ITsourcing

RFP Example Section 4.9

This is an example section from a pro forma RFP:

4.9  Project Milestone Dates

This section provides a tentative schedule of the critical project dates.

Vendors should carefully examine and make certain they have a clear understanding of the requirements of the specified project milestones and the associated dates.

Event                                                                     Date
Issue the RFT                                                         Date7[week 0]
Receipt of signed Confidentiality Agreement            week 1
Receipt of Acknowledgement Form                          week 1
Pre-tender conference                                            week 2
Cut-off date for questions                                      week 4
Receipt of tenders                                                 week 5
Vendor tender presentations                                   week 9
Competitive Dialogues                                           week 13
Final vendor selection                                            week 16
Final contract signed by                                         week 32
Transition period                                                  Date8
Agreement fully operational by                               Date9
Acceptance test period                                          Date10

RFP Example 4.5 - 4.8

This is proforma example RFP sections 4.5 - 4.8:

4.5  Competitive Dialogue

Following submission of the tender, the number of vendors being considered may be reduced to a "finalist list".  Vendors may be asked to participate in a competitive dialogue [state the likely form of the dialogue] with Organisation management.  Final vendor selection will be based on the vendor's responsiveness to Organisation's project objectives.

4.6  Requests for Additional Information

Questions regarding clarification to the contents of the RFT will be accepted from time of receipt by vendor until 5:00 PM Date6. Organisation cannot guarantee that responses will be issued in time for vendors to incorporate into vendor tenders.

Inquiries MUST be made IN WRITING to the Contact.  Answers to vendor inquiries will be distributed in writing to all vendors if it is determined that this clarifies the Organisation requirements to all vendors.  Any verbal statements regarding this RFT by any persons other than the Contact, previous to vendor selection, shall be deemed unauthorised and may not be relied upon.

All requests for information which would be supplemental to the information contained in the RFT should be made in writing, addressed to the Contact.  Whenever responses to these requests would constitute a modification or addition to the original RFT, the reply will be made in the form of an addendum to the RFT, a copy of which will be forwarded to all vendors.  All questions must include:

• The submitting company's name, company address and phone number
• A clear and concise question
• References to specific points within this RFT

4.7  Site Visits

For vendors that so desire, a visit to the Organisation   [insert appropriate Organisation facility, e.g., data processing centres or programming centre] may be arranged by appointment.  Requests for visits should be addressed to the Contact.

Organisation may request a visit to the vendor's proposed [insert appropriate vendor facility, e.g., data processing site(s), programming and maintenance centre(s)].

4.8  Tender Format

To facilitate a timely and comprehensive evaluation of all submitted materials, tenders MUST be submitted using the format defined in Appendix B [and use the Template provided].  Any deviation from this format may lead to the rejection of the tender. Alternative tenders, if offered, are to be prepared using the same format and will be considered as part of the evaluation process. 

RFP Example Section 4.3 - 4.4

This is section 4.3 and 4.4 of a pro forma RFP:

4.3  Tender Evaluation and Award Criteria
4.3.1 Mandatory Criteria

The following mandatory criteria will be applied:
• Tenders must be submitted in English.
• Tenders must fully meet the functional business requirements specified, and adequately address requirements specified in the RFT.
• The Solution must conform to Organisation ICT standards as specified in the RFT, and be capable of achieving the required level of integration.
• The proposed solution must be capable to a sufficient degree of certainty of successful implementation within the required time-scale.
• Tender documentation must be completed in the format specified in  Appendix B – Mandatory Layout of Tender, including the use of the Template

Tenders that are incomplete or fail to meet these mandatory criteria are liable to be excluded from further consideration.

4.3.2 Additional Selection Criteria

Tenderers should provide evidence of competence and experience of providing products/services/implementing similar projects. If appropriate they should also demonstrate the availability of suitably experienced personnel to work on the project, and should submit staff CV’s or profiles in evidence.

Tenders that fail to meet these additional selection criteria are liable to be excluded from further consideration.

4.3.3 Award Criteria

Tenders that fulfill the above mandatory criteria will be evaluated on the basis of describe criteria that fully complies with the requirements set out in the RFT.

Tenders will be evaluated based on criteria including, but not limited to, the following (note: order does not indicate importance):

Product Functionality: Features and functions necessary to provide a comprehensive solution
Services and Support: Quality, availability and reliability of the products/services offered
Ability to Execute: Financial and technical execution capabilities
Vendor Vision: Tenderers appreciation of new and emerging technologies’ market impact and how they will exploit these to benefit Organisation
Product and Service Cost: Cost of the product/service/solution

Full details of tender response layout and evaluation criteria are provided in Appendix B.

4.4  Pre-Tender Conference

A pre-tender conference will be conducted in order to provide all parties the opportunity to meet and exchange information prior to the actual submission of tenders.  A single time and place for clarification replaces multiple calls between Organisation and vendors, thereby minimising the impact on all parties.  The conference also provides a forum in which interested parties have equal access to relevant RFT information prior to the actual tender.

In order to provide a clear understanding of Organisation's expectations, the companies interested in formulating a tender are invited to a mandatory pre-tender conference to be held as follows:

Date: 
Time: [insert time of meeting start - end]
Place: Organisation
 
 
 

This session will provide a short review of the RFT documents and answers, when possible, to questions regarding the project or the RFT.  Attendance will be limited to two (2) representatives per vendor.  The names, titles and positions of your representatives must be delivered to the Contact no later than Date5.

Any questions regarding this conference should be directed to the Contact.

RFP Example Section 4.0 - 4.2

This is sections 4.0 to 4.2 of a pro forma RFP:

 

4.0  Instructions to Vendors

This is a Request for Tender (RFT), not an order.  This document shall not be construed as a request or authorisation to perform work at Organisation's expense.  Any work performed by a vendor in connection with evaluating and responding to the RFT and, if selected, negotiating a definitive agreement will be at the vendor's own discretion and expense.  This RFT does not represent a commitment to purchase or lease.  Organisation reserves the right to reject any and all tenders at its sole and absolute discretion.  Submission of a bid constitutes acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

The information in this document will enable the recipient to formulate a tender to meet the workload requirements as described in this RFT.  The information in this RFT is accurate to the best of the author's knowledge but is not guaranteed to be correct.

4.1  Point of Contact

All communication with Organisation regarding this document (seeking clarification only) must be directed by e-mail to the single Point of Contact  for this project, as follows:
Point of Contact

Although telephone queries will not be taken regarding this document, contingency contact details are:

Point Of Contact
Organisation
Address

Telephone:
Email:   

Tenderers must not contact or discuss the RFT with any other persons in the Organisation. Organisation will respond to all queries with the unattributed questions/clarifications and related answers being posted on the Organisation website at: pointer

4.2  Submission of Tenders

Tender must be received by Date4 by 5:00 PM.  Extensions to this date cannot be granted.

Vendors MUST submit tenders complete and in writing.  Tenders MUST be organised according to the format described in Appendix B.  Vendors MUST submit an electronic copy of the tender in Word format in addition to x printed copies.  All requests for information in all sections of this document must be answered as concisely as possible while providing all information necessary to understand the outsourcing process proposed.  Any deviations from requirements, or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified.

Response to this RFT will constitute an offer to develop a contract based on the terms stated in this RFT and in the vendor tender, if vendor is invited by Organisation to do so.  Organisation wishes to see cost-effective, quality solutions that meet all of the mandatory requirements in this document.  Partial solutions may not be considered. Vendor responses will be assumed to be their best and final offers.

Tenders MUST include a statement that indicates that the vendor understands the requirements of the RFT and accepts the terms and conditions under which the RFT was issued to the vendor.  The original tender and (x) complete copies MUST be signed by a duly authorised officer.  If any subcontractors or partners will be providing services under the tender, all subcontractors and/or partners MUST sign the tender.  In signing, all subcontractors and/or partners are responsible for carrying out the work called for in the tender attributed to such contractors and/or partners.  The vendor submitting the tender shall be primarily responsible for carrying out the work called for in the tender.  All pages and sections in the tender must be clearly numbered.

The original and all copies, including all supplementary literature, must be submitted to the Contact identified in Section 4.1 of this RFT.
 
This RFT remains the property of Organisation at all times, and must be returned by the vendor upon request.  Vendors not submitting a tender MUST immediately return all printed, graphic and electronic documentation to the Contact.  Once a vendor has been advised of a contract award, the unsuccessful vendors MUST return all RFT and related printed, graphic and electronic documents to the Contact.

All tenders (and related materials), once delivered, become the property of Organisation.

Tenders which are delivered late will not be considered and will be returned unopened.

4.2.1  Exceptions and Alternatives

Vendors will comply with any and all requirements as specified in the RFT document.  Any stipulation or qualification made by vendors contrary to the RFT requirements in or accompanying tenders as a condition for the acceptance of the contract by the vendor may not be considered in the award of the contract and may cause the rejection of the entire tender.

Vendors may, however, submit one or more alternative tenders in addition to a response conforming to the requirements specified in this RFT.  Any alternatives must be clearly identified and segregated from the original tender.  Any alternatives must be prepared using the same format specified in this RFT.  The vendor will assume full responsibility to demonstrate that the alternative will meet or exceed Organisation's requirements.  Vendor will bear all costs required to obtain Organisation's acceptance of the alternative solutions(s).  Organisation reserves all the same rights for alternatives as otherwise specified in this RFT.

Date:
Time:	[insert time of meeting start - end]
Place:	Organisation

RFP Example Section 3

This is section 3 of a pro forma RFP:

3.0  Project Introduction

This document is a request for tender (RFT) to obtain certain [SPECIFY] Information Technology (IT) products/services.  The IT services within the scope of this RFT include [insert a brief description of the scope of the requirement, e.g., hardware; data processing services; communication services; applications development and maintenance; applications maintenance; distributed processing; hardware, packaged software, consumables, other].  Organisation anticipates that the provision of these IT products/IT services will provide ………… [insert a brief description of expectations and the current environment, e.g., consolidation approach; in-house approach to application development and maintenance; other].  While Organisation foresees a [insert a brief description of the key objective, e.g., Systems integration contract, application maintenance contract covering the corporate headquarters location; other], it is essential that [insert a phrase describing what the essentials of the contract are, e.g., the service levels and support provided under any agreement be responsive to local needs and exceed current levels being provided; other].  [Insert a sentence describing the scope of the contract, e.g., Storage hardware, data processing services include the provision of hardware, system software, platform operations and support services but exclude business application maintenance; other]

This introductory section describes the background to the RFT, Organisation's objectives, the scope of the RFT and an overview of the current environment.

3.1  Background

The Organisation is Describe Organisation in one paragraph.

A wide range of information and facts about Organisation is available at the website, www.Organisation.com.

The IT needs of Organisation's business are supported by a diverse support organisation, including, but not limited to:

• Mainframe data centres
• Multiple midrange computing locations
• Distributed/desktop systems at all Organisation locations
• Wide area data network, connecting (partial list)
• Video network, connecting (partial list)
• Voice network
• Applications development and support
• Applications maintenance
• Database administration
• Training

3.2  Tender Objectives

Organisation's primary objectives in Tendering the [IT Requirement] are as follows: [Insert statements of key objective(s), e.g.,

• achieve costs that are minimal and predictable
• ensure flexibility in terms of storage usage and costs
• continue to provide and improve upon high quality service levels to the end-customers
• enable existing Organisation programming staff to focus on new application development
• reduce the amount of discretionary functional enhancements in existing applications
• improve equipment total cost of ownership ]

3.3  Current Environment

[Relevant Description – e.g., Applications Architecture, Hardware Architecture, etc]

RFP Example Section 2

This is section 2 of a proform RFP:

2.0  Acknowledgment Form

This form acknowledges receipt of this RFT and states whether the vendor intends to submit or not submit a tender.

Request For Tender No: Number
Closing date for receipt of tenders:Date2 before 5:00 p.m, at the location set forth below:

RETURN THIS FORM BY:Date3 before 5:00 p.m., to:

    Organisation 
 
 
    Attention: 
 
 
 

We,
    Vendor name 
    Address 
 
 

(Check one of the following)
     Intend to submit a tender
     Do NOT intend to submit a tender and have returned all Organisation documentation, including the RFT.

Please indicate your reasons for declining to submit a tender:

 

 

 

    Signature 
    Title 
    Date 

RFP Example Section 1

This is the first section of a pro forma RFP:

1.0  Confidential Information

Prior to receiving this Request for Tender (RFT), a duly authorised representative of your company signed a Confidentiality Agreement.  This Confidentiality Agreement documents the obligations of your company and Organisation to maintain the confidentiality of information.  All of the information contained in this RFT shall be deemed to be "Confidential Information" within the meaning of the Confidentiality Agreement and shall be treated accordingly.  Such information may not be copied, disclosed or distributed to any other person without the prior written consent of Organisation.

RFI Section 3 - Example

3.0 Instructions to Vendors
This is a Request for Information (RFI), not an order.  No cost can be charged to The Bank for any reason.

This document shall not be construed as a request or authorisation to perform work at The Bank's expense.  Any work performed by a vendor will be at the vendor's own discretion and expense.  This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase or lease.  Submission of a response constitutes acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

The Bank intends to submit a formal Request For Proposal (RFP) for the services described in this document prior to the end of RFPDate.  There is no guarantee that The Bank will submit an RFP or, if an RFP is submitted, that it will occur in the time frame described in this RFI.  If submitted, the RFP will be sent to vendors that demonstrate adequate capabilities in response to this RFI.  The information in this RFI is accurate to the best of the author's knowledge but is not guaranteed to be correct.
 
3.1 Point of Contact
All communication with The Bank must be directed to the single Point of Contact for this project, as follows:

Name
Address
Telephone 
Email

3.2 Submission of Responses
A response must be received by CloseDate.  Extensions to this date cannot be granted.

Responses must be submitted complete and in writing.  All requests for information in all sections of this document must be answered as concisely as possible while providing all information necessary to understand the outsourcing process proposed.  Any deviations from requirements, or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified.

Responses must include a statement that indicates that the vendor understands the requirements of the RFI and accepts the terms and conditions under which the RFI was issued to the vendor.  The original response and two (2) complete copies must be signed under the corporate seal by an authorised officer.  The original and all copies, including all supplementary literature, must be forwarded to the point of contact identified in Section 3.1 of this RFI.

Any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in a vendor response should be clearly marked ‘PROPRIETARY’ or ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ by item or at the top of each page.  Reasonable precautions will be taken to safeguard any part of the response identified by a vendor as being confidential or proprietary.

This RFI remains the property of The Bank at all times, and must be returned by the vendor upon request.  Vendors not submitting a response must immediately return all printed, graphic and electronic documentation to the point of contact.

All responses, once delivered, become the property of The Bank.

3.3 Response Format
To facilitate a timely and comprehensive evaluation of all submitted responses, responses must be submitted using the format requested in this RFI.  Any deviation from this format may lead to the rejection of the response.  Vendors should limit the answers to the following questions to four pages.  A limited amount of supplemental materials may be provided, but for the purposes of this RFI, less is more.
 
Vendor responses MUST provide the following information, in the requested sequence:

1) Based on the information provided, would your firm bid on an RFP for all listed services?

Answer the following if the answer to question 1 is ‘yes’.

2) Provide the name, title, address, telephone and e-mail for the primary contact for receiving an RFP.

3) Provide some general business background information.
Year and state or country of incorporation
A copy of your most current annual report

4) Provide a high-level description of your client base for similar services.
Number of customers
Geographic distribution of customers
Potentials for conflict of interest in customer base

5)  Vendor's experience with the range of hardware and software technologies as outlined in 2.3 above.
• Data Centre Operations.
• Help Desk.
• PC/ LAN Operation and Management.
• Network Operations.
• Application Support and Maintenance.
Length of experience
Functional areas of expertise

6) Experience with Retail Banking, and associated application suites running on IBM host technology.

7) Geographic coverage
All services
Similar services

8) Client references
One current client of similar services
One former client of similar services

9) Other relevant experience

10) Potential and preferred fee structures

• Retainer
• Flat fee
• Time and materials
• Combination or other

11) Standard method of handling travel and other expenses

• Built into fee structure
• Pass-through to client
• Billed to client at cost
• Billed to client plus administrative charge

12) Potential for value-added services

13) Additional relevant information

RFI Section 2.0 - Example

The following is the second section of a example RFI:

2.0 Project Introduction 

This document is a Request For Information (RFI) regarding vendor capabilities in several aspects of IT Outsourcing in Country.  The Bank is seeking a supplier of these services over a 3-plus year period, subject to negotiation.

This introductory section describes the background to the RFI, The Bank's objective for outsourcing, and a general description of the services The Bank is seeking from a vendor.

2.1 Background The Bank is a Country Retail Bank with significant Private Banking, Corporate Banking, International Banking, Investment and Treasury services, offered in several countries.  The Bank is developing an extensive branch network within the Country, with more than 300 Automated Teller Machines and a Debit Card product, via the Maestro/ Cirrus branding. The Bank provides services for retail customers in more than 300 branches within the Country.
 
2.2 Outsourcing Objectives
The Bank’s primary objectives in pursuing this outsourcing are as follows:
• Have access to vendor’s broad range of personnel resources for rapid ‘time to market’
• Utilise vendor's local presence to ensure timely support of hardware and software problems as well as limited training needs
• Minimise the costs associated with the IT services described in this document
• Capitalise on vendor's experience with these IT services to continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these IT services

2.3 IT Service OverviewThe Bank, in general, is seeking vendor assistance in:
• Data Centre Operations across two sites, with full resilience. This will entail IBM etc. etc.
• Integrated Help Desk to provide business applications support as well as technical support
• Desktop PC, Servers, LAN  including Asset Acquisition and Management for distributed processes
• Network Operations, WAN Branch network. City based network control centre with fibre optic links to the data centres
• Application Support and Maintenance, mainly etc. etc, including any new development required.

The Bank has an ongoing Systems Integration project to implement a package based Retail Banking Application within Country, and to integrate this with existing applications, e.g. General Ledger.

RFI Section 1 - Example

The following is the first section of an example RFI.

 

1.0  Confidential Information

The information contained in this Request for Information (RFI) is confidential and proprietary to The Bank.  In accepting this RFI, vendors agree to the following conditions, under USA law:

1. Each party recognises and agrees that the Confidential Information has been compiled, created and maintained by special effort and expense of the other party.

2. Each party recognises and agrees that disclosing or disseminating Confidential Information to a third party will have a materially adverse effect on the other party and agrees not to disclose or disseminate the Confidential Information to any third party.  Except as necessary to perform its obligations hereunder, each party shall not use, reproduce or draw upon the Confidential Information or circulate it within its own organisation.

3.  Each party shall provide notice to the other party of any demand made upon it under lawful process to disclose or provide the other party's Confidential Information.  Such party agrees to co-operate with the other party if it elects to seek reasonable protective arrangements or oppose such disclosure, at the expense of the party that is seeking the protective arrangements or opposing the disclosure. 
 
4.  Any Confidential Information disclosed pursuant to such lawful process shall continue to be Confidential Information, the access to such Confidential Information shall be limited to those persons (i) only with a need to review such information for the purposes for which the disclosure was required, and (ii) who agree in writing to keep the Confidential Information confidential.