EPROCUREMENT SOLUTION

The State of South Carolina is seeking a comprehensive Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) eProcurement solution to support procurement activities across approximately 76 state agencies, 25 higher education institutions, and numerous political subdivisions. The solicitation, numbered 5400020744, requires a web-based electronic procurement system that supports the full procurement lifecycle, including requisitioning, sourcing, contracting, catalog management, vendor enablement, and robust reporting and analytics capabilities. The solution must integrate with the state's existing SAP-based SCEIS system and other ERP platforms used by higher education institutions, supporting approximately 43,259 ECC users and 3,943 SRM users with an annual transaction volume of 150,000-209,000 purchase orders and 2,200-7,200 contracts. Proposals were originally due on May 14, 2021, with a mandatory pre-proposal conference held on March 10, 2021, and questions accepted through March 16, 2021. The state anticipates awarding the contract on September 30, 2021, with an initial seven-year contract term and potential three-year renewal, not to exceed 15 years total. Evaluation will be conducted in two phases, focusing on technical merit, implementation services capability, offeror qualifications, and pricing, with technical factors significantly outweighing price considerations.

No specific set-asides for minority, women, or veteran-owned businesses were identified in the solicitation documents. The current procurement environment includes on-premise SCEIS, SAP ECC, and SAP SRM systems, with an ongoing S4 Hana migration planned for completion by 2027. The state's current self-funding model for state term contracts generated $5.9 million to $7.0 million annually between FY18-FY20, managed through manual reporting and excel-based tracking. Vendors must propose comprehensive solutions with firm fixed pricing, including implementation costs, ongoing support, and application management services. While a specific total contract value was not explicitly stated, the local spend analysis document revealed total local spending of $100,817,712.42, with significant expenditures across information technology services and goods & services. The state will accept either a Sole Prime Operating Model (single contractor) or a Dual Prime Operating Model (separate System Provider and Systems Integrator contracts), with the expectation that all travel costs, training, testing, and disengagement services will be included in the fixed price.