Huntsville Utilities

Huntsville Utilities

Electric Utilities – Natural Gas – Water

P.O. Box 2048

Huntsville, Alabama 35804

256-535-1200

Invitation ForBid

for a

Bar Code Scanning System

HUIFBNo.18-039

Table of Contents

Section 1.0 Client Overview

1.1Overview of IFB

1.2Primary Objectives

1.3Time and Date for Submitting Bids

Section 2.0General Information

2.1Contact

2.2Bid Information

2.3Additional Information for the Supplier

2.4Cover Letter Description

2.5Executive Summary Description

2.6Supplier Background and Relevant Experience

2.7Subcontractors’ Qualifications

Section 3.0 Scope of Work

Section 4.0 Terms and Conditions

4.1Instructions

4.2Rights

4.3Request for Bid Definitions

4.4Time and Date for Submitting Bids

4.5Response

4.6Ex Parte Communication

4.7Agreement

4.8Discrepancies, Errors and Omissions

4.9Cancellation

4.10General

4.11Documents

4.12Communication

4.13Response Times

4.14Minimum Performance

4.15Guarantee

4.16Taxes

4.17Nondiscrimination

4.18Title VI

4.19Damages

4.20Choice of Law

4.21Statutory Disqualification

4.22Conflict of Interest

4.23"Right to Know Law"

4.24Copyright, Trademark, Service Mark, or Patent Infringement

4.25Ownership of Intellectual Property

4.26Property of Huntsville Utilities

4.27Possession of Weapons

4.28Search

Section 5.0 Indemnification

5.1Indemnity

5.2Governmental Tort Liability

Section 6.0 Insurance Requirements

6.1Employer’s Liability Insurance

6.2Worker’s Compensation Insurance

6.3Commercial General Liability and Business Auto Liability

6.4Notice of Cancellation

6.5Huntsville Utilities Named Additional Insured

Section 7.0 Security Requirements

7.1Security Passes, Parking Permits, Keys, etc.

7.2Security Policies and Procedures

7.3Background Checks and Drug Screenings

7.4Security Clearance

7.5E-Verify Notice

Section 8.0 Identity Theft

Attachment A (Requirements Checklist)

Attachment B (Bidder Qualification Forms)

Attachment C (Sample Contract)

Attachment D (Conflict of Interest Form)

Attachment E (Non-Collusion Affidavit)

Attachment F (E-Verify Affidavit)

Attachment G (Contractor Security Clearance Application)

Attachment H (Pricing Sheet)

Section 1.0 Client Overview

1.1Overview of IFB

Huntsville Utilities (HU), a municipality existing under the laws of the State of Alabama, invites all interested and qualified independent contractors to submit bids for evaluation in response to HU’s Invitation for Bid for a Bar Code Scanning Systemthat meetsHU’s requirements and specifications outlined in this document. Evaluation and award, if any, of the contract will be contingent upon the responses in the submitted bids.

1.2Primary Objectives

HU is seeking bids for a Bar Code Scanning System from qualified contractors with a minimum of five (5) consecutive years of experience providing a Bar Code Scanning Systemto the utility industry.

1.3Time and Date for Submitting Bids

Each Bidder shall respond to this IFB on or before the time and date indicated below. At that time only the names of the Bidders responding to this IFBwill be read aloud. Bids will not be made available for public inspection until after the IFB process is completed and a purchase order has been issued. The Bid shall be delivered in one of two ways: in-person or by mail to the address listed below. No e-mails, phone calls, faxes, or penciled bids will be accepted.

Huntsville UtilitiesHuntsville Utilities

P.O Box 2048Purchasing Department

Huntsville, AL 35804112 Spragins Street, SW

(U.S. Mail)Huntsville, AL 35801

The outside of the sealed box, container, or envelopes containing the bid shall be marked as follows:

Bid: Bar Code Scanning System

HUIFB NO.18-039

ATTN: Jim Lawson

Due on: May8, 2018, at 2:00p.m.

Section 2.0General Information

HU reserves the right to reject any and all bids submitted and to evaluate and accept any bid, which in HU’s sole opinion, offers the most acceptable services to HU.

2.1Contact

All questions concerning this IFB should be directed to:

For Bid Documents:For Technical Specifications:

Jim LawsonKrishna Srikakolapu

Senior BuyerMIS SAP Functional Supervisor

Phone:256-535-1498Phone:256-532-8387

Mobile:256-924-0515Mobile:256-653-6362

E-Mail:-Mail:

Huntsville Utilities specifically requires that no contact concerning this IFB be made with any other HU personnel or others involved in the selection process until the selection process has been completed. Failure to honor this requirement will be viewed negatively in the selection process and may result in the disqualification of the bidder’s bid.

2.2Bid Information

Any and/or all information provided by the contractor, its references, and/or internal documentation will be used in the evaluation of the bid to determine which bid is in the best interest of HU. Bidders may add pages to the bid to describe other features that are not specifically requested in this IFB. The bidder’s response to this bid shall become a binding portion of the contract documents.

Although every attempt will be made to consider each submitted bid on an equal basis,neither HU nor its agent will be responsible for misinterpretations resulting from failure of a respondent to follow the bid format or failure to give proper and specific references when citing reference material. HU reserves the right to disqualify any bid that does not follow the required format. HU also reserves the right to waive irregularities in any and all submitted bids.

All bids become the property of HU and, after selection of a Contractor for the contract, become subject to the Alabama Public Records Act. In the event HU shall award a contract to a Contractor and subsequently determines that said Contractor will be unable to perform the contract, HU reserves the right to terminate the contract and award a separate contract to the next best Contractorwithout being required to re-advertise the IFB.

2.3Additional Information for the Supplier

A copy of HU’s Sample Agreement has been included in this IFB as AttachmentCSample Contract. Please note: This contract will be used as a basis for all contract negotiations.

2.4Cover Letter Description

The cover letter must be printed on the supplier’s company letterhead and signed by an officer authorized to bind the supplier contractually. The person signing the cover letter is assumed to be the supplier’s principal point of contact for IFB response, unless otherwise identified in the cover letter. The letter must also certify the accuracy of all information in the supplier’s bid.

(2 pages)

2.5Executive Summary Description

The executive summary should provide abrief summary of the most important aspects of the bid, including a description of the proposed service(s) and cost. (5 pages)

2.6Supplier Background and Relevant Experience

Supplier’s response should include an organizational write-up, which should provide some background on the organization as a whole and not be longer than five (5) pages. The remainder of this section should concentrate on the supplier’s experience with a Bar Code Scanning System in the electric, water, and gas utility industries.

2.7Subcontractors’ Qualifications

Supplier will provide information on subcontractors to be used for any applicable service work. Information will include qualifications in terms of years in business, experience, number of technicians, and average years of technicians’ experience. (3 pages)

Section 3.0 Scope of Work

HU is seeking bids for a Bar Code Scanning System from qualified contractors.

3.1Project Overview

Huntsville Utilities intends to bid out the bar code and mobile scanning operations enablement and enhancement in SAP Warehouse Management System at the Chase and Triana warehouses in Huntsville, Alabama. The purpose is to automate manual processes for material issues to truck crews, receipts from vendors, inventory transfers, cycle counts and eliminate paper transactions. Delivery of the solution will be in SAP ERP ECC 6.0, support about 10 users and be scalable upward as and when needed.

The intent is to use real time wireless enabled scanners in the warehouses and yards. Design and delivery of wireless setup for warehouses andhardware (hand held scanners and bar code printers) are not included in the scope of this bid. Application of barcode labels to material and bin locations will be handled internally and is not included in the scope of this bid. RFID and QR code technology is not included in this bid, but solution should have the capability for future implementation.

Unit testing prior to implementation will be done by Huntsville Utilities. Vendors will have to specify the support and warranty period post implementation. Ownership of intellectual property following Project implementation will rest with Huntsville Utilities in perpetuity.

3.2Required Qualifications

The responsible bidder must have experience implementing Warehouse Management with scanning, bar code functionality and must demonstrate successful delivery of similar Projects in the past. Experience with Utility companies required.

3.3Requirements/Specifications

The solution must be compatible with Huntsville Utilities SAP IS Utility Implementation which uses SAP ERP ECC 6.0 EHP 7 and runs on the AIX operating system with IBM servers. Details of the high level business requirements follow(please note these requirements are high level and indicative for bid submission purposes only;detailed requirements are expected to be gathered by the winning bidder after award of the contract).

Implement barcode and mobile scanning capability at the Chase and Triana warehouses/yards to streamline current processes.
Unique bar code for each material and bin location in SAP; pallet ID’s not required
Enable bar code and scanning using hand held units for:

Daily pick list by crew type for work orders. Picking should use shortest pick path
Work order issue to Truck crews
Receipts of goods and put away in the warehouse to correct bin
Real time Inventory look up and bin transfers in the warehouse
Cycle counting in the warehouse

Enable serialization of high value items like transformers (approx. 200 sku’s)
Enable dashboard reporting to view pick list load and enable supervisor capability to reassign pick list work flow to operators.
Eliminate manual/paper operations
Capability to print bar codes when needed.
Base line configuration and development should be able to support bar code and scan functionality in the meter shop as a Phase 2 activity.

3.4Project Schedule

The schedule for this project is provided in the following table. Huntsville Utilities reserves the right to adjust this schedule as necessary:

Milestone / Date
Bid opening / 5/8/18
(2:00 p.m. CST)
Proof of Concept of solution by short listed vendors / 5/11/18
Award of contract / 5/16/18
Project kickoff and start blue printing / 5/28/18
Project realization and System Integration Testing / 7/15/18
Issue mitigation and business testing / 8/15/18
Project finalization and go live / 9/28/18

3.5Implementation

Vendor resources will be given access to Huntsville Utilities system to enable delivery of this Project.

3.6Testing

Huntsville Utilities will sign off on the results of business testing prior to go live.

3.7Warranty

Vendor to indicate scope and length of the warranty period for the solution provided.

3.8Product Support

Vendor to specify their support model after expiration of warranty period.

3.9Training

Vendor to provide details of training plan for the Project.

Section 4.0 Terms and Conditions

4.1Instructions

These documents constitute the complete set of specifications, requirements, and bid request instructions. The Bidder is responsible for insuring that all pages and all addenda are received. HU advises all Bidders to closely examine this bid response, and to immediately direct any questions regarding the completeness of this IFB and any addenda to the Purchasing Department.

4.2Rights

HU reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive irregularities therein, and the undersigned hereby agrees that such rejection or waiver shall be without liability on the part of HU for any damage or claim brought by the undersigned because of such action, nor shall the undersigned seek any recourse of any kind against HU because of such action. There is no obligation to request services. All bids submitted to HU become the property of HU upon submission and after the execution of a contract become subject to Alabama’s Public Records law.

4.3Request for Bid Definitions

This section describes the procedures for companies submitting a response to this Invitation for Bid (IFB). The term “Contractor” refers to the responsible bidder to which a contract is awarded.

4.4Time and Date for Submitting Bids

Each Bidder shall respond to this IFB on or before the time and date indicated in Section 1.3 of thisInvitation for Bid.

4.5Response

Each Bidder must acknowledge that it accepts and understands each of the Instructions, Terms, and Conditions of this IFB. If a Bidder is unwilling to accept any one or more of the Instructions, Terms and Conditions, they must clearly identify in their bid the Instructions, Terms, and Conditions to which they take exception and note it on the enclosed exception sheet. In its sole discretion, HU reserves the right on a non-discriminatory basis to: a) consider any Bid(s) which takes exception(s) to any one or more of the Terms and Conditions; or b) reject any Bid(s) which takes exception(s) to any one or more of the Terms and Conditions.

4.6Ex Parte Communication

HU does not permit contact concerning this IFB process with any HU personnel other than as identified in the IFB until the selection process has been completed. All exchanges of information concerning this IFB must be in writing with e-mail as the preferred method of communication. Failure to honor this requirement will be viewed negatively in the selection process and may result in the disqualification of the Bidder. Any questions or requests for clarification will be responded to in writing or by e-mail with a copy of the response being sent to each bidder on record.

4.7Agreement

TheContractor will be required to sign a contract with HU. The entire agreement shall include the Bidder’s response to this bid, the IFB, and an agreement (the “Contract Documents”). If the IFB and the Bidder’s response to this bidare modified in negotiation between HU and the Bidder, then the modified bid shall be included as addenda to the Contractor’s contract with HU. Should any conflict or discrepancy arise between the Instructions, Terms, and Conditions of the IFB and the Instructions, Terms and Conditions of the Agreement, the Instructions, Terms and Conditions of the Agreement shall control. The individual who signs this document must be empowered to sign the Agreement, or if sent by e-mail the name that appears on the bid response must be empowered to sign the Agreement. HU reserves the right to withdraw the IFB or condition the award on additional or different terms proposed to be included in such contract and HU shall not incur any obligation to the Contractor except as provided in the Agreement. To produce the Agreement, HU reserves the right to provide its own draft contract termsor request draft contract terms from the Bidder. Notification of award of the or acceptance of a IFB, in whole or in part, shall not restrict HU’s discretion with regard to the terms of the definitive contract, shall not preclude HU from terminating the bid or withdrawing the bid prior to execution of the Agreement, and shall not limit HU’s right to consider and act on additional information that may come to its attention from any source.

4.8Discrepancies, Errors and Omissions

Any discrepancies, errors, omissions, or ambiguities in this IFB or the requirements/guidelines or addenda (if any) stated herein should be reported to HU. At HU’s option, a written addendum may be issued and the addendum will be incorporated in the IFB and will become part of the Contract Documents. HU will not be responsible for or bound by any oral instructions, clarifications or other communications and no such oral communication may be relied on by any Bidder.

4.9Cancellation

HU reserves the right to cancel the agreement without cost or penalty to HU, if, in HU’s opinion, there is a failure at any time by the Contractor to adequately perform the Agreement, or if there is any attempt to willfully impose upon HU service workmanship which is, in the opinion of HU, of an unacceptable quality or time requirements. Cancellation of the Agreement shall not impair any rights or claim of HU to damages for the breach of any covenants of the Agreement by the Contractor.

4.10General

HU recognizes that the lowest cost Bid does not necessarily indicate the best Bid in terms of capabilities, quality or service. As a result, the selection of a Contractor to which the contract will be awarded will be determined on the basis of which Bid is in the best interest of HU based on the factors described in the Bid Evaluation of this IFB. HU reserves the right to reject any or all Bids, to waive technicalities or informalities and to accept any bid determined to be in the best interest of HU. HU will not be responsible for misinterpretations that are caused by failure of a Bidder to follow the IFB format or to give proper and specific references when citing referenced material. The selection criteria are described in the IFB. HU reserves the right, in its discretion and without incurring any liability to any Bidder, to modify or terminate this IFB at any time prior to the execution of a definitive contract, and to accept or reject any Bid for any reason.

4.11Documents

Each Bid must include the following documents 1) A fully completed Bid, including any HU data sheets or addenda, 2) A signed Exceptions document to Instructions, Terms and Conditions, attached to Bid. Note: 3 (three) bidpackages shall be submitted from each responding Bidder at the due date and time, with one marked Original for permanent record.

4.12Communication

HU reserves the right to communicate with the Bidders, individually or collectively, formally or informally. HU requires that questions and other communications concerning the IFB be submitted to HU only in writing and must be directed to the appropriate person identified in this IFB.

4.13Response Times

Response times will be made as described in the IFB. Failure to respond to as specified and in accordance with the Bid submitted, including promised lead times, will constitute sufficient grounds for cancellation of the contract, and HU shall incur no cost or penalty for cancellation. All Bids must include all applicable transportation, service charges, sales and use taxes, assembly, and all other applicable charges.

4.14Minimum Performance

The services in accordance with this IFB (including optional items selected by HU) shall be fully in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations.

4.15Guarantee

In making a Bid, each Bidder certifies that it is fully aware of the conditions of service and that its offer will meet these requirements of service, and purpose to the satisfaction of HU. Bidder warrants and guarantees to HU all services and products to be provided and that work and products will be of good quality, and in conformance with the Contract Documents. All work not conforming to these standards may be considered defective by HU.

4.16Taxes

All taxes of any nature arising out of or in connection with the work above shall be the responsibility of the Contractor.