State of California

Department of Fish and Wildlife

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

FOR FLEET TRACKING SYSTEM (FTS)

Release: 11/04/2025

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Table of Contents

Request for Information (RFI) Introduction and Overview This Request for Information (RFI) is being released by the State of California, Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The RFI is to solicit information from the vendor community in an effort to assist the State in determining what is currently available in the marketplace of vendors. Two options are currently being explored: a custom-built solution tailored to FTS’s specific needs or a highly configurable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product. The new online system must be able to manage FTS data effectively, integrate with several crucial internal and external systems to support fleet and asset tracking, and support critical internal and external reporting processes.

This RFI is a critical part of CDFW’s market research and Respondent feedback is valued and appreciated. We request basic information about your organization as well as your solution’s capabilities coupled with information on how you will help meet CDFW’s objectives.

Key Action Dates Listed below are the RFI Key Action Dates and times (all times noted are Pacific Time) by which actions should be taken or completed.

*Please note that the completeness and relevance of your RFI response to Attachment A will determine selection of vendors who will be invited to the Demonstration Day presentations as shown in the Key Actions Dates.

**These dates may shift based on number of submissions and other outside factors.

RFI Response Instructions

1. Responses to this RFI must be submitted via e-mail, preferably in the native file format of Microsoft Word, to the State’s contact listed in Section I.C. Contact Information and must include the following information in the email subject line: RFI_26_FleetTrackingSystem_001.

2. Contact information including the name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address of the primary contact person for the RFI (can be provided on Attachment B – RFI Response Checklist).

3. Responses must be submitted by the date and time stated in Section 1.A. Key Action Dates.

4. Vendors must submit a signed cover letter with their response to the RFI that also includes a statement by the individual certifying the information in the response is true and accurate to the best of his/her knowledge at the time of submittal.

5. Vendors should respond to all applicable information in the RFI attachments and submit the following:

a. Submit Vendor Profile:

i. Limit five (5) pages.

ii. Profile should describe company, highlight presence in fleet management system industry.

iii. Include information in your profile that is most relevant to this RFI (this can include similar/relevant projects, experience in natural resources data work, experience working with the State of California.)

b. Complete Attachment A – Vendor Questionnaire

i. Limit twenty (20) pages.

c. Complete Attachment B – RFI Vendor Checklist

d. Complete Exhibit 1 – Fleet Tracking System Requirements

6. The completeness and relevance of your RFI response to Vendor Profile, Attachment A and the ability to meet our high-level requirements will determine selection of vendors who will be invited to the Demonstration Day presentations as shown in the Key Actions Dates. CDFW will be requesting Cost Information from Vendors who are invited to the Demonstration Day presentations. CDFW understands that the costs provided are voluntary and non-binding and will be used for informational budgeting purposes only.

Contact Information Vendors must submit their written response, via e-mail to the State contact listed below:

Contact: Edward Drennan Agency: CDFW IT Procurement Supervisor Email: ITProcurement@Wildlife.ca.gov Vendor Questions Vendors must submit questions regarding this RFI, via e-mail, by the specified date and time stated in Section I.A. Key Action Dates to the email contact stated in Section I.C. Contact Information.

What to Include in an Inquiry

1. Include in the email subject line: RFI_26_FleetTrackingSystem_001, and “Question(s).”

2. Vendor name and contact, telephone number, e-mail address.

3. A description of the subject or issue in question, or discrepancy found.

4. RFI section, page number, or other information useful in identifying the specific problem or issue stated in the in question.

5. All questions will be responded to in writing via e-mail to all parties that have expressed an intent to respond to the RFI.

State’s Review of RFI Responses The State will evaluate RFI responses based on full submission with an emphasis on answers received in Attachment A.

Evaluation is ONLY for the purpose of determining invitations for vendor demonstrations and does not impact a vendor’s ability to respond to future procurement(s) associated with this project or technology. Evaluation is scored on completeness and relevance of the responses to CDFW’s needs as expressed in this RFI.

Invitations to Demonstrate Vendors will be notified by email, according to the key action dates, if invited to participate in vendor demonstrations based on the completeness and relevance of your RFI response. The schedule will be selected on a first-come basis. CDFW reserves the right to extend the demonstration schedule should the quality and quantity of the responses warrant additional demonstrations.

Vendor Presentation Days (Demo Day) Expectations from the Vendor presentation during Demo Day are as follows:

· The presentation will be up to 2 hours in duration. The presentation will be conducted through MS Teams. This will include 15 minutes for broad vendor and CDFW introductions, 45 minutes of demo of vendors product, how it meets the high-level requirements, future enhancements, how product can meet and be customized to CDFW’s specific needs, support and training options. 30 minutes of CDFW questions and answers. 15 minutes discussion on estimated vendor costs for custom development and for COTS solutions: pricing structure and three-year maintenance and service costs. Finishing with 15 minutes of closing discussion.

CDFW expects the demonstration to be focused on CDFW needs and the ability of the chosen vendor to best meet current and expanding data analytical and reporting needs, as well as operational services.

RFI Disclaimer The RFI process is not a contract. This RFI nor any information provided by any Vendors hereto shall be deemed to create any legally binding agreement or obligations upon CDFW. This RFI is solely designed to provide CDFW with meaningful information to enable CDFW to determine how to proceed with a possible upcoming project.

Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Vendors are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The State is not responsible for any expenses associated with responding to this RFI. CDFW will consider vendor responses in developing a bid such as, but not limited to, a Request for Quotation (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), or other action.

The submission of a response does not constitute any commitment on the part of the interested party. However, the Vendor agrees that the submitted information is correct to the best of the Vendor’s knowledge. Also, the right to compete in future procurements is not affected if the party chooses not to submit a response to this RFI. CDFW is also interested in learning the reasons for not submitting a response.

Vendors are advised that all documents submitted in response to this RFI will become the property of the State of California and will be regarded as public records under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) pursuant to Government Code Section 6250 et seq. and subject to review by the public. The intent of this RFI is to validate project objectives and requirements for possible future solicitation(s). Please do not include any confidential or proprietary information in responses to this RFI as it may be disclosed or be subject to a Public Records Act (PRA) request.

Fleet Tracking System Project Overview Background The mission of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is to manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values, and for their use and enjoyment by the public. To supports its mission, the department provides staff access to a fleet of approximately 3,500 assets; these assets range from passenger vehicles to trucks, tractors, and vessels.

The department’s Business Management Bureau (BMB) is responsible for managing all the fleet assets from time of acquisition all the way through the disposal of the asset. This includes but is not limited to onboarding new fleet assets, smoke and smog checks, recalls, usage uploads, WEX fuel funding allocations per WEX card, issuance of driver WEX Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), updating driver location information, and providing reports both internally and to oversight agencies.

VTS is the current system used by BMB for tracking fleet assets, as required by the Department of General Services (DGS). VTS was developed internally over 15 years ago, using Oracle WebLogic 11g, which is out of support. The VTS application has an outdated user interface, is not intuitive, crashes frequently, and does not support the current business processes; it does not use business and validation rules, therefore it allows for user errors and results in incomplete and inaccurate fleet data.

CDFW fleet cards are provided and managed by WEX. Every month, WEX transactions are uploaded into the VTS Oracle database, and the Accounting Services Branch (ASB) staff runs validation reports to ensure the correct financial codes are used. VTS was developed before the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) implementation at CDFW in 2017, and even though multiple system changes were made, financial codes continue to be manually entered in the system and the process is prone to errors (e.g., incorrect, or expired codes can be entered and used). As a result of this, the ASB staff encounter multiple issues and inefficiencies while using the system for monthly financial reporting. Errors are corrected manually, which causes potentially late postings and department-wide cashflow problems. Also, VTS does not have a notification method to let the Regional Fleet Coordinators know when financial codes are expiring. This results in funds expiring without replacement codes being available.

Also, VTS does not provide a streamlined, efficient way of monitoring and tracking vessels and other fleet assets (e.g., heavy equipment). Equally important, VTS does not track the funding lifecycle of a fleet asset and does not allow ease of reporting and usability.

In summary, VTS has several internal issues that have manifested over time due to an outdated architecture that cannot support the current business processes; these are further compounded by the system’s age and obsolete technology.

CDFW is seeking to replace the obsolete VTS with a new modern cloud-based fleet tracking system that will allow for the implementation of efficient and streamlined business processes to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. The new system will provide an intuitive, user-friendly interface, and will reduce the data entry burden for administrative staff and drivers. The system will also have enhanced and flexible reporting capabilities, including WEX reporting. Overall, the new system will provide CDFW with greater oversight and transparency regarding fleet utilization, allowing for better decisions around fleet tracking.

The following table describes the stakeholder groups impacted by this project:

Business Problems and Objectives Business Problems The CDFW fleet is currently tracked through the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), an antiquated and ineffective solution for all of the tracking needs that are necessary for internal and external reporting and tracking. The central problems with the current system are outlined below:

· Financial Code Accuracy: The current asset and vehicle tracking system was developed and implemented at CDFW prior to the development and implementation at CDFW of the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) in 2017. Because of this, financial codes are entered manually into the system from WEX, and the process is prone to errors (e.g., incorrect or expired codes can be entered and used). ASB staff then have to manually validate and correct those codes, which results in multiple inefficiencies and issues when completing reporting. In addition, there is no notification method to let Fleet Coordinators know when financial codes are expiring and can no longer be used.

· Reliance on Manual Workarounds: As outlined above, financial reporting becomes a time-intensive, manual process for CDFW staff.

· Usability and Functionality: VTS was developed in excess of 15 years ago, and no longer runs smoothly and consistently crashes for users, disrupting workflow and increasing the amount of time necessary to complete any work within the system.

· Monitoring and Tracking Assets: VTS does not provide a streamlined, efficient way of monitoring and tracking vessels and other fleet assets (e.g., heavy equipment, trailers). The current system also does not allow for the tracking of the lifecycle of a fleet asset, nor does it allow for ease of reporting for such assets.

Business Objectives In addition to the requirements listed in Exhibit 1, CDFW is looking to meet the following objectives:

Goal 1: Deliver a User-Friendly, Modern, Cloud-Native Fleet Tracking System

· Objective 1: Implement a Centralized, Scalable Database Solution - Develop and deploy a normalized relational database solution within the CDFW Azure environment to serve as the single source of truth for all CDFW fleet tracking data, ensuring data integrity and providing a foundation for future scalability.

· Objective 2: Establish a Modern, Accessible Deployment Architecture - Develop and deploy the fleet tracking system using a cloud-native, API-driven architecture that is accessible via a standard web browser and does not require a remote desktop login for any user type.

· Objective 3: Achieve High User Satisfaction and Efficiency - Develop and deploy a fleet tracking system with an intuitive User Experience (UX) design that minimizes training requirements and maximizes operational efficiency.

Goal 2: Ensure Seamless Integration with All Critical Fleet and Financial Systems

· Objective 1: Integrate with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) to provide Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities for all users and manage role-based access to the system.

· Objective 2: Integrate with WEX to retrieve and ingest fuel transaction data directly into the fleet tracking system.

· Objective 3: Integrate with Geotab to retrieve real-time and historical vehicle telemetry data (e.g., location, engine diagnostics, mileage) necessary for tracking and reporting.

· Objective 4: Integrate with the Asset Management System to retrieve primary asset/vehicle metadata and ensure consistent fleet inventory records.

· Objective 5: Integrate with systems containing FI$Cal funding codes to validate and associate funding information with fleet usage and maintenance activities.

· Objective 5: Integrate with DocuSign Goal 3: Accurate and automated funding code capture and reporting

· Objective 1: Eliminate the need for manual processes to enter appropriate funding codes

· Objective 2: Create an import function and/or integration with existing CDFW fiscal systems to maintain current, applicable funding codes

· Objective 3: Create a validation mechanism to confirm that the funding codes being entered into the system are current and valid, and conversely, incorrect and invalid codes are not entered Goal 4: Comprehensive, real-time reporting for all aspects of fleet management

· Objective 1: Create a reporting platform that holds both canned and ad hoc reporting capabilities encompassing all data fields in the fleet tracking system

· Objective 2: Create notifications and automated reports in relation to those reports based on regulations and required increments

· Objective 3: Create report templates that reveal analytics on vehicle efficiencies, lifecycles, maintenance, expenditures and more Business Capabilities CDFW seeks to procure a solution that supports the following capabilities:

Glossary

State of California, Department of Fish and Wildlife

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Attachment A – Vendor Questionnaire [Included as a separate file - see attached Word document]

Attachment B – RFI Response Checklist [Included as a separate file - see attached Word document]

Exhibit 1 – CDFW Fleet Tracking System Requirements [Included as a separate file - see attached Excel document] image1.png image2.png