DCR 991_Evaluation Criteria.docx

EVALUATION CRITERIA

DCR 991- DIGITAL PAYMENT SOLUTION AND ENFORCEMENT SERVICES _________________________________________

Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. All Potential Bidders must be registered with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) and meet all the requirements set by the DOR to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including but not limited to registration with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Corporations department. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored, and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Only responsive proposals submitted via COMMBUYS will be considered. Additional information may be requested via email for evaluation purposes.

Bidders must submit a formal technical proposal, cost proposal, and a Bidder’s Response Form.

Bidder scores will be used to rank Bidders and will determine which Bidders will proceed to subsequent stages of the evaluation and/or negotiation a contract with the Commonwealth. Evaluation criteria are as follows:

· Experience: The Vendor shall demonstrate experience with payment system implementations and SaaS solutions similar in scope and complexity to this project. Responses should include relevant company experience, key personnel qualifications, and client references that illustrate successful project delivery.

· Digital Payment Solution: The Vendor shall describe the proposed payment solution, including technical capabilities, online/web accessibility, system performance, peak performance capacity, optional features, and how the solution meets all mandatory requirements outlined in this RFP.

· Maintenance and Customer Support: The Vendor shall provide details on ongoing maintenance, support services, and customer service responsiveness. This includes helpdesk availability, issue resolution procedures, and the Vendor’s approach to collaborating with the Agency’s Contract Manager and team.

· Capacity of Fulfill Requirements: The Vendor shall demonstrate the ability to fulfill all technical and operational requirements of the contract. This includes resource availability, infrastructure capacity, scalability to handle peak transaction volumes, and any contingency or capacity plans.

· Price: The Vendor shall provide a comprehensive pricing proposal, including all licensing, implementation, support, and optional feature costs. Pricing should be clear, transparent, and allow for evaluation of total cost of ownership over the contract term.

· Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP): As detailed in 3.2.2 Emergency Response Plans

· Environmentally Preferable Products/Practices (EEP)

Mandatory requirements:

Mandatory Specifications must be met in order for a Bid to be evaluated and may be used to disqualify Bidders. In addition, certain mandatory specifications have desirable components to them that may be evaluated by the SST. The SST reserves the right, in its discretion, to determine if non-compliance with a Mandatory Specification is insignificant or can be easily corrected.

Bid sections that include terms such as: “must”, “shall”, “will” and “required” are “mandatory.” Failure to meet the requirements of a mandatory specification without providing an alternate that is acceptable to the evaluators may result in the disqualification of a Bidder's proposal.

The selected vendor will be expected to meet the following requirements:

· Cross-Platform Accessibility: The solution must be accessible across all web-enabled devices, operating systems, and supported browsers, providing a consistent and responsive user experience.

· User-Friendly Interface: The solution must provide an intuitive and easy-to-use interface suitable for all levels of users.

· Multi-Language Support – The solution must support multiple languages, allowing users to interact with the system in their preferred language as required by the Agency’s user base.

· Maintenance and Upgrades: The Vendor must perform regular system maintenance and software upgrades, ensuring the solution remains secure, reliable, and up-to-date.

· Reporting and Training: The solution must provide configurable reporting tools and training resources to support users at all levels of the organization.

· Customer Support: The Vendor must provide comprehensive customer support to both the Agency’s employees and end users, including issue resolution, helpdesk availability, and escalation procedures.

· Secure Data Processing and Storage: The solution must ensure secure processing, transmission, and storage of all data, complying with relevant industry standards and regulations.

· Open API and Integration Flexibility: The solution must be hosted on an open API platform, allowing integration with the agency-wide revenue application and other authorized systems.

· Parking System Integration: The system must be capable of integrating with existing and future parking management systems used by the Agency.

The SST reserves the right, in its discretion, to determine if non-compliance with a Mandatory Specification is significant or can be easily corrected.

Failure to meet the requirements of a mandatory specification without providing an alternate that is acceptable to the evaluators may result in the disqualification of a Vendor’s proposal.

Alternatives A Quote that fails to meet any material term or condition of the Bid, including the submission of required attachments, may lose points or be deemed unresponsive and disqualified. Unless otherwise specified, Bidders may submit Quotes proposing alternatives that provide equivalent, better, or more cost-effective performance than achievable under the stated Bid specifications. These alternatives may include related commodities or services that may be available to enhance performance during the period of the Contract. The Quote should describe how the alternative achieves substantially equivalent or better performance than those described in the Bid specifications.

The SSST will determine if a proposed alternative method of performance achieves substantially equivalent or better performance. The goal of this Bid is to provide the best value of commodities and/or services to achieve the goals of the procurement.

Evaluation Components The following components (in no particular order) will be some of the criteria considered by the SSST when evaluating each Quote:

- Key personnel qualifications

- Client references demonstrating successful project delivery

- Enforcement component

- Mobile & web-based accessibility and cross-platform support

- Ability to customize solution

- Compliance with RFP requirements

- Issue resolution and escalation procedures

- Uptime guarantee

- Regular system updates and maintenance processes

- Infrastructure and technical capacity to handle peak loads

- Scalability and contingency plans

- Demonstrated ability to meet operational and technical requirements

- Clarity and transparency of pricing

- Competitiveness of pricing structure

- Credit Card exercise

- Prompt Pay Discounts (PPD)

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