Attachment J Solution Requirements Matrix - CUNY Virtual Bookstore.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 24 KB Posted
- Attached to
- UCO-1019 Virtual Bookstore Operations
- Solicitation number
- 2138255
- Issued by
- Kings County, New York
About this file
This is a Solution Requirements Matrix attachment for the City University of New York (CUNY) Virtual Bookstore Operations contract opportunity. The document establishes the technical and operational requirements that prospective contractors must meet to provide comprehensive virtual bookstore services across CUNY's multi-campus system. The matrix outlines mandatory solution capabilities including online sales and distribution of textbooks, course materials, digital content, and general merchandise through an accessible, user-friendly platform. Key requirements address system integration with CUNY's existing institutional systems, support services for students, faculty, and campus administrators, and technology infrastructure standards. Contractors must demonstrate the operational, technical, and financial capacity to serve a large, complex higher education environment while meeting specified service level agreements and performance standards outlined in the requirements matrix.
The contract opportunity includes a 30 percent Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) contracting goal for the total contract value. Prospective bidders must satisfy all eligibility qualifications, accessibility standards, and security requirements detailed in the solicitation documents. No businesses hold incumbent contracts for identical or substantially similar services within the past five years. The solicitation documents will provide comprehensive details regarding the scope of services, revenue and commission structures, implementation timelines, required technology integrations, detailed service levels, and all contractual terms and conditions necessary for contractors to submit competitive proposals.
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Table of Contents Attachment J - Solution Requirements Matrix for CUNY Virtual Bookstore Operations
| Tab | Section |
| 1 | Requirements Overview |
| 2 | Response Instructions for Potential RFP Respondents |
| 3 | Solution Requirements (Section 3.2) |
| 4 | Technical Architecture Requirements (Section 3.3) |
| 5 | Operational Requirements (Section 3.4) |
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1. Overview
CUNY Virtual Bookstore Solution Requirements Fields & Instructions
| Requirement # | Reference number assigned to each discrete solution requirement. |
| Requirement Status | The status of each requirement is either "Mandatory" or "Highly Desired". Solutions that do not meet Mandatory requirements may be judged non-compliant. Solutions with the ability to satisfy highly desired requirements may be evaluated favorably. |
| Requirement | Description of the solution requirement extracted from Sections 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 of the RFP. |
| Does Solution Meet Requirement? | This field is for completion by RFP respondents. It features a drop-down menu with three options for describing the extent to which the proposed solution will fulfill each requirement: |
| §Completely: The vendor’s system can completely fulfill the requirement | |
| §Partially: The vendor’s proposed system can partially fulfill the requirement | |
| §Not at All: The vendor’s system cannot fulfill the requirement at all | |
| How Does Solution Meet Requirement? | This field is for completion by RFP respondents. It features a drop-down menu with four options for describing the method by which the proposed solution will fulfill each requirement. |
| §Out-of-the-box: The vendor’s system can fulfill the requirement without additional configuration, customization, or development | |
| §Configuration: The vendor’s system can fulfill the requirement by making changes using established product configuration tools (e.g., without using custom code) | |
| §Customization: The vendor’s system can fulfill the requirement by making changes outside of established product configuration tools (e.g., using custom code) | |
| §Development Required: The vendor’s system can fulfill the requirement by undertaking additional development such as integration with third party tools | |
| Comments | This field is for completion by RFP respondents. This field is for respondents to provide additional context for their responses. |
2. Response Instructions
| Respondents must indicate the fit of their proposed services and solution to the specified CUNY Virtual Bookstore requirements. | |
| Choose the code that represents the degree the specific requirement is met by proposal. If "N (Not at all)" is selected, do not complete the "How?" | |
| Response Codes | Definition - "Meet Requirement?" |
| C (Completely) | Requirement will be met in full. |
| P (Partially) | Requirement will be partially met, as explained in the comments field with potential workaround solutions, as warranted. |
| N (Not at all) | Requirement will not be met. |
| Respondents must indicate how their proposed services and solution will meet the specified requirements. | |
| Respondents must indicate how their proposed services and solution will meet the specified requirements. | |
| Response Codes | Definition - "How?" |
| Out-of-the-Box | System will provide required capabilities with no configuration required. |
| Configuration | System will provide required capabilities with configuration using standard configuration tools, excluding scripting tools. |
| Customization | System will provide required capabilities through customization of source code and components. |
| Integration | System will provide required capabilities only through integration with 3rd party software product. |
3. Technical Requirements
| CUNY Virtual Bookstore Technical Requirements - Section 3.2 | |||||
| Req # | Req Status | Requirement | Does Solution Meet Requirement? | How Does Solution Meet Requirement? | Comments |
| VB-FUNC-001 | Mandatory | 3.2.1 Platform Functionality — The Virtual Bookstore platform shall support the discovery, comparison, adoption, procurement, and fulfillment of required and recommended course materials. | |||
| VB-FUNC-002 | Mandatory | 3.2.2 Course Material Search and Discovery — Provide intuitive search functionality for faculty, students, and administrators using ISBN, author, course number, title, instructor name, and subject area. Faculty users shall be able to view historical course material selections across CUNY for comparable courses covering at least the previous academic year and current academic year-to-date. | |||
| VB-FUNC-003 | Mandatory | 3.2.3 Student Ordering Experience — Provide a user-friendly ordering interface with real-time inventory availability; estimated delivery timelines before order submission; order confirmation and tracking; digital fulfillment; identification of Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) and Open Educational Resources (OER) materials; and a mobile-friendly interface supporting modern web browsers and mobile devices. | |||
| VB-FUNC-004 | Mandatory | 3.2.4 Price Comparison Capability — Provide tools to compare pricing across new print, used print, digital access, rental options, and subscription models. Comparisons must show pricing differences based on seller, format, and delivery costs. | |||
| VB-FUNC-005 | Mandatory | 3.2.5 OER and Zero Textbook Cost Identification — Provide functionality to identify and display Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) materials through custom labeling or messaging capabilities. | |||
| VB-FUNC-006 | Mandatory | 3.2.6 Used Book Marketplace — Provide a marketplace enabling students and other users to sell and purchase used textbooks directly from other users. | |||
| VB-FUNC-007 | Mandatory | 3.2.7 Buyback Capability — Support online buyback enabling students to sell textbooks directly to the Contractor, including prepaid shipping labels where applicable. | |||
| VB-FUNC-008 | Mandatory | 3.2.8 Payment Processing — Support secure processing for credit cards, debit cards, financial aid disbursements, institutional purchase orders, and departmental charges, and comply with applicable payment card security standards. | |||
| VB-FUNC-009 | Mandatory | 3.2.9 Voucher Processing — Support vouchers from third-party funding sources, including veterans’ programs, workforce development programs, social service agencies, and vocational rehabilitation programs. The Contractor shall be responsible for verification, invoicing, fulfillment, reconciliation, and issue resolution related to voucher transactions. | |||
| VB-FUNC-010 | Mandatory | 3.2.10 Course Pack Services — Provide course materials publishing services, including development and distribution of printed or digital course packs. | |||
| VB-FUNC-011 | Mandatory | 3.2.11 Shipping and Fulfillment — Allow shipment to addresses designated by the purchaser or the Colleges and provide estimated delivery timelines before order submission. Highly Desired: include shipping costs in pricing or otherwise minimize shipping costs; alternative pricing structures may be proposed. | |||
| VB-FUNC-012 | Mandatory | 3.2.12 Customer Support — Provide 24 hours per day, 7 days per week customer support; live customer service with access to a human representative; and extended service hours during peak academic periods, including registration. | |||
| VB-FUNC-013 | Mandatory | 3.2.13 Analytics and Reporting — Provide real-time and on-demand analytics, including sales reports, fulfillment performance metrics, voucher transaction tracking, course material adoption analytics, and operational performance indicators. Include sample reports in the proposal. | |||
| VB-FUNC-014 | Mandatory | 3.2.14 Institutional Links — Provide configurable links to the Colleges’ websites and optional links to official institutional merchandise sites. |
4. Technical Architecture
| CUNY Virtual Bookstore Technical Architecture Requirements - Section 3.3 | ||||||
| Req # | Req Status | Requirement | Technical Area | Does Solution Meet Requirement? | How Does Solution Meet Requirement? | Comments |
| VB-TECH-001 | Mandatory | The Virtual Bookstore platform shall be accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, except for scheduled maintenance periods communicated in advance. |
Support access via modern web browsers.
Support access via mobile devices including smartphones and tablets.
| Support mobile-optimized web interfaces or dedicated applications. | Availability / User Access | |||
| VB-TECH-002 | Mandatory | Integrate with CUNYFirst Student Information System, learning management systems such as Brightspace and identity management systems supporting single sign-on authentication.. | Integration | |
| VB-TECH-003 | Mandatory | Support single sign-on integration with CUNY identity systems while also allowing secure direct login capability. | Authentication | |
| VB-TECH-004 | Mandatory | Allow students to identify required course materials at the time of course registration. | Integration | |
| VB-TECH-005 | Mandatory | Support approximately 270,000 users, and support a minimum of 15,000 concurrent users. | ||
| Demonstrate the ability to maintain performance levels under peak usage conditions. | Scalability | |||
| VB-TECH-006 | Mandatory | Comply with CUNY information security requirements and applicable industry standards. Adhere to published CUNY security policies and procedures. | Security Compliance | |
| VB-TECH-007 | Mandatory | Support secure exchange of data between the Virtual Bookstore platform and CUNY systems using industry standard APIs or web services. | ||
| Support exchange of data elements including ISBN, author, price, copyright information, course number, and course description. | Data Integration | |||
| VB-TECH-008 | Mandatory | Provide industry standard API capabilities enabling secure and reliable data exchange. |
Include redundant system architecture.
Include disaster recovery capability.
Include a secondary hosting environment.
| Describe recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives. | API Capability | |||
| VB-TECH-009 | Mandatory | Support user redirection back to CUNY websites following completion of transactions. | Navigation Integration | |
| VB-TECH-010 | Mandatory | Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and WCAG 2.1 AA standards or higher. | ||
| Maintain accessibility compliance throughout the Term. | Accessibility Compliance | |||
| VB-TECH-011 | Mandatory | Maintain accessibility compliance following system updates or enhancements. | ||
| Acknowledge that failure to maintain accessibility compliance may constitute a material breach of contract. | Accessibility Maintenance | |||
| VB-TECH-012 | Mandatory | Conduct annual third-party accessibility audits evaluating compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA standards and provide audit reports and remediation plans. | Accessibility Audits | |
| VB-TECH-013 | Mandatory | Conduct user-centered accessibility testing with individuals with disabilities prior to implementation and following major system updates. | Accessibility Testing |
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5. Operational Requirements
| CUNY Virtual Bookstore Operational Requirements - Section 3.4 | ||||||
| Req # | Req Status | Requirement | Operational Area | Does Solution Meet Requirement? | How Does Solution Meet Requirement? | Comments |
| VB-OPS-001 | Mandatory | Designate an experienced account manager responsible for overall contract performance. Provide sufficient staffing resources to support the Colleges. | Account Management | |||
| VB-OPS-002 | Mandatory | Provide commissions or other financial considerations as negotiated. | Financial Consideration | |||
| VB-OPS-003 | Mandatory | Provide monthly reporting and on-demand access to sales and operational data. Ensure reports support audit, reconciliation, and compliance monitoring. | Reporting | |||
| VB-OPS-004 | Mandatory | Be responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of voucher processing. Indemnify CUNY for errors or failures associated with voucher transactions, subject to contractual terms. | Voucher Transaction Accountability | |||
| VB-OPS-005 | Mandatory | Comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and contractual requirements governing Virtual Bookstore operations. | Legal Compliance |
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