RFP 23NS0710 CAC Equipment Processing Center (EPC)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is seeking proposals through RFP 23NS0710 to provide comprehensive equipment processing services for the California Connect (CAC) program, which delivers communications and assistive technology equipment to Californians with disabilities. The procurement encompasses two primary service areas: Contact Center Operations and Warehouse & Inventory Management. Contact center services include 24/7/365 inbound and outbound call support with multilingual assistance in a minimum of five languages including American Sign Language, technical support, return merchandise authorization processing, and shipment status updates. Warehouse services encompass inventory management of telecommunications and assistive technology devices with barcode-based asset tracking, equipment lifecycle management, shipping and returns processing, and compliance with state property disposition requirements. The contractor must operate a centralized, physical call center facility within California during standard business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PT) and maintain a warehouse distribution center physically located in California with approximately 600 rack spaces. Key staffing requirements include a Program Director with five years of contact center management experience and five years leading state disability programs; a Project Manager with five years of complex project management experience exceeding $1,000,000 in budget and valid PMI PMP certification; a Contact Center Manager with three years of contact center operations and supervisory experience; a Warehouse Manager with three years of direct warehouse operations responsibility; and a Training Manager with five years of training delivery experience in contact center environments. The contractor must establish comprehensive project management, quality assurance, risk management, and communication protocols with monthly status reporting and quarterly meetings required with the CPUC and Primary Program and Contract Administrator. Pre-solicitation feedback is due March 20, 2026, at 10:00 AM PST, and formal proposals are due August 1, 2026. Service Level Agreements include performance metrics for system availability, call handling targets, and escalation procedures, with potential liquidated damages applied monthly for non-compliance.

The procurement documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting response to particular types of organizations, indicating this is an open competition. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the available documentation. The contractor must comply with extensive information security requirements including FIPS 140-3 encryption standards, disaster recovery planning with annual testing, and incident reporting within 24 hours of discovery, and must integrate with the CPUC's existing Electronic Claim and Application Portal (eCAP) for invoicing and the enterprise resource planning platform for warehouse management systems. The contract excludes CRM (Microsoft Dynamics 365) and ERP platform functions, which will be managed under a separate contract, with data ownership remaining with the CPUC. The base contract term is two years with three optional one-year extensions for a maximum five-year term at originally agreed-upon rates. The maximum base contract amount is $9,600,000.00, with optional yearly extensions of up to $5,000,000.00 per year and unanticipated tasks not to exceed $400,000.00, for a total contract cap of $25,000,000.00 including transition-in and transition-out costs. The contractor will invoice monthly in arrears upon completion and acceptance of work, with the state retaining twenty percent of all invoiced amounts until satisfactory completion of all required services, after which retained funds will be released. Payment will be made in accordance with California's Prompt Payment Act, requiring the state to pay properly submitted invoices within forty-five calendar days of receipt.