TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF DECEMBER 5, 2019
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 19-RFP-30, E-Procurement Module for the Request of Proposals Process with Bonfire Interactive Ltd., in an amount not to exceed $87,500.00, Account 101-20000-634820, Requisition 1533488
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with Bonfire Interactive Ltd. for an E-Procurement Module for the Request of Proposals Process starting from the date of award and ending three (3) years thereafter.
The purpose of this request for proposal is to find an off the shelf, cloud-based software solution (SaaS) module to streamline the request for proposal (RFP) process. The module includes the following features:
1. Creation and management of the solicitation online for the RFP.
2. Security features for sealed proposals submitted online by Proposers.
3. An electronic evaluation process for evaluating RFPs.
On August 21, 2019, Request for Proposal 19-RFP-30 for an E-Procurement Module for the Request of Proposals Process was publicly advertised. Four hundred and forty-four (444) firms were notified and forty-three (43) firms requested proposal documents. On September 20, 2019, the District received two (2) responsive proposals from the following vendors: Bonfire Interactive Ltd. and SAP.
The proposals were evaluated by staff from the Law Department, Information Technology Department and the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in Request for Proposal 19-RFP-30 and included: compliance with proposal requirements, functionality of the module, ease of use and uniqueness of the module, approach to the work, technical competence, experience, customer support, IT SLA’s, financials, insurance, and cost.
Following the preliminary evaluation of proposals, excluding cost, both proposers were deemed to be finalists and were invited to interviews and demonstrations conducted on October 15-16, 2019. On November 1, 2019, a solicitation was sent to the finalists requesting an unqualified “best and final” offer.
Based on the evaluation of proposals, finalist interviews, demonstrations and pricing, the Procurement and Materials Management Department recommends Bonfire Interactive Ltd. as the selected vendor. Bonfire Interactive Ltd.’s e-procurement software is easy-to-use with many functions that will streamline the District’s current RFP process. Vendors will be able to upload their proposals electronically to the system which will eliminate the need for paper proposals. The District’s RFP evaluators will be able to read and evaluate vendor proposals within the software, which will save time and paper. The software also has reporting functionality. For these reasons, Bonfire Interactive Ltd. is the recommended vendor for this contract.
The Affirmative Action Appendix A and Appendix V are not included in this contract because the estimate is less than the minimum threshold established by Section 4 of the Affirmative Action Ordinance.
In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with Bonfire Interactive Ltd. per Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act, in an amount not to exceed $87,500.00.
The estimated expenditure for 2019 is $32,500.00, 2020 is $27,500.00, and 2021 is $27,500.00. Funds for the 2020 and 2021 expenditures are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management, DAL:SEB:MS:es
Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman, Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for December 5, 2019