STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Appalachian State University

Request for Proposal #: RFP55-100226

POINT OF SALE SYSTEM AND ERP BOLT-ON FUNCTIONALITY FOR THE APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS STORE

Date of Issue: October 02, 2026

Proposal Opening Date: October 30, 2026

At 2 PM ET

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:

Lori Brown

Purchasing Specialist / Buyer

Email: brownlg2@appstate.edu

Phone: 828-262-8130

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Request for Proposal #

RFP55-100226

For internal State agency processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company’s eVP (Electronic Vendor Portal) Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public.

This page will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available for public inspection.

This page shall be filled out and returned with your proposal.

Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.

Vendor Name

Vendor eVP#

Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered Vendor in good standing. You must enter the Vendor number assigned through eVP (Electronic Vendor Portal). If you do not have a Vendor number, register athttps://evp.nc.gov/SignIn

Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.

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Refer ALL Inquiries regarding this RFP to:

Lori Brown, Purchasing Specialist/Buyer brownlg2@appstate.edu 828-262-8130

Request for Proposal #: RFP55-100226 Proposals will be publicly opened: October 30, 2026

Using Agency: Commodity No. and Description: POINT OF SALE SYSTEM AND

ERP BOLT-ON FUNCTIONALITY FOR THE APPALACHIAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

Requisition No.:

EXECUTION

In compliance with this Request for Proposals (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned Vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are bid, at the prices set opposite each item within the time specified herein.

By executing this proposal, the undersigned Vendor understands that false certification is a Class I felony and certifies that:

§ this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion (G.S. 143-54), § none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and

§ it is not an ineligible Vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1.

Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of Vendor’s knowledge and belief, that:

§ it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency.

As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned Vendor certifies that it, and each of its sub-Contractors for any Contract awarded as a result of this RFP, complies with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system.

As required by Executive Order 24 (2017), the undersigned vendor certifies will comply with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and that it does not and will not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against any employee in connection with performance of any Contract arising from this solicitation.

G.S. 133-32 and Executive Order 24 (2009) prohibit the offer to, or acceptance by, any State Employee associated with the preparing plans, specifications, estimates for public contracts; or awarding or administering public contracts; or inspecting or supervising delivery of the public contract of any gift from anyone with a contract with the State, or from any person seeking to do business with the State. By execution of this response to the RFP, the undersigned certifies, for Vendor’s entire organization and its employees or agents, that Vendor is not aware that any such gift has been offered, accepted, or promised by any employees of your organization.

By executing this proposal, Vendor certifies that it has read and agreed to the INSTRUCTION TO VENDORS and the NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS incorporated herein. These documents can be accessed from the ATTACHMENTS page within this document.

Appalachian State University

Proposal Number: 55-100226 Vendor: __________________________________________

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Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal may render proposal invalid and it MAY BE REJECTED. Late proposals shall not be accepted.

COMPLETE/FORMAL NAME OF VENDOR:

STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:

CITY & STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE

NUMBER:

TOLL FREE TEL. NO:

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #21):

PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR:

VENDOR’S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*: DATE: EMAIL:

VALIDITY PERIOD

Offer shall be valid for at least sixty 60 days from date of bid opening, unless otherwise stated here: ______ days, or if extended by mutual agreement of the parties in writing. Any withdrawal of this offer shall be made in writing, effective upon receipt by the agency issuing this RFP.

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL

If your proposal is accepted, all provisions of this RFP, along with the written results of any negotiations, shall constitute the written agreement between the parties (“Contract”). The NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS are incorporated herein and shall apply. Depending upon the Goods or Services being offered, other terms and conditions may apply, as mutually agreed.

FOR STATE USE ONLY: Offer accepted and Contract awarded this________ day of __________, 20____, as indicated on

The attached certification, by ____________________________________________________________________.

(Authorized Representative of Appalachian State University)

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Contents

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

2.6 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

2.7 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

2.8 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

2.9 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

2.10 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

3 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.2 TRANSPORTATION AND IDENTIFICATION

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

4.6 REFERENCES

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

4.8 PERSONNEL

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

4.10 QUESTIONS TO VENDORS

4.11 AGENCY INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS MODIFICATION

4.12 LOBBYING ACTIVITY CERTIFICATION FOR FEDERAL GRANTS

4.13 SUBCONTRACTORS

4.14 SECRETARY OF STATE REGISTRATION

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 SCOPE OF WORK

5.2 SPECIFICATIONS

5.2.1 Point of Sale (POS) Functional Requirements

2.3.1 5.2.2 eCommerce Functional Requirements

2.3.2 5.2.3 eCommerce Functional Requirements

5.2.4 Inventory and Demand Planning Requirements

5.2.5 Reporting, Security, and Support Requirements

5.3 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

5.4 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

5.5 TECHNICAL APPROACH

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5.6 CERTIFICATION AND SAFETY LABELS

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

6.1 CONTRACT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

6.2 INVOICES

6.3 POST AWARD PROJECT REVIEW MEETINGS

6.4 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

6.5 PERIODIC MONTHLY REPORTS

6.6 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

6.7 FAITHFUL PERFORMANCE

6.8 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

6.9 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

6.10 CONTRACT CHANGES

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A: FINANCIAL PROPOSAL/PRICING SHEET

ATTACHMENT B: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

ATTACHMENT C: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

ATTACHMENT H: VENDOR REQUEST FOR EO50 PRICE-MATCHING

ATTACHMENT I: VENDOR SPECIFICATIONS MATRIX

LOBBYING ACTIVITY CERTIFICATION FOR FEDERAL GRANTS

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1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

App State is seeking a Point of Sale System and ERP BOLT-ON Functionality for the Appalachian State University Campus Store.

Appalachian State University operates the Campus Store, a multi-location retail, course-materials rental, and eCommerce operation serving students, faculty, staff, and the general public. The Campus Store currently conducts retail and course-materials transactions using Oracle NetSuite Point of Sale (NSPOS), NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced (SCA) for its online store, and the NetSuite ERP for back-office accounting, inventory, and purchasing.

Oracle has announced that NSPOS will sunset, therefore, the University must replace its point of sale and eCommerce platform in advance of that sunset date.

The University is issuing this RFP as a two-part solicitation so that the market of point-of-sale, eCommerce, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers can respond in the manner best suited to their product:

• Part 1 – Full Solution: A complete, integrated Point of Sale, eCommerce, and ERP/back-office solution (including accounting, purchasing, and inventory management) that will replace the University's current NetSuite ERP, NSPOS, and SuiteCommerce Advanced platforms in their entirety. A Part 1 proposal must integrate with VitalSource for digital course materials and rental eligibility.

• Part 2 – Point of Sale & eCommerce Only: A Point of Sale and eCommerce solution, which will continue to operate alongside, and must integrate with, the University's existing NetSuite ERP for accounting, purchasing, and inventory of record.

The intent of this solicitation is to award an Agency contract.

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

The Contract shall have an initial term of three (3) years, beginning on the date of final Contract execution (the "Effective Date"). The Vendor shall begin implementation work under the Contract within thirty (30) business days of the Effective Date.

At the end of the Contract's initial term, the State shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to renew the Contract on the same terms and conditions for up to two (2) additional one-year terms. The State will give the Vendor written notice of its intent to exercise each option no later than ninety (90) days before the end of the Contract's then-current term. In addition to any optional renewal terms, and with the Vendor's concurrence, the State reserves the right to extend the Contract after the last active term.

Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award, which are incorporated herein by reference.

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

ATTENTION: NC E-Procurement fee does NOT apply to this solicitation and the paragraph entitled ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT of the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions does NOT apply.

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2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions to Vendors, the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, all relevant exhibits and attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications herein. Vendors are also responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFP.

If Vendors have questions or issues regarding any component of this RFP, those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in the PROPOSAL QUESTIONS Section. If the State determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be communicated in the form of an RFP addendum.

The State may also elect to leave open the possibility for later negotiation of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question-and-answer period, prior to contract award.

Other than through the process of negotiation under 01 NCAC 05B.0503, the State rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal or otherwise.

This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’ instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall constitute a firm offer that shall be held open for the period required herein (“Validity Period” above).

The State may exercise its discretion to consider Vendor proposed modifications. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and will be disregarded unless expressly agreed upon through negotiation and incorporated by way of a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The State will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.

Event Responsibility Date and Time Issue RFP State October 02, 2026

Submit Written Questions Vendor October 16, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET

Provide Response to Questions State October 23, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET

Submit Proposals Vendor October 30, 2026 NO LATER THAN 2:00 PM ET

Contract Award State TBD

2.5 SITE VISIT or PRE-Proposal Conference

N/A

2.6 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by

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Written questions shall be emailed to Lori Brown @ brownlg2@appstate.edu by the date and time specified above.

Vendors should enter “RFP # 55-100226: Questions” as the subject for the email. Question submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section and be submitted in the format shown below:

Reference Vendor Question

RFP Section, Page Number Vendor question …?

Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the State’s response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by the State will be posted in the form of an addendum to the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP), https://evp.nc.gov, and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in the RFP and an addendum to this RFP.

2.7 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an absolute requirement. Late bids, regardless of cause, will not be opened or considered, and will be automatically disqualified from further consideration. Vendor shall bear the sole risk of late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. It is the Vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure its proposal has been received as described in this RFP by the specified time and date of opening. The time and date of receipt will be marked on each proposal when received. Any proposal or portion thereof received after the proposal deadline will be rejected.

[eVP]

This RFP is using eVP, all proposal responses shall be submitted electronically via the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP).

Additional information can be found at the eVP updates for Vendors link: https://eprocurement.nc.gov/news-events/evp-updates-vendors.

If a Vendor is proposing on Part 2 (POS Only), the eVP submission shall be clearly labeled "Part 2 – POS Only." If a Vendor is proposing on Part 1 (Full ERP/POS Solution), the eVP submission shall be clearly labeled "Part 1 – Full Solution." A Vendor proposing on both parts shall submit two separate, complete proposals, each labeled accordingly.

If confidential and proprietary information is included in the proposal, also submit one (1) signed, REDACTED copy of the proposal. Such information may include trade secrets defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-152 and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §132- 1.2. Vendor may designate information, Products, Services or appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent permitted under the statutes and rules set forth above. By so redacting any page, or portion of a page, the Vendor warrants that it has formed a good faith opinion, having received such necessary or proper review by counsel and other knowledgeable advisors, that the portions determined to be confidential and proprietary and redacted as such, meet the requirements of the Rules and Statutes set forth above. However, under no circumstances shall price information be designated as confidential.

If the Vendor does not provide a redacted version of the proposal with its proposal submission, the Department may release an unredacted version if a record request is received.

Failure to submit a proposal in strict accordance with these instructions shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s proposal(s). Vendors are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to upload proposals.

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Critical updated information may be included in Addenda to this RFP. It is important that all Vendors responding to this RFP periodically check the State’s eVP website for any Addenda that may be issued prior to the bid opening date. All Vendors shall be deemed to have read and understood all information in this RFP and all Addenda thereto.

2.8 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Vendors shall populate all attachments of this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and include an authorized signature where requested. Failure to provide all required items, or Vendor’s submission of incomplete items, may result in the State rejecting Vendor’s proposal, in the State’s sole discretion.

Vendor RFP responses shall include the following items and attachments, which shall be arranged in the following order:

a) Cover Letter, which must contain the following: (i) a statement that confirms that the proposer has read the RFP in its entirety, including all links, and all Addenda released in conjunction with the RFP, (ii) a statement that the Vendor agrees to perform in accordance with the scope of work, requirements, and specifications contained herein; and (iii) Vendor’s agreement to comply with all instructions, terms and conditions, and attachments.

b) Title Page: Include the company name, address, phone number and authorized representative along with the Proposal Number.

c) Completed and signed version of all EXECUTION PAGES, along with the body of the RFP.

d) Signed receipt pages of any addenda released in conjunction with this RFP, if required to be returned.

e) Vendor’s Proposal addressing all Specifications of this RFP. [Indicate relative section references as a guide to responding to sections requiring additional responses outside of the solicitation document. If not required, delete.]

f) Completed version of ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

g) Completed version of ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

h) Completed version of ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

i) Completed version of ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

j) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

k) Completed HECVAT - most recent version available.

l) Completed current VPAT aligned to WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

m) Completed most recent SOC 2 Type II report, PCI Compliance Attestation, Data Processing Agreement, and Certificate of Cyber Liability Insurance.

n) Completed version of ATTACHMENT H: VENDOR SPECIFICATIONS MATRIX

2.9 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

Vendor may submit alternate proposals for comparable Goods, various methods or levels of Service(s), or that propose different options, including a proposal for Part 1 (Full Solution), a proposal for Part 2 (POS Only), or both.

Alternate proposals must specifically identify the RFP requirements and advantage(s) addressed by the alternate proposal. Any alternate proposal, in addition to the marking described above, must be clearly marked with the legend: "Alternate Proposal #RFP55-100226 [for 'name of Vendor']". Each proposal must be for a specific set of Goods and Services and must include specific pricing. If a Vendor chooses to respond with various offerings, each must be offered with a separate price and be contained in a separate proposal document. Each proposal must be complete and independent of other proposals offered.

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2.10 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

Relevant definitions for this RFP are provided in 01 NCAC 05A .0112 and in the Instructions to Vendors found below which are incorporated herein by this reference.

The following definitions, acronyms, and abbreviations are also relevant to this RFP:

Term Definition

Banner The University's Ellucian Banner student information system, which is the system of record for student, course, and enrollment data.

EA Equitable Access – a digital course-materials access model administered through VitalSource in which students receive digital materials as non-inventory items.

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning system – the back-office accounting, purchasing, and inventory management system.

HECVAT Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit, used to assess the data security and privacy practices of a cloud/SaaS vendor.

NSPOS NetSuite Point of Sale, the University's current point of sale application, to be replaced under this

RFP.

POS Point of Sale system.

SCA SuiteCommerce Advanced, the University's current eCommerce platform.

SSO Single Sign-On – authentication of University students, faculty, and staff using University credentials.

UBIT Unrelated Business Income Tax – tax reporting on sales unrelated to the University's exempt purpose.

VitalSource The University's current digital course-materials and Equitable Access partner.

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

North Carolina G.S. 143-52 provides a general list of criteria the State shall use to award contracts, as supplemented by the additional criteria herein. The Goods or Services being procured shall dictate the application and order of criteria; however, all award decisions shall be in the State’s best interest. All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to the Vendor(s) meeting the specific RFP Specifications and achieving the highest and best final evaluation, based on the criteria described below.

While the intent of this RFP is to award a Contract(s) to a single Vendor, the State reserves the right to make separate awards to different Vendors for one or more line items, to not award one or more line items or to cancel this RFP in its entirety without awarding a Contract, if it is considered to be most advantageous to the State to do so.

The State reserves the right to waive any minor informality or technicality in proposals received.

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3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

While this RFP is under evaluation, the responding Vendor, including any subcontractors and suppliers, is prohibited from engaging in conversations intended to influence the outcome of the evaluation. See Paragraph 29 of the Instructions to Vendors entitled COMMUNICATIONS BY VENDORS.

Each Vendor submitting a proposal to this RFP, including its employees, agents, subcontractors, suppliers, subsidiaries and affiliates, is prohibited from having any communications with any person inside or outside the using agency; issuing agency; other government agency office or body (including the procurement lead named above, any department secretary, agency head, members of the General Assembly and Governor’s office); or private entity, if the communication refers to the content of Vendor’s proposal or qualifications, the content of another Vendor’s proposal, another Vendor’s qualifications or ability to perform a resulting contract, and/or the transmittal of any other communication of information that could be reasonably considered to have the effect of directly or indirectly influencing the evaluation of proposals, the award of a contract, or both.

Any Vendor not in compliance with this provision shall be disqualified from evaluation and award. A Vendor’s proposal may be disqualified if its subcontractor and/or supplier engage in any of the foregoing communications during the time that the procurement is active (i.e., the issuance date of the procurement until the date of contract award or cancellation of the procurement). Only those discussions, communications or transmittals of information authorized or initiated by the issuing agency for this RFP or inquiries directed to the procurement lead named in this RFP regarding requirements of the RFP (prior to proposal submission) or the status of the award (after submission) are excepted from this provision.

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

Only responsive submissions will be evaluated.

The State will conduct a One-Step evaluation of Proposals:

Proposals will be received according to the method stated in the Proposal Submittal Section above.

All proposals must be received by the issuing agency not later than the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum. Vendors are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract, and the State reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of the State.

At the date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum, the proposal from each responding Vendor will be opened publicly and all offers (except those that have been previously withdrawn, or voided bids) will be tabulated. The tabulation shall be made public at the time it is created. When negotiations after receipt of bids are authorized pursuant to G.S. 143-49 and 01 NCAC 05B.0503, only the names of offerors and the Goods and Services offered shall be tabulated at the time of opening. If negotiation is anticipated, cost and price shall become available for public inspection at the time of the award. Interested parties are cautioned that these costs and their components are subject to further evaluation for completeness and correctness and therefore may not be an exact indicator of a Vendor’s pricing position.

At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussions with any or all Vendors for clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal. Vendors are cautioned, however, that the evaluators are not required to request presentations or other clarification—and often do not. Therefore, all proposals should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the Vendor.

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Upon completion of the evaluation process, the State will make award(s) based on the evaluation and post the award(s) to the State’s eVP website under the RFP number for this solicitation. Award of a Contract to one Vendor does not mean that the other proposals lacked merit, but that, all factors considered, the selected proposal was deemed most advantageous and represented the best value to the State.

The State reserves the right to negotiate with one or more vendors, or to reject all original offers and negotiate with one or more sources of supply that may be capable of satisfying the requirement, and in either case to require Vendor to submit a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) based on discussions and negotiations with the Stat

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

In addition to the general criteria in G.S. 143-52 which may or may not be relevant to this RFP, all qualified proposals will be evaluated, and award made based on considering the following criteria, to result in an award most advantageous to the State:

BEST VALUE: "Best Value" procurement methods are authorized by N.C.G.S. §§143-135.9 and 143B-1350(h). The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the Vendor's offer; the Vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the specifications stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance. The intent of "Best Value" procurement is to enable Vendors to offer and the Agency to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement.

A ranking method of source selection will be utilized in this procurement using evaluation criteria listed in order of importance in the Evaluation Criteria section below to allow the State to award this RFP to the Vendor(s) providing the Best Value and recognizing that Best Value may result in an award other than the lowest price or highest technically qualified offer. By using this method, the overall ranking may be adjusted up or down when considered with, or traded-off against, other non-price factors.

EVALUATION METHOD: Narrative and by consensus of the evaluating committee, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal and why the recommended awardee(s) provide the best value to the State.

All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and award made based on considering the following criteria listed in descending order of importance, to result in an award most advantageous to the State:

1. Vendor Technical and Functional Fit & Integration Capability:

2. Support Model:

3. Vendor Qualifications, Experience and References:

4. Pricing:

5. Implementation Approach:

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Vendor shall complete ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR. In addition to any other evaluation criteria identified in this RFP, the State may also consider, for purposes of evaluating proposed or actual contract performance outside of the United States, how that performance may affect the following factors to ensure that any award will be in the best interest of the State:

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a) Total cost to the State

b) Level of quality provided by the Vendor

c) Process and performance capability across multiple jurisdictions

d) Protection of the State’s information and intellectual property

e) Availability of pertinent skills

f) Ability to understand the State’s business requirements and internal operational culture

g) Particular risk factors such as the security of the State’s information technology

h) Relations with citizens and employees

i) Contract enforcement jurisdictional issues

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought by the State; and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms of the Contract resulting from this procurement. The use of phrases such as “shall,” “must,” and “requirements” are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. In determining whether proposals should be evaluated or rejected, the State will take into consideration the degree to which Vendors have proposed or failed to propose solutions that will satisfy the State’s needs as described in the RFP. Except as specifically stated in the RFP, no one requirement shall automatically disqualify a Vendor from consideration. However, failure to comply with any single requirement may result in the State exercising its discretion to reject a proposal in its entirety.

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

This Section lists the requirements related to this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the Vendor agrees to meet all stated requirements in this Section as well as any other specifications, requirements, and terms and conditions stated in this RFP. If a Vendor is unclear about a requirement or specification, or believes a change to a requirement would allow for the State to receive a better proposal, the Vendor is urged to submit these items in the form of a question during the question-and-answer period in accordance with the Proposal Questions Section above.

4.1 PRICING

Proposal price shall constitute the total cost to the State for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and specifications herein, including all applicable charges for handling, transportation, administrative and other similar fees. Complete ATTACHMENT A: PRICING FORM and include in Vendor's proposal. The pricing provided in ATTACHMENT A, or resulting from any negotiations, is incorporated herein and shall become part of any resulting Contract.

Vendor's pricing shall separately itemize, at a minimum:

A. one-time implementation, configuration, travel expenses (if applicable) and data-migration fees;

B. recurring software subscription/licensing fees (identifying whether pricing is per-user, per-location, per-terminal, or flat-rate); please separate pricing to indicate subscription/licensing fees for each component: ecommerce, POS, and ERP

C. payment processing / transaction fees, if any, and whether the Vendor requires use of a proprietary payment processor;

D. hardware costs (POS terminals, card readers, tag/label printers) and whether existing University hardware may be reused;

E. training costs (if outside of implementation fees);

F. ongoing annual maintenance fees;

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G. ongoing annual customer support (please include all available support tiers);

H. estimated 3rd party integration fees I. costs of any optional modules discussed in this RFP (e.g., demand planning/automatic replenishment, warehouse management, advanced inventory). Part 1 Vendors shall price the ERP/back-office component separately from the POS/eCommerce component so that the University may evaluate the cost of each element.

INVOICES MAY NOT BE PAID UNTIL AN INSPECTION HAS OCCURRED AND THE GOODS OR SERVICES ACCEPTED.

4.1.1 Import Tariff Temporary Surcharge

Pricing shall be exclusive of any pending tariffs or temporary tariff surcharge. Vendor may request a temporary tariff surcharge in ATTACHMENT A: PRICING SUBMITTAL WORKBOOK as a charge separate from the contract price. Any temporary tariff surcharge(s) associated with purchases shall be provided by way of a percentage tariff surcharge. All tariff surcharges proposed are intended to be temporary and based on current tariff implications specific to related commodities with evidence of submitted documentation of affected MSRP products. Vendor understands that the agency may request additional justification. Any temporary tariff surcharge percentage will be negotiated and mutually agreed upon. The state is not obligated to accept any proposed import tariff surcharge. Proposed tariff surcharges may be used as a factor for evaluation and award.

4.2 TRANSPORTATION AND IDENTIFICATION

The Vendor shall deliver Free-On-Board (FOB) Destination to any requested location within the State of North Carolina with all transportation costs and fees included in the total proposal price. When an order is placed using a purchase order, the purchase order number shall be shown on all packages and shipping manifests to ensure proper identification and payment of invoices. If an order is placed without using a purchase order, such as via phone, the Buyer’s name shall be show on all packages. A complete packing list shall accompany each shipment. Vendors shall not ship any products until they have received an order.

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

As a condition of contract award, the Vendor must certify that it has the financial capacity to perform and to continue to perform its obligations under the Contract; that Vendor has no constructive or actual knowledge of an actual or potential legal proceeding being brought against Vendor that could materially adversely affect performance of this Contract; and that entering into this Contract is not prohibited by any contract, or order by any court of competent jurisdiction.

Each Vendor shall certify it is financially stable by completing ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION. The State is requiring this certification to minimize potential issues from contracting with a Vendor that is financially unstable. From the date of the Certification to the expiration of the Contract, the Vendor shall notify the State within thirty (30) days of any occurrence or condition that materially alters the truth of any statement made in this Certification. The Contract Manager may require annual recertification of the Vendor’s financial stability.

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-48, it is State policy to encourage and promote the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in purchasing Goods and Services. As such, this RFP will serve to identify those Vendors that are minority owned or have a strategic plan to support the State’s Historically Underutilized Business program by meeting or exceeding the goal of 10% utilization of diverse firms as 1st or 2nd tier subcontractors. Vendor shall complete ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION.

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4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

In its Proposal, Vendor shall demonstrate experience with public and/or private sector clients with similar or greater size and complexity to the State. Vendor shall provide information as to the qualifications and experience of all executive, managerial, legal, and professional personnel to be assigned to this project, including resumes citing experience with similar projects and the responsibilities to be assigned to each person.

4.6 REFERENCES

Vendors shall provide at least three (3) references, using ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM, for which your company has supplied the exact model of services offered. The State may contact these users to determine quality level of the offered service model; as well as, but not limited to user satisfaction with Vendor performance. Information obtained may be considered in the evaluation of the proposal.

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

Any personnel or agent of Vendor performing Services under any Contract arising from this RFP may be required to undergo a background check at the expense of the Vendor, if so requested by the State.

4.8 PERSONNEL

Vendor warrants that qualified personnel shall provide Services under this Contract in a professional manner.

“Professional manner” means that the personnel performing the Services will possess the skill and competence consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry. Vendor will serve as the prime contractor under this Contract and shall be responsible for the performance and payment of all subcontractor(s) that may be approved by the State. Names of any third-party Vendors or subcontractors of Vendor may appear for purposes of convenience in Contract documents; and shall not limit Vendor’s obligations hereunder. Vendor will retain executive representation for functional and technical expertise as needed in order to incorporate any work by third party subcontractor(s).

Should the Vendor’s proposal result in an award, the Vendor shall be required to agree that it will not substitute key personnel assigned to the performance of the Contract without prior written approval by the Contract Lead. Vendor shall further agree that it will notify the Contract Lead of any desired substitution, including the name(s) and references of Vendor’s recommended substitute personnel. The State will approve or disapprove the requested substitution in a timely manner. The State may, in its sole discretion, terminate the Services of any person providing Services under this

Contract. Upon such termination, the State may request acceptable substitute personnel or terminate the contract Services provided by such personnel

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

If Vendor’s Proposal results in an award, Vendor agrees that it will not enter any agreement with a third party that may abridge any rights of the State under the Contract. If any Services, deliverables, functions, or responsibilities not specifically described in this solicitation are required for Vendor’s proper performance, provision and delivery of the Service and deliverables under a resulting Contract, or are an inherent part of or necessary sub-task included within such Service, they will be deemed to be implied by and included within the scope of the Contract to the same extent and in the same manner as if specifically described in the Contract. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, Vendor will furnish all of its own necessary management, supervision, labor, facilities, furniture, computer and telecom-munications equipment, software, supplies and materials necessary for the Vendor to provide and deliver the Services and/or other Deliverables.

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4.10 QUESTIONS TO VENDORS

Vendor shall respond to each of the following questions in its Proposal. Vendors are requested to keep responses concise and relevant and should not include generic marketing materials. Responses will be reviewed as part of the evaluation process.

• Describe the POS hardware and platform, including compatible operating systems, and whether the University may continue to use its existing POS hardware (currently Microsoft Surface Pro devices).

• Describe your eCommerce platform, including web presence, ADA/WCAG accessibility compliance, and customizability, and whether it is native to your POS or a separate/bolt-on system.

• Describe how your solution supports a true $0.00 transaction for physical book rentals, including any impact on the checkout/billing workflow.

• Describe how your solution supports promotions, including the number of discounts that can be stacked, BOGO-style promotions, and whether promotions can be applied consistently online and in-store.

• Describe your solution's near-real-time (or better) synchronization between online and in-store inventory, and typical sync latency.

• Describe your solution's integration approach and any pre-built connector with Oracle NetSuite ERP (required for Part 2 proposals).

• Describe your solution's ability to interface with Banner (student/course/enrollment data), VitalSource (digital course materials and rental eligibility), UPS (shipping labels/rates), and campus card/payment systems such as Watchman Payment Systems, Transact, and/or FreedomPay.

• Describe your inventory management functionality, including multi-location inventory, physical inventory counts, and any demand-planning or automatic reorder-point/replenishment capability.

• Describe your reporting capability, including the ability to produce comparable/same-day-prior-year sales reports and UBIT-related tax reporting broken out by product category and buyer affiliation.

• Describe your data security and privacy practices, including whether customer or student data is ever shared with or sold to third parties, and your HECVAT completion status.

• Describe your PCI DSS compliance level and whether your payment approach supports point-to-point encryption (P2PE).

• Describe your standard support model, including hours of operation, whether support is U.S.-based, ticket-priority tiers, and average response/resolution times.

• Describe your typical implementation timeline and methodology for a project of this scope, and your approach to data migration from NetSuite.

• Describe your Single Sign-On (SSO) capability for both the online store and any administrative/back-office application, and the SSO protocols supported (e.g., SAML/Shibboleth).

• If bidding on Part 1, describe your ERP/accounting functionality, including purchasing, accounts payable, general ledger, and your approach (native or partner-based) to integrating with Banner Finance.

4.11 AGENCY INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS MODIFICATION

A. Default Insurance Coverage from the General Terms and Conditions applicable to this Solicitation:

☐ Small Purchases ☒ Contract value in excess of the Small Purchase threshold, but up to $1,000,000.00 ☐ Contract value in excess of $1,000,000.00

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4.12 LOBBYING ACTIVITY CERTIFICATION FOR FEDERAL GRANTS

This Section does not apply to this solicitation, as this procurement is not being funded through federal grants, loans, or cooperative agreements. [To be confirmed by the University's Contracts Office prior to posting.]

4.13 SUBCONTRACTORS

No portion of the work shall be subcontracted without prior written consent of the State. In the event that the Vendor desires to subcontract some part of the work specified herein, the Vendor shall furnish with their bid the names, qualifications, and experience of their proposed subcontractors. The Vendor shall, however, remain solely and fully liable and responsible for the work done by its subcontractor(s) and shall assure compliance with all the requirements and specifications of the contract.

4.14 SECRETARY OF STATE REGISTRATION

Prior to entering into a contract with the State, the awarded Vendor(s) must complete registration with the NC Secretary of State. Upon notification of award, the selected Vendor(s) must furnish evidence of filing within 10 business days. Failure to provide this documentation may result in the disqualification of the Vendor(s) bid from further consideration for the award. No purchase orders shall be issued prior to confirmation of completed registration with the Secretary of State.

A contract award under the above-referenced solicitation, and the resulting purchase orders, will produce repeated orders and transactions in North Carolina and will constitute "transacting business" in the State, which requires a certificate of authority from the North Carolina Secretary of State as provided in G.S. §55-15-01 (corporations) or §57D-7-01 (LLCs). Please go to: https://www.sosnc.gov/ to register.

Vendor registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State: Yes ☐ No ☐

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

SPECIFICATIONS The specific items and any specifications that the Purchasing Agency is seeking are listed below. Items offered by the Vendor must meet or exceed the listed Specifications to be considered for award. Job Specifications and estimates for labor, material and sales tax for the Point Of Sale System and ERP Bolt-On Functionality For The Appalachian State University Campus Store shall be submitted as follows:

5.1 SCOPE OF WORK

The Campus Store's operations include general merchandise retail (apparel, gifts, technology, school supplies) at multiple physical locations (the main Campus Store, and a Hickory, NC location), an online store, and a course-materials (textbook) program that includes new sales, physical book rental, and digital course materials distributed through VitalSource. Student, course, and enrollment data flow nightly from the University's Banner student information system into the current ERP, driving customer records, course schedules, and rental eligibility; any proposed solution must be able to consume this data feed (or an equivalent) to determine rental eligibility and to build course-based course materials.

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The University is issuing this RFP as a two-part solicitation so that the market of point-of-sale, eCommerce, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers can respond in the manner best suited to their product. As described in Section 1.0, Vendors may propose:

• Part 1 – Full Solution: A complete, integrated Point of Sale, eCommerce, and ERP/back-office solution (including accounting, purchasing, and inventory management) that will replace the University's current NetSuite ERP, NSPOS, and SuiteCommerce Advanced platforms in their entirety. A Part 1 proposal must integrate with VitalSource for digital course materials and rental eligibility.

• Part 2 – Point of Sale & eCommerce Only: A Point of Sale and eCommerce solution, which will continue to operate alongside, and must integrate with, the University's existing NetSuite ERP for accounting, purchasing, and inventory of record.

The work to be performed includes solution configuration, data migration from the University's current NetSuite environment, integration development, hardware provisioning (to the extent new hardware is proposed), training, testing, and go-live support, all as further described in Section 5.3.

Vendors may submit a proposal for Part 1, Part 2, or both, in accordance with Section 2.9, ALTERNATE PROPOSALS.

Vendors responding to Part 1 who do not offer a complete ERP module (e.g., a pure retail/eCommerce platform) must clearly describe how their proposed solution, together with any named third-party or bolt-on ERP/accounting partner, will deliver the full scope as described in this section.

This RFP seeks a modern, cloud-based (Software-as-a-Service preferred) platform that reduces manual processes, improves the near-real-time synchronization between online and in-store inventory, supports a true $0 book-rental transaction, supports robust and stackable promotions both online and in-store, and provides a stronger and more responsive vendor support model than the University currently experiences. The University is also interested in vendor capabilities related to demand planning/automatic reorder points, single sign-on (SSO) for students and staff, and modern digital-receipt and reporting tools, as further described in Section 5.2.

5.2 SPECIFICATIONS

The items and specifications below reflect the functionality the University currently uses or has identified as a…