AAGO15-092041-AAGO15-00004332_-_Determination_for_Award_04022015.pdf

Mark Brnovich Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General State of Arizona

OPERATIONS DIVISION/PROCUREMENT SECTION

JERRY CONNOLLY

PROCUREMENT MANAGER

DIRECT: (602) 542-8030

JERRY.CONNOLLY@AZAG.GOV

1275 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2926 • Phone 602.542.7986 • Fax 602.251.2285

To: Procurement File (RFP# AAGO15-00004332/AG Project #AG14-0029)

From: Cindy Palmer

Date: April 3, 2015

Re: Determination for Award

The Arizona Office of the Attorney General (AGO) issued a Request for information (RFI) in accordance with A.R.S. § 41- 2555 and A.A.C. R2-7-G301 on September 20, 2013 with a response due date of October 10, 2013. The purpose of the RFI was to obtain information from vendors on available software and services to produce a consumer complaint intake, tracking and response system which will allow the AGO’s Consumer Information and Complaints Unit to efficiently manage individual complaints and query the system for standard and ad hoc reports. The evaluation team reviewed rough pricing, product descriptions, and functionality of the six responses to the RFI. The vendors were invited to the AGO to demonstrate their software product. Through the RFI review process, the AGO determined a significant investment would be required for consulting, configuration, product licensing, and training.

In April of 2014, the AGO submitted an initial Project Investment Justification (PIJ) to the Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology (ASET) division for endorsement of the AGO’s determination to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in accordance with A.R.S. § 41-2534 for a Consumer Complaint Management Software System. A RFP was more practicable than an IFB in accordance with A.R.S. § 41-2533 because of the necessity to hold discussions to ensure full understanding of the solicitation requirements; conduct demonstrations and clarification of software functionalities to ensure compatibility with AGO business needs; and to permit revision of offers as needed.

The RFP was issued on August 27, 2014 and was released to all vendors registered under commodity codes 208-37, 918- 29, 920-31, 920-45, and 920-91 in ProcureAZ. A legal advertisement was placed in the Arizona Business Gazette per A.R.S. § 41-2533. Opening date was October 2, 2014 at 3:00pm. Ten proposals were received in response to the RFP from Aithent Inc., Carahsoft Technology Corporation, Column Technologies Inc., Libera Inc., Lynk Software Inc., Neudesic LLC, Synaptec Software Inc., ThoughtSpan Technology LLC, Vertiba, and Voyager Systems, Inc. The proposals were received on time and were distributed to the evaluation committee for review.

The evaluation committee set their initial meetings to discuss and evaluate the proposals received for October 30-31, 2014. During the October meeting times, it was determined that an additional evaluation meeting was needed and scheduled for November 14, 2014. During this evaluation meeting, vendors were assigned scores and the evaluation committee agreed on a benchmark score of 300 points for the purposes of conducting demonstrations. Four vendors were scheduled for demonstrations the following month to give adequate time to prepare and make travel arrangements. Neudesic LLC and Synaptec Software Inc. conducted their demonstrations on Monday, December 15, 2014. The following Wednesday, Libera Inc. and ThoughtSpan Technology LLC conducted their demonstrations on December 17, 2014.

After the completion of demonstrations, the evaluation committee met December 19, 2014 to discuss the results and any need for clarifications. Clarifications were requested from the four demonstration vendors, Neudesic LLC, Synaptec

Mark Brnovich Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General State of Arizona

OPERATIONS DIVISION/PROCUREMENT SECTION

JERRY CONNOLLY

PROCUREMENT MANAGER

DIRECT: (602) 542-8030

JERRY.CONNOLLY@AZAG.GOV

1275 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2926 • Phone 602.542.7986 • Fax 602.251.2285

Software Inc., Libera Inc. and ThoughtSpan Technology LLC. The remaining six vendors, below the benchmark score, were notified their proposals were determined not susceptible for award. The clarifications were received on time by their requested due date of January 8, 2015. The evaluation committee met to discuss the responses to the clarifications on January 14, 2015. The evaluation committee reviewed initial scorings, additional needs for clarifications, as well as the need to obtain pricing for any additional software/hardware purchases that may be required as part of this RFP.

Additional software/hardware costs were obtained from a State contracted vendor on January 21, 2015. Secondary clarifications were sent to Synaptec Inc. and ThoughtSpan Technology LLC on February 25, 2015 with a response due date of March 2, 2015.

A final evaluation meeting was held on March 2, 2015 to review the responses from the secondary clarification request.

The evaluation committee also recommended a vendor for award. As part of the PIJ process, final determinations were submitted for approval to Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology (ASET) division. Final project approval was received from ASET on March 27, 2015. Best and Final Offers (BAFO) were requested from Neudesic LLC, Synaptec Software Inc., Libera Inc., and ThoughtSpan Technology LLC on March 31, 2015 with a due date of April 1, 2015. All BAFO’s received confirmed their original proposal submissions along with clarifications were their best and final offer.

The recommended vendor for award of this project is ThoughtSpan Technology LLC. Scoring sheets documenting the evaluation are attached.

The Procurement Officer determines this award is in accordance with A.R.S. § 41-2534 and is advantageous to the Office of the Attorney General and the State of Arizona based on the evaluation factors set forth in the solicitation.

Cindy Palmer Senior Procurement Specialist

Jerry Connolly Chief Procurement Officer