Contract_Lifecycle_Management.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2026-RFP-168

CONTRACT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

Pierce County

1501 Market St, Suite 420

Tacoma, WA 98402

RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2026

DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: August 17, 2026

RESPONSE DEADLINE: August 21, 2026, 2:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/piercecountywa https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/%7bproject.government.code%7d

Pierce County

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Contract Lifecycle Management

1. Introduction

2. Pierce County's eProcurement System

3. Summary

4. Background

5. Objective/Scope of Work

6. Minimum Qualifications

7. Anticipated Contract Details and Expectations

8. Definitions

9. ADA

10. General Information for Proposers

11. RFP Coordinator

12. Timeline

13. Procurement Documents and RFP Holder's List

14. Questions and Answers

15. Pre-Proposal Meeting

16. Submission of Proposals

17. Public Records and Proprietary Material

18. Revisions to the RFP

19. Responsiveness

20. Contract and General Terms & Conditions

21. Costs to Prepare Proposal

22. No Obligation to Contract

23. Rejection of Proposals

24. Most Favorable Terms

25. Concern Resolution Process

26. Cooperative Purchasing

27. Title VI Compliance

28. RFP Questionnaire

29. Administrative, Organization, Threshold Review and Proposal Questions .

30. Evaluation and Scoring

31. Evaluation Process

32. Proposal Scoring Method

33. Scoring Criteria

Request For Proposal #2026-RFP-168 Title: Contract Lifecycle Management

34. Notification to Proposers

35. Debriefing of Unsuccessful Proposers

36. Protest Procedure

Attachments:

A - SAMPLE: General Terms & Conditions and Insurance Requirements

1. Introduction

1.1. Pierce County's eProcurement System

Welcome to Pierce County's eProcurement System. This system is inclusive to the procurement process, including submission of any questions and/or clarifications, the release of any addenda/notices, and submission of proposals. It is strongly encouraged that organizations responding to any procurement first read the entire procurement, paying close attention to the timelines, scope of work, eligibility, submission requirements, and specifically to the questionnaire section, which may include required attachments (when applicable), and ask for any clarifications regarding content and instructions early in the process.

1.2. Summary

Pierce County is seeking to implement an enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution to standardize and modernize contract management across all departments. The solution will centralize contract activities, automate workflows, improve visibility into all agreement types, and strengthen compliance with County requirements and best practices. The goal is to improve how contracts are created, reviewed, approved, executed, amended, tracked, and closed out. The ideal solution will reduce administrative burden, increase process efficiency, enhance transparency, and provide reliable reporting to support data-driven decision-making. The selected solution should provide a single working environment for all contract-related activities while integrating with the County’s existing enterprise systems.

1.3. Background

Pierce County currently manages contracts through decentralized systems, manual processes, and department-specific practices. While standard templates exist, there is no unified system or consistent process for managing contracts across the organization. The County manages a significant and growing contract portfolio, including more than 5,000 active contracts, approximately 900 new contracts, and

350 formal solicitations annually. These activities generate over 13,000 workflow steps in systems such as Workday and OpenGov. Despite this scale, contract-related activities and communications are often handled through email, shared drives, and disconnected tools, resulting in fragmented and inefficient workflows. Contracts and supporting documents are stored inconsistently across systems, limiting visibility and making it difficult to track contract status, amendments, approvals, and version history.

Departments rely heavily on manual processes, increasing administrative burden and introducing risks related to compliance, missed deadlines, and incomplete documentation. These challenges create inefficiencies and risks, including:

1. Limited visibility into contract status, amendments, and approvals

2. Inconsistent processes across departments

3. Difficulty tracking deadlines, renewals, and compliance requirements

4. Limited reporting capabilities and data insights

5. Increased operational, compliance, and financial risk

As contract volume and complexity continue to grow, the County requires a centralized, enterprise-grade CLM system to standardize processes, improve collaboration, and provide a single source of truth for contract management. Implementing a countywide CLM solution will automate routine tasks, reduce reliance on email and shared drives, and centralize contract data. A centralized repository with built-in audit trails and version control will strengthen oversight, improve transparency, and support policy compliance. Standardized workflows and real-time reporting will enhance accountability, enable data-driven decision-making, and improve monitoring of contract performance, vendor compliance, and risk.

This initiative aligns with Pierce County’s commitment to accountability and good governance by increasing transparency, improving operational efficiency, and reinforcing public trust. Existing enterprise systems (e.g., Workday, OpenGov) will remain systems of record where applicable, with the

CLM solution integrating to support the full contract lifecycle.

1.4. Objective/Scope of Work

1.4.1. Description of Solicited Services

Pierce County is seeking a configurable, Software as a Service (SaaS) CLM solution that can be implemented without extensive custom development and supported by the vendor. The solution must provide a centralized, secure, and scalable platform to manage the full contract lifecycle while supporting standardized processes and department-specific flexibility.

The requirements are divided into functional (what the system does) and non-functional (how the system performs) categories. Each requirement is identified as Must or Nice-to-Have.

1.4.2. Objectives

The CLM solution must:

A. Provide a single source of truth for all contracts (draft, active, amended, and completed).

B. Standardize contract processes while allowing configurable workflows by department and contract type.

C. Improve contract visibility, reporting, and compliance.

D. Offer a modern, intuitive user experience accessible via desktop and mobile devices.

E. Integrate with existing enterprise systems (e.g., Workday, OpenGov).

1.4.3. Functional Requirements

A. Contract Intake and Request Management

1. Must: Provide a centralized intake process with dynamic, configurable forms

2. Must: Enforce required fields, validations, and conditional logic

3. Must: Route requests automatically based on a combination of type of request, contract type, department, and contract amount

4. Must: Enable simultaneous routing to key stakeholders (procurement, finance, legal, risk, IT)

5. Nice-to-Have: Support intake via multiple formats (e.g., web forms, uploaded documents, email ingestion)

6. Nice-to-Have: Provide intelligent guidance or recommendations during intake based on contract type or risk

B. Workflow Automation and Approvals

1. Must: Provide configurable workflows managed by County staff without custom coding

2. Must: Support parallel and sequential approvals

3. Must: Enable condition-based workflows by department or contract type

4. Must: Provide automated notifications, reminders, and escalation capabilities

5. Must: Provide real-time status tracking across all stages

6. Must: Track approval timelines and identify bottlenecks

7. Nice-to-Have: Provide visual workflow builders (drag-and-drop interface)

8. Nice-to-Have: Track time spent at each workflow stage and highlight delays

9. Nice-to-Have: Provide automated escalation rules for overdue approvals

C. System Integration

1. Must: Integrate with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Workday)

2. Must: Provide secure, documented APIs for data exchange and future integrations

3. Must: Enable data synchronization to reduce duplicate data entry

4. Must: Support identity management Single Sign-On (SSO)

5. Nice-to-Have: Pre-built/Existing connectors for common government or ERP systems

6. Nice-to-Have: Event-based or real-time integration capabilities

D. Contract Authoring and Template Management

1. Must: Provide a centralized repository for templates and clause libraries

2. Must: Support version control, redlining, and audit tracking

3. Must: Enable automated contract generation from templates

4. Must: Support both County-standard and vendor-provided agreements

5. Must: Allow attachment of supporting documents

6. Must: Allow separate management of distinct contract types (e.g., prevailing wage vs. non-prevailing wage)

7. Must: Maintain alignment between procurement outputs and contract terms

8. Nice-to-Have: AI-assisted contract review, clause suggestions or risk flagging

9. Nice-to-Have: Ability to recommend alternative language based on best practices

E. Collaboration and Document Management

1. Must: Enable internal and external collaboration within a single system

2. Must: Support document versioning and comparison

3. Must: Integrate with standard productivity tools (e.g., Microsoft Office)

4. Must: Capture and store contract-related communications

5. Must: Systematically capture and send email communications to contacts

6. Must: Describe your platform’s document storage architecture, including but not limited to attachment size limitations, supported file types, retention capabilities, and integration options for externally stored documents

7. Nice-to-Have: Real-time co-authoring and commenting capabilities

8. Nice-to-Have: Configurable data retention and access policies

F. Contract Execution and Administration

1. Must: Provide electronic signature capabilities (e.g., DocuSign, Adobe Sign integration)

2. Must: Maintain a centralized, searchable contract repository with metadata tagging

3. Must: Track deliverables, milestones, and key dates (including renewals and expirations)

4. Must: Provide configurable alerts and notifications

5. Must: Ensure seamless transition from solicitation to contract execution

6. Must: Support vendor tracking across multiple contracts and engagement

7. Must: Public-facing portal for finalized contracts (with restricted internal data). If a public-facing portal is not available, must have the ability to export finalized contracts that the

County can separately manage.

8. Nice-to-Have: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability for scanned documents

G. Risk, Compliance, and Auditability

1. Must: Support role-based security and full audit logging

2. Must: Ensure compliance with applicable policies and regulatory requirements

3. Must: Track insurance, risk requirements, and compliance documentation

4. Must: Track Certificate of Insurance (COI) expiration dates and provide automated notifications and alerts

5. Must: Provide audit-ready reporting and documentation

6. Must: Provide for documentation and deliverable tracking (including submittals by contractors)

7. Nice-to-Have: Configurable compliance checkpoints within workflows

8. Nice-to-Have: Risk scoring or automated risk identification

9. Nice-to-Have: Management of invoice submissions

H. Reporting and Dashboards

1. Must: Provide standard, out-of-the-box reports and dashboards (contract status, approval timelines, budget vs. spend tracking, upcoming renewals and expirations)

2. Must: Enable filtering by contract attributes, department, and status

3. Must: Support scheduled and automated report distribution

4. Must: Allow export to common formats (Excel, CSV, PDF)

5. Nice-to-Have: Self-service report builder with drag-and-drop functionality

6. Nice-to-Have: Advanced analytics (e.g., predictive insights, trend analysis)

7. Nice-to-Have: Automated executive reporting triggers

8. Nice-to-have: Predictive analytics (e.g., risk, delays)

1.4.4. Non-Functional Requirements

A. Usability and Interface

1. Must: Provide a modern, intuitive, and user-friendly interface

2. Must: Support access via a web-based platform across devices (desktop, tablet, mobile);

must work on latest versions of Windows and Microsoft Edge

3. Must: Provide consistent user experience for internal and external users

4. Nice-to-Have: Personalized dashboards by role or department

5. Nice-to-Have: In-app guidance, tooltips, or onboarding support

B. Performance and Scalability

1. Must: Deliver reliable system performance under normal and peak usage

2. Must: Scale to support countywide adoption across departments

3. Nice-to-Have: Configurable performance monitoring and system health dashboards

C. Integration and Extensibility

1. Must: Provide secure, well-documented APIs for integrations

2. Must: Support future system integrations without significant redevelopment

3. Nice-to-Have: Low-code/no-code tools for extending functionality

D. Implementation and Support

1. Must: Provide implementation support, including configuration and deployment

2. Must: Provide training for County users, including training resources and knowledge base materials

3. Must: Provide ongoing technical support

4. Nice-to-Have: Dedicated customer success manager

5. Nice-to-Have: Post Go-Live on-demand training resources and knowledge base

1.4.5. Additional Features

Proposers are encouraged to identify and describe any additional functionality, services, or capabilities not specifically identified in this RFP that may provide value to the County (e.g., procurement and solicitation, supplier relationship management, or payment modules). Such features should be clearly described, including any associated costs, benefits, and implementation considerations.

1.4.6. Out of Scope

The following items are not included in this phase of the project:

A. Implementation of a standalone grant management system

B. Advanced financial reporting beyond contract-level insights

C. Replacement of construction or project management systems

D. Comprehensive redesign of procurement policies or governance structures

1.4.7. Deliverables

The selected vendor will be expected to provide:

A. Configured and implemented CLM solution

B. Standardized contract templates and clause library

C. Defined and deployed workflows

D. Data migration (within agreed scope)

E. Reporting dashboards and analytics

F. Training materials and user training sessions

G. Go-live and post-implementation support

1.4.8. Implementation Phases and Project Schedule

Project implementation approach and schedule will be mutually agreed upon as part of the discovery process.

1.5. Minimum Qualifications

1.5.1. Proposer Eligibility

Proposers who do not meet these minimum qualifications will be considered non-responsive and their proposal will not be evaluated or scored.

A. Security and Access

1. Must: Support role-based access controls

2. Must: Support single sign-on (SSO) and enterprise identity management

3. Must: Ensure data encryption at rest and in transit

4. Must: Maintain comprehensive audit logs

5. Must: SOC 2 Type 2 or ISO 27001 certification

B. General Technical Requirements

1. Must: Integrate with the County’s Active Directory system using Microsoft Entra ID as the

Identity Provider (IdP) and utilize Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML 2.0) or OpenID for single sign-on as the preferred authentication protocol.

2. Must: County data will be encrypted in transmission and at rest at a level equivalent to, or stronger than, 128-bit level encryption.

3. Must: Technical support must be available between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm

Pacific Time with 24hr service available for emergencies.

4. Must: If the contract is terminated for any reason, upon request, the Vendor will provide the County a database copy of the current and complete database, in a mutually agreed upon format, no later than 30 days after termination. There will be no additional charge to the County. No data can be retained by the Vendor in any media (including hard copies) after termination of this contract.

C. SaaS Requirements

1. Must: The Vendor’s hosting services availability will be 99.9% or greater per month and have defined maintenance windows. Service availability is calculated as: 100% minus

[%Vendor downtime for maintenance outside of defined maintenance windows + %System

Outage + %Performance Event].

a. Service Credits. In the event the service is not available for 99.9% for a given month, a credit will be applied to the next invoice equal to the value of the downtime (calculated based on annual maintenance fee)

2. Must: The Vendor will not modify County data, disclose County data (except as compelled by law or if permitted by the County), or access County data, except to prevent or address service or technical issues, or at the County’s request. The Vendor shall promptly notify the

County of any subpoena, court order, or request by a third party for County data.

3. Must: Vendor must have an incident response plan and process in place to ensure Pierce

County is notified of a data security breach, or potential data security breach within 24 hours of identification.

4. Must: Vendor must describe how they will ensure the proposed solution meets and maintains compliance with the latest published version of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility

Guidelines) (currently 2.2) A and AA success criteria, in line with regulation requirements and best practices.

1.6. Anticipated Contract Details and Expectations

1.6.1. Term

The initial period of performance of any contract resulting from this procurement is anticipated to begin on or around November 1, 2026 and end on October 31, 2028. Amendments extending the period of performance, if any, shall be at the sole discretion of the County. The County reserves the option to extend contracts for additional terms of two years each. However, no Contractor will be guaranteed an extension.

1.6.2. Value

The total approximate value of this procurement for implementation services and first year fees is

$600,000 with an estimated on-gong annual charge of $365,000. Year-to-year annual uplifts are not to exceed 3%. The County anticipates awarding a single contract from this procurement. The County reserves the right to make fewer awards or no awards, based on the quality and scope of proposals received, available funding, and identified service needs.

The County may negotiate budgets and service levels to ensure the most effective use of funds and equitable coverage across providers. The County reserves the right to adjust award amounts at its sole discretion.

Additional federal, State, or local funds may become available during the contracting cycle and allocated through this solicitation. Funding may only be awarded for the same scope of services as described in this solicitation. It is important to note, any contract awarded as a result of this procurement is contingent upon the availability of funding. If at any time during the term of the contract the funding relied upon for the contract is reduced, modified, or eliminated, or if the funding terms are modified, Pierce County reserves the right to amend the contract as appropriate or to terminate the contract.

1.7. Definitions

• “Apparently Successful Proposer (ASP)” means a proposer selected as an entity to perform the anticipated services, subject to completion of contract negotiations and execution of a written contract.

• "Applicant," "Bidder," and "Proposer" mean an organization, agency or provider that submits a formal response to this procurement.

• "Application," "Bid," or "Proposal" mean a formal response to this solicitation.

• “CFR” means Code of Federal Regulations.

• “Contractor” means an individual or organization whose proposal has been accepted by the

County and has been awarded a fully executed, written contract.

• “Procurement” means the process by which the County obtains services.

• “Request for Proposal (RFP)” or "Solicitation" means this document and its attachments in which needed goods and/or services are identified and organizations are invited to provide information as to how they propose to meet the County's needs.

• “RCW” means Revised Code of Washington.

• "SaaS" means Software as a Service.

• “WAC” means Washington Administrative Code.

1.8. ADA

The County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Bidders should contact the RFP

Coordinator to request an accommodation.

2. General Information for Proposers

2.1. RFP Coordinator

The RFP Coordinator is the sole point of contact in the County for this procurement. All communications between the Proposer and the County upon release of this RFP shall be with the RFP Coordinator.

Anne Marie Edmunds

Procurement & Contract Specialist

Email: annemarie.edmunds@piercecountywa.gov

Phone: (253) 798-7456

Department:

Information Technology

Any other communication will be considered unofficial and non-binding on the County. Proposers are to rely on written statements issued by the RFP Coordinator. Communication directed to parties other than the RFP Coordinator may result in disqualification of the Proposer.

2.2. Timeline

Proposal Release Date: July 10, 2026

Pre-Proposal Meeting (Non-Mandatory): July 20, 2026, 11:00am

Join Zoom Meeting https://piercecountywa.zoom.us/j/9466691230

3?pwd=JZF4NbVhSlBsW6ZtNHOE688cOPCFUY.1

Meeting ID: 946 6691 2303

Passcode: 367568

Question Submission & Concern Resolution

Request Deadline:

August 17, 2026, 4:30pm

Proposal Submission Deadline: August 21, 2026, 2:00pm

Demonstration Dates: Week of August 31, 2026

Evaluation Process Completion: Week of September 7, 2026

Estimated Date of Notice to

Successful/Unsuccessful Proposer(s):

Week of September 14, 2026 https://piercecountywa.zoom.us/j/94666912303?pwd=JZF4NbVhSlBsW6ZtNHOE688cOPCFUY.1 https://piercecountywa.zoom.us/j/94666912303?pwd=JZF4NbVhSlBsW6ZtNHOE688cOPCFUY.1

Deadline for Unsuccessful Proposers to Request a Debriefing:

5 business days after Notice is issued

Hold Debriefing Conferences: Within 5 business days after Debriefing Request

Deadline

Estimated Date of Contract Execution: November 1, 2026

The County reserves the right to revise the above timeline.

2.3. Procurement Documents and RFP Holder's List

PROPOSERS WHO REGISTER AND DOWNLOAD RFP DOCUMENTS will be automatically added to the

FOLLOWERS' list in the County's eProcurement Portal. Notifications for solicitation updates, addendum and other procurement information will be sent to all who register on the Pierce County eProcurement

Portal.

2.4. Questions and Answers

Proposers may submit questions through the County's eProcurement Portal, under the Question &

Answer Section, no later than 4:30 pm on the date set forth in Section 2.2. Proposers must be registered in the eProcurement Portal software to submit questions, receive addendums and notifications, and ultimately submit a proposal. Proposers may only rely on written statements issued by the County. Any oral communications are unofficial and are not binding on the County.

2.5. Pre-Proposal Meeting

A virtual or in-person Procurement Workshop will be conducted by Pierce County staff at the time, date, and location as indicated in the Procurement Schedule section of this RFP.

Pre-proposal meeting attendance is not required but is highly encouraged for all organizations considering a response to this solicitation. It is the County’s belief that attending the meeting will assist proposers in presenting the best possible request for funding. During the Pre-Proposal Meeting

Workshop, Pierce County staff will give an overview of the procurement, the procurement process, an overview of the requirements, and will also be available to answer questions and provide technical assistance. Please have the instruction/proposal packet available as well as any questions that the organization may have related to the procurement. The County will be bound only to written answers provided in response to questions. Questions arising during the Procurement Workshop will be documented and answered in the eProcurement Portal.

2.6. Submission of Proposals

2.6.1. Deadline

The proposal must be received by the time/date as indicated in Section 2.2.

2.6.2. Attachments

Follow instructions carefully - if attachments are provided under this solicitation, they are to be utilized as part of the proposal - do not replace or use the organization's own format, as the proposal may be deemed "non-responsive" or "not eligible."

2.6.3. Instructions

All proposals are evaluated on the completeness and quality of the content. Only those Proposers providing complete information as required will be considered for evaluation. The County will not contact the organization for correction of proposals and Proposers are strongly encouraged to carefully review their proposals for completeness and accuracy before submitting. For proposals to be considered responsive and move to the review process, the Proposer must, under Section 3, RFP Questionnaire:

• Acknowledge all required “confirmations.”

• Complete all required attachments, to include uploading any supplemental documents requested in attachments; and

• Submit the following materials as part of the proposal.

o Proposal (Question 4.1) Proposals shall include the following:

▪ Capability Statement

▪ How the proposed CLM solution meets the County’s stated objectives:

• Provides a single source of truth for all contracts (draft, active, amended, and completed).

• Standardizes contract processes while allowing configurable workflows by department and contract type.

• Improves contract visibility, reporting, and compliance.

• Offers a modern, intuitive user experience accessible via desktop and mobile devices.

• Integrates with existing enterprise systems (e.g., Workday, OpenGov).

▪ An estimated project duration and implementation approach.

▪ Complete pricing for all services in the proposal.

▪ Additional features, services or procedures of benefit to the County (if applicable).

▪ A statement outlining any proposal exceptions to the County’s requirements or requested clarifications to the requirements (if applicable).

▪ References listing client contracts of similar services.

o Requirements Checklist (Question 4.2)

2.6.4. Additional Resources/Helps

This section provides a curated list of help articles addressing common questions and challenges proposers may encounter during the Request for Proposal process. The resources below are intended to offer clear guidance, practical solutions, and relevant information to support a smooth and successful submission. Proposers are encouraged to review these materials as needed to better understand requirements, resolve issues, and navigate the process with confidence.

• Vendor Registration

• Following a Project

• Getting Started with Subscriptions

• How to Submit a Question in OpenGov

• How to Submit a Proposal Response in OpenGov

• How to Edit or Withdraw a Proposal after Submission in OpenGov

2.6.5. Electronic Submissions Only

Only electronic submittal via the County's eProcurement Portal shall be accepted for this procurement.

No hard copies, emails, or fax submittals shall be accepted. The accepted forms of submitted materials are .pdf, png., jpeg., and MS Office formats such as docx. and xlsx.

2.6.6. Addenda & Notices

Proposers must acknowledge and confirm each addendum and notice issued under this solicitation. The system will not allow final submission unless all required confirmations are checked.

2.6.7. No Exceptions for Late Responses

Proposers should allow sufficient time to ensure timely receipt of the proposal by the County’s e-procurement System, OpenGov. Late responses will not be accepted and will be automatically disqualified. The County assumes no responsibility for delays caused by Proposer's technical related system errors.

2.6.8. County Property

All proposals and any accompanying documentation become the property of the County and will not be returned.

2.7. Public Records and Proprietary Material

• Organizations should be aware that any records they submit to the County or that are used by the County even if the organization possess the records, may be public records under the

Washington Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). The County must promptly disclose public records upon request unless a statute exempts them from disclosure. Organizations should also be aware that if even a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, generally, the rest of the record must be disclosed. Exemptions are narrow and specific.

https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/dceacbcf-203c-4b0d-aa57-550043bb0dc0 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/82615c2a-a6e1-46ed-9b33-ec542acf013d https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/c7a5affa-e073-4d5a-8d87-b6eadcf343a9 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/12c62371-147b-45f4-9bcd-cf2ce5f58259 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/8e675a48-dad3-4759-9bae-6b4cb7970d21 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/4f4218bf-7da6-4fc6-b0c3-7eade0776ebe

• Organizations should clearly mark any record they believe is exempt from disclosure.

2.8. Revisions to the RFP

In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, addenda will be published in the

County's eProcurement Portal.

All amendments and notifications of cancellation shall be posted in the County's eProcurement Portal. If you did not receive this solicitation via the County’s eProcurement Portal, please register there to receive further notifications.

The County also reserves the right to amend or add to, retract from, or cancel this Procurement at any time, in whole or in part, and without penalty.

In the event of a conflict between amendments or between an amendment and this Solicitation

Document, the document issued latest in time shall control.

2.9. Responsiveness

All proposals will be reviewed by the RFP Coordinator to determine compliance with administrative requirements and instructions specified in this solicitation. The Proposer is specifically notified that the

County may reject or withdraw a proposal at any time as nonresponsive for any of the following reasons:

• Incomplete proposal,

• Failure to comply with any part of this solicitation or any Attachments to this procurement,

• Submission of incorrect, misleading, or false information.

The County also reserves the right, however, at its sole discretion to waive minor administrative irregularities, which are defined as variances which do not provide a proposer an advantage or benefit over other proposers.

2.10. Contract and General Terms & Conditions

The ASP will be expected to enter into a contract which is substantially the same as the Sample Contract and its General Terms and Conditions attached as Exhibit C. In no event is a Proposer to submit its own standard contract terms and conditions in response to this solicitation. If a Proposer has a concern regarding a certain General Term & Condition, they can raise the issue per the Questions and Answers section of this solicitation.

2.11. Costs to Prepare Proposal

The County will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Proposer in preparation of a proposal submitted in response to this RFP, in conduct of a presentation or interview, or any other activities related to responding to this RFP.

2.12. No Obligation to Contract

This RFP does not obligate the County to contract for services specified herein.

2.13. Rejection of Proposals

The County reserves the right at its sole discretion to reject any and all proposals received without penalty and not to issue a contract as a result of this RFP.

2.14. Most Favorable Terms

The County reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposal submitted. Therefore, the proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms which the

Proposer can offer. There will be no best and final offer procedure.

The ASP should be prepared to accept this RFP for incorporation into a contract resulting from this

RFP. Contract negotiations may incorporate some or all of the Proposer’s proposal. It is understood that the proposal will become a part of the official procurement file on this matter without obligation to the County.

2.15. Concern Resolution Process

This procedure is available to potential Proposers who are contemplating submitting a proposal in response to this RFP. Only Concern Resolution submissions (Submissions) concerning the following subjects shall be considered:

• A claim that the solicitation unnecessarily restricts competition.

• A claim the solicitation evaluation or scoring process is unfair or flawed, or

• A claim the solicitation requirements are inadequate or insufficient to prepare a response.

Proposers submitting a concern about this procurement shall follow the procedures described below. Submissions that do not follow these procedures shall not be considered. If a Proposer registers a concern against this solicitation, the issue(s) cannot be raised again during the protest period.

All submissions must be in writing and signed by the submitting party or an authorized Agent. The submission must be sent to the Procurement Coordinator, or designee, and needs to be received no later than 4:30 pm, local time, Tacoma, WA, per Section 2.2 Timeline, and must clearly articulate the basis for the submission. The Proposer submitting a concern must also include a proposed remedy.

Upon receipt of a submission, a submission review will be held by the County. The RFP coordinator will respond to submissions in writing and the Finance & Enterprise Services Department Director will be notified of all submissions and provided a copy of the County’s response. A copy of the response to the submission, including any changes to the solicitation, will also be posted in County's eProcurement

Portal.

The concern resolution process does not include an appeal process.

2.16. Cooperative Purchasing

The Washington State Interlocal Cooperation Act, Ch. 39.34 RCW, authorizes public agencies to cooperatively purchase goods and services if all parties agree. By responding to this RFP, Consultants agree that other public agencies may purchase goods and services under this procurement or contract at their own cost and without Pierce County incurring any financial or legal liability for such purchases.

Pierce County agrees to allow other public agencies to purchase goods and services under this procurement or contract, provided that Pierce County is not held financially or legally liable for purchases and that any public agency purchasing under such procurement or contract file a copy of this invitation and such contract in accordance with RCW 39.34.040.

2.17. Title VI Compliance

Pierce County, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to

2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs of the Department of

Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

3. RFP Questionnaire

3.1. Administrative, Organization, Threshold Review and Proposal Questions

1. Administrative Questions

1.1. Proposer Confirmation*

As an authorized representative of the Proposer, having carefully examined the Request for Proposals, propose to furnish services in accordance therewith as set forth in the attached proposal.

I further agree that this proposal will remain in effect for not less than sixty (60) calendar days from the date that proposals are due, and that this proposal may not be withdrawn or modified during that time.

I hereby certify that this proposal is genuine and not a false or collusive proposal, or made in the interests or on behalf of any person not therein named; and I have not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any Contractor or supplier on the above work to put in a false proposal or any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal; and that I have not in any manner sought by collusion to secure to myself an advantage over any other contractor(s) or person(s).

In order to induce the County to consider this proposal, the Proposer irrevocably waives any existing rights which it may have, by contract or otherwise, to require another person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal to or performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County, and Proposer further promises that it will not in the future directly or indirectly induce or solicit any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a response or proposal to or from performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.2. Ownership and Copyright of Submitted Materials*

By submitting a proposal, I agree that all documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, or other materials prepared by the Proposer pursuant to this proposal shall become the sole and exclusive property of the County, and the public domain, and not property of the Proposer. The Proposer shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of items submitted to the County in response to this procurement.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.3. Supplemental Attachment Confirmation*

I confirm I have reviewed the content of the following attachments included under this RFP: Sample

Agreement and any other documents as identified as "sample" in the Attachments section and acknowledge I understand and agree to these requirements should my organization receive a contract as a result of this proposal.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.4. Insurance Requirements*

By submitting a proposal, I understand and agree that if awarded funding from this RFP, the organization must be able to meet all insurance requirements based on services being purchased, prior to contract execution, and types of insurances may include, but are not limited to:

• Commercial General Liability Insurance: Required on all contracts. Standard levels are $1M occurrence/$2M aggregate (may be higher/lower, depending on value of contract and type of service).

• Workers Compensation Insurance: As required by Washington State.

• Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions Insurance: If the Contractor provides services such as analysis, consulting, counseling, daycare, legal, medical, nursing, pastoral, medical, or other services that require professional licensing.

• Cyber/Privacy and Security Insurance: If the Contractor is doing work that could give the

Contractor access to personal or sensitive information from within the County's network or on the Contractor's personal computer, or lead to breaches of security, leading to a loss of privacy or identity theft.

• Other insurance(s) applicable to services being purchased: Such as Excess or Umbrella Liability

Insurance if the contract is in excess of $500,000.

In addition:

• Pierce County shall be named as an "Additional Insured" which must be provided in the insurance endorsement; and

• Insurance requirements also apply to any subcontractors hired by the main Contractor to deliver services, where applicable.

Please see the SAMPLE GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS under attachments to see full insurance requirements. If you have questions regarding insurance requirements, please submit them through the “Question & Answer” section of the RFP.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.5. Debarment Certification*

As an authorized representative of the Proposer, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the organization and its principals:

A. Are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal department or agency;

B. Have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;

C. Are not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a government entity

(Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (1)(b) of this certification; and

D. Have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal had one or more public transactions

(Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default.

E. Does not employ any person nor contracts with any person or agency excluded from participation in federal health care programs under either 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7 (§§1128 or 1128A

Social Security Act) or debarred or suspended.

By checking the confirmation, I understand that a false statement on this certification may be grounds for rejection of this proposal or termination of any award. In addition, under 18 USC Sec. 1001, a false statement may result in a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

2. Organization Information

2.1. Authorized Individual*

Please provide the name and title of the individual authorized to execute a contract on behalf of the organization.

*Response required

2.2. Organization Information*

Please provide the legal name, any d/b/a names, years in business, local address, billing address if different, email address, and phone number of the organization making the proposal.

*Response required

2.3. Organization Tax ID Number*

Please provide the Employee Identification Number (EIN).

*Response required

2.4. Washington State Unified Business Identification (UBI) Number*

Please provide the organization's UBI number.

WARNING: Failure to provide a UBI number will be cause for the application to be disqualified from competition.

2.5. Ownership Type*

Must choose at least two (2) answers: Profit status (1 or 2) and organizational structure (3, 4, 5, or 6).

Select all that apply

☐ 1. For Profit

☐ 2. Non Profit

☐ 3. Sole Proprietorship

☐ 4. Corporation/LLC/Partnership

☐ 5. City/County/State

☐ 6. Tribal Organization

*Response required

2.6. Organization Contacts*

Please provide the name, phone, and email for:

• Executive Director/CEO/President

• Financial Manager/CFO

• Contract Manager

*Response required

3. Threshold Review Questions

3.1. Security & Access Requirements*

Please verify whether all the following Security and Access requirements can be met:

A. Must: Support role-based access controls

B. Must: Support single sign-on (SSO) and enterprise identity management

C. Must: Ensure data encryption at rest and in transit

D. Must: Maintain comprehensive audit logs

E. Must: SOC 2 Type 2 or ISO 27001 certification

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

When equals "No"

3.1.1. Security & Access Requirements Clarification*

If any of the above Security and Access requirements cannot be met, please explain why.

3.2. General Technical Requirements*

Please verify whether all the following General Technical requirements can be met:

A. Must: Integrate with the County’s Active Directory system using Microsoft Entra ID as the

Identity Provider (IdP) and utilize Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML 2.0) or OpenID for single sign-on as the preferred authentication protocol.

B. Must: County data will be encrypted in transmission and at rest at a level equivalent to, or stronger than, 128-bit level encryption.

C. Must: Technical support must be available between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Pacific

Time with 24hr service available for emergencies.

D. Must: If the contract is terminated for any reason, upon request, the Vendor will provide the

County a database copy of the current and complete database, in a mutually agreed upon format, no later than 30 days after termination. There will be no additional charge to the

County. No data can be retained by the Vendor in any media (including hard copies) after termination of this contract.

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

When equals "No"

3.2.1. General Technical Requirements Clarification *

If any of the above General Technical requirements cannot be met, please explain why.

*Response required

3.3. SaaS Requirements*

Please verify whether all of the following SaaS requirements can be met:

A. Must: The Vendor’s hosting services availability will be 99.9% or greater per month and have defined maintenance windows. Service availability is calculated as: 100% minus [%Vendor downtime for maintenance outside of defined maintenance windows + %System Outage +

%Performance Event].

1. Service Credits. In the event the service is not available for 99.9% for a given month, a credit will be applied to the next invoice equal to the value of the downtime (calculated based on annual maintenance fee)

B. Must: The Vendor will not modify County data, disclose County data (except as compelled by law or if permitted by the County), or access County data, except to prevent or address service or technical issues, or at the County’s request. The Vendor shall promptly notify the County of any subpoena, court order, or request by a third party for County data.

C. Must: Vendor must have an incident response plan and process in place to ensure Pierce County is notified of a data security breach, or potential data security breach within 24 hours of identification.

D. Must: The vendor must have a valid Soc2Type2 security assessment and must provide a copy of this report as requested by the County.

E. Must: Vendor must describe how they will ensure the proposed solution meets and maintains compliance with the latest published version of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

(currently 2.2) A and AA success criteria, in line with regulation requirements and best practices.

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

When equals "No"

3.3.1. SaaS Requirements Clarification*

If any of the above SaaS requirements cannot be met, please explain why.

*Response required

4. Proposal Contents

4.1. Proposal Upload*

Please upload your proposal materials here. Proposals shall include the following:

• Capability Statement

• How the proposed CLM solution meets the County’s stated objectives:

o Provides a single source of truth for all contracts (draft, active, amended, and completed).

o Standardizes contract processes while allowing configurable workflows by department and contract type.

o Improves contract visibility, reporting, and compliance.

o Offers a modern, intuitive user experience accessible via desktop and mobile devices.

o Integrates with existing enterprise systems (e.g., Workday, OpenGov).

• An estimated project duration and implementation approach.

• Complete pricing for all services in the proposal.

• Additional features, services, or procedures of benefit to the County (if applicable).

• A statement outlining any proposal exceptions to the County’s requirements or requested clarifications to the requirements (if applicable).

• References listing client contracts of similar services.

4.2. Requirements Checklist*

Please download the Requirements Checklist below, complete, and upload here.

• Requirements_Checklist.xlsx https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/277422/ae2c4261-a5e0-4901-9e54-178f2aff2d3e_Requirements_Checklist.xlsx

4. Evaluation and Scoring

4.1. Evaluation Process

An Application Evaluation Committee (AEC) will review the bidding documents and evaluate all responses received based upon the criteria listed herein. The County may request clarifications or additional information, if needed. As part of the evaluation process, Pierce County may invite the highest-ranked proposers to participate in product demonstrations.

A. Demonstrations will be conducted with the top ranked vendors based on proposal scoring

B. Vendors must demonstrate key functionality aligned with the Scope of Work

C. Demonstrations may be conducted virtually (e.g., Microsoft Teams or Zoom)

D. Vendors must substantiate claims made in their proposals using real-world use cases

E. Demonstrations will be scored and factored into the final evaluation

F. Vendors must provide tailored demo scenarios using County-specific use cases

G. Sandbox or trial environment for hands-on evaluation

At its discretion, the County may conduct reference checks for one or more Proposers at any stage of the evaluation process. Reference information may be considered in determining the highest-ranked

Proposer and may also be used to differentiate between Proposers with substantially equivalent evaluation results. The County intends to select the Contractor most qualified for this pursuit/solicitation and begin the negotiation and award process based on the requirements of this solicitation.

Selected Proposer(s) will be invited to enter into contract negotiations with the County. Should the

County and the selected proposer not reach a mutual agreement, the County will terminate negotiations and move to the next ranked contractor and proceed with negotiations. A Proposer’s inability to agree to the terms of the County’s standard contract may be a basis for the County to terminate negotiations and begin negotiating with one or more other Contractors.

4.2. Proposal Scoring Method

Proposals will be scored by consensus. Members of the AEC will score proposals individually and then meet to determine the final independent score for each proposal.

In the event the AEC has clarifying questions for a proposer, they shall notify the Procurement

Coordinator who will, in turn, send the question(s) to the appropriate proposer. The Procurement

Coordinator shall provide a deadline for the answers and shall then notify the AEC members of the response. If members of the AEC wish to change their original scores based on the response to the clarifying question(s), they shall notify the Procurement Coordinator who shall determine the…