S000000361 Q&A (REVISED).pdf

Question Nbr Question Subject Question Text Answer

1.00 Proposal Due Date Would the State be willing to extend the proposal due date of 10/3 by 3 weeks to allow vendors more time to put together a thorough response?

No

2.00 Internal users What is the total number of internal users for the State? Approximately 55 total. ABC = 30 enforcement and 5 administration;

ADH = 10; DFA-Field Audit/Excise Tax = 10

3.00 Pricing In order to ensure fair and equal consideration for price scoring, and to ensure the State of Arkansas receives the most competitive pricing bid (that is, an apples-to-apples comparison), will the state provide an estimate on the number of inventory and plant IDs (ie

500,000 IDs/year) for bidders that charge licensees for RFID tags, to truly provide the cost to the market in the Cost Matrix

The current ABC rules does not require licensees to purchase inventory tags from the state's Seed to Sale system. All cost to meet the requirements set forth in the RFP must be included on the Official

Solicitation Price Sheet. Prospective Contractor's pricing to meet the requirements must not include or be dependent upon addtional fees charged to licensees or other third parties.

4.00 Pricing If there are going to be additional fees to the licensees, such as recurring monthly fees, or RFID or Inventory tags required for licensees purchase, can the State please provide the estimated number of licensees as well as an estimated count of unique Plant and Inventory IDs to be generated by the system each year? Will this be part of the cost scoring?

The RFP does not require RFID or Inventory tags be purchased from the

Seed to Sale Vendor. All cost to meet the requirements set forth in the

RFP must be included on the Official Solicitation Price Sheet.

Prospective Contractor's pricing to meet the requirements must not include or be dependent upon addtional fees charged to licensees or other third parties.

5.00 Pricing If there are going to be additional fees to the licensees, such as recurring monthly fees, or RFID or Inventory tags required for licensees purchase, can the State please provide the estimated number of licensees as well as an estimated count of unique Plant and Inventory IDs to be generated by the system each year? Will this be part of the cost scoring?

No fees related to this contract will be paid by the 3rd parties. All cost to meet the requirements set forth in the RFP must be included on the

Official Solicitation Price Sheet. Prospective Contractor's pricing to meet the requirements must not include or be dependent upon addtional fees charged to licensees. .

6.00 Pricing Can the vendor charge fees to 3rd Party Software Integrators? The cost should not be included on the price sheet, please see section

2.13 (D) of the RFP.

7.00 Pricing Are fees charged to 3rd Party Software Integrators part of the cost proposal?

No, See response to question 6

8.00 Pricing Can you add 'Total Cost to Licensees' in the Pricing Sheet in order to provide clarity around all fees, subscriptions, and charges to licensees?

No. The State does not charge Licensees to use the system. All cost to meet the requirements set forth in the RFP must be included on the

Official Solicitation Price Sheet. Prospective Contractor's pricing to meet the requirements must not include or be dependent upon addtional fees charged to licensees.

9.00 Average Submitted Cost On page 19, it says "Prospective Contractors submitting

Responsive Proposals with a proposed cost that falls twenty-five percent (25%) or more from the average submitted cost may be asked to justify their submitted cost." Would the State consider also questioning proposals whose cost falls on the opposite side (the lowest 25%) to discover if there are hidden costs not being described such as costs to licensees in monthly fees or tag fees.

The RFP language contemplates proposals that fall both above and below the average cost.

10.00 Technical Proposal To confirm, our RFP reponse should be no longer then 6 pages with the exception of the forms for the Proposal Signature, Proposed Subcontractors, Recommended Options, and our Equal

Opportunity Policy and Completed Official Solicitation Price Sheet?

Correct. The responses for the Expereince, Solution, and Risk sections are capped at two (2) pages each for a total of no more than six (6) pages.

11.00 Technical Proposal Can you clarify whether the State is strictly seeking a turn-key solution, or if custom proposals that cater specifically to Arkansas’ unique needs would also be welcomed for consideration?

The State will consider turn-key and/or customizable solutions that meet the RFP requirements and meet the minimum qualifications set forth in

Section 2.4 of the RFP.