REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR

Consulting Services for an Enterprise Resource Planning System including project management, needs assessment, RFP development, and vendor selection.

Qualified organizations are invited to submit an electronic copy of the proposal that meets the requirements described herein no later than May 9, 2022, by 5:00 p.m. PST to the following email address:

purchasing@nwascopud.org

OR

Hardcopy documents can also be submitted to:

CONSULTING SERVICES: ERP SYSTEM PLANNING SERVICES

ATTN: PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

NORTHERN WASCO COUNTY PEOPLE’S UTILITY DISTRICT

2345 RIVER ROAD

THE DALLES, OR 97058

This Request for Proposals (RFP) does not commit Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District, “the District” to award a contract or pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responsive to this request. The District reserves the right to accept all or part of any proposal or to cancel in part or in its entirety this Request for Proposals. The District further reserves the right to accept the proposal that it considers to be in the best interest of the District.

Summary

Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District (“the District”) is seeking proposals from qualified Consultants to assess the District’s current computer information and accounting systems, identify the needs of its users, develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new ERP system, and assist in the evaluation of vendor proposals.

Background

The District desires to replace its core computer information and accounting systems with a new suite of integrated systems. The District’s current financial software is more than eleven years old and needs updating to better utilize the technological advancements made within the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software segment. The overall goal is to implement a new system that will improve service to the District’s residents, businesses, and customers, and will increase employee productivity.

Currently, the District has several separate systems/modules/software that it depends on for day-to-day operations. Many of these systems are not integrated with one another. The District’s goal is to consolidate as many of these legacy systems as possible into one central system.

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTAL OF PROPOSAL

I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

A. Submittal of Proposal The proposal should be reviewed for accuracy before submission to the District since said document may not be adjusted after submission. The District will not be responsible for errors or omissions in any proposal.

B. Disqualified Proposals Any proposal received after May 9, 2022, by 5:00 p.m. PST shall be refused.

C. Rights of the District The District reserves the right to reject all responses that are incomplete, contain errors, arrive after the due date/time or are submitted by unqualified vendors. The District reserves the right not to award a contract if the District, in its sole discretion, deems the responses received pursuant to this RFP lacking in any respect or insufficient to meet the District's requirements and needs.

D. Withdrawal of Proposals Firms may withdraw their proposal, either personally or by written request, at any time prior to the proposal deadline to the following:

CONSULTING SERVICES: ERP SYSTEM PLANNING SERVICES

ATTN: PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

NORTHERN WASCO COUNTY PEOPLE’S UTILITY DISTRICT

2345 RIVER ROAD

THE DALLES, OR 97058

Or by Email to: purchasing@nwascopud.org

E. Contacts In order to control information disseminated regarding this RFP, firms interested in submitting proposals are directed not to make personal contact with employees of the District with the exception of the email listed below:

purchasing@nwascopud.org

Any questions concerning this RFP must be submitted by email to the above address no later than April 22, 2022, by 5:00pm PST. Responses to individual queries will be provided as soon as possible. An anonymous summary of all Q&A’s will be emailed to all interested Respondents by April 29, 2022, by 5:00pm PST. All Respondents will be able to access Q&As on the PUD website and OregonBuys.

II. PROJECT OVERVIEW

A. The District Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District is a customer-owned utility that provides nearly 25,000 people and businesses with electricity in Wasco County, Oregon. A “People’s Utility District” is a not-for-profit, customer owned utility. The utility is governed by a five-member Board of Directors that is elected by our Customer-Owners. The District’s office resides in the town of The Dalles, OR.

B. Project Objectives There are four main objectives to be accomplished with this project.

1. Replacement of the District’s current ERP software. The modules include General Ledger, Budgeting, Financial Reporting, Capital Asset Planning, Cash Receipts/Register, Accounts Receivable and Payable, Utility Billing, Payroll and Human Resources, and Purchase Orders.

2. Provide an integrated yet open suite of business applications that will enable appropriate information to be shared amongst the District as well as streamline linkages to third party applications.

3. Reduce the District’s dependency on custom developed applications required to run organizational processes.

4. Maintain data integrity and security.

C. Project Phases The project has been split into the following phases. This RFP is for services to complete the first three of these project phases.

1. Needs Assessment and Development of Functional Specification

2. RFP Development

3. Vendor Evaluation and Selection

4. Implementation

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

This RFP is for the services required to complete the first three preliminary project phases as identified above. Consultant responses to this RFP should address the following.

A. Needs Assessment and Development of Functional Specifications

1. Perform a detailed review of District operations, gathering functional requirements and technical specifications required to streamline business processes. This review should include interviews with staff from all District departments.

2. Develop a document that summarizes all functional requirements for the new system and includes any specific technical requirements. This report or memo should be based on District needs and industry best practices.

B. RFP Development Develop an RFP to solicit responses from vendors qualified to complete the final implementation phase of the project. The RFP must contain items such as the following.

· Comprehensive list of required functions and technical requirements for the new software

· Required interfaces or interoperability with third-party systems

· Requirements for data migration

· Vendor experience requirements

· Schedule requirements

· Training requirements

· Evaluation criteria District Purchasing staff will be available to ensure the RFP meets our own solicitation requirements, however, the technical RFP content is the responsibility of the consultant.

C. Vendor Evaluation and Selection

1. Solicitation

· Identify qualified vendors

· Manage vendor Q&A

· Work with District staff to prepare RFP addenda

· Facilitate pre-proposal meeting

2. Proposal Evaluation

· Prepare evaluation matrix

· Review vendor responses and determine non-responsive proposals

· Facilitate clarification of vendor responses, as required

· Compile selection committee scores and create a summary memo identifying semifinalists

3. Vendor Demonstration

· Schedule and conduct vendor demonstrations and/or site visits

· Create proposed agenda for use in vendor demonstrations

· Prepare evaluation forms for use by selection committee

4. Reference Checks

· Assess market presence of vendor semifinalists

· Provide templates for phone interviews of semifinalist references

5. Final Selection

· Facilitate meeting to select awardee

IV. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Consultants must not have any affiliation with or be a reseller of any software or enterprise system proposed. The Consultant’s proposal shall be organized so that the outline generally follows the format of this Request for Proposal. Proposals should cite examples of the previous work and provide details of the project, scope of work performed, deliverables, and roles and responsibilities.

Proposals should contain the following information

· Company Background

· Information regarding the size, location, nature of work performed, years in business, etc.

· Experience and first-hand knowledge of software selection of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) products and modules.

· Experience in Needs and Risk Assessments

· Experience in Business Process analysis and documentation in municipal government or public utilities.

· Experience determining RFP evaluation criteria.

· Experience in software selection.

· Experience with all phases of ERP implementation.

· Project Approach

· Approach and methodology for completing the Scope of Services identified above.

· Project Team

· Qualifications of the project lead and any support staff or outside resources

· Project Timeline

· Anticipated schedule for the Scope of Service identified in this RFP.

· Cost Proposal

· Time and materials estimate with a not-to-exceed value to complete the Scope of Services.

· References

· Provide at least three references of previous projects similar in scope to that described in this RFP for organizations similar in size, scope, and function to NWCPUD.

· Referenced projects must be fully completed.

· Include:

· Name of organization

· Contact information

· Description and result of project

· Time frame, original budget, and final cost of the project.

V. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

NWCPUD will appoint a Selection Committee composed of District staff to screen applicants and select firms for oral interviews, if required. The District reserves the right to designate respondents as qualified and to prepare a list ranking those designated as qualified based on the Selection Committee’s determination, in its sole discretion, of the best interests of the District and the project.

A. Evaluation Criteria The following criteria will be used in the evaluation and selection of the vendor. Note that this is not a comprehensive list and is not in order of priority:

1. Vendor stability, market experience, and references.

2. General knowledge of the ERP software industry and products.

3. Experience working with public agencies of similar demographics to NWCPUD

4. Experience performing the needs analysis and requirements gathering process.

5. Experience in development of an RFP.

6. Experience with all phases of ERP implementation.

7. Experience negotiating ERP software product contracts.

8. Project Management including planning and approach.

9. Projected timeline of project.

10. Cost.

11. Data integrity and security.

B. Award of Contract The Selection Committee of the District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to select a qualified firm with or without interviews, and to negotiate with one or more than one of the responsible submitters. Submitters shall be responsible for all expenses that they may incur in preparing the proposal. Responses received to this RFP will be used as the foundation for the development of an agreement and contract with specific provisions subject to review, negotiations, and approval of the Contract Review Board of the District.

Target date for approval by the Selection Committee of selected firm: May 20, 2022 image1.jpeg