REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
FOR
MIMS SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
NFTA RFP NO. 3780
The following items are to be included with the proposal and made part of any agreement entered into pursuant to this RFP.
PLEASE SUBMIT 15 COPIES OF PROPOSAL
Non-Collusive Proposal Certificate
Disclosure of Prior Non-Responsibility Determinations
Contractor Certification Form ST-220
Cover Letter
Description of products/services
Firm, Management and Staff Qualifications
Resumes
References
Itemized Cost Proposal
PROPONENTS MUST REGISTER AND DOWNLOAD THIS RFP FROM THE NFTA WEB SITE, WWW.NFTA.COM, IN ORDER TO BE NOTIFIED OF SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS TO THIS RFP. ONLY REGISTERED SUPPLIERS WILL RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF NEW RFP’S AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.
NIAGARA FRONTIER TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 3780
Proposals will be received by the undersigned until Noon, on FEBRUARY 5, 2008 for:
MIMS SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
in accordance with the attached proposal documents. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or to waive any informality in the proposal. Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope showing Proponent’s name and addressed to:
NIAGARA FRONTIER TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
Department of Procurement - Fifth Floor
Attention: Andrea Herald
181 Ellicott Street
Buffalo, New York 14203
716-855-7356 phone, 716-855-6676 fax
www.nfta.com
MARK ON LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER OF ENVELOPE:
RFP NO: 3780
DUE DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2008
FOR: MIMS SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
NAME OF PROPONENT:
PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED AT 181 ELLICOTT STREET, 5TH FLOOR, PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, BEFORE THE TIME DESIGNATED FOR OPENING IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED.
All correspondence, communications and/or contact with the NFTA in regard to any aspect of this proposal shall be with the Procurement Official designated above or her designated representative. Prospective proponents, or their representatives, shall not make contact with or communicate with any representatives of the NFTA, including employees and consultants, other than the designated Procurement Official, in regard to any aspect of this proposal.
Andrea Herald
Procurement Manager
SCOPE OF WORK AND PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A. The NFTA is seeking a consultant to implement the upgrade (including testing, and associated training) of our Mincom Maintenance Information Management System from version 4.3.1.2 to Ellipse 5.2.3 service pack 7 or Ellipse 6 with the most current service packs available at the time of implementation. NFTA is seeking an experienced consultant to perform this upgrade and to work closely with NFTA's staff to ensure training and understanding of the process. The consultant selected must have experience performing such an upgrade in a Windows / Citrix / IBM AIX environment. The resulting installation, upgrade, and customization must ultimately be performed in such a way that it is fully supported by Mincom.
The NFTA anticipates a project start of March 1, 2008.
B. In addition to the upgrade of the core MIMS 4.3.1.2 software, this project scope will also ensure that all software products ancillary to Ellipse will be updated to the latest versions. These products include, but are not limited, to MicroFocus COBOL Runtime for RS6000 MicroFocus, COBOL Development for RS6000, BEA Tuxedo Transaction Processor for RS6000, AutoSys for RS6000, MIMS Client, LinkOne, Mincom Tools package, and Customized NFTA Scripts. Any RDL's that have been customized for NFTA use must also be modified and tested to work with Ellipse. Interfaces into and out of MIMS must also be reviewed, tested, and modified to ensure that they function properly after the upgrade. The consultant selected will be responsible for outlining the proper combination of Service Packs and patches to all of the Windows 2000, Citrix XP, and IBM RS6000 Model 55A server that will be directly related to our Ellipse installation to ensure interoperability of all the related software pieces. All technical upgrade work will be done by the consultant along with NFTA IT personnel, to facilitate training and knowledge transfer.
C. To address specific functionality needs that NFTA wishes to implement the following Ellipse 6 Bundled Modules (Provide separate price quote if not part of the base package):
1. Work Request/Work Flow Manager
2. Job Dispatch
3. Job Packaging
4. Mincom Ellipse Reporting (MER)
5. Job Estimating
6. Discrepancy Module
7. Document Manager
8. Condition Monitoring
9. New Barcode Solution
10. Fax Software for faxing of Purchase Orders
11. Fluid Inventory tool/software
D. NFTA is looking to implement a tool that will provide the capability to do focused audits and analysis of Ellipse system data related to the following business centers: Financials, Maintenance, and Materials. Please describe in as much detail your proposed tool to do so. (Provide separate price quote)
E. NFTA has, in place, working Production and Test instances of MIMS and related software. A review of this configuration is desired and recommendations should be made as to changes that could enhance the process of moving the project through the TEST, and PROD environments. If the consultant makes configuration recommendations that would require additional purchases, the NFTA should be notified as soon as possible so that purchasing and delivery timing do not hold up the project. All additional purchases must be approved by the NFTA. The consultant will be responsible to ensure that all products are moved successfully into NFTA's production environment. No changes will be made to Production until all of the testing and user acceptance has happened in the Test Environment.
F. Proposals should include a project plan and completion time line that outlines benchmarks and resources that are necessary to achieve the goals outlined.
G. Proposals must include a list of customer references for which similar work has been performed in the past two to three years. Include contact names, numbers and email addresses.
H. Proposals must include documentation outlining the previous experience, training, etc. of personnel who will be involved in this project.
I. CONSULTANT REQUIREMENTS
A. The consultant must have experience with all technical and functional aspects of Ellipse 5.2.3 service pack 7 or Ellipse 6 with the most current service packs.
B. The consultant must be experienced in implementing the upgrade, testing, and associated training of our Mincom Maintenance Information Management System from version 4.3.1.2 to Ellipse 5.2.3 service pack 7 or Ellipse 6 with the most current service packs.
C. The consultant will provide technical expertise for the installation of all software updates and patches for all Ellipse related software including but not limited to IBM, Business Objects, Mincom Output Designer, Background Event Connector (EEC), Background Event Scheduler (BES), Ellipse CICS Processor (ECP), Ellipse Client, LinkOne, Mincom Tools package, and Customized NFTA Scripts.
D. The consultant will be responsible for the conversion of all data from our current MIMS 4.3.1.2 Database, to the database layout required by Ellipse. The consultant must verify that all data has been converted without loss of data or data corruption.
E. The consultant will be responsible for the conversion of all RDL code that has been customized or modified for NFTA's installation to RDL's optimized for MIMS 4.3.1.2.
F. The consultant will be responsible for reviewing, editing, and testing interfaces into and o0ut of Ellipse such as A Check Recon – From the Bank to Accounts Payable; Payroll and Cash Management from Lawson HR Payroll System to MIMS for General Ledger; Projects from MIMS to Lawson HR Payroll System and Lawson Budget uploads to MIMS.
G. The consultant will be responsible for the successful installation of the most recently released versions of the aforementioned software, and their ultimate migration to the production environment.
H. The consultant will be responsible for documenting, raising, and applying all Mincom work orders that are related to this project.
I. This project will not be considered complete until the consultant resolves all work orders with Mincom related to this project.
J. As part of the installation, the NFTA will use Business Objects as replacement for the CorVu software. CorVu Knowledge Library requires migration to the Business Objects software. The NFTA has not created reports utilizing CorVu.
K. As part of this upgrade process, NFTA wants to gain expertise in applying Mincom service releases for future applications. We want to use this time to also develop a methodology and process for future upgrades. The consultant will work with NFTA to develop that methodology.
L. One consultant with specialized expertise should be provided for each functional area. The same functional consultant can be used as a training consultant in that functional area. It is expected that the consultants will remain the same throughout the course of the project. NFTA reserves the right to request that a consultant be replaced, without cause, at any time.
M. Functional consultants will review all NFTA's existing Test Scripts and update them based upon Ellipse 5.2.3 or higher requirements. Where scripts do not exist, the consultant will create test scripts for those areas. Consultant will deliver all tests scripts that are created/edited to NFTA in Microsoft Word or Excel format.
N. Functional consultants will be responsible for working with NFTA staff on testing data validation, and issue resolution.
O. Functional consultants will be responsible for all work order documentation and testing in their respective areas.
P. The consultant will assist in the review of all user profiles.
II. FUNCTIONAL CHANGES/CORRECTIONS/SYSTEM CONFIGURATION REQUIRED
(If functionality does not exist in latest release of Ellipse provide separate price quote for each requirement.)
A. NOTE: A current work order is open with Mincom to correct the closing routine for service purchase orders to prevent overpayment of approved amounts. Implementer will work with Mincom to resolve.
B. Provide the ability to apply credits to a purchase order and restore dollars for these credits to a specific purchase order.
C. Provide the ability to delete unused account numbers in standing journal entries when maintenance is performed each beginning of a new fiscal year. (Standing Journal Entry Maintenance Screen)
D. Provide the ability to back date accounts payable transactions to the prior month. If not possible, then automate the posting of month-end accruals from report DKR260A “Invoice Accrual Report.”
E. Modification to DKR906 Report:
1. Sub system totals should be posted to general ledger transactions rather than each individual transaction. This includes accounts payable checks, asset depreciation, etc.
2. Replace the vendor number with the vendor name on the report.
F. Provide a Workable System A/P report instead of the customized report. Because we use a customized report, we cannot make changes to service PO invoices. If we need to make a correction, the invoice must be deleted, then re-entered.
G. Simplify the accounts payable payment process for paying invoices held for retention.
H. Fix the percentage rounding system error assigned to purchase orders from the Funding File. Purchase orders include 2 decimal places whereas the funding file allows 4 decimals.
I. Provide at least status quo functionality and reporting requirements that have been customized for the NFTA Capital Projects and Funding systems.
J. Fix Lawson Cash Management Interface to provide separate company detail on on-line inquiry screens.
K. We need the ability to import PM forms that have been recreated in Microsoft Word into Ellipse.
L. We need the ability to add information and additional notes on the Schedule Maintenance Form and to retrieve this information.
M. We would like filters to retrieve past PM forms or information by data, PM number, location, date, etc.
N. Provide for credit card payments.
O. We need a standard work flow solution that addresses the following needs:
1. Work request created
2. Work request submitted
3. Work request assigned with drop down screen
4. Work request assigned date and time
5. Work request closed
6. Ability to view all of above
7. Ability to reopen same work order if needed
8. Ability to query to view recurring issues/areas/equipment
P. Review Security setup.
Q. Warranty reminders should identify if the equipment or part identified in the WO is covered under a Manufacturer’s warranty period.
R. Fix the dollar amount verbiage on the face of accounts payable checks. It currently truncates words if the description is too long for the space provided.
S. Fix printing of “Invoice Select for Payment” Report. It currently prints 4 or 5 blank pages before invoice listing appears.
T. Fix the “blocking” of account numbers or expense elements on Service Purchase Orders.
U. We are requesting the ability to view project transactions by expense element without having to run a report. (MSQ660).
V. Fix the check remittance stub invoice description for retention payments. It currently lists several lines with system generated invoice numbers rather than single lines with vendor invoice numbers. Corrected information is required to be manually written.
III. TRAINING
A. The consultant will provide training in a classroom format.
B. Training is required only on changes to the newer version of Ellipse. Only employees whose job tasks are affected by the change will require training.
C. The consultant selected will provide a listing of the screens and or processes that have changed from version MIMS 4.3.1.2, to 5.2.3 or greater and the related jobs that will require training because of those changes.
D. Training materials will be provided in both printed and Microsoft Word Format for NFTA use. Ellipse user manuals will also be provided.
E. Required training needs to be identified as soon as possible to facilitate end user availability, training resources, etc.
F. The consultant shall provide a detailed training plan for each functional area, identifying the subjects to be covered, those who should attend, and the length of time to train on each subject.
G. NFTA has two areas available for training. One area will hold 8 people and the second will hold up to 20 people.
H. All MIS functional and technical staff will receive adequate and appropriate training to support the Ellipse System.
I. Training on all security features of Ellipse is required; this includes user and system security.
IV. FOCUSED TRAINING
A. Discrepancy Reporting.
B. Stockless inventory.
C. Need to understand the return process in MIMS – unable to effectively return items through the current system.