Amendment 1.docx

SAP

State of South Carolina

Request for Proposal

(RE-BID)

AMENDMENT 001

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400022591 1/21/2022

BRITTANY SLOAN

8037373410 bsloan@mmo.sc.gov SFAA, Div. of Procurement Services, MMO PO Box 101103 Columbia SC 29211

DESCRIPTION: Customer Relationship Management System

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: Coastal Carolina University

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 2/7/2022 11:00 AM (See "Deadline for Submission of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 1/12/2022 4:00 PM (See "Questions from Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: ONLINE BIDDING PREFERRED; If submitting Online in SCEIS please See Online Bidding Instructions in Section II.B. If submitting Hardcopy, submit One (1) Original Hardcopy marked “Original”, and One (1) Electronic (digital) Media Copy marked “Copy” (See “Electronic Copies-Required Media & Format” provision Section II.B.) Initial here if NO redacted copy is necessary___________

CONFERENCE TYPE: N/A

DATE & TIME:

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions)

LOCATION: N/A

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, you agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold your offer open for a minimum of ninety (90) calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov)

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

_________________________________________________ E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one) ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009): Preferences do not apply. See SC Consolidated Procurement Code Reference 11-35-1524 (E) (2)

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE: Preferences do not apply. See SC Consolidated Procurement Code Reference 11-35-1524 (E) (2)

PAGE TWO (SEP 2009)

End of PAGE TWO

AMENDMENT # 001

Solicitation #5400022591

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1]

Questions from Offerors - amendment (Jun 2017) The solicitation is amended as provided herein. Information or changes resulting from questions will be shown in a question-and-answer format. All questions received have been reprinted below. The “state’s response” should be read without reference to the questions. The questions are included solely to provide a cross-reference to the potential Offeror that submitted the question. Questions do not form a part of the contract; the “state’s response” does. Any restatement of part or all of an existing provision of the solicitation in an answer does not modify the original provision except as follows: underlined text is added to the original provision. Stricken text is deleted. [02-2a097-1]

ALL OTHER TERMS, CONDITIONS, BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS, AND SPECIFICATIONS REMAIN UNCHANGED. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF ANY CONFUSION OR UNCERTAINTY ARISES AS A RESULT OF THIS AMENDMENT, IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFEROR TO CONTACT THE PROCUREMENT OFFICER FOR CLARIFICATION. CONTACT INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE COVER PAGE OF THIS AMENDMENT. REFERENCE THE “DUTY TO INQUIRE” CLAUSE IN THE ORIGINAL INVITATION FOR BID.

MAXIMUM CONTRACT PERIOD - ESTIMATED (Modified)

Start date: 3/25/2022 End date: 3/24/2027. Dates provided are estimates only. Any resulting contract will begin on the date specified in the notice of award. See clause entitled "Term of Contract - Effective Date/Initial Contract Period".

This is a one-year contract with four (4) one-year renewal options. The maximum contract life is five (5) years.

SAP

Q&A Solicitation #5400022591 CCU-CRM System

1. Please confirm that your current CRM solution is Ellucian Colleague?

State’s Response: The current CRM is Slate by Technolutions.

2. Approximately how much data do you intend to have to be migrated?

State’s Response: Approximately 125,000 student records with accompanying biographical/demographic, educational, test score, communication/interaction, and visit records.

3. What is the average amount of applications does CCU accept a year?

State’s Response: Between 20,000 and 25,000

4. Does the contractor need to provide additional data redundancy, backup, and disaster recovery services?

State’s Response: Yes.

5. How are fees currently billed by any incumbent(s), by category, and at what rates if applicable?

State’s Response: This Information is not available.

6. What is the estimated or actual dollars paid last year, last month, or last quarter to any incumbent(s) for the following systems:

a. Ellucian Colleague 18.0.5

b. Imaging and document management, specifically Perceptive Content Document Imaging

c. Common Application

d. Online payment vendors

e. Mongoose/Cadence (text messaging) State’s Response: This information is not available to the public.

7. In my proposed solution, the estimated timeframe for implementation and go-live is 3-4 months. Is CCU willing to modify the implementation date to June – July 2022?

State’s Response: No, we need a CRM solution in place no later than May 15, 2022.

8. In section 3.2, you reference a turn-key, multi-channel solution; what does this look like to CCU?

State’s Response: This looks like a fully developed higher education CRM system that CCU can implement our business processes within and does not require a custom-built CRM.

9. What types of reports and data does CCU currently collect?

State’s Response: CCU collects prospective student and applicant data in the CRM system. In addition to student information, educational records (high schools and colleges), test scores (SAT/ACT), parent information, event registration, and interactions within the application portal. Reports and queries are built within the CRM system to track application metrics. The current CRM system is not integrated with any external reporting system.

10. What analytical tools does CCU currently use?

State’s Response: There are no analytical tools integrated within the CRM.

11. Is this solution mandatory or an option to provide a web-based solution? (Section 3.2) The solution should be web-based and mobile-friendly, collaborative to support multiple users, secure on multiple levels, inclusive of required features, and intuitive and "easy to use."

State’s Response: The solution should meet the required specifications outlined in the proposal.

12. Referring to mobile-friendly, do you mean the ability to be accessed from a mobile device via a web browser, or do you want a software application for mobile devices?

State’s Response: The ability to be accessed and readable from a mobile device.

13. Section 3.3 - Please explain the meaning of advanced personalized technology?

State’s Response: This includes personalized emails, a personalized portal for applicants to check their admissions status, personalized text messages, etc. The personalization needs to include student name and other information such as address, academic major, high school, etc.

14. What hosting platform do you currently use for webinars?

State’s Response: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Conduit by Platform Q.

15. Within the miscellaneous requirements section, you stated, customer care support will not be needed", but several instances within the solicitation state you require support services after implementation. Please clarify your requirement.

State’s Response: Customer care refers to support needed from applicants and/or prospective students. Support Services after implementation refers to support from the vendor regarding technical support for the CRM, system upgrades, etc. We need to know there is a support center and method to escalate support issues.

16. What type of support services will you require after implementation?

State’s Response: Please see response above.

17. Please provide contextual meaning for section 3.3 item h. "Must be easy and user-friendly system – An intuitive look, feel, logic, and navigation."

State’s Response: The solution must be accessible to staff who don’t have IT or programming experience. The solution must not have cumbersome processes. It must be developed for higher education and its business processes for the recruitment and enrollment of students.

18. What does CCU mean by: "Must provide applications that have a responsive mobile design?"

State’s Response: This means “form” such as event registration, inquiry forms, the admissions application are mobile responsive for the end-user (the student).

19. Section 3.3 (o.) Does CCU want an additional document storage application or a document application that integrates with the Perceptive Content document imaging system?

State’s Response: The CRM system must have the capability to integrate with Perceptive. Documents such as transcripts, letters of recommendations, admissions applications, and other supporting application documents must move from the CRM system into Perceptive through an integration between the systems.

20. What is Suntrust Merchant Services (FiServ) and their gateways?

State’s Response: Suntrust Merchant Services in the University’s bank and the payment gateway is the host for the application fee. The gateway must move the $45 application fee and other web payments to SunTrust.

21. Is CCU currently utilizing any peripheral hardware with their current CRM solution?

State’s Response: No.

22. Please explain this requirement: section 3.4 (7e) "forms of end-user support, and its availability to Coastal Carolina University as part of the implementation process."

State’s Response: This means that support is available for CCU staff using the CRM. We want to see the implementation team and timeline, as well as the expectation of the CCU staff for the implementation.

23. It appears CCU is looking for a full-fledged CRM which Liaison cannot accommodate, but a major part of the CRM appears to be communication, which we specialize in. The communication features requested will have to be outsourced from the main CRM provider. We have precoded turnkey integrations into the higher ed CRM's which would give CCU a quick and easy installation process.

State’s Response: The solicitation is for a CRM.

24. CCU's requested communication functionality will likely cost more than the CRM itself.

Would CCU prefer us to contract directly with the state or be a subcontractor to the CRM provider? This cannot be sub-contracted.

State’s Response: The solution must meet all features/requests outlined above.

25. Should the vendor be proposing the CRM software or does the University have a solution?

State’s Response: This solicitation is for a CRM system.

26. I highlighted the requirements that seem to be written in a way that would preclude certain vendors from bidding. If there are reasons, we aren't a good fit that have already been determined, that's OK. Here's the list (I've added my comments after each so you understand why it's problematic for us”):

a.Turn-key implementation by May 2022. (*We offer a robust and flexible CRM that requires more time to implement if it's going to be done right).

State’s Response: The timeline is May 2022.

28. Must provide unlimited email capabilities to all audiences including current students at no extra cost. (*We have native email capabilities that would be included in the user licenses. However, my guess is that a university like Coastal would want to have a more powerful and automated marketing and communication tool like Marketing Cloud or Pardot to help them engage their constituents in a coordinated and personalized way).

State’s Response: The CRM system must meet all of the specifications in one solution.

29. Must not need separate “apps” required for any functionality, providing consistent data and user experience. (*This requirement is the most problematic because one of our biggest selling points is our customers' access to thousands of applications, built on our company, that allow them to accomplish the unique things they want to do and harness the power of their relationships).

State’s Response: The CRM system must meet all specifications in one solution.

30. Must provide unlimited user accounts, data, and document storage, at no additional cost. (limits on user amount will not be accepted) (*We have a per/user license model so this requirement is also antithetical to how we operate).

State’s Response: The system must have unlimited user accounts.

31. Must provide a digital portfolio audio and video service capabilities. (I'm not aware of a native capability for Salesforce to do this. However, the power and flexibility of our company, along with the app environment I mentioned in "n," usually means we can accommodate this need in a way that meets the needs of our customers).

State’s Response: This means that the applicant must be able to submit a portfolio or video to supplement their application, and this needs to be available through the application portal and account the student creates when they apply.

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