• Prospecting

• Preparing
• Understanding

CONSULTI •
•
Proposing
Entering Agreement/Contract
NG • Executing the Engagement
PROCESS • Recommending
• Implementing and Reviewing
• Follow on engagement and building relationship
 • Consulting Proposal is a written document
comprising the consultant’s ideas, planning and
methodology proposed for carrying a given
assignment
CONSULTI • Proposals are prepared and submitted in response
to a “Request for Proposal” after a shortlisting
NG process
PROPOSAL • The Consulting Proposal enables the client to assess,
evaluate and select the most suitable one for
carrying out the assignment
• Ensures transparency in the selection process and
avail quality services
 • Introduction/Context
• Background to the situation (based on preliminary conversation with Client)
• Current situation (based on preliminary conversation with client)
• Engagement Appreciation
• SME input
• Scope of Work
• Phases

Components • Terms of Reference

• Goals, Duration of Assignment

of a Proposal • Consultant Approach and Methodology

• Research Method, Route Map, Milestones
• Team Composition
• Proposed timeframe and schedule
• Fees, expenses and payment terms
• Exclusions
• Consultant biography
• References
 • Overview
• About ABC
• Through this Request for Proposal (RFP) ABC is seeking to
establish a contract for Consulting Services to assess the
ABC’s comprehensive software needs and develop the
ABC - ERP specifications necessary to solicit proposals for an
Enterprise Resource Planning solution
Consulting • Background
• ABC currently runs XXXXXX version xx for Accounts
Services Payable, Applicant Tracking, Benefits Enrollment, Budget
Preparation, Fixed Assets, Financials/General Ledger, HR,
RFP Leave Tracking, Payroll, and YYYYYYY version yy for Time
and Attendance
• These functions are also supported in part with a mix of
automatic and manual operations, through SSIS packages,
SharePoint, MS Access, and MS Excel
 ABC is seeking proposals from qualified firms to:

• Assess the ABC’s comprehensive software needs

• Provide a gap analysis report
• Develop an RFP that will result in the best of class
financial and human resource solution over the next 10
Purpose years
• Identify and research potential ERP providers
• Provide a shortlist of the top solutions that would best
meet the needs of ABC

• All services are to be provided in accordance with the terms,

conditions, and specifications contained in this Request for
Proposal (RFP)
 • The lack of integration between the multiple
software applications of ABC results in duplication of
efforts and data across systems, computer tasks and
manual data entry. The current software applications
do not meet the financial reporting or other

Problem operational needs of the organization, including the

ability to keep pace with increased informational and

Statement online processing demands.

• In an effort to reduce cost and work more efficiently,

ABC desires a consultant to assess and analyze the
various software applications being used by ABC and
to help develop an RFP and assist staff in the
selection of a vendor for an ERP system so that cross-
departmental processes and systems are more
closely aligned
 • The RFP and final vendor selection of ERP system should
accomplish the following goals:
• Enhance operational effectiveness by making more
timely, accurate and complete information
• Increase productivity by eliminating redundancy and
unnecessary tasks.
• Improve management and policy decision making by
increasing the ability to analyze data
• Allow for continuous upgrades of technology to support
Terms of current and future core functional needs.
• Utilize and manage technology in a cost-effective manner.
Reference • Increase operational effectiveness via improved system
training.
• Enhance internal communications using information
technology and improved business processes.
• Improve sharing of information between ABC and external
agencies
• Segregate reporting by enterprise – must allow for
separate chart of accounts and reporting needs.
• Track performance and key measurements.
 • The project will include the following:
• Perform a Review of Application use and “Needs
Assessment” and develop a Plan of Action for addressing
the issues identified.
• Examine current business practices and create process
maps.
• Recommend improving future business practices and
Scope of processes.
• Document processes that are statutory requirements
Work versus those that are due to functional abilities and
limitations.
• Conduct the analysis for, and the development of, an RFP
to procure an ERP solution for ABC.
• Assist in the evaluation of ERP proposals.
• Advise ABC throughout the procurement process for the
ERP solution up through execution of a contract.
• Project Coordination and Project Status Reports
 Phase One - Provide Project Coordination and Initiation

• Facilitate Project Kick-Off Meeting

• Prepare timeline schedule for Project in
Scope of conjunction with ABC
Work • Develop Communication Plan for Project
communications
• Confirm meeting protocols, status report format,
timing/schedule, and workspace logistics
• Other related tasks
 Phase Two - Present State and Future Functional Needs Gap
Analysis

• Attend meetings with the ABC Project Team

• Interview ABC employees to understand current
processes
• Document process maps
Scope of • Conduct and prepare needs assessment
• Examine and report on recommended business
Work practices and processes
• Prepare key business requirements based upon the
results of interviews and the review of ABC’s IT
organization, technology platforms, strategic plans
• Prepare Gap Analysis Report – document current and
desired business processes
• Cost estimate for ERP solution and implementation
• Other Related tasks as required in this Phase
 Phase Three - Develop Request for Proposals (RFP) Document

• Develop RFP for ERP Vendor utilizing Gap Analysis Report

and understanding of ABC to meet its software needs
• Develop RFP working with ABC project team
• Work with ABC’s project Team to release RFP

Scope of Phase Four - Identify Qualified Vendors and Analyze Vendor

Responses
Work
• Develop vendor evaluation, Cost and Scoring Criteria with
ABC
• Assist ABC's Project Team with the vendor evaluation
process including onsite vendor demonstrations
• Develop a shortlist of the top Vendors
• Assist in vendor selection, negotiations and/or award
• Other Related tasks as required in this Phase (COTS?)
 • The Consultant is responsible for the assessment of
current software needs, development of an RFP,
assisting in the evaluation or proposals, providing
specific time frames, and status reports, as mutually
agreed to in conjunction with ABC’s Project Manager
• The responsibilities include, but are not limited to
Consultant the following:
• Provide qualified consultants to deliver project.
Responsibilities • Conduct work in an efficient and expedient
fashion.
• Assess, plan, and execute in conjunction with
ABC.
• Review of tasks, responsibilities and expected
deliverables.
• Provide deliverables
 • Identify, schedule and confirm availability of support
staff and management for interviews and meetings.
• Schedule meeting rooms or conference calls as
necessary.
• Provide suitable workspace and/or training room for
contractor personnel to accomplish their tasks.
ABC’s
• Provide cooperative access to knowledgeable staff
Responsibilities that may be required during the examination phase
of the project.
• Obtain and provide information, data, decisions and
approvals.
• ABC will designate a project manager from among
its personnel who will be dedicated to this project
 At minimum vendor response shall include the following for
Corporate Experience
• Describe the Proposer organization’s number of
employees, client base, and location of offices.
• Provide a statement of whether, in the last ten years, the
Proposer has filed (or had filed against it) any bankruptcy
or insolvency proceeding and if so, an explanation
providing relevant details.
General • Overview of Vendor’s past experience, skills, capacity, etc.
in providing the services listed above. Should include the
Requirements number of years the proposer has been providing similar
services.
for Proposals • Have you ever failed to complete work awarded to you? If
so, where and why?
• Consultant shall disclose all contractual relationships with
any ERP Company / provider or implementation firm;
duration of relationship; and scope.
• Vendor shall provide at a minimum, three (3) reference of
similar size to ABC and similar scope of solution.
• ABC reserves the right to contact any and all references to
obtain, without limitation, information regarding the
Vendor’s performance on previous projects.
 At minimum vendor response shall include the following:
• Describe your implementation and project management
methodology and approach to ensure a successful engagement.
• Provide a project organization chart highlighting the key staff
who will be assigned to the project. Provide biographies for the
project manager and other key assigned resources.
• Provide a detailed work plan that identifies major activities,
tasks, deliverables, and resources.
Project Plan • Describe the roles and responsibilities of the ABC staff during the
engagement, and provide an estimated number of ABC
and Work resources, expected role and level of effort during the
engagement.
Strategy • Detailed description of how the Vendor proposes to provide the
scope of services.
• Provide a narrative that illustrates how the Proposer will manage
the Proposer’s portion of the project, ensuring completion of the
scope of services, and accomplishing required objectives.
• Provide a narrative that illustrates the Proposer’s understanding
of ABC's requirements.
• Mitigation plan for any Key Staff that would need to be replaced
on the project for any reason
 • All prospective vendor responses must provide the
total cost of completing all phases of this project.
This cost proposal shall be submitted separately in
the required documents section of this RFP.
• The quoted cost is to be the cost for all resources by
the vendor both anticipated and unanticipated. All
travel, lodging & per diem expenses are to be
Cost incorporated within the total project cost and will
not be paid in addition to the consulting fees, unless
additional travel is specifically directed by the
Project Committee. Work requested outside the
scope of this contract must be approved by the ABC
Project Manager, in writing, prior to
commencement of work. Total cost including travel
are to be included in your proposal. ABC will not
accept any additional costs
 ABC will conduct a multi-stage process for selecting proposals
that are determined to be reasonably susceptible to award
• Stage 1: The RFP evaluation committee shall score all
proposals based upon the evaluation criteria detailed herein
as well as any preferences authorized in ABC identified in this
RFP. Upon completion of the scoring, the committee shall
EVALUATI recommend short-listing the proposals that are reasonably
susceptible of being awarded.

ON • Stage 2 Vendors whose proposals have been identified as

reasonably susceptible to award may be invited to discuss
CRITERIA their proposal with the RFP evaluation committee. The date,
time and location of the meetings will be negotiated.
• The committee may carry out contract negotiations for
the purpose of obtaining best and final offers, terms, and
conduct detailed reference checks on the short-listed
vendors. ABC reserves the right to contact respondents
with requests for clarification.
 • There exists the possibility that an award may be
made on the basis of initial offers if it can be clearly
demonstrated and documented from the existence
of adequate competition or accurate prior cost
experience that acceptance of an initial offer
AWARD without discussion (Stage 2) would result in fair and
reasonable prices.
• Award will be made to the responsible offeror
whose proposal is determined in writing to be the
most advantageous to ABC based upon the
evaluation factors set forth in this RFP
 The Proposals received pursuant to this Request for
Proposals will be evaluated on the following selection
criteria:

• Project Plan and Work Strategy 20 points

Evaluation • Quality of Proposed Solution 30 points
•
Criteria •
Corporate Experience / References 35 points
Cost 15 points
TOTAL 100 POINTS

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting

of representatives from ABC
 • ABC reserves the right to reject any and all proposals at
its sole discretion.
• ABC does not require you to submit a certified check or
other evidence of financial responsibility with your
proposal.
• All proposers will be accorded fair and equal treatment
GENERAL with respect to opportunities to clarify or revoke revision
CONDITIO of proposals. ABC may enter into discussions with any
proposers to clarify and assure a full understanding of
NS proposals.
• ABC will not disclose the contents of the proposals
during any discussions with eligible proposers.
• Proposing firms shall not initiate contact with the RFP
Committee, or any other officials of ABC during the RFP
process other than the RFP Committee’s representative
(the “Representative”) listed below.
 • Please submit an electronic PDF of your
response (on a USB drive) and eight hard
GENERAL copies to the address <below>
CONDITIO • Label the outside of the sealed package as
follows: ERP Consulting Services RFP
NS • Proposals must be received by 12:00 noon
local time on February 24, 2020.
 • You are a consultant wanting to respond to Fintech’s
quest for a suitable cloud services provider (consider
facts of the case and make suitable assumptions). Draft a
suitable proposal and specify the assumptions in the last
section of the report.
RFP GROUP • Fintech has invited all bidders for a pre-bid meeting.
Draft a set of questions that you could ask the Fintech
ASSIGNME team to help understand their problem better and
consequently help you offer a competitive proposal.
NT • Based on your discussion with the Fintech team, you
have mutually agreed on the fact that Amazon,Google
and Microsoft are the 3 most suitable vendors for
procuring the cloud services solution. Draft a basic, bare-
bones RFP seeking bids from these vendors on behalf of
Fintech.
 • Disruptive Technology?
• Gartner’s Generic Hype Cycle
FINTECH • Early Adopter or Laggard?
• Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud IaaS
(Execution v Vision)
 • Similarities across Providers:

• Pay-as-you-go approach supported by a high-

availability promise in their SLA
• Access to consultants who can train or guide
FINTECH Fintech on each provider’s platform
• Better than 99% availability, and a service-level
contract specifying compensatory credits
• Various resources-training, local provider staff,
user forums
• Risks of engaging a large provider by smaller
clients
 • Differences among Providers:

• Customer Support (Amazon)

• Mobile Support (Microsoft)
• Currency Support (Amazon)
FINTECH • Data Warehouse (Amazon & Microsoft)
• IDE Toolkit (Amazon)
• IMDB (Microsoft)
• Price (?)
• Security (?)
• Performance (?)
 Pilot study w.r.t. Use Case?

• Technical Feasibility
FINTECH • Operational Feasibility
• Economic Feasibility
 • https://d0.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/aws_cloud_adop
tion_framework.pdf
• https://cloud.google.com/docs/overview
• https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/net/oth
er-resources/white-papers
REFERENC • L.Leong, G. Petri, B.Gill, M.Dorosh, Magic Quadrant For
Cloud Infrastructure as a Service Worldwide,
ES Gartner(2016)
• Andrew McAfee, What every CEO needs to know about
the cloud, HBR, Nov 2011, Vol 89, Issue 11 (2011)
• CA Technologies: Bringing the Cloud to Earth? HBS
611047 (2011)
• SAP 2014: Reaching for the Cloud HBS 614052 (2014)
• Amazon in 2015 HBS 514025 (2015)