SECTION III VENDOR INFORMATION The objective of the Vendor Information section of this RFP is to provide Vendors with information required to respond to the RFP successfully. Interchangeable Designations The terms “Vendor” and “Contractor” are referenced throughout this RFP. Generally, references to the “Vendor” are used in conjunction with the proposing organization and procurement process leading up to the final RFP selection and award. The term “Contractor” denotes the role assumed, post-award, by the winning Vendor. Additionally, the terms “State of Mississippi,” “State” or “ITS” may be used interchangeably throughout this RFP to denote the political entity issuing the RFP and requesting responses from Vendors throughout these specifications. References to a specific agency, institution or other political entity represent the client or customer on whose behalf ITS is issuing the RFP. Vendor’s Responsibility to Examine RFP Vendors must examine all documents, forms, specifications, standard provisions, and instructions. Proposal as Property of State All written proposal material becomes the property of the State of Mississippi. Written Amendment to RFP Any interpretation of an ITS RFP will be made by written amendment only. The State will not be responsible for any other explanation of this RFP. A copy of any amendment will be posted on the ITS website, together with the associated RFP specification. Vendors are required to check the ITS website periodically for RFP amendments before the proposal opening date at: Any and all amendments will be posted no later than noon, seven days prior to the proposal opening date listed on the cover page of this RFP. If you are unable to access the ITS website, you may contact the ITS technology consultant listed on page one of this RFP and request a copy. Oral Communications Not Binding Only transactions which are in writing from ITS may be considered official. No negotiations, decisions, or actions shall be executed by any Vendor as a result of any discussions with any State employee. Vendor’s Responsibility for Delivery Vendors must ensure, through reasonable and sufficient follow-up, proper compliance with, and fulfillment of all schedules and deliverables specified within the body of this RFP. The State will not be responsible for the failure of any delivery medium for submission of information to or from the Vendor, including but not limited to, public and private carriers, U.S. mail, Internet Service Providers, facsimile, or e-mail.
understood and agreed that pursuant to of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, the contract provisions specifying the commodities purchased or the services provided; the price to be paid; and the term of this Agreement shall not be deemed a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial information and shall thus not be redacted. Credit reports must be for the exact organization submitting the proposal in order to be scored. The credit report cannot be combined or consolidated with the information from any other entity. Proposals which do not meet this requirement will receive a score of zero. Provide your fully burdened “Cost per installation” on Section VIII, Cost Information Submission. This includes the following Cost Schedules: Cost Schedule A – Solution Cost Cost Schedule B – Optional Additional Items Use the format established in Section VIII, Cost Information Submission to respond to the Cost Proposal of this RFP. Altering the format may cause the Cost Proposal to be found non-responsive. The Vendor must complete, at a minimum, Schedule A and Schedule B, in Section VIII, Cost Information Submission. All significant elements of the Vendor’s proposal must be itemized. It is the MLC’s intent to maximize its reimbursement from the federal program. Vendor must develop its proposal in a way to maximize the discounts for funding available through the federal E-Rate program. Mandatory - The successful Vendor must assist the MLC in identifying eligible costs and in making application for such discounts. The amount in the Cost Proposal shall be inclusive of all E-Rate monies. MLC reserves the right to retain any funds received and apply those funds to the resulting contract, effectively reducing the contract amount by any reimbursements. Vendor’s Cost must be fully burdened to include all expenses associated with providing its proposed solution in response to this RFP.
Provide information on how library technicians may contact you with additional questions and needs, the contact method, response times, and escalation procedures. The successful Vendor will submit a final training plan and curricula to the MLC for approval. The curricula must include troubleshooting guidelines. Upon approval, the successful Vendor shall implement the plan. Support and Maintenance Included in its solution, the Vendor will provide ongoing support to the participating libraries and MLC for the duration of the Project. Since the cost is to cover the full costs of deploying and supporting the solution, each Vendor must factor a full support package into its price. The components of such a full support package must include those components necessary to assure the performance and quality specifications are met continuously and that the solution is sufficiently supported at all times. The support package must be comprehensive. Examples of supported items should include, but are not limited to: repairs, preventative maintenance, licensing (if applicable) and any other items that are included in the solution. This support will include Help Desk or Support Center service available via toll-free phone service or similar service, and will include staffing, tools and processes to meet the libraries’ support requirements. This also includes a system of dispatching, tracking, priority setting, reporting and escalation which ensure timely and satisfactory response and resolution. Help Desk or Support Center should be available 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, Central Time, Monday-Saturday, excluding holidays. The Vendor will describe its Help Desk offering as well as its ongoing technical support provided for its proposed solution. The Vendor will fully describe the process and plan that will be utilized whenever a break/fix event occurs within the libraries wireless service environment. This will cover the entire process of repairing or replacing any component utilized in the managed wireless solution infrastructure. The infrastructure will be defined as equipment provided by the Vendor. Each Vendor must address, at a minimum, the items above, as well as the requirements of Section VII, Item 8, in fully describing its proposed support program to demonstrate that its approach will provide solid, effective support for the users of the solution. Service and Support Plan The Awarded Vendor will provide a complete Service and Support plan as part of this RFP addressing the SLAs and overall performance metrics as outlined. The Support Plan must be as complete as possible, given the information that has been provided. A revised Support Plan containing refined detail and specifications will be due no later than 60 calendar days after the contract award. The MLC reserves the right to require additional