ITT72_RFR_Cellular_DRAFT_08222018~2.docx

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Cellular Services and Devices RFR #ITT72 Category 1 / COMMBUYS Bid# BD-19-1080-OSD03-SRC01-30448

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

OPERATIONAL SERVICES DIVISION

Request for Response (RFR)

Document Title: Cellular Services & Devices

Agency Document Number: ITT72, Category 1

COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-19-1080-OSD03-SRC01-30448

August 22, 2018

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the entire Bid, which are all incorporated into the Bid. Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.

Preface Interested vendors are invited to review and comment on this draft RFR ITT72 Category 1: Cellular Services and Devices, and the related attachments. The ITT72 Strategic Sourcing Team solicits vendor feedback regarding the proposed procurement approach, bidder requirements, and service requirements. Vendors may attach their responses to a Quote in response to the COMMBUYS Bid.

Introduction and Bid Overview Description or Purpose of Procurement The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the ITT72 Telecommunications Services Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) are soliciting responses from Bidders for the acquisition of Cellular Services and Devices. The Contract resulting from this procurement will be Statewide Contract ITT72: Telecommunications Services, Category 1: Cellular Services & Devices. A Bid for the remaining categories of ITT72 will be published separately. The Contract will be the primary Statewide Contract used by Executive Agencies of the Commonwealth for Cellular Services and Devices. The Statewide Contract will also be available for use by other eligible entities listed below.

Statewide Contract ITT72: Telecommunications Services and Equipment is intended to replace Statewide Contracts ITT46: Network Services and ITT50: Converged Voice and Data Communication Systems.

The SST anticipates the categories of ITT72 to be defined as follows:

Local – Centrex, POTS, Business Line, Direct Inward Dialing (DID), ISDN, PBX, VoIP (including option for equipment purchase with service), Pay Phones

Estimated Procurement Calendar

Training for Online Submission – Contractors that have not previously submitted electronic quotes via COMMBUYS are strongly encouraged to attend training Dates and Times Available: 9/19/2018 10:00AM to 11:00AM Location: Live Webinar (Online) Limited seating – reserve your seat now at: How to Locate and Respond to Bids

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

Submission of Bid Questions The “Bid Q&A” function in COMMBUYS allows Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers regarding this Bid. All questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (See “Locating Bid Q&A,” below). Questions must be asked prior to the Deadline stated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar. The Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) reserves the right not to respond to late questions. Bidder are responsible for verifying that their questions are recorded in COMMBUYS and appear on the Bid Q&A page.

Questions submitted to the SST outside of COMMBUYS will not be answered.

Content entered must be suitable for public viewing. Bidders must not include inappropriate content, including but not limited to, information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, or collusory. The SST reserves the right to edit or delete any inappropriate content.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

Bidders and awarded Contractors are required to view the COMMBUYS requirements located in Section H.1, Appendix 1 and elsewhere in this bid and are responsible for compliance with those requirements.

Locating Bid Q&A Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

Bid Amendment Deadline The SST reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The SST and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

Late Bids will not be Considered Bid responses must be received in full by the posted due date and time. Proposals received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration and deemed as non-responsive. Each offeror must submit all required bid response forms electronically through COMMBUYS. When submitting a quote electronically through COMMBUYS, please allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. The solicitation will end at the closing time listed in the RFR. If you are in the middle of uploading your proposal at the closing time, the system will stop the process and your quote will not be completed and received by the system.

Debriefing The SST will conduct debriefings for unsuccessful Bidders, if requested within 14 calendar days of the notification of award decision. The SST will provide debriefing guidelines in advance of each debriefing.

Acquisition Method:

The acquisition methods to acquire goods and/or services from this Bid are Fee for Service, Outright Purchase, Term Lease, License.

Anticipated Contract Awards:

The optimal scenario for this procurement is the selection of a single vendor. However, if necessary multiple contractors could be awarded as follows:

· For Category 1A, the SST may award up to two (2) vendors

· For Category 1B, the SST reserves the right to award as many vendors as it deems to be in the best interest of the Commonwealth Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award If, over the life of the contract, the SST determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Solicitation but were not awarded Contracts. If necessary to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids. All contracts shall be awarded with coterminous end dates.

Performance and payment time frames which exceed Contract duration All service agreements, term leases, and licenses entered into during the duration of this Contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this Contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes (limited to the time frame and services established per each written agreement). No written agreement shall extend more than two (2) years beyond the final termination date of this Statewide Contract. No new agreements may be executed after the Contract has expired. Any contractor entering into new engagements with Eligible Entities after contract expiration will be subject to remedial measures, including but not limited to mandatory point deduction for future bid submissions and suspension of other contracts with OSD.

Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract Statewide Contract – Open for Use by All Eligible Entities. Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the following entities:

1. Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions;

2. Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all Departments and elected offices therein;

3. Independent public authorities, commissions and quasi-public agencies;

4. Local public libraries, public school districts and charter schools;

5. Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth;

6. Public institutions of higher education;

7. Public purchasing cooperatives;

8. Non-profit organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth;

9. Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State Purchasing Agent; and

10. Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing Agent.

Each eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Contract. Contractors will be responsible for marketing their goods and/or services to Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities.

Anticipated Contract Duration The initial term of this Contract is approximately 42 months, with an estimated End Date of 6/30/2022. In addition, this Contract has one option to renew of up to two years with a maximum Contract End Date of 6/30/2024 (including the initial term and all possible renewal options).

Estimated Value of the Contract The estimated value of purchase(s) resulting from this Bid is $303 million over the life of the contract, including all renewals. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any Contract resulting from this Bid. Any estimates or past procurement volumes referenced in this Bid are included only for the convenience of Bidders, and are not to be relied upon as any indication of future purchase levels.

This Estimated Value was derived by reviewing ITT46 Category 3: Cellular Services data from the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System (MMARS) and vendor reported sales to Commonwealth of Massachusetts Eligible Entities. The sales data for FY2017 breaks down as follows:

Procurement Scope and Description The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Telecommunications Services Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) are soliciting Bidders for the acquisition of cellular services and devices. Cellular Services include, but are not limited to, voice, text and data services. Cellular Devices include, but are not limited to cellular phones, including ruggedized phones, cellular phone accessories, tablets, MiFi devices and pagers. In addition, it is the expectation of the SST that public safety cellular (wireless) services and satellite services and equipment may be available through this Contract.

2-Way Radio Excluded This RFR does not include cellular services and devices that require the customer to obtain an FCC radio license such as for 2-Way Radio services. The Commonwealth procures such services under a separate Statewide Contract.

This solicitation and the resulting contract constitute a significant change to the manner in which the Commonwealth has acquired and managed cellular services and devices. Departing from past practice, the new procurement vehicle is intended to consolidate the executive department’s contractual expenditures for cellular services and devices into a mandatory-use, centrally managed enterprise agreement. This approach is intended to enable entities in the executive department to standardize the cellular services and products. Relatedly, the new approach will also seek to aggregate the total executive department annual expenditure on cellular services and devices.

Categories This ITT72 Category 1 is subdivided into two subcategories:

· Category 1A, use of which is mandatory for Executive Department Agencies and optional for use by other Eligible Entities. The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) will be responsible for vendor service delivery management, oversight of cellular services and devices used across the Executive Department, and day-to-day administration of the contract.

· Category 1B will be available for use by those Eligible Entities who do not opt to use Category 1A. Category 1B will be structured in a manner substantially similar to the way in which ITT46 is currently structured with multiple vendors and a wide variety of service plans and devices.

Executive Department Agencies

1. Executive Office for Administration and Finance

2. Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development

3. Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs

4. Executive Office of Health & Human Services

5. Executive Office of Transportation

6. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

7. Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

8. Executive Office of Education

9. Executive Office of Technology Services and Security

Objectives of this procurement

· Competitive pricing – The Commonwealth expects awarded vendors to provide best-in-class pricing offered to similar public entities as well as private corporations.

· Service Quality and Customer Service – The Commonwealth expects awarded vendors to act as a partner by proactively responding to the needs of Executive Department and Eligible Entities as they arise, as well providing access to the technologies that best meet their needs

· Transparency and Insight into Vendor Performance - The Commonwealth expects awarded vendors to provide clear, understandable billing and reports on agreed upon and informative performance measures represented in Service Level Agreements

· Security – The Commonwealth expects awarded vendors to comply with enhanced security measures and policies of the Commonwealth and offer technologies and security add-ons to support improved security within the Executive Department

· Emerging Technologies – The Commonwealth expects awarded vendors to offer emerging technologies that are relevant to the Executive Department and Eligible Entities and proactively support these organizations to transition to current, commercially available, industry standard technology The unique cellular service and device needs of the Executive Department and many Eligible Entities include support for employees working in the field directly with citizens and business, electronic highway signage supported by 4G technology and public safety vehicles with consoles that must be able to connect to public safety databases. In addition, reliable service is needed in both dense urban centers as well as rural locations (e.g. State Parks).

Future State for Cellular Services and Devices The Commonwealth’s strategy for Cellular Services and Devices is to:

· Support an easy-to-use approach for procuring cellular services and devices through access to vendor supported punch-out catalogues

· Standardize the plans and devices available for purchase by the Executive Department

· Achieve savings through the pooling of data across Executive Department Agencies, and potentially Eligible Entities

· Support centralized account management across the Executive Department

· Offer viable choice of plans and devices to Eligible Entities that will meet various needs and provide savings Under Category 1A, it is anticipated that the Executive Department will operate as follows with the following roles and responsibilities. Contractors are expected to coordinate with EOTSS and must agree to accommodate changes made to this process as it is developed and enhanced over the lifetime of the awarded contract.

Bidder Qualifications Bidders should describe in a concise narrative their qualifications as indicated below. Resellers are eligible to respond to this solicitation and will be considered for award if they are able to fulfill the Bidder Qualifications listed in this Section C as well as the Service Requirements listed below (Section D).

Company Experience

· Business background

· Years in business

· Years in the industry of the Bid Business Profile Bidders must provide a brief business profile outlining the Bidder's overall operations, qualifications and organizational capabilities related to performing to the requirements of the Statewide Contract. The business profile must describe the overall qualifications, including certifications and licenses, and experience relevant to providing cellular services and devices.

The business profile must:

· State whether the firm is local, national, or international and the total number of professional employees

· State the number of years the firm, under its present tax identification number (TIN/FEIN), has provided cellular services and devices.

· State the location of the office(s) from which the work is to be managed and the location from which the work will be performed

· State the total staff available for this Contract at the location(s) of this office(s) from which the work is to be managed

· Identify any Subcontractors the Bidder intends to utilize in the performance of this contract, if awarded.

Financial stability including capacity, bankruptcy, litigation and contract defaults Bidders must provide a list of any outstanding contingencies, such as lawsuits or other claims or charges against the Bidder related to performance of the requirements of this RFR.

Bidders must provide:

· A list of all criminal and civil penalties, judgments, consent decrees and other sanctions within the last five years, as a result of any violation of any law, rule, regulation or ordinance in connection with its business activities relating to the Bidder, any officer, director, partner or member thereof, any affiliate or any related entity.

· A list of all actions occurring within the last five years which have resulted in revocation or suspension of any permit or authority to do business in any U.S. jurisdiction relating to the submitting entity, any officer, director, partner or member thereof, any affiliate or any related entity.

· A list of all actions occurring within the last five years that have resulted in the barring from public bidding relating to the Bidder, an officer, director, partner or member thereof, any affiliate or any related entity.

· A list of all bankruptcy and other similar proceedings within the past five years relating to the Bidder, any officer, director, partner or member thereof, any affiliate or any related entity.

Failure to identify such contingencies as part of a Response will be considered sufficient cause for immediate termination from the Statewide Contract if such information is discovered during the lift of the Contract.

In addition, Bidders must provide a description, in detail, of any situation in which the Bidder’s firm (either alone or as part of a joint venture), or a subsidiary of the Bidder’s firm, defaulted or was deemed to be in noncompliance of any material contractual obligations, explaining the situation, its outcome and all other relevant facts associated with the event.

Contingencies and defaults must be uploaded as an attachment to the Bidder’s COMMBUYS quote in response to this Bid.

Service Specifications The Bidder must describe the service it offers as compared to the requirements listed below, using the Excel template labelled Appendix 5: Service Requirements Response. The Service Requirements Response template indicates which requirements apply to Category 1A and/or Category 1B purchasers.

General Requirements The Bidder must be able to provide cellular services as well as mobile, transportable and fixed cellular devices that can be used to access these services.

The Bidder must have contingency plans for system failure, transmission site failure, and power failure as well as how the Bidder insures survivability and service continuity in the event of natural disasters and/or acts of God.

The Bidder must monitor and evaluate the technological quality, performance, and security of its cellular services, minimize gaps in coverage, and limit access and insure authentication.

Geographic Service and Delivery Areas The Bidder must be able to provide and maintain comprehensive, dependable, uniform coverage for its cellular services nationwide. This coverage must include all geographic areas of Massachusetts and neighboring geographic regions, including New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Bidder must provide a coverage map as part of its response to this solicitation.

Subsidized Plans The Bidder will offer subsidized plans during which the cost of the cellular device will be included in the monthly recurring charge for the duration of the contract period. Once the initial contract period is complete, the device will be available for continued use on that plan at no cost (i.e. beyond 25 months).

Unsubsidized Plans The Bidder will offer unsubsidized plans that will not include the cost of the cellular device in the monthly recurring cost.

Discount Threshold The Bidder must base discount thresholds on both corporate liable purchases (i.e. Executive Department and Eligible Entity purchases) as well as employee/personal liable purchases made on the contract associated with this solicitation.

Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) EOTSS is affirmatively entitled to all Executive Department CPNI. As such, as a condition of providing service pursuant to ITT72, Contractors for Category 1A must obtain agreement from all Executive Department agencies to share data related to cellular service and device usage for all cellular telephone numbers with OSD and EOTSS for purposes of contract reporting and management. Regarding Category 1B, Contractors must obtain permission from all purchasers to share CPNI with OSD.

Central Billing In addition to standard invoicing, the Bidder must provide central, billing of telephone numbers by accounts for Executive Departments as specified by the Commonwealth. This may include integrating with a Telecommunications Expense Management System or State managed billing approach. At the purchaser’s request, paper bills and/or electronic billing must be provided. The Bidder must also provide the cost for issuing monthly paper invoices as well as the cost for monthly electronic invoicing in its response to this solicitation.

Monthly Billing Information The Bidder must provide access to a web portal that allows EOTSS to download monthly billing information for all cellular telephone numbers assigned to Executive Agencies (known as the Master Account) in a report format. Additionally, the Bidder must allow each Secretariat to establish a Sub Account and have access to a web portal to download monthly billing information for all cellular telephone numbers assigned to all employees of agencies and offices within its Secretariat. Additionally, the vendor system should provide the option of permitting subaccount owners to make payments relevant to their subaccount. Billing details by telephone number should include:

Dedicated Account Teams The Bidder must provide dedicated teams to meet the needs of the Commonwealth. Each team must be comprised of:

Account Manager – Responsible for overall account oversight and quarterly business reviews Billing Rep – Responsible for addressing billing inquiries Plan Reviewer – Responsible for monitoring usage patterns to recommend and change users to optimal subscription plans and pricing as well as reporting recommendations on a quarterly basis

The dedicated account teams shall be provided at no additional cost. The dedicated account teams may share the same staff as it relates to working with EOTSS to support the Executive Department Agencies and OSD as it relates to supporting Eligible Entities. Specialists should be highly familiar with the Commonwealth’s services and invoice structure. The individuals shall be the Commonwealth’s advocates in the timely investigation and resolution of billing errors, and must have the ability to make billing changes and corrections online in real time to the Bidder’s billing systems. Personnel changes to the Account Management team must be approved in writing by EOTSS and OSD for Category 1A and OSD for Category 1B.

Annual Review The Awarded Bidder must conduct a review of contractual pricing every 12 months during the contract term and meet with EOTSS and OSD to review. The first of these annual reviews will start 18 months from the start of the ITT72 contract. EOTSS and OSD will bring benchmark data (informed by current market information) to these reviews to inform negotiations and ensure that the agreed upon updated pricing is market competitive.

Customer Friendly Service Catalog The Bidder must develop and maintain accessible “punch-out” catalogs for the Category 1A purchasers and/or the Category 1B purchasers. Designated cellular services and devices must be easily viewed and ordered from the Contractor's "punch-out" catalog. Where designated cellular services and devices can be easily viewed and ordered from the Awarded Bidder. This service catalog must be kept up-to-date and be easy-to-use. Please refer to Section I for additional description.

COMMBUYS Technical Specifications The Bidder must be able to adhere to the technical specifications needed to access the Bidder's punch out catalo via COMMBUYS portal as described in Appendix 8: COMMBUYS PunchOut Requirements.

No Activation, Change or Cancellation Fees The Bidder will not charge fees for activation of new services, upgrades, downgrades or cancellation of services. Any exceptions must be approved by EOTSS for Executive Department Agencies.

Employee Plan The Bidder may offer an employee plan discount to Executive Agencies and Eligible Entity employees for service plans, devices and accessories (% discount).

In Store Support The Bidder will provide in Store support and device replacement for cellular devices.

In Store Support that Requires Approval The Bidder will be responsible for receiving approval from EOTSS for any in store support for Executive Department users that has an associated cost (e.g. replacement phone cost not covered, phone number transfer). This feature may also be offered to Eligible Entities. The Bidder must describe how it will fulfill this requirement.

Approval for Exceptions The Bidder will be responsible for receiving approval from EOTSS for any purchases made outside of items offered via the agreed upon punch-out catalog for Category 1A (exceptions). The Bidder must describe how it will fulfill this requirement Distributed Antennae Systems (DAS) The Bidder will provide DAS services across all locations to support its cellular network and ensure service quality.

Contract Transition Support The Bidder must provide support as required to transition purchasers to the Bidder’s contract in a timely manner. At any point in the term of the contract, when services provided by one contractor are being transitioned to another contractor, the incumbent contractor shall provide full disclosure of information and other assistance necessary to effectuate a transition with no disruption to service and at no additional cost to the Commonwealth.

Cellular Services Requirements Cellular Services include voice and data coverage plans for cellular telephones. The Commonwealth strongly prefers bundled plans that allow for unlimited minutes and texting with various size data offerings (e.g. 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and unlimited GB). Cellular Services also include data plans to support other cellular devices such as MiFi and tablets.

Cellular Services Features The Bidder must provide the following features. These features must be included in the monthly recurring charge for services at no additional cost:

Cellular Data Features and Offerings The Bidder must offer bundled plans that include unlimited voice and text with various pooled cellular data volumes for cellular telephones. In addition, the Bidder must offer unlimited data plans.

The Bidder must provide the option to pool data volumes at both the sub-account (Agency) and master account (across all Executive Agencies) level. For example, if the Commonwealth desires, it may pool all data plans associated with the Executive Department together regardless of the accounts they reside in. In addition, the Commonwealth prefers the option to pool data within a single Eligible Entities organization.

The Bidder must offer cellular data plans for cellular telephones that provide the option to use a phone as modem or hot spot. Customers using this feature must be able to turn it on and off. This feature must be password protected.

The Bidder must send a warning to a cell phone when data limits are being approached and block data when allotment is reached.

For Category 1A, the Bidder must notify EOTSS, or its designated cell phone administrator, when data volume has been reached on cell phones issued to the Executive Department. For Category 1B, the Bidder must notify the designated cell phone administrator, when data volume has been reached on cell phones issued to the Eligible Entities.

International Coverage The Bidder must provide international dialing, roaming, texting and data and share pricing for these services as part of its response to this solicitation. International voice and data must be able to be turned on and off by the cellular user. Additionally, international cellular services may only be granted by the Bidder to Executive Department users of cellular services and devices with prior authorization from EOTSS.

Cellular Devices Cellular Devices include smart phones, cellular phones, including ruggedized phones, cellular phone accessories, tablets, and MiFi devices and pagers.

· ActiveSync policies (e.g. screen timeout lock, PIN requirement, remote wipe, wipe after # of invalid PIN entries, and storage encryption)

· Synchronization of Email, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Notes

· Blocking small number text messages inbound or outbound

· Modem or hot spot capability

Security The Bidder must comply with the Commonwealth’s security policies and standards accessible via the hyperlink provided. In addition, the Bidder must be able to comply with the specific standards listed below. Cellular devices must:

· Be manageable using COTS MDM products

· Be in support from the vendor for minimum of 2 years

· Allow a security policy to be pushed down by ActiveSyncX

· Be able to meet our password standard (a minimum of 8 characters including 3 of the four: Upper, lower, number, and special) or offer biometrics (facial recognition and finger prints) as an alternative to passwords The Bidder must disclose and describe any areas of non-compliance with these security policies.

Service Level Agreement The Bidder shall provide SLAs associated with cellular services and devices. The Bidder shall describe how it measures each of its SLAs and how it will handle failures to perform to SLA levels and any billing adjustments, credits or any other compensation it will offer. These SLAs should include:

1. Service quality (must include at minimum: # of dropped calls, and dead spots)

2. Billing accuracy

3. Customer Support (must include at minimum: response time to service issues, expedited replacement of devices, and specialized, accelerated service for designated executives) New Technology The Bidder must have in place a proactive approach for bringing to the Commonwealth’s attention new technologies and business models that could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cellular services and devices. This might include Bidder sponsored research and development, monitoring developments in the industry, and presentations or similar mechanisms by which the Bidder is bringing to the Commonwealth the best and freshest thinking in the industry. The Commonwealth intends to discuss potential amendments to the contract to make relevant new technologies available to purchasers. This will be a component of the annual review process, during quarterly reviews with the dedicated account team, and upon the Commonwealth's request. Contract amendments will be the result of mutual negotiations of the parties.

Other value-added offerings The bidder is encouraged to describe and propose any other value-added offerings they want to propose. These offering shall be in addition to, not a replacement of, the mandatory requirements.

Public Safety Cellular (Wireless) Services Public Safety Cellular (Wireless) Services include…..These services are considered optional for the Bidder to provide.

[PLACEHOLDER Awaiting language from EOPSS/OSD] Satellite Services and Equipment Satellite services and equipment include plans for satellite services and devices to support them. These services are considered optional.

[PLACEHOLDER Awaiting language from EOPSS/OSD] Environmental Practices Bidders must complete the Current Environmental Practices Form, Attachment 4 to this RFR, and submit it with their Quote. The form allows Bidders to communicate existing business practices that foster a sustainable approach to conducting their operations and reduce detrimental impacts on the environment or public health. Bidders may receive additional points in the evaluation phase of the RFR for the environmental initiatives they identify; however, bidders must substantiate all answers in order to receive additional points.

[PLACEHOLDER Awaiting language from EPP team] Supplier Diversity Plan Massachusetts Executive Order 565 reaffirmed and expanded the Commonwealth’s policy to promote the award of state contracts in a manner that develops and strengthens certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Minority and Women Nonprofit Organizations (M/WNPOs), Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (SDVOBEs), Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs).

In planning their SDP commitment, certified Bidders must note that the commitment cannot be met by making expenditures within their own company or with parent or wholly owned subsidiary companies.

All bidders are required to make a significant financial commitment to partner with certified M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs, and/or SDVOBEs, DOBEs and/or LGBTBEs certified or verified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). Bidders must identify a commitment in the form of a specific percentage of sales made under the resulting contract that will be spent with an SDP Partner(s) on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis, using SDP Plan Form #1 – SDP Plan Commitment. This percentage commitment will extend for the life of any resulting contract.

This requirement extends to all bidders regardless of their certification status, and no bidder will be awarded a Contract unless and until the above requirement is met. Bidders may not list themselves or affiliates as SDP Partners. In order to ensure compliance with this section and encourage bidder participation, SDP Plans will be evaluated at 10% or more of the total evaluation score.

Evaluation Criteria Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored and ranked by the SST according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Any submission which fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and can be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the contractor to make minor corrections to the submission.

Bidder scores will be used to rank Bidders and will determine which Bidders will proceed to subsequent stages of the evaluation and/or enter into negotiations with the Commonwealth to receive a Contract award.

Mandatory Requirements Mandatory Specifications must be met in order for a Quote 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.

Evaluation Components Only responsive bids will be evaluated. The following evaluation components will collectively carry a 45% weight and be considered by the team when evaluating each Quote:

· Commitment to service quality

· Assurance for security compliance

· Ability to promote new and evolving technologies

· Environmentally Preferable Products

Price will carry a 45% weight in the evaluation process. The price components set forth in Appendix 6 Pricing Sheet will be evaluated.

The Bidder’s SDP Plan will carry a 10% weight in the evaluation process.

Best Value Selection and Negotiation The SST may select the Quotes(s) which demonstrate(s) the best value overall, including proposed alternatives, which will achieve the goals of the procurement. The SST and a selected Bidder may negotiate a change in any element of Contract performance or cost identified in the original RFR or the selected Bidder’s Quote which results in lower costs or a more cost effective or better value than was presented in the selected Bidder’s original Quote.

Statewide Contract Standard Requirements Use of COMMBUYS Bidders and awarded Contractors are required to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering. Awarded contractors must comply with applicable COMMBUYS requirements outlined in Appendix 1 and elsewhere in this bid.

Fiscal Terms Bill Payment All invoices issued pursuant to this contract are payable in accordance with the Comptroller’s Bill Payment Policy: http://www.macomptroller.info/comptroller/docs/policies-procedures/accounts-payable/po-ap-commonwealth-bill-paying.pdf

Late Payment fees may be assessed only as authorized by the Office of the Comptroller as described also in the Bill Payment Policy.

In order for an invoice to be valid, it must include service names/descriptions which match the vendor’s ITT72 catalog as approved by the SST. Invoice pricing must not exceed the approved catalog pricing. Invoice line items which do not appear in the approved catalog must be offered at no charge, otherwise the invoice will be considered invalid.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) All Bidders must agree to participate in the Commonwealth Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program for receiving payments. The EFT application can be found in the .zip file “Standard State Forms” on the Attachments tab of this Bid in COMMBUYS. Additional information about EFT is available on the Comptroller’s VendorWeb site located at: https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp

Upon notification of award, Contractors are required to enroll in EFT by completing and submitting the “Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment Form” to the SST for review, approval and forwarding to the Office of the Comptroller, unless already enrolled in EFT. A link to the EFT application can be found on the Comptroller’s VendorWeb site (see above link). This form, and all information contained on this form, shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure through a public records request.

Creditworthiness No public entity utilizing this contract shall be required, as a condition of purchase, to undergo any creditworthiness review or application process.

Tax Exemption Payment vouchers or invoices submitted to Massachusetts government entities must not include sales tax.

Instructions for Submission of Responses Responses must be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality contained in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix 3.

Electronic Signatures Quotes submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab of the Bid in…