Solicitation

TO: Prospective Offerors

DATE: June 30, 2022

SUBJECT: RFP-2022-100100-0630-Enterprise Resource Planning Solution and Implementation Services

You are invited to submit proposals to provide an integrated, enterprise resource planning solution and associated implementation services for Henry County Schools. Henry County Schools is a political subdivision of the State of Georgia, by and through the Henry County Board of Education.

Attached are the general conditions, technical specifications, and submittal format.

The written requirements contained in this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall not be changed or superseded except by written notice from Henry County Schools. Failure to comply with the written requirements for this RFP may result in disqualification of the submitted proposal.

To be eligible for consideration, proposals shall be presented in accordance with the instructions of this solicitation and within the timeframe specified. It shall be the responsibility of the offeror to meet all specifications and guidelines set forth herein, in addition to all applicable laws and regulations. Henry County Schools, at its discretion, determines the criteria and process whereby proposals are evaluated and awarded. No damages shall be recoverable by any challenger as a result of these determinations or decisions. Henry County Schools reserves the right to reject any or all proposals; any part or parts of a proposal; waive any technicalities/informalities or irregularities; make modifications or specifications; and award any (or all) of the contract in a manner which is in the best interest of Henry County Schools.

Henry County Schools will leverage an electronic sourcing tool to administer this RFP and all offeror responses must be submitted electronically in accordance with the instructions contained in Section 1.B.2 “Proposal Submission”. Questions and Answers will be managed through the electronic platform as outlined in Section 1.B.2(b) “Submitting Questions”.

Your interest and participation in the Henry County Schools’ solicitation process is appreciated.

Sincerely, Teresa Adams, Purchasing Supervisor

HENRY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

33 N. Zack Hinton Parkway

McDonough, GA 30253

SOLICITATION NO. RFP-2022-100100-0630

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR

Enterprise Resource Planning Solution and Implementation Services

Opening: June 30, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. EST

Closing: September 1, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. EST

This coversheet must be signed and submitted to be considered for award. Required addenda are defined within this document; additional requests may be communicated via Henry County Schools’ website. It is the responsibility of each Offeror to ensure it reviews and submits all applicable addenda with their solicitation. Offerors should not expect to be individually notified.

Company name:

Date:

Mailing Address:

Phone:

City:

Fax:

State: Zip:

SSN or Federal Tax ID:

Email:

Title of Authorized Representative:

Printed Name:

Authorized Signature:

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SECTION I - REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OVERVIEW

A. PURPOSE

Henry County Schools is requesting competitive proposals from qualified and experienced offerors to provide an integrated, enterprise resource planning solution for Henry County Schools.

B. INFORMATION TO OFFERORS

1. RFP TIMETABLE

For general informational purposes, dates below are prospective and may be subject to change.

Any such change will be publically communicated via the Henry County Schools website and shall be made at least 48 hours prior to the event beginnings.

Event Timing Release of RFP 6/30/2022 at 4:00 p.m. EST

Offeror’s Pre-Conference* (Virtual)

7/14/2022 at 4:00 p.m. EST Offerors must register in advance for this Zoom meeting:

https://henry-k12-ga-us.zoom.us/j/92045516180?pwd=MEVQWnZqazlDQ0pHREFJSllxRFMrdz09

*This conference is not mandatory. After registering, a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting will be sent.

Deadline for Questions 7/19/2022 at 12:00 p.m. EST

Responses to Questions Posted 7/26/2022 at 1:00 p.m. EST

RFP Submission Deadline 9/1/2022 at 4:00 p.m. EST

Evaluation Period (Initial) 9/2/2022 – 10/24/2022

Onsite Demonstrations/Kiosks

10/17/2022 – 10/24/2022 (if required)

Invitations to short-listed offerors will be released by 10/5/2022.

Evaluation Period (Final) 10/25/2022 – 11/11/2022

Award Recommendation 11/14/2022

Notice of Award 11/15/2022

Finalize Contract On or about 1/1/2023

2. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

All offerors that desire to respond to this solicitation must register on Bonfire – Henry County Schools’ eSource portal provider. Offerors can access the electronic platform by accessing the direct link for this RFP or by visiting the Henry County Schools Purchasing website as follows:

• HCS portal link: https://henryk12.bonfirehub.com/portal/

• Henry County Schools Solicitations page:

https://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/Page/128846 https://henry-k12-ga-us.zoom.us/j/92045516180?pwd=MEVQWnZqazlDQ0pHREFJSllxRFMrdz09 https://henry-k12-ga-us.zoom.us/j/92045516180?pwd=MEVQWnZqazlDQ0pHREFJSllxRFMrdz09 https://henryk12.bonfirehub.com/portal/ https://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/Page/128846

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Once a potential offeror reaches the Henry County Schools portal hosted by Bonfire, the offeror can register for free by clicking on “Create your free Bonfire account” on the ‘Log In’ tab, or using the ‘Log In’ button in the top right-hand corner of the portal, then clicking on “Create your free Bonfire account”.

Once registered, offerors can use this portal to view open projects and details and create a submission for a specific project. Informational addenda have been included on the Bonfire Registration process and contact details for technical support. Henry County Schools utilizes but is not responsible for the operational capabilities of the Bonfire platform. It is the offeror’s responsibility to contact Bonfire for all support needs. Offerors are encouraged to start submissions in advance of the deadline to gain familiarity with the platform and limit risk of technical complications in the offeror’s submittal.

Potential offerors are encouraged to use commonly accepted software programs to create electronic files.

If Henry County Schools is unable to open an electronic file due to a virus or because the file has become corrupted, the offeror’s response may be considered incomplete and disqualified from further consideration.

Henry County Schools has the capability of viewing documents submitted in the following format:

Microsoft Word or WordPad, Microsoft Excel, portable document format file (PDF), and plain text files with the file extension noted in parentheses (.txt). Unless the RFP specifically requests the use of another type of software or file format than those listed above, please contact the Issuing Party identified below prior to utilizing another type of software and/or file format. In the event Henry County Schools is unable to open an electronic file because Henry County Schools does not have ready access to the software utilized by the offeror, the offeror’s response may be considered incomplete and disqualified from further consideration.

a) RFP SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

The following components constitute a complete proposal submission:

Requested Information Category Required Document Cover Sheet Signed RFP Coversheet

Licensing Affirmative response and evidence of appropriate licensure

Insurance Affirmative response and evidence of appropriate insurance

Financials Requested financial documents as outlined in Section II.D (Mandatory Requirements)

Scored Proposal Mandatory Requirements Questionnaire

Scored Proposal Technically Scored Response – Offeror Narrative Proposal Questionnaire

Scored Proposal Technically Scored Response – Features Questionnaire

Required Addenda A – Signed “Execution of Proposal”

Required Addenda B – Completed “Offeror Information” Form

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Required Addenda C – Offeror Reference and Experience form

Required Addenda D – Signed “Certificate of Non-Collusion”

Required Addenda E– Signed “Certificate of Non-Discrimination”

Required Addenda H– Signed “Addenda Acknowledgement”

Required Addenda I – Signed “Offeror’s Modification Form”

Required Addenda K – Immigration and Security Form (notarized)

Required Addenda P – Pricing Proposal

b) SUBMITTING QUESTIONS

All questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing via the electronic platform’s message feature for “Opportunity Q&A”. No questions other than written will be accepted.

No response other than written will be binding upon Henry County Schools. All offerors must submit questions by the deadline identified in the RFP TIMETABLE above for submitting questions. Offerors are advised that Henry County Schools may or may not respond to late questions.

c) AUTHORIZED PARTY

The table on the coversheet to this RFP shall be completed and signed by the offeror. The coversheet to the submittal must be signed by a company officer who is legally authorized to enter into a contractual relationship in the name of the submitting firm.

d) NOTICE OF GEORGIA OPEN RECORDS ACT

By submitting a proposal, each offeror expressly acknowledges and agrees that Henry County Schools is obligated to timely comply with requests for information pursuant to state and federal laws and regulation, including the Georgia Open Records Act ('"GORA"), O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. Henry County Schools will comply with GORA at its discretion and is not required to notify any offeror prior to compliance. Each offeror also agrees to comply with GORA and to make records subject to GORA, as determined by the Henry County Schools, available for inspection as required by law, unless otherwise exempt under other provisions of the GORA.

Further, if any offeror intends to reserve any record or information as confidential, trade secret, proprietary, or otherwise permissibly exempted under GORA or public record production, the offeror agrees that any such record will be labeled “PROPRIETARY TRADE SECRET” conspicuously on the records

4 | P a g e submitted in the platform; and it shall be the offeror’s sole obligation to notify Henry County Schools of asserting such exemption. A “public copy” of the offer – including any appropriate redaction or modification to preserve the offeror’s asserted confidential, trade secret, and/or proprietary information – shall be mailed to Henry County Schools (33 N. Zack Hinton Parkway; McDonough, GA 30253) and addressed to the attention of the issuing party of this solicitation. Henry County Schools must receive the public copy within three (3) business days following the deadline for quote submission outlined within this RFQ. It shall be Henry County Schools’ intention to supply this “public copy” in response to public records requests including any such request made under GORA.

3. ISSUING PARTY DETAILS

The solicitation lead is Teresa Adams, Purchasing Supervisor for Henry County Schools. Any question which arises must be submitted via the electronic portal prior to the DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS due date outlined above.

4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ADDENDA

Henry County Schools will issue responses to submitted questions, inquiries and any other corrections or amendments it deems necessary in written addenda issued prior to the deadline for proposal submission. Offerors should not rely on any representations, statements or explanations other than those made in this RFP (which shall include any addendum). Where there appears to be a conflict between the RFP and any addendum issued, the last addendum issued will prevail.

Offerors must acknowledge any issued addenda defined within the electronic platform. Proposals which fail to acknowledge the offeror’s receipt of any addendum may result in the rejection of the offer or result in the disqualification of the prospective offeror’s submittal.

Offerors are not to include brochures, flyers, screenshots, or the like in the body of the scored questionnaire(s). Any supporting document(s) may be included at the end of the proposal package to support answers and comments to the questions. A table of contents should be included to reference each document and index it to the corresponding topic and question.

5. LATE SUBMITTAL, LATE MODIFICATIONS AND LATE WITHDRAWALS

Submittals received after the due date and time will not be considered. Modifications received after the due date will not be considered.

6. REJECTION OF PROPOSALS

Henry County Schools may reject any and all proposal(s) and reserves the right to waive any irregularities or informalities in any proposal or in the submittal procedure. Submittals received after time or at any place other than the time and place as stated in the RFP will not be considered.

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7. MINIMUM RFP ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

Proposals shall be valid and may not be withdrawn for a period of 180 days from the deadline for submission of proposals.

8. NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

By submitting a proposal, the offeror represents and warrants that such proposal is genuine and its own work, not a sham, is and was not created or submitted as result of collusion or made in the interest or on behalf of any person not therein named, and that the offeror has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other offeror to put in a sham proposal, or any other person, firm or corporation to refrain from submitting and that the offeror has not in any manner sought by collusion to secure to that offeror any advantage over any other offeror.

9. COST INCURRED BY OFFERORS

All expenses involved with the preparation and submission of the RFP to Henry County Schools or any work performed in connection therewith is the responsibility of the offeror(s).

10. RFP OPENING

Submitted proposals will not be opened or read aloud publicly. All offerors will be notified of solicitation results through the electronic platform.

C. GENERAL PROCUREMENT INSTRUCTIONS

1. Henry County Schools is governed by the Henry County Board of Education and is a recognized governmental entity. The Henry County Schools Purchasing Policy (Board Policy DJE) can be accessed from the Henry County Schools website and is incorporated into this solicitation by reference. By participating in this solicitation, an offeror agrees to be bound by the Henry County Schools Purchasing Policy on any issue or action related to this solicitation or subsequent contract resulting from this solicitation.

2. Henry County Schools must receive all proposals no later than the date and time listed in this RFP. Each proposal must be signed and dated by an official authorized to bind the firm. Late proposals will not be considered for award.

3. Proposals must be submitted in the templates and/or format prescribed in the electronic platform. Proposals will be evaluated according to completeness, content, experience with similar projects, ability of offeror and any hired staff. The advancement of offerors to a finalist round and/or the award of a contract to one offeror does not mean other proposals lacked merit, rather all factors considered, the selected proposal(s) was deemed to be in the best interest of Henry County Schools.

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4. Offerors are cautioned that this is a request for proposals not a request to contract, and Henry County Schools reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers when such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of Henry County Schools.

5. Elaborate proposals in the form of brochures or other presentations beyond that which is necessary to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired and will not be reviewed or considered.

6. Any costs incurred by an offeror in preparing or submitting proposal(s) are the offeror’s sole responsibility; Henry County Schools will not reimburse any offeror for any costs incurred prior to contract award.

7. Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements of the RFP. Failure to include any required information may cause rejection or disqualification of the proposal.

SECTION II – GENERAL CONDITIONS

A. PURPOSE

Henry County Schools is requesting competitive proposals from qualified and experienced offerors to provide an integrated, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for Henry County Schools under this RFP. HCS is planning to replace the current hardware and software system environment that supports various business processes with a new ERP solution, to include:

Finance Functions Human Resource Functions Technical/Other Functions Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Budgeting Cash and Bank Financial Planning & Analysis Financial Reporting Fixed Assets General Ledger Grants Management Inventory Management Invoicing Payroll Procurement/Purchase Orders Project Accounting Purchasing Cards (P-Cards) Receiving Reconciliations Student Activity Reporting Travel and Expense Tax (e.g., W2, 1099 creation)

Certificate tracking Compensation Employee Benefits Employee Contracts Leave/Absence Management Onboarding Organizational Design Performance Management/ Talent Evaluation

Position Control Time and Attendance Recruiting Reporting Substitute Management

Access and Security Business Intelligence Document Management Employee Self-Service (ESS) Manager Self-Service (MSS) Integration Mobility System Administration User Interface Workflow/Business Process Support

The purpose of this contract is to acquire, implement and train the District on a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that allows the District to have an integrated view of all the

7 | P a g e business processes and other sub-processes for the various departments within the District. It is the desire that this contract would enable the retirement of legacy application systems where current capabilities can be replaced and enhanced through the proposed ERP solution.

HCS Background Henry County School (HCS) is a mid-sized suburban district located approximately 30 miles south of Atlanta. Governed by the Henry County Board of Education, HCS is comprised of 50 schools and 9 administrative/operational site locations serving 43,000 students and employing 6,000 employees and contractors. As the largest employer in Henry County, HCS has experienced significant growth over the past decade and has announced plans to build three (3) new schools and a second transportation depot in the next five years. A profile of Henry County Schools has been provided in Addendum L – Henry County Schools Profile.

HCS’ strives to provide a high-quality, world-class education for every student and is committed providing students with exceptional opportunities and access that lead to success in a global society.

The Henry County Board of Education adopted a community-inspired Strategic Action Plan that calls for the district to advance its operational practices, to include the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning solution. It is the desire of the Board that through the acquisition, enterprise business processes (e.g., hiring, time and attendance, financial reporting, etc.) can be simplified and modernized.

HCS Current State HCS current ERP system is the Software Systems Unlimited, Inc (SSUI) platform – often time referred to as the AS400 and referred to as such herein. The AS400 resides on an IBM iseries Power 9 server.

The system is virtualized with PowerVM in a Linux I over I architecture. The IBM I OS object-based kernel considers every file/device as an object which assures stability and security for our enterprise system. The primary host source server is housed in our data center with data backups nightly onto an LTO7 tape. Also, there is a secondary target server housed and managed in a cutting-edge data center in north Atlanta. The servers have an active sync between the data centers to maintain an up to the second replication of the data. This high availability environment utilizes IBM Auxiliary Storage Pools to keep the storage arrays aligned in the event of a catastrophic disaster to our data center.

HCS’ core finance functionality is supported by the AS400 software. Other software systems have been acquired to supplement functionality in finance, human resources, procurement, and document management, such as:

• Content and document management – SoftDocs/eTrieve

• Employee application management – Frontline Technologies Applitrack

• Procurement and contract management – Bonfire

For a complete summary of the current application landscape impacting business operations please refer to Addendum M – Henry County Schools Back-office Application Landscape.

HCS administrative staff are supporting many back-office business functions through the above referenced application systems, which are not integrated. This requires the use of other singular-use application systems, manual processes and the use of printed forms that are manually routed to meet school district objectives and requirements. This scenario creates situations where there

8 | P a g e can be manual data entry errors and processing inefficiencies that require manual intervention by HCS administrative staff. The lack of application integration also limits visibility for transactions being processed by administrative staff.

Henry County School’s (HCS) WAN network is currently a hub and spoke design leveraging aggregate connection points with dedicated 1Gbps per school fiber circuits that connect back to a central core router in the Henry County School data center. Cisco is the manufacturer of existing WAN and LAN network equipment. District wide internet access is provided by two diverse path 10Gbps internet links leveraging BGP routing.

Internally, HCS uses Microsoft Active Directory as our primary directory structure for user accounts.

All staff users are also provided a Google account that is auto provisioned. HCS leverages Microsoft group policies for internal permissions and folder level access. We also use DHCP for internal client IP assignment and Domain Name System (DNS) for internal and external access. HCS leverages Cisco Umbrella as our primary web content filter for staff users. Cisco AMP is currently in use as the endpoint virus and malware protection on endpoint devices.

HCS Desired State The HCS Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project includes, but is not limited to: an integrated, web-based Financial and Human Resource (HR) system with a common database, real-time view of data and transactions, technologies that support ERP solution functionality, strategies designed to optimize ERP services, ability for transactional and aggregated reporting, and ability to integrate with other systems and the HCS data warehouse.

The ERP solution must be a fully integrated, fund accounting system designed to meet the accounting, human resources, and financial needs of a non-profit PK-12 school district.

Finance functions The ERP solution must conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and be Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) compliant. The general ledger account code structure must conform to Georgia Department of Education Chart of Accounts. The solution will be used to maintain asset, liability, equity, revenue and expense accounts and prepare financial statements. The general ledger application must provide financial statements by fund, department and program for each administrative unit and for the entire district. The application should handle all types of governmental funds including general, capital, special revenue, debt service, internal service, enterprise, and agency funds with supporting detail for budget, adjusted budget, expenditures and encumbrances, and provide control total balancing. Cash management capabilities must also be provided.

Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, and Purchasing transactions must automatically post to the general ledger. Standard journal entries must be maintained by the solution and post to the proper accounts. Online interactive data entry and inquiry capabilities must be provided to obtain instant access to detailed accounting information and must be restricted to authorized users only. The solution must also maintain a detailed audit trail for all transactions. The warehouse, fixed asset and employee components of the solution must also automatically updated the general ledger for all accounting transactions. It is required that all modules of the solution interface with the general ledger module.

Finally, it is desired that the ERP solution will support school-based accounting requirements to support management of locally collected funds and funds allocated by the district.

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Enterprise functions The ERP solution should support fund accounting requirements of school nutrition operations and before/after care operations, to include management of individual site financials. It is preferred that the School Nutrition team have a separate module to support chart of account requirements. Invoice functionality is desired in a future system to support these enterprise operations, to include internal service operations provided by Transportation for school field trips and Communication for print shop efforts.

Human Resource functions Human resource and Benefits transactions must automatically post to the general ledger. The solution will be used to maintain all employee records and actions. Online interactive data entry capabilities, restriction for authorized users only and audit trails for transactions must all be provided. The solution should provide benefits, applicant tracking, employee self-service, and other HR maintenance forms. The HR component of the proposed solution must be fully integrated with other components such as Finance, Position Control, and Procurement. The solution will also need customizable fields and/or screens to allow for HCS specific needs around certificate tracking and reporting.

Technical functions HCS expects a target (cloud-based) architecture with Software as a Service (SaaS) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) application to manage annual operating expenses and to partner with a firm that will ensure the proposed ERP environment and applications are secure, current, and optimized.

A single tenant solution that cordons off the software and provides the District the ability to customize the solution is preferred. Additionally, the District prefers a phased implementation approach based on the capacity of HCS personnel and general risk management. At a minimum, the District anticipates a two-phased approach with a Finance phase and an HR phase.

The ERP software will automate back-office processes and manage day-today functions. The main functions will replace all aspects of Financial and Human Resources functionality. But the ERP should have expanded modular designs for future fully integrated capabilities. The ability to generate prebuilt reports and create ad-hoc outputs is critical. In-depth data analytics and visualizations are becoming a norm in our fast-paced school district environment.

The integrated solution should create operational efficiencies for users and yield high quality, accurate data to allow both schools and central office to conduct operations and analysis. Accordingly, a solution with robust reporting capabilities is desired. The integrated solution should reflect best practices in the functional areas of finance, human resources, procurement, and work flow/document management.

B. CONTRACT TERM

1. PARTIES

Contract will be between Henry County Board of Education (HCBOE) and Awardee. See Addendum J for Sample Copy of HCS Vendor Agreement.

2. INITIAL TERM

With the approval of the HCBOE, the successful Offeror will be notified in writing and a contract

10 | P a g e confirming price and other terms shall be signed by the parties.

This is a multi-term contract solicitation that has been deemed to be in the best interest of HCS.

The initial term of the contract(s) is for five (5) base years from the execution date of the contract(s), subject to the HCBOE obligating funding for contract continuation. It is anticipated that services will begin on or about January 1, 2023. The contract price must be held firm for the entire term of the contract.

3. OPTIONAL RENEWAL TERMS

HCS shall have an additional five (5), one (1) year option(s) to renew. These options shall be exercisable at the sole discretion of HCS. Upon mutual agreement, renewal will be accomplished through the issuance of Notice of Award Amendment.

In the event that the contract(s), if any, resulting from the award of this RFP shall terminate or be likely to terminate prior to the making of an award for a new contract for the identified products and/or services, HCS may, with the written consent of the awarded Offeror(s), extend the contract(s) for such period of time as may be necessary to permit HCS’ continued access to the identified products and/or services.

4. TERMINATION

HCS reserves the right to terminate any resulting contract, in whole or in part, without penalty, upon 30 days written notice to the Offeror for just cause, to include but not limited to non-performance of contract terms. Non-performance shall be construed to include but is not limited to failure of the Offeror to deliver equipment or perform services in the time specified or in the manner required. In the event of contract termination by HCS, HCS will be responsible only for those services and deliverables that have been received and accepted. Any contract cancellation notice shall not relieve the Offeror of the obligation to provide services until the effective date of the contract(s) termination.

5. FUNDING OUT CLAUSE

a. No award or contract will be made if funding is not approved by the Henry County Board of Education.

b. It is necessary that fiscal funding‐out provisions be included in all contracts in which the terms are for periods longer than one year. Therefore, the following funding‐out provisions are an integral part of this RFP and must be agreed to by all Offerors. The District may, during the contract period, terminate or discontinue the purchase of goods, services or systems covered in this RFP at the end of the District’s then current fiscal year and upon 30 days prior written notice to the contracted Offeror. Such prior written notice will state:

i. That the lack of appropriated funds is the reason for termination, and

ii. Agreement not to replace the items or services being terminated with items or services with functions similar to those performed by the items or services covered in this RFP from another Offeror in the succeeding funding period.

c. The complete statement “This written notification will thereafter release the District of all

11 | P a g e further obligations in any way related to such goods, services or systems covered herein.”

must be included as part of any agreement with the District. No agreement will be considered that does not include this provision for “funding out”.

6. PAYMENTS AND PRICING

a. Payments for the proposed solution shall be based on defined Implementation deliverables that have been accepted by HCS. No payments shall be made in advance of work performed.

b. The awarded Offeror shall submit to HCS all invoices promptly upon completion and acceptance of a defined deliverables.

c. All invoices must be itemized and should not include any costs other than those identified in the executed HCS purchase order processed under a contract, if any, resulting from this RFP or any subsequent change orders issued.

d. The District will not pay any penalties for late payment of invoices.

e. The District is exempt from State sales tax. All federal and state taxes and fees that can be eliminated in sales to public school systems in the State of Georgia should not be included in the proposed price.

f. Proposed prices shall include all charges to complete the work as specified. All deliveries are Free on Board (FOB) Designation with the District assuming ownership and liability when the project is complete at each specified site. All product warranties shall begin upon delivery to each specified site.

7. PERFORMANCE HOLDBACK

In lieu of a performance bond, HCS will hold back payment of ten percent (10%) of the cost of all Implementation Deliverables within defined phases until sixty (60) calendar days of solution stability which shall occur after full solution implementation/completion for the defined phase. Solution stability is defined as no significant deficiencies in the functional requirements, technical operation, system performance, mandatory response times, or reliability occurring within sixty days of the full solution implementation/completion for the defined phase (e.g., “go-live). Should such an issue occur, the ten percent (10%) holdback shall be withheld until such time as no such issues arise for a period of sixty (60) calendar days.

C. OFFEROR QUALIFICATIONS

1. LICENSING

All offerors for the project must be properly licensed under the laws of the State of Georgia and Henry County, and in good standing before submitting any offer and before commencing any work.

2. INSURANCE

a. The offeror shall be responsible from the beginning of this Proposal for all injury or damage of any kind resulting from the work to persons or property, regardless of who may be the

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Owner of the property. In addition to the liability imposed upon the offeror on account of bodily injury (including death), or property damage suffered through the offeror’s negligence, which, liability is not impaired or otherwise affected hereby, the offeror assumes the obligation to save the Owner harmless and to indemnify and defend the Owner from every claim, liability, expense, or payment arising out of or through injury (including death) to any person or persons or damage to property (regardless of who may be the Owner of the property) of any place in which work is located arising out of or suffered through any act or omission of the offeror or anyone either: (i.) directly or indirectly employed by or; (ii.) under the supervision of any contractor in the prosecution of the work included in this Proposal.

b. The offeror agrees to comply with the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation laws of the State of Georgia. The offeror agrees that, prior to the beginning of any work by the offeror;

the offeror shall furnish to Henry County Schools a Certificate from the insurance company showing issuance of Workmen’s Compensation coverage for the State of Georgia or a Certificate showing proof of the ability to pay compensation directly. Offerors are required to submit proof of a current insurance certificate via Henry County Schools’ electronic sourcing platform under “Requested Information”.

c. The offeror shall obtain and maintain, at their expense, insurances with minimum limits as shown below and shall protect the offeror and Owner for any claims for property damage or bodily injury, including death, which may arise out of operations under this solicitation.

The offeror shall furnish the Owner certificates, policies, and cancellation endorsements as shown below:

d. Offerors General Liability Insurance-taken out in the name of the offeror.

I. Split Limits of Liability-Bodily Injury Liability: Limits of $1,000,000 for each occurrence and $2,000,000 for the aggregate of operations. Property Damage Liability: Limits of $1,000,000 for each occurrence and $2,000,000 for the aggregate of operations. Or if Combined Single Limit Liability-Bodily Injury and Property Damage Combined:

$1,000,000 each occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate.

II. Cancellation Endorsement-These insurance coverages shall not be cancelled until at least 30 days prior written notice has been given to the Owner.

III. Disposition-Certificate from insurance company showing insurance policy must be sent to the Owner prior to commencement of work. Offerors are required to submit proof of a current insurance certificate in the electronic platform under “Requested Information” showing Henry County Schools, 33 North Zack Hinton Parkway, McDonough, GA 30253 as certificate holder.

e. Contractor’s Public and Automobile Liability Insurance:

I. Split Limits of Liability-Bodily Injury Liability-limits of $1,000,000 for each person and $1,000,000 each occurrence. Property Damage-limits of $1,000,000 for each occurrence.

II. Or if combined Single Limit of Liability-Bodily Injury and Property Damage Combined:

$2,000,000 each occurrence.

III. Cancellation Endorsement-These insurance coverages shall not be cancelled until at least thirty (30) prior written notice has been given to the Owner.

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IV. Disposition-Certificate from insurance company showing insurance policy sent to Owner prior to commencement of work. Offerors are required to submit proof of a current insurance certificate via Bonfire under “Required Information” showing Henry County Schools, 33 North Zack Hinton Parkway, McDonough, GA 30253 as certificate holder.

f. Acceptability of Insurance Companies-No insurance company will be acceptable unless written by a company licensed by the State Insurance Commissioner to do business in the State of Georgia at the time the policy is issued. The company must, in addition, be acceptable to the Owner.

3. SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT

By submitting a bid or proposal, each offeror certifies that it is not currently suspended or debarred from submitting bids or proposals on contracts or in suspension or debarment proceedings by any agency of the State of Georgia and the federal government, nor is it an agent of any person or entity that is currently suspended or debarred from submitting bids on contracts or in suspension or debarment proceedings by any agency of the State of Georgia or the federal government.

4. BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

By submitting a bid or proposal, an offeror certifies that it is not currently engaged in a boycott of Israel as defined in O.C.G.A. § 50-5-85. Further each offeror agrees to not engage in any boycott of Israel for the duration of any contract award as a result of this RFP.

5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

By submitting a proposal, the offeror represents and warrants no official or employee of Henry County Schools has, in any manner, an interest, directly or indirectly in the proposal or in the contract which may be made as result of this RFP, or in any expected profits to arise therefrom.

The offeror is required to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest with any Henry County Schools officials or employees at the time of proposal submission. For the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph shall apply also to any real or apparent conflict of interest known or suspected to be held by any member of the Henry County Board of Education.

D. SCOPE OF WORK – MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:

The scope of work associated with this solicitation includes acquisition, implementation and training to adopt a new, integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to support Henry County Schools operations.

Any agreement ensuing from this RFP will entail the following, at a minimum:

1. The offeror has documented success in the provision of the scope of services contained herein for K-12 clients of similar scope and size. HCS has provided a profile outlining key facts of scope in Addendum L – Henry County Schools Profile.

2. The offeror will propose a fully hosted, cloud-based solution.

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3. The offeror will propose an integrated HR and Financial information solution to address HCS requirements; the offeror can bring together independent solutions in its proposal as long as these independent solutions are fully integrated for transactional and reporting purposes.

4. The offeror will demonstrate willingness to configure the program to meet HCS requirements

5. The offeror will ensure the implemented solution meets all Georgia Department of Education and

Professional Standards Commission requirements

6. The offeror and all of its subcontractors (or third-party solutions) must be in good financial standing. HCS has requested the upload of one of the following types of financial information to indicate the ability for continued application implementation and support services throughout the base and option contract periods:

1. A statement from a Certified Public Accountant certifying the firm’s financial stability including information as to current or prior bankruptcy proceedings. OR

2. Copies of audited financial statements from each of the last three years, by an independent certified public accounting firm

7. The offeror must be authorized to transact business in Georgia as a domestic or foreign business entity as required by the Secretary of State Corporation Division

8. The offeror will ensure core functionality will be implemented in 12-18 months, with the full solution highly functional within 24 months

9. The offer will demonstrate a commitment to the development of ongoing user training and comprehensive knowledge transfer of software to HCS support staff

10. The offeror will ensure that updates dictated by the State of Georgia will be integrated into the platform. If changes are made to the tax laws effective for the tax year of implementation, the warranty must specify that the vendor will make these changes at no additional cost.

11. The offeror will ensure the proposed solution maintains HCS ownership of all its data. HCS data should not be made available or accessible to any third party organization or data sources beyond those authorized through the awarded contract. No HCS data, either transactional or example data, should be moved or accessed off-shore (outside continental US).

12. The offeror will work with HCS to review applicable data sets and develop a detailed plan for importing historical data required for core business processes (minimum of three years anticipated)

E. OFFEROR PROPOSAL – TECHNICAL SCORED RESPONSES:

Using the templates provided in the electronic platform, the following information is requested to support selection of a qualified and responsive offeror:

1. OFFEROR NARRATIVE PROPOSAL

All inquiries included in the questionnaire attached in the electronic platform must be completed to support scoring of:

• Offeror’s Background and Capability

• Solution Proposal

• Implementation and Go Live Support

The complete list of questions is available for reference in Addendum N – Technical Scored Reference: Narrative Proposal.

2. OFFEROR RESPONSES TO FEATURES INQUIRY

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All inquiries included in the questionnaire attached in the electronic platform must be completed to support scoring of the proposed solutions capabilities. Offeror responses to the availability of features provided by the solution will be constrained to a pre-defined responses as follows:

• “Yes – Core to Solution or Configurable”. This selection indicates the referenced feature is built into the core solution or is easily configurable by Offeror or HCS using the core solution

• “Yes – Customization/Integration (by Offeror)”. This selection indicates the referenced feature is not in the core solution, but Offeror can customize core solution and/or create an integration to enable the referenced feature

• “Yes – Customization/Integration (by HCS)”. This selection indicates the referenced feature is not in the core solution, but Offeror will support/allow HCS to customize core solution and/or create the integration to enable the referenced feature. Offeror may also provide some customization/integration effort.

• “No – Not an available feature”. This selection indicates the referenced feature is not built into the core solution and cannot be customized to enable the feature.

Offerors will not have the ability to provide narrative to qualify the provided response.

Therefore, offerors are encouraged to select the response that is indicative of the proposed solution. The complete list of features included in the inquiry are available for reference in Addendum O – Technical Scored Reference: Features Inquiry.

F. PRICING PROPOSAL

The Offeror should provide Henry County Schools with a detailed cost proposal that includes (1) software licensing fees (including fees associated with tools or utilities required to run the ERP application), (2) service and maintenance fees, (3) anticipated HCS staff plan requirements, (4) terms of any offered on-going maintenance and support (including applicable service level agreements, disaster recovery, etc.), and (5) a milestone implementation schedule for proposed phases that identifies implementation deliverables. Offerors will be evaluated on their pricing scheme, as well as on their price in comparison to the other proposers. The Offeror’s pricing proposal should be provided using Addendum P – Pricing Proposal.

HCS may utilize best value, lowest total cost, and/or total cost of ownership (TCO) to determine the most competitive price proposal. The pricing proposal may be scored on an overall basis or at the category/sub-category/line level (as applicable) relative to other proposals. The Offeror deemed to have the most competitive pricing proposal overall, as determined by HCS, will receive the maximum weighted score for the criteria. In the alternative that the pricing proposal is scored at the category/sub-category/line-level, HCS may assign the maximum score per category/sub-category/line for the most competitive proposal at that level. Other proposals will receive a percentage of the weighted score based on the percentage differential between the most competitive cost proposal and the specific proposal in question.

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G. ORAL PRESENTATIONS

During the evaluation process, Henry County Schools may at its discretion, request oral presentations from any one, few, or all offeror(s) for the purpose of clarification or amplifying the materials presented; however, offerors are cautioned Henry County Schools is not required to request clarification. Therefore, all proposals should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the offeror.

H. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION AND SCORING

All timely responses will be evaluated in accordance with the following steps:

1. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW

Submittals will be reviewed by the Issuing Party to determine compliance with the following requirements:

• Response was submitted by the deadline defined in the “RFP TIMETABLE”

• Response is complete and contains all required documents defined in the “RFP

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST”

2. EVALUATING QUALIFICATION FACTORS

Offeror proposals which pass the administrative review will be evaluated according to responses provided to statements and questions outlined above in the “SCOPE OF WORK – MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS” and “OFFEROR PROPOSAL – TECHNICAL SCORED RESPONSES” sections and other requested documents. The Evaluation Team will review each offeror’s response in detail. If an offeror fails to meet a mandatory and/or technical scored RFP requirement, Henry County Schools will determine if the deviation is material. A material deviation will be cause for rejection of the response. An immaterial deviation will be processed as if no deviation had occurred. The presence of multiple non-material issues in a solicitation or response does not constitute a material issue unless deemed material by the evaluation team.

Responses to Mandatory Requirements will be scored as pass or fail. Technical Scored Responses will be allocated up to 100 points and will support identification of a short list of Offerors for further consideration per the factors outlined in the table below.

HCS reserves the right to establish the number of firms to be considered in the short list. For identified Offerors, the pricing proposal will be opened/released, and reference checks will be performed for scoring. Reference checks will use the information provided in Addendum C - Offeror's References and Experience. HCS reserves the right to contact other organizations where it is known this current version of the proposed solution/modules are in place or being implemented.

At the discretion of the Evaluation team, Offerors may be invited to provide onsite

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Offerors would be provided a full day to cover the required scripts in these functional areas.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions in preparation for an effective demonstration after the demonstration has been scheduled and scripts provided. There is no separate scoring for the vendor demonstrations; however, the evaluation team reserves the ability to adjust the Features Questionnaire scoring based on these demonstrations. The decision to interview and the number of firms to interview is at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Team. All cost associated with onsite demonstrations and interviews will be the expense of the proposing Offeror.

Refer to the table below for the summary of available points.

Factor Available Points

Phase 1 – Offeror Qualification Mandatory Requirements Pass/Fail

Phase 2 – Short List Identification Offeror Background and Capability 10 Solution Proposal 70 Solution Capabilities 45 Implementation, Go Live, and Support Approach 25

Maximum Points Available 150 Phase 3 – Finalist Identification Pricing, Fee and Term Structure 25 References 25 Offeror Onsite Demonstrations -

Maximum Points Available 50 Total Maximum Points Available 200

I. FINAL SELECTION

Following review of all qualified proposals and selection of a suitable offeror, and preliminary contract negotiations, a recommendation for contract award will be made to the Henry County Board of Education. Any contract award will be made only upon approval by the Board. Following approval, Henry County Schools will complete contract negotiations.

Note: Henry County Schools reserves the right to accept the response which is determined to be in the best interest of Henry County Schools and its employees. Henry County Schools reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals.

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J. ADDENDA

The following is a summary of all required and informational addenda included in this RFP.