received from bidders. 1.13. List of Bidders
Many RFPs include a list of the companies in the Instructions
section that have been asked to bid on the contract. This
approach has the advantage of making the bidders aware that
they are involved in a competitive bidding process.
Note: A place is provided in Appendix B for a detailed list of
bidders.
1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment
It is important that procurement groups receive feedback as
early as possible from companies that receive RFPs regarding
their intent to bid the work. If one or more companies on the list
of bidders for a contract decline to bid, there may be
insufficient bidders to satisfy competitive bidding requirements.
It may be necessary to send RFPs to additional bidders to obtain
the desired number of bid proposals. To obtain this feedback in
a timely manner, the Instructions often include a Letter of
Acknowledgment that requires bidders to state whether they
intend to submit bid proposals.2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK
Service contracts require a Description of Work in the RFPs.
Certain large engineered materials and equipment contracts will
also require Description of Work sections in their RFPs. The
Description of Work has other titles such as Statement of Work
or Scope of Work in RFPs used by different companies and
government agencies. Other companies include the Description
of Work in the technical specifications for a contract.
The purpose of the Description of Work in the RFP is to define
the scope of work for a
contract. Other sections of the RFP for a contract such as the
Specifications and Drawings and the Special Conditions also
provide information that describes the work scope for bidders.
21. The Description of Work references the other RFP sections as
required.2.1. Engineering Contracts
The Description for an engineering contract RFP contains an
overview of the technical features of a project. Other general
information such as the location of the project, existing
facilities at the project site, and responsibility for licensing and
permits is defined. If there is more than one engineering
contractor on a project, the scopes of the other engineering
contracts are defined in sufficient detail for the bidder to
understand its role in the design of a project.
If there is a performance specification in the engineering
contract RFP, the Description references the specification for
details concerning the technical requirements for the design of
the project. If there is not a performance specification included
in the RFP, the Description contains the owner's design
performance requirements. If the performance specification
includes design areas that are not in the scope of an engineering
contract, the Description explains which items in the
performance specification apply to the contract.
The division of responsibility between the owner and the
engineering contractor is explained in the Description. If an
owner intends to perform design functions such as establishing
design criteria for certain systems, these functions are defined.
The division of responsibility indicates which design documents
and procedures produced by the engineering contractor require
owner approval. The division of responsibility also establishes
the materials and equipment that are procured by the owner and
those that are procured by the engineering contractor. The
division of responsibility defines whether the engineering
contractor or a supplier is responsible for the detailed design of
engineered materials.
The type and duration of the support that the engineering
contractor is required to provide to other project groups, such as
22. licensing, procurement, construction or manufacturing, and
testing, is addressed in the Description. If the engineering
contractor is required to provide liaison personnel at the project
site to clarify design requirements, this program is defined in
the Description.
The quality, schedule, cost, and other management programs
required to manage the engineering contract work can be
defined in the Description. An alternative approach is to include
the management requirements in the Special Conditions. It is
not significant which section of the RFP includes the
management requirements as long as they are well defined.2.2.
Construction Contracts
The Description for a construction contract RFP contains an
overview of the technical features of a project. It also provides
the location of the work, existing facilities at the project site,
and the responsibility for obtaining permits and licenses for a
project. If there are multiple construction contractors working
on the project, the scope of work of each construction
contractor is described in the Description.
If the construction contract pricing approach is fixed price or
unit price, there is a separate section of the RFP that contains
technical specifications and drawings. The construction
contractor's responsibilities for performing the work in these
specifications and drawings are defined in the Description. In
cases where the specifications and drawings include work
performed by more than one contractor, the specific
responsibilities of each contractor are defined in the
Description. If the specifications and drawings are not complete
when the RFP is issued, the degree of completion is defined in
the Description.
The division of responsibility between an owner and a
construction contractor is defined in the description. If the
construction contractor will be responsible for detailed design
23. functions, these functions are delineated in the division of
responsibility. The division of responsibility specifies the
materials and equipment that are furnished to a contractor by an
owner. It also specifies the materials and equipment that are
procured and installed by the contractor. The division of
responsibility defines the responsibility for testing the systems
and components installed by a contractor.
The construction contractor's responsibilities for providing
services such as clean up, scaffolding, temporary office
buildings, warehousing, temporary electrical, temporary heat,
security, and construction equipment are described in the
Description. If an owner elects to provide services to a
construction contractor, the services are defined in the
Description.
The support that a construction contractor is required to provide
to other project groups is defined in the Instructions. The
contractor can be required to provide as built drawings to the
engineering group for final design validation. The contractor
may have to provide construction personnel to the testing group
to support testing activities. The contractor can be responsible
for providing scaffolding for access for inspections by owner
quality personnel.
The quality, schedule, cost, safety, environmental, and other
management programs required to control the construction
contract work can be addressed in the Description. They can
also be addressed in the Special Conditions.3. PROPOSAL
The Proposal section of the RFP contains all of the pricing
information required from bidders to allow an owner to evaluate
the costs of the bids. It can also define technical and
management information that is required from the bidders. The
Proposal section of the RFP can have different titles in the RFPs
issued by different companies. Certain companies call the
Proposal section a Bid Form.3.1. Breakdown of Bid Price
24. It is important that the bidder understand the scope of work that
is covered by each requested bid price item. It is helpful to
reference the Description of Work and the Specifications and
Drawings sections of the RFP in defining the scope of work for
each bid price item.3.2. Revisions and Extra Work
If unit prices are feasible for extra work, the Proposal specifies
the unit prices required. If extra work will be handled on a
reimbursable basis, the Proposal can request cost limits for the
reimbursable work.3.3. Escalation Formulas
If the owner is requesting fixed price bids subject to escalation
of labor and material costs, the Proposal requests the formulas
that will be applied to current labor and material prices to
determine escalation costs. The structure of these formulas can
significantly impact the cost of a contract.3.4. Scheduled
Completion Dates
If an owner wants a bidder to provide schedule dates for key
contract activities, the Proposal lists the key schedule activities
and requests that the contractor provide the dates. Start and
completion dates for key contract schedule activities may be
requested.3.5. List of Subcontractors
The Proposal section provides space for bidders to list the
subcontractors that they intend to use to perform the contract
work. In addition to the names of subcontract firms, bidders
should provide descriptions of the subcontractor work scopes,
subcontractor experience, location of subcontractor offices, and
telephone numbers.3.6. Key Supplier or Contractor Personnel
The Proposal requires that a supplier or a contractor name the
person that will be in charge of the contract work and will be
the primary contact for an owner. The names of other key
personnel can be requested in the Proposal section.3.7. Length
of Time Bid Is Valid
If there is a possibility that the award of a contract will not
occur until a significant period of time after bids are received,
the Proposal requests the length of time that a bid is valid after
receipt by an owner.3.8. List of Bid Document Addenda
Reviewed by Bidder
25. If there are bid document addenda issued after the RFP is
issued, the Proposal section requests that bidders list the
addenda that they have reviewed. This procedure ensures that
all bidders have reviewed the necessary documents.3.9. Notice
of Conflicts or Errors in Bid Documents
Requesting that bidders formally notify an owner of conflicts or
errors in bid documents provides a formal means of
communicating conflicts and errors. The errors can be corrected
prior to the start of contract work.3.10. Clarifications of Bids
Certain Proposal sections provide space for a bidder to state any
clarifications or exceptions to its bid. Although the intent of the
RFP is to define the work scope in a manner that eliminates the
need for clarifications and exceptions, there may be items that
are not clear that should be addressed. Excessive clarifications
or exceptions may cause a bid proposal to be rejected.3.11.
Bidder Signature
The Proposal contains space for the supplier or the contractor to
sign its completed Proposal. It also includes the date the
Proposal is signed, the title of the person signing, and any
required identification numbers or license numbers.4.
SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS
Specifications and Drawings sections are required for RFPs for
fixed and unit price contracts. They are also required for target
price and reimbursable with incentive fee contracts since they
define the basis of targets and incentive fees. Depending upon
how the contracts are scoped on a project, the specifications and
drawings included in the RFP may or may not relate only to the
contract for which the RFP is prepared. The Description of
Work explains which portions of the specifications and
drawings relate to a particular contract. In some cases, the
specifications and drawings are marked up to define contract
work scopes.
Service contracts usually require a Description of Work in
addition to the Specifications and Drawings in the RFP to
clarify the work activities that are the responsibility of a
26. contractor. Many engineered materials and equipment contracts
do not require extensive Description of Work sections since all
necessary information for the bidders is included in the
Specifications and Drawings.
Note: Don’t spend too much time creating drawings or
specifications. Simply cut and paste a picture from the internet
and describe it here.5. SPECIAL CONDITIONS
The Special Conditions section of the RFP includes all of the
management requirements and any other specific contract
requirements. The Special Conditions section usually does not
address the technical requirements for a project.
The management requirements for RFP's are prepared by several
different project groups as discussed previously. The
procurement group receives the management requirements for
each contract from these groups. In many cases the language of
the management requirements for different contracts can be
similar. The procurement group works with the other project
groups to determine the extent that management clauses can be
standardized in the Special Conditions. Important management
requirements for a specific contract should not be omitted from
the RFP for the sake of standardization.
Certain RFPs include the Special Conditions information in the
Description of Work section. This eliminates the need for the
Special Conditions. As long as the management requirements
are well defined, it makes little difference if they are included
in the Description of Work or the Special Conditions.
Many RFPs do not adequately define all of the necessary
management requirements for a contract. Inadequate definition
of management requirements can lead to poor management of a
contract. Project management has the overall responsibility for
assuring that RFP's adequately define management
requirements. It is helpful to include all of the management
27. requirements for a particular area such as control of quality in
one part of the RFP. If the quality requirements are contained in
different sections in the RFP, it can be difficult to determine if
the necessary quality requirements are all included in the
RFP.6. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND CONTRACT
AGREEMENTS
The General Conditions section of the RFP contains the
commercial requirements for a contract. Many of these
commercial terms cover situations, such as changes to the
original contract, technical and management requirements, or
cases in which the contractor does not perform in accordance
with these requirements. Other commercial clauses cover terms
of payment, invoicing, and responsibility for tax payments.
Since the procurement group is responsible for preparing these
commercial terms with assistance from the legal group, the
procurement group can prepare the General Conditions section
of the RFP with relatively little input from other project groups.
Many RFPs contain a Contract Agreement section in addition to
the General Conditions. The purpose of including the Contract
Agreement section in the RFP is to show the bidders the
contract format that will be used if they are awarded the
contract. Contract Agreements contain commercial clauses that
are very similar to the clauses normally included in the General
Conditions. The Contract Agreement usually includes the
General Conditions, Description of Work, Proposal,
Specifications and Drawings, and Special Conditions sections in
the contract by referencing these documents. This means that
the requirements of all of these sections are a part of the
contract. It is not significant which commercial requirements
are included in the Contract Agreement and which requirements
are included in the General Conditions since both sections are
included in a signed contract.
Appendix A
Acknowledgment Letter for bid no. ______
28. (RFP Description)
(Project Description)
Attention: ___________________________
Date:________________
(contact representative)
Receipt of the above captioned Request for Proposal is hereby
acknowledged with the following comments:
We will submit a bid on or before ______________________
We will not submit a bid for the following reasons:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________
__________________________ has been assigned to be the
primary contact person for the bid submission process. The
contact telephone, fax, and e-mail are as follows.
Telephone ________________________________
Fax ________________________________
E-mail ________________________________
Designated
Officer ________________________________
Title ________________________________
Address ________________________________
________________________________
Appendix BSupplier/Bidder List
Supplier/Bidder
Contact #
29. How I chose these potential suppliers:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________
PART 2 - CREATE AN RFP SOLICITATION - IT RELATED
In the second part of the project, you will use the knowledge
you developed in Part 1 to create an RFP solicitation document
using these part 2 formatting guidelines. The RFP document that
you will be creating must be on an IT related project, task, or
30. function that a company has decided to outsource. The
procurement document should reflect an area of individual or
team interest, or you may select one of the procurement cases
below as the basis for creating an RFP.
DESCRIPTION OF RFP PROCUREMENT OPTIONS
Option A - An Inventory Control System
You sell IT related equipment from a catalog, and business has
been blossoming. But your inventory tracking system is
inadequate. In high season, supply outages have been frequent,
and customer complaints over delays have been increasing. You
fear that your business will die on the vine unless something is
done to improve things. You want to hire a management
consultant to design a new inventory tracking system. This kind
of work normally requires about 6 months of effort. It is now
May. You need to issue an RFP for this work. The procurement
will be for the design stage only—implementation may or may
not be handled under a separate contract at a later date. Hint:
Creating a project charter and project scope statement will
facilitate to identify the procurement-SOW. Use what you have
learned in part 1 to develop an RFP solicitation.
Option B - Call Center Hardware Upgrade.
The call center has decided to outsource the work to replace 500
single monitor by dual LED monitors to increase agent
productivity, and reduce overall energy expenditure in the
building. The increase in productivity will create a more
customer friendly experience by reducing customer wait time
and decreasing frustrations that the agents face with the current
single monitor setup. The lower energy costs will result in
lower operating costs for the call center, and the increase in
productivity will generate additional revenue. Hint: Creating a
project charter and project scope statement will facilitate to
identify the procurement-SOW. Use what you have learned in
part 1 to develop an RFP solicitation.
Option C - requires Professor approval. The topic selected must
be related to an IT related outsource project, task, or function.
31. Week 7 submission will be a RFP solicitation document and
week 8 will be a PPT presentation of the RFP solicitation
(format and instructions).
The first page of your overall submission must be a cover sheet
that contains the project title, team members, team name, team
leader contact, and course-identifying information (e.g.,
"MGMT408 for this term" will suffice, but use the correct term
identifier), along with team members and their roles.
The second page will be a table of contents (TOC) listing the
major RFP sections and page numbers.
The next 10-12 pages constitute the main body of the RFP.
Download and use the RFP template as a guide to create your
solicitation by clicking here. You should not have any sections
that are not applicable (N/A) or to be determined (TBD) in the
proposal. Include a reference page at the end of the proposal
listing the references that you used in the RFP preparation in
APA format, including websites, if any. Don't forget to also cite
any sources in the text of your paper using APA format. This is
an academic assignment, so APA format is required.
The minimum structure should therefore be as follows.
· Cover sheet (one page)
· Table of contents (one page)
· RFP main body (minimum of 10 to 12 pages)
· References in APA format (no page limit)
· Appendices (no page limit)
· Appendix B: supplier list (one page)
Total assignment length should be 13 to 16 pages long,
including everything. The format of your entire proposal must
use standard margins with 12-point font.
Resources: The PMBOK® Guide is a good starting point. Please
be advised that considerable relevant material is also available
on the Internet, so you might want to conduct a search for
materials that may yield insights into the RFP development
process.