Telephony and communications Web viewThe services provided within the cloud are wholly managed by...

Partick Housing AssociationInvitation to Tender

Telephony/Communication Solution

April 2014

Partick Housing Association – Telephony Communication Solution – 2014 Page 1

Contents Page

1. Purpose of this document..........................................................................32. Introduction to Partick................................................................................33. Background and current ICT Environment.................................................34. Current ACD Operations............................................................................55. Requirements.............................................................................................66. Specification...............................................................................................8

Brief...........................................................................................................87. Business Requirements...........................................................................10

Part A: Standard functionality..................................................................10Part B: Innovative solutions.....................................................................20Part C: Delivery and Support...................................................................22

8. Evaluation................................................................................................26Scoring of Tender submissions...............................................................26

9. Instructions to Bidders.............................................................................28General Instructions................................................................................28

10. Form of Tender.......................................................................................2911. Supporting Documentation Checklist......................................................3012. Data Protection.......................................................................................3013. Terms of Appointment............................................................................3214. Timescale...............................................................................................3315. Tender Selection.....................................................................................3316. Terms and Conditions.............................................................................33

Tender Return Label.......................................................................................34Appendix 1 - Invoicing Process......................................................................35Appendix 2 – Scoring matrix...........................................................................36


1. Purpose of this document

This document sets out Partick Housing Association’s (herein the Association) requirements and expectations of Supply Partner / Bidder(s) for the provision of a telephony/communication solution.

This document provides information about the Association and the key criteria for this contract. Importantly, it also contains the specific requirements that bidding Supply Partner / Bidder(s) are to respond to, as well as setting out the Evaluation Criteria and scoring system that the Association will be employing to apply to Supply Partner / Bidder(s) responses.

The tender documents include:

This invitation to tender Certificate of Non Collusion Form of tender

2. Introduction to Partick

Partick Housing Association is a not for profit social housing provider and is a Registered Social Landlord operating in the West End of Glasgow. The Association provides primarily mainstream housing.

Our vision is to be close to the community – working in partnership to deliver high-quality homes and services.

We own and manage over 1750 social rented homes, provide factoring management services to more than 2000 private occupiers, 30 commercial premises in and around Partick. Our new-build homes include mid-market rented and shared equity properties.

3. Background and current ICT Environment

Introduction

The following sections provide a high level overview of the Association’s current Telephone Infrastructure environment with some additional information about the Association’s general infrastructure.

Partick Housing Infrastructure

In 2012 in partnership with Castle Computing Services the Association upgraded and moved its infrastructure to a hosted private cloud. With the exception of the Association’s current phone system all other infrastructure services are located within the cloud. The Association have a 10Mb leased line connection to the data centre via a juniper firewall. The services provided within the cloud are wholly managed by Castle Computing Services. Due to the success of this move to a private cloud service, the Association intend to use cloud technology. The Association’s users have thin client technology on their desks and we would be interested in any proven solutions for softphones options working via a users desktop on Citrix and USB technology from the cloud.


As part of the ICT infrastructure, the Association has 12 Linux IGELS and 34 Windows IGELs. The windows IGELs are made up from 3 x XP (2009) Embedded & 31 x Win7. Any systems and solutions proposed must be compatible with these thin clients.

There is a mixture of UD3-730-LX and UD3-730-ES igels. The VDI solution is delivered using Citrix. The current set up also uses XenApp.

In order to aid communication in the tender process, we request that if you require information on the technology requirements and/or infrastructure set up that all queries/questions should be done through the procurement portal.

Telephone InfrastructureThe telephone system operates across the network infrastructure; this includes the Local Area Network (LAN). Currently PHA has only one site office but consideration should be given to a solution that would work in the event the Association expanded to another site.

Breakout to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is through an ISDN 30 connection that has 10 channels at the head office.

The telephone system in use at the Head Office in Partick is an MITEL and currently uses 50 IP handsets.

At the PHA Office the LAN is based on HP 2620 switches which connect to a CAT5 cabling infrastructure. The network switches support Power-over-Ethernet.

The system uses an auto-attendant system to direct calls to logged in agents within working hours, with all staff also having direct dials and voicemail boxes.

Currently in place is a RedBox recorder for recording calls to and from pre chosen extensions and agent id’s. The Association would like to maintain this function but would look to innovative solutions as to how this would deal with non-recording of customer bank details when taking payments over the phone and adhering to Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council requirements.

At Head Office the LAN is based on HP 2620 switches which connect to a CAT5 cabling infrastructure. The network switches do not support Power-over-Ethernet.

Telephone HandsetsThe Association currently use a range of IP based MITEL handsets. The IP handsets have a variety of features including call forward, speed dial, speaker phone, conference and group pick up. Many of these facilities can be set from the phone as well as from the central control software.

Telephone System FunctionalityThe telephone system provides a variety of features. Under the MITEL licencing PHA currently have the following

Current licences are:Mitel 3300 CX II Controller with 50 enterprise usersMITEL UCA with 50 UsersMitel Teleworker with 5 usersMitel CCM with 10 agentsMitel CCM IQ with 4 ports


4. Current ACD OperationsThe Association operates a contact centre utilising the ACD capabilities of the current system for inbound calls.

Team Location Seats (typical usage)Repairs Team Main Office 3Housing Team Main Office 3Factoring Team Main Office 2General enquiries Main Office 2

The majority of inbound calls are dialed to a single telephone number, and a push button IVR menu enables calls to be forwarded to the relevant team. Teams also have their own team DDIs that bypass the IVR menu and forward calls directly to the relevant ACD hunt group. All inbound calls to the main line receive a standard out of office hours which can be modified for the hours of Wed 9-11 when the office is shut for 2 hours.

Both teams carry out some outbound work, none of which is automated.

Team Groups

The majority of other calls relate to matters concerning tenancies and rent accounts, factoring and repairs. This is staffed from a pool of 15 people. Team members are able to log into the ACD group from any phone as well as from their own desks. Some desks have wireless or wired headsets depending on the users preference.

Various teams also operated group pickup and hunt group functionality from direct dialed calls, and also for the purpose of effecting efficient call transfers from the teams picking up through the ACD.

Direction of Travel

The Association wishes to enable its team members to work more flexibly and from a variety of locations, with the potential for extensive future use of home working and hot desking.

In relation to its existing teams, the Association wishes to consider how agents can be deployed at higher levels of efficiency whilst maintaining quality standards, in particular by making more effective use of:

Contact distribution technology Agent activity and quality reporting Outbound and Inbound contact automation, linked to the Aareon QL Housing

Management System

Bidders are asked to consider how their proposed solution will enable this approach to be taken forward.

The Association is giving consideration to expanding the scope of its contact handling teams to include other channels including e-mail, web chat, texting and social media. Bidders are asked to consider how their proposed solution will support the future introduction of these activities


5. Requirements

This section aims to provide bidders with important background information to the Association and the tender requirements.

Our ethos:

The Association sees itself as innovative and forward thinking and will be looking for similar characteristics in its chosen supplier and solution. As a result, the Association is looking for a suitably experienced Supply Partner / Bidder(s) to supply and install a new and innovative telephone and communication system for the Association and its customers.

The Association wishes to take full advantage of the latest ICT and telephony technologies and be at the forefront of communications technology that will not only improve internal efficiencies, but also have a demonstrable affect on customer relations.

What we are looking for in a solution:

Bidders should take note of the following as a guide to the type of technologies and services the Association seeks.

Cloud based telephony solution:

The Association requires a new telephony solution to be cloud based, whether that solution is provided directly by the bidder or via a third party. Already being an advocate of this technology and service with an existing private cloud solution for most of it’s infrastructure and software, we wish to extend this philosophy to the phone system and for it to be hosted on it’s own cloud solution.

Soft phones:

To reduce space on desks, and to realise the known benefits soft phones can bring, we require bidders to be able to provide such a solution.

A pre-requisite therefore is that in your solution you provide soft phones for all members of staff and that they will work on the existing infrastructure detailed above.

CTi:

It is essential that the bidder demonstrate the ability to recommend and then implement a solution that can integrate with the Association’s current Housing Management System provided by Aareon UK Ltd.

The Association does not wish to undertake any bespoke development with regards to CTI and therefore require you to confirm the approach you would take to ensure the CTi requirements are scoped effectively. The Association is also open to the possibility that as part of the solution, middleware software products may be recommended. It is expected that bidders can demonstrate experience in such integrations and can provide a strong business case as to why their suggested solution is the best possible fit for the Association.


What we are looking for in a supplier:

It is important to the Association that we find a supplier who not only has experience in the above solution provision but also one that like Partick is innovative in their outlook and is willing to work with the Association to develop and deliver a service that will improve our service delivery and help us help our customers.

Partick Housing Association reserves the right to disqualify any bidder who does not or cannot satisfactorily demonstrate they can meet all of the following requirements.

Prerequisites table

Area Requirement Please confirm with a Yes/No answer only.

Supplementary information.

Cloud Confirm you can provide a cloud-based solution.

Soft phones Confirm your solution deploys soft phones.Confirm your solution deploys soft phones which are compatible with the thin client infrastructure detailed above’

CTI (Integration):

Confirm your ability to carry out integration with either Housing Management Systems or similar key operational systems, ensuring maximum improvement in Customer Relationship Management.Confirm your solution to integrate is compatible with the above soft phone and Cloud solutions.

Failure to address any of the above will result in disqualification.


6. Specification

Brief

The staff within your organisation nominated for this work must be of a status appropriate to this type of work, suitably qualified and experienced, with a thorough knowledge of carrying out installation and set up of new telephone system within an occupied office.

It is also important to note that the actual solution and systems chosen will be subject to the Association’s available budget.

Tender Evaluation MethodologyThe requirements of the Association’s telephony system are clearly stated on the following page. Please complete all sections, ensuring you complete bidder response column and stating that you have understood the requirements.

Assessment Criteria

1. Fitness for purpose and the quality of the solution in sections 7, A, B and C. (60% of the overall score)

Criteria Sub-Criteria Weighting

Fitness for purpose including quality

Overall solution, of which:

A) Standard functionality is

and

B) Innovative aspects including the use of cloud, soft phones, integration.

10%

40%

C) Delivery and support 40%

D) Demonstrations 10%

and

2. Pricing: (40% of the overall score)


The tender is therefore split into a number of areas in line with the above evaluation criteria.

Section A: Standard functionality

This details what we expect as standard from a telephone system, including the functionality that is deemed to be the norm in many companies.

Section B: Innovative solutions

This details what we as an association deem important in making a difference. We are keen not just to deploy a standard phone solution, but also to make best use of technology. As previously covered in the pre-requisites, we will focus on:

Cloud Technology Soft phone deployment CTI and integration to our Housing Management System.

Section C: Delivery and Support

This section of the tender looks at the implementation and on-going support.

Section D: Demonstration by Bidders

The Association will invite the top 2 bidders (based on both quality and pricing) to attend a demonstration at the Association’s office between Monday the 30th June and Friday 4th July.

Note: The Association will only invite two bidders if difference in their Quality and Price Score is within 10 %.

Each Bidder will be allocated a day to demonstrate their proposal, with an agenda being confirmed prior to the demonstration.


7. Business Requirements

Part A: Standard functionalityThe association recognizes that a great deal of functionality that can be provided as part of a telephony system comes as standard, and have made

attempts to cover these in the questions below. If you feel there are any additional areas of functionality in the solution you are proposing then please provide these details where relevant.

ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood1. Please provide details of the

actual phone system you are proposing, including all manufacturer, model and software information

2. Please detail how Direct Dialling Inwards (DDI) to all extensions located at any point in the voice network can be achieved with your proposed system.

3. Please detail how it would be possible to restrict certain external lines and groups of external lines so that they are available for only incoming or only outgoing calls with your proposed system.

This should also include details on how it would be possible to quickly reconfigure these arrangements, e.g. if a bank of lines fails using the system you have proposed.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood4. Please detail how standard voice

telephony functionality is provided in your proposed system and what monitoring and reporting facilities there are available.

To help guide on this question the Association is interested in such areas/functions as:

Different ring tones for internal and external calls.

“Ring back when free” for internal calls.

Call waiting allowing user to pick up a second call.

Call divert – all calls, unanswered calls, divert on busy; it shall be possible to cancel diverts at the extension at which they were set or remotely.

Call position in queue Do not disturb. Missed call tracking and call

back.

This list is not exhaustive and is only a guide to to the type of answers we are seeking.

Examples of expected reports may include:

peak time staffing of phones, extended service hours, type of enquires, outbound calls, ‘ First point of Contact’

resolution.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood5. Please detail how your proposed

system will support standard functionality such a rotary hunt groups, ring groups, call pickup groups, manager/secretary working options and divert overrides .

Please provide detail on how these would be managed.

6. Please detail how your proposed system enables dialling functionality to be restricted and how certain restrictions can be applied

As an example, the following are areas we are looking for more information on with regards to restrictions:

Internal calls only. Internal calls and system

directory and short code external numbers only.

Internal and Local calls. Internal and National calls

(01xxx, 02xx and 03xx prefixes).

Internal, National, Mobile and Standard rated calls (01xxx, 02xx, 03xx, 076xx-079xx, 08xx).

All calls. calls to directory enquiry

services and to operator services and other excluded numbers as defined by the organisation.

Again, this list is not exhaustive and any further functionality is welcome.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood7. Please confirm that your

proposed system allows Calls to emergency services (112 and 999) to be made from all handsets, at all times and will provide location information required by the emergency services.

8. Please detail how your proposed system provides music on hold functionality for calls to designated extension numbers and how different music and/or service announcements depending on the extension number dialled can be configured and played.

9. Please detail how your proposed system enables a service announcement on all calls to designated extension numbers which is always played to callers before the call rings.

10. Please detail how your proposed system can distinguish between internal and external calls and how announcements can be configured to play to external callers only.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood11. Please describe how your

proposed system provides supervisor functionality.

As an example, the following are areas we are looking for more information on:

Moves and changes Programming of short codes Programming of hunt groups,

e.g. adding or removing extensions

Call barring Programming of quick (hot)

keys Extension facilities Special arrangements, e.g.

manager/secretary working Voicemail allocation

This list is not exhaustive and any further supervisor functionality is welcome.

12. Please describe how your proposed system provides supervisor functionality for Least cost routing

13. Please confirm that you are able to provide support for your overall solution and supply your Service Level Agreement (SLA)

14. Please provide details on the Voice Call Recording solution you are proposing.

15. Please detail how your proposed system could record internal calls

One example of this could be: extension-to-extension.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood16. Please identify how your solution

delivers speech analytics functionality in relation to voice recordings.

The Association is looking for information on areas such as:

extended silences, keyword scanning, crosstalk scanning

17. Please detail the administration features the proposed solution offers.

As part of your response, please include screenshots.

18. Please describe any archiving facilities for call recordings

19. Please provide information on the file format of call recordings and how they can be used in such a way that they are legally admissible in court

As part of your response, please provide any minimum standard you expect, and/or best practice.

20. Please describe the search facilities for retrieving a recorded call.

21. Please detail how your proposed solution meets the PCI DSS standard and please provide confirmation of the products certification.

22. Please detail how your proposed solution meets compliance with the Data Protection Act.

23. Please can you demonstrate how your call recording solution is able to record calls to staffs work mobiles phones


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood24. Please provide your proposals for

delivering an effective and efficient system for managing voicemail.

We require a voicemail solution that is flexible, effective and user friendly that allows the user to:

Alert the use r/supervisor / administrator voicemail messages that have been left or are not played:

Allows messages to be retrieved from any phone device and location;

Plays announcements to callers25. Please detail the message

recording options available to end-users.

As well as the basics, please also consider whether your proposed system allows for the recording of a temporary announcement without erasing the standard message.

26. Please detail if your proposed system can play announcements to callers without giving the caller the option to leave a message.

27. Please detail the options available for managing and controlling the announcements your proposed system provides.

For example, is it possible of being changed based on time of day or day of week, to provide different messages during working hours, out of hours and at weekends.

28. Please detail how your proposed system can be extended to allow voice mail messages to be automatically passed to Microsoft Exchange where they can be actioned from the user’s Microsoft Outlook client.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood29. Please detail if your proposed

system is capable of scripting voice mail messages,

For example: prompting for a name, then address, then phone number, then message. This ensures that complete messages with all the information required can be recorded.

30. Please detail what functionality is available to automatically call back a person who has left a message.

31. Please detail the solution(s) you are proposing to meet the presence requirements.

32. Please detail the solution you are proposing to meet the Association’s telephone conferencing requirements.Please describe the proposed telephone conference solutions for meeting rooms and the device options.

The Association is looking for the available options that would provide one-to-one meetings using simple “web cam” technology with your proposed solution.

33. Please detail the underlying infrastructure your proposed solution requires and the minimum amount of bandwidth required to run your proposed solution

34. Please detail the proposed Video Conferencing hardware for both one-to-one and meeting room conferences.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood35. The Association requires a

collaborative solution that enables staff to work as part of a contact centre style of working irrespective of their location (be that in an office or at home). Please detail how your proposed solution meets this requirement.

36. Please detail the options for scaling the number of agents and how quickly this could be applied

For example: how would we to cope with unexpected call volumes/ workloads.

37. Please detail if your proposed solution offers the option for outbound call queuing?

38. Please detail how your proposed solution allows the association to manage equality issues.

As examples, but not exhaustively, we would be looking for the system to effectively manage:

Hearing impaired functionality.

Different languages

39. Please detail the options available within your proposed solution for routing calls outside of core office hours.

40. Please detail if your proposed solution offers the ability to route calls based upon the skills of the agents.

41. Please detail the remote administration options / features of the proposed solution.

42. Please detail how your equipment reduces potential Health and Safety risks to staff.


ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood43. Please detail the in-queue

messaging / options your proposed solution provides.

44. Please detail if your proposed solution offers multi-contact type options for handling customer enquires

For example, some guidance here would be, how does it deal with e.g. Skype (Voice, IM & Video), SMS, Web, etc.

45. Please provide details on the automatic call distribution (ACD) functionality of your proposed system.

46. Please provide information of how ACD can be administered in house on an ongoing basis


Part B: Innovative solutionsThe association is looking for a cloud based telephony solution that can utilize soft phones across all staff in its office. We are also looking to integrate this phone system with our housing management system. As a result, we are seeking innovative solutions from suppliers in not only these identified

key areas but also in how overall the solution could improve communications throughout the association.

Note: Bidders should focus on the following areas with an equal importance!

ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood

47.Cloud hosting:

Please provide details on how you will provide the telephony system on a cloud solution.

It is important you provide details on how this would work with the soft phone requirements detailed in this tender and the thin client technology the association is also using.

Please also provide details on hosting contracts, and specifically who will provide the cloud service and how service levels are guaranteed.

Please also provide details on how technical support will be carried out.


48.

Softphones:

Please provide a full breakdown of the available options for softphones and headsets.

By breakdown, we are looking for any variations in versions and/or functionality in both soft phones and headsets. This should include options and your preferred solution.

49.Integration:

Please detail your approach in ensuring your proposed solution will integrate with the associations Housing Management System.

Detail any methodology and/or technologies you would employ.

50. Please detail any third party/middleware products you aim to deploy as part of your solution.

51. Please provide any previous experience you deem relevant in CTI implementations.

Detail any specific experience you have with working in conjunction with either Housing Management System providers in integrating or any other third party software providers that provides a high level of cooperation in developing CTI solutions.

52.P

Please detail any Desktop o/s requirements running on the thin clients.

Information on the thin clients is provided in Section 3.


53. Please detail how your proposed solution can be used for social media scanning and the benefits it would bring to the organisation.

Part C: Delivery and Support

Installation and Project ManagementThe table below details the installation requirements.

ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood54. Please provide your approach

and methodology for managing the project, including an implementation/project plan for the installation.

Note It is recognised that a detailed project plan cannot be constructed at this stage, but suppliers should be able to demonstrate initial planning details.

Please include the resources you will employ to deliver the project.

We also expect a detailed approach to user acceptance testing of the system and software.

55. Please detail your Quality Assurance methodology and how it will be applied to the project.

56. Please detail your Risk Management methodology and how it will be applied to the project.



TrainingThe Association wishes to gain maximum benefit from the new Telephony Solution and therefore views training as a critical aspect of the proposal. The Association would expect all training to be done on site, and documentation to reflect their business processes and for the training strategy to incorporate options for delivery, e.g. e-Learning, train the trainer, etc.

The table below details the training requirements.ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood57. Please detail your approach

to training the Association staff on all the components of the proposed telephony solution.

DocumentationThe table below details the documentation requirements.ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood58. Please detail the level of

documentation you will provide in delivering all the aspects of the telephony solution both during its implementation period and once it has gone live.

Where possible, please also provide examples of the type of documentation you are proposing to provide.

Can you also identify if there are any specific areas you would not provide documentation for.


Support RequirementsThe table below details the support requirements for the requirements.

ID Requirements Detail Further information/guidance Bidder Response Understood59. Please detail the type of

support desk you operate for your existing clients and what you are proposing for the Association including call and problem management

60. Please advise if you proposing to use your own staff to provide technical support

As an example, do you outsource support? Especially if you use a partner for the system/s to be hosted on a private cloud. State clearly if you are partnering with another supplier(s) to deliver the requirements, and please detail the arrangements for delivering support to the Association

61. Please detail the proposed Key Performance Indicators you are proposing for the support desk service.

Should any questions within the invitation to tender seem to require an answer that duplicates a response provided for another question, please still include your answer, ensuring that it fully responds to that specific requirement.


FURTHER INFORMATION The table below details further information required as part of the tender. There will be no scoring against these responses.

ID Requirements Detail Bidder Response62. Please provide an example Contract which you are proposing to

use as a basis for providing the Telephony Solution and on-going support to the Association

63. Please provide CV(s) of the person(s) who will be responsible for designing the new Telephony system, ensuring you highlight their relevant qualifications for Telephony system design, their experience of designing systems within a Citrix environment, and a relevant case history.

64. Please detail anything which is not included in the Telephony Requirements which you consider Partick will need for the solution to function.

65. Please confirm that all your resources have been included to project manage the implementation of the telephony solution.

66. Please detail the level and type of resource the supplier expects the Association to provide to ensure the project can be delivered within the proposed timescales.

67. Confirm all training will take place onsite at the Association offices


8. Evaluation

Scoring of Tender submissions

This scoring is split into two sections:

1) Fitness for purpose and the quality of the solution in sections 7, A, B and C. (60% of the overall score)

and

2) Pricing: (40% of the overall score)

1) Fitness for purpose and the quality of the solution

This is based on the bidder’s responses to the Association’s Requirements: (sections 7, A, B and C) as well as the demonstrations required by those shortlisted and the references sought.

The classification and evaluation scoring of sections 7 a, b and c is described below:

2) Pricing

This sets out the pricing information required by the Association for evaluation and appointment of the successful supply partner(s).

A price score shall be calculated for each tender by reference to the lowest tender, which is given a points score of 100. One point shall be deducted from each of the other tenders for each percentage point above the lowest in accordance with the following formula:

(a/b) x 100


Evaluation Score Marks

Nil response (no answer provided) or Completely fails to meet required standard or does not provide a proposal

0

Proposal falls significantly short of achieving expected standard in a number of identifiable respects

1

Proposal meets the required standard in most material respects, but is lacking or inconsistent in others

2

Proposal meets the required standard in all material respects 3

Proposal exceeds expectations in all respects 4

Proposal delivers a real improvement through innovation. 5

where a = price of lowest Bidderb = price of tender being evaluated

A maximum price ratio score of 40% shall be given to the lowest Supplier Partner / Bidder scoring 100 points. The price ratio score shall then be calculated for each other tender according to the points score they achieve as a proportion of 100.

Supplier Partner / Bidder shall note that tenders considered to be priced very low shall be scrutinised to ensure that this is not as a result of a failure to understand the requirements of the Contract. The Client shall have the right to disregard any tender that it considers to be abnormally low.

Demonstration by Bidders

The Association will invite the top 2 bidders (based on both quality and pricing) to attend a demonstration at the Association’s office (the dates and times to be confirmed).

Note: The Association will only invite two bidders if difference in their Quality and Price Score is within 10 %.

Each Bidder will be allocated a day to demonstrate their proposal. The agenda of the presentation /demonstration is to be confirmed.

As previously highlighted, the overall breakdown of the scoring on the quality can be seen in the table below:

Criteria Sub-Criteria Weighting

Fitness for purpose including quality

Overall solution, of which:

A) Standard functionality is

and

B) Innovative aspects including the use of cloud, soft phones, integration.

10%

40%

C) Delivery and support 40%

D) Demonstrations 10%


9. Instructions to Bidders

General Instructions

Your electronic proposal must be received no later than 12:00 on the 30/5/2014 via the Public Contracts Scotland Portal

Three printed copies of your proposal must also be submitted in the post no later than 17:00 on Monday 2nd June

The Supply Partner / Bidder(s) shall be deemed to have carefully read and examined all the Business Requirements before submitting their tender.

The Supply Partner / Bidder(s) shall complete the cost matrix in Appendix 2.

The Supply Partner / Bidder(s) shall complete the Form of Tender (section 10) in respect of this contract.

The Association will not be liable for any expenses incurred by the Supply Partner / Bidder(s) in the preparation of its Tender.

Failure to comply with these requirements may invalidate your tender.

Any queries/questions should be done through the procurement portal.

A full list of any queries raised by bidders during the tender stage will be created and disseminated to all bidders at the same time (if and when they occur).

You must provide contact details of two references that we may contact


10. Form of Tender

Partick Housing Association Ltd

To:

Lynne DonnellyPartick Housing Association1O Mansfield SquareGlasgowG11 5QP

TENDER FOR: Telephony / Communication Solution I / We the undersigned, having examined the specifications are willing to execute the whole of the work required for the sum of:

Details £Upfront costsOngoing costs / per year

Company Name __________________________________________________________________

Employee Name __________________________________________________________________

Signature __________________________________________________________________

Date __________________________________________________________________

Address of Bidder __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Telephone No. __________________________________________________________________

Email Address: __________________________________________________________________

I / We understand that:

(a) This Tender shall be returned in an envelope with the label provided attached to the front so as to reach this office not later than Friday 30/05/2014 at 12:00 noon.

(b) There may be a further selection stage of this Tender involving a presentation and interview/meeting.(c) The lowest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted by Partick Housing Association Ltd, and no

allowance or payment will be made for making any tender.(d) We have examined and agree to the Tender, have submitted only one bid and agree to the contract

terms.(e) We understand that is our responsibility to ensure that the contract documents have been completed

correctly.


11. Supporting Documentation Checklist

Please ensure that you check carefully and include with your response (uploading to the Public Contracts Scotland portal) the following information.

Please also ensure that each document is named exactly as detailed below.

Required information Name to be given to document when uploaded to portal.

1) Contact details of two references that we may contact Reference information2) Any documents referred to, charts, C.V.s, Certificates,

Accreditations, Programmed WorksAccredications and Certificates

3) Copies of company insurance documents Insurance information4) Copy of the contract to be used Contract

5) Copy of audited accounts for the last 2 years. Accounts6) Detail all costs in the matrix provided in Appendix 2. No need to rename as only

need to complete.7) Estimated staffing resource Resources8) Example service report Service report

Please ensure that you provide 3 printed copies of your tender submission to the Association.

12. Data Protection

The appointed Supply Partner / Bidder will: -

Duly observe their obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 and associated Regulations to ensure full compliance with the law relating to personal information.

In this clause references to Personal Data are to be interpreted as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) and related case law. The Supply Partner shall comply with all relevant provisions of the DPA and do nothing, which causes, or may cause, The Association to be in breach of its obligations under the DPA. In particular, to the extent that the Supply Partner acts as a Data Processor in respect of any Personal Data pursuant to this Agreement, the Supply Partner shall only process such Personal Data as is necessary to enable it to fulfil its obligations under the contract and only in accordance with instructions from the Association. The parties hereby agree that The Association shall be the Data Controller in respect of such Personal Data.

The Supply Partner shall:

Implement technical and organisational measures in place to protect any personal data it is processing on The Association’s behalf against any unauthorised or unlawful processing and against any accidental loss, destruction, damage, alteration or disclosure and undertakes to maintain such measures during the course of this Contract. These measures shall be appropriate


to the harm which might result from any unauthorised or unlawful Processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage to the Personal Data which is to be protected.

Take all reasonable steps to ensure the reliability of its staff having access to any such Personal Data

Monitor and maintain the integrity of all Personal Data in full accordance with the Data Protection Principles.

Obtain prior written consent from the Association in order to transfer the Personal Data to any sub-contractors or affiliates to fulfil their obligations under this Contract. This is subject to the confidentiality issues as set out in this document.

Ensure that all employees of the Supply Partner who reasonably require access to the Personal Data are informed of the strict confidential nature of the Personal Data; and

Ensure that no employees of the Supply Partner publish, disclose, or divulge (whether directly or indirectly) any of the Personal Data to any third party unless directed in writing to do so by The Association

Notify The Association within 5 (five) working days if it receives:Any complaint, enquiry or request from any person whatsoever relating to The Association’s obligations under the DPA.

At its sole cost, promptly to provide The Association with full cooperation and assistance in relation to any complaint, enquiry, or request made to Supply Partner which shall include, but shall not be limited to:a) Providing to The Association full and complete details of the complaint, enquiry or request;b) Complying with a data access request and within the relevant timescales as set out in the Data Protection Legislation and in accordance with The Association’s instructions;c) Providing to the Association any and all Personal Data it is in possession of in relation to tenants/ residents and shall do so within the timescales required by The Association and notified to the Supply Partner; andd) Providing to The Association any and all relevant information requested by the Association.

Upon reasonable notice, allow the Association access to any premises owned or controlled by Supply Partner to enable the Association to inspect and audit its procedures and shall, upon the Association’s request from time to time, prepare a report for the Association in respect of the technical and organisational measures it has in place to protect the Personal Data.

Warrant that it has submitted, pursuant to section 18(1) of the DPA, a notification to the Information Commissioner (as defined by the FOIA) and shall keep that notification correct, complete and up to date.

Not transfer any Personal Data (whether in whole or in part) to any country outside of the European Economic Area unless authorised in writing to do so by the Association and, where the Association authorises such transfer, the Supply Partner shall fully comply with:


a) The obligations of the Data Controller under the Eighth Data Protection Principle set out in Schedule 1 of the DPA by the provision of an adequate and appropriate level of protection in respect of any Personal Data which is transferred in accordance with this and;

b) Any reasonable instructions notified to the Supply Partner by the Association.

Upon the termination of this Memorandum of Agreement for whatever reason, unless notified otherwise by the Association or required by the law, immediately cease any and all processing of the Personal Data on the Association’s behalf , and destroy or provide to the Association with a copy of all such Personal Data on suitable media.

Upon receipt of any request from the Association to do so, promptly amend, transfer, or delete the Personal Data (whether in whole or in part). Upon deletion of the Association’s data, the Supply Partner will not be able to provide any reports or other benefits relating to any deleted data.When required to collect any Personal Data on behalf of the Association, ensure that the Supply Partner provides to the Data Subjects, from whom the Personal Data is collected, with a fair processing notice in a form to be agreed by the Supply Partner.

Comply with all reasonable requests or directions by the Association to enable The Association to verify and / or procure that the Supply Partner is in full compliance with its obligations under this contract.

13. Terms of Appointment

Appointment will be offered to the successful Supply Partner / Bidder on the basis of the scoring highlighted within this document.

The contract duration is 3 years with the option to extend for a further 1 + 1 years (if terms are met).


14. Timescale

Submission of tenders Friday 30th May at 12:00 noon.

Evaluation of tenders Monday 2nd to Friday 20th June

Demonstrations Monday 30th to Friday 4th July

Notification of intention to award Monday 7th to Friday 11th July

Installation to begin Monday 28th to Friday 1st August

Estimated go-live September

This timetable is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances

15. Tender SelectionThe Association reserves the right to exclude a tender from evaluation if it does not conform to the above Tender Response requirements or does not demonstrate sufficient capability to perform the required work.

16. Terms and ConditionsThe Association reserves the right to award a contract for all or any part of the work specified in this invitation to tender, or not to award a contract. The Association also reserves the right to award the contract to more than one supplier.

The successful tenderer will be required to sign and abide by the agreed Contract, and will submit staged invoices at intervals as determined by and reports according to a prescribed format.


Tender Return Label

TENDER – DO NOT OPENTender Title: New Telephone System ToReturn Date: 30/5/2014 at 12 noon Partick Housing AssociationDeadline for Return: 12:00 hours 10 Mansfield Street,

GlasgowG11 5QP

Partick Housing Association contact: Lynne Donnelly

This label MUST be used to submit your tender Date receivedThere must be no other markings anywhere on the envelope whatsoever Time Received

It is Partick policy not to consider LATE tender submissions


Appendix 1 - Invoicing Process

Draft Invoice Report (DIR)The Contractor (Commercial Manager / Accounts) will submit to the Contract Administrator at Partick HA a detailed electronic Draft Invoice Report (DIR) on a 6 monthly basis which will include a statement of services provided in the previous 6 months. Each DIR is to be issued within 14 working days at the latest following the end of each 6 months to which the DIR relates.

The DIR submitted by the Contractor shall include the following information:

Period for which service is provided Net value (Invoice charge) VAT Gross Value SUMM ID (this is the invoice ref. No) Order No (Partick HA internal reference number) Client Approval

The submitted DIR will then be checked and approved by Partick HA’s Contract Administrator or the delegated deputy following completion of the internal approval process The Partick HA approval process will incorporate the following checks:

Partick HA Order Number Contractor Net Value Partick HA approval of order (Yes or No)

Draft Approval

The Contract Administrator will check the DIR within 4 working days following receipt and inform, by email, the Contractor either that the DIR is ‘approved’ or ‘not approved’.

In the event that the DIR contains any errors in the form of overcharges, undercharges, duplicated charges, then these errors will be brought to the attention of the Supplier, who will remove them from the DIR and re-submit a revised DIR.

Following approval by the Contract Administrator of a complete DIR / revised DIR, the DIR will then be signed / dated by both the Contract Administrator and the Contractor.

Copies will then be distributed by the Contract Administrator as follows:

1 Original DIR sent to Partick Housing Association Finance department 2 Copy given to Contractor3 Copy filed


Appendix 2 – Scoring matrix

The scoring matrix is attached as a separate spread sheet in the Public Contracts Scotland procurement portal.


Date post:	12-Feb-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	trinhliem
View:	213 times
Download:	0 times

Telephony and communications Web viewThe services provided within the cloud are wholly managed by...

Documents