PUR 1510/01
Request for Proposal
------
Provision of an Enterprise Spreadsheet
Management Software Tool
------
1
1.INTRODUCTION
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the "EBRD") is an international financial institution. The EBRD was established by treaty in 1991 to foster the transition towards open market oriented economies and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Commonwealth of Independent States that are committed to and applying the principles of multiparty democracy, pluralism and market economics.The EBRD has 67 shareholders (65 countries plus the European Union and the European Investment Bank). Further information about the EBRD's roles and activities can be found on the EBRD's website:
1.1Definitions
- The terms ‘EBRD’ and ‘The Bank’ shall mean the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
- The term ‘RFP’ shall mean Request for Proposal.
- The term ‘Supplier(s)’ shall mean a party that submits a proposal in accordance with this RFP.
- The term ‘Proposal’ shall mean a combination of the documents defined in sections 4.4 and 4.5 of this RFP. Specifically the Technical Proposal and the completed Quotation File.
2.PROJECT BACKGROUND
2.1Objective
The objective is to procure and implement atool (the “Tool”) that will assist the business to identify critical spreadsheets and periodically evaluate the adequacy of controls over thosespreadsheets, in particular concerning the accuracy of the information contained therein. In outline, the selected Supplier will be required to:
- supply a solution to the Bank optimised to the Bank’s requirements;
- provide expertise around how that solution may scale in support of future phase requirements in this area;
- provide training to Bank staff in the configuration and operation of the solution;
- provide on-going support for the solution.
The detailed definition of such software, the nature of the strategic architecture and the scope of the training and support requirements are explained in the following sections.
2.2Background
It is important for the Bank to mitigate operational risk around End User Computing (“EUC”) primarily but not limited to spreadsheets, to be able to demonstrate rigour around critical spreadsheets, financial reporting related spreadsheets (SOX perspective) and to make review of spreadsheets a more efficient task by analysing results rather than spending time manually searching for errors.
The Tool should be able to:
- identify an inventory of critical spreadsheets (based on defined criteria centrally administered);
- help evaluate the use and complexity of the spreadsheets, identifying those requiring additional monitoring;
- support additional monitoring / ongoing management of those critical spreadsheets (for example change control, version control, input control);
- allow other spreadsheets (either non critical or one-offs) to be checked for compliance to Bank policies andidentify defined errors without necessarily being within the management frame of the tool.
- provide reporting on changes to the critical spreadsheets and record comments between reviewer and updater.
- provide organisation-wide reporting.
The initial phase for implementation will be a “pilot” within a banking unit of EBRDwhich deals with a discrete set of 200 spreadsheets that have been identified as being critical. The Tool will then be rolled out across all departments within The Bank starting with key business areas over a period, expected to be up to one year.
3.EBRD CONTACT DETAILS
The Suppliers’ sole contact for the purposes of the RFP is:
Siobhan Hay
Corporate Procurement Unit
EBRD
One Exchange Square
London
EC2A 2JN
Telephone: 020 7338 7661
Email:
4.DESCRIPTION OF THISRFP
4.1Overview
Suppliers wishing to participate in this process will be required to make the following submissions in accordance with the timetable outlined in section 4.2:
- a technical proposal (the ‘Technical Proposal’) consisting of the Minimum Requirements Checklist (the “Checklist”), a technical response (the “Technical Response”) and the additional Information (the “Additional Information”) defined in Annex C – 1.1;
- a completed quotation file (the ‘Quotation File’).
4.2Timetable
10th April 2017 / RFP issued to suppliers19th April 2017 by 12:00 Midday / Deadline for requests for clarification
24th April 2017 / EBRD response to requests for clarification
5thMay 2017by 12:00 Midday / Deadline to submit proposals
w/c 15th May 2017 / Invitation for Demonstration/Presentationsent tosuppliers
w/c 22thMay 2017 / Demonstration/Presentationof proposal at the Bank
16thJune 2017 / Contract Award
The EBRD reserves the right to amend or change these dates at any time.
4.3Clarifications
The process for receipt and resolution of queries shall be as follows:
- suppliers will send queries by e-mail to the following address: ;
- there will be one round of queries;
- the deadline for queries is shown in the timetable set out in section 4.2 of this RFP;
- the EBRD will circulate the responses to all queries to all participatingSuppliers in accordance with the timetable set out in section 4.2 of this RFP;
- the clarification document will make no reference to which Supplier made any particular query.
4.4Technical Proposal
4.4.1Minimum Requirements
Suppliers wishing to participate in this Tender are required to complete the Checklist provided as Annex B to this RFP. Only those Suppliers capable of answering “yes” to all of the questions are eligible to participate. Suppliers that answer “no” to any question or that provide an incomplete submission will not be eligible for participation in this Tender.
4.4.2Technical Response Submission
The Technical Response shall be prepared with reference to Annex C – Scope of Requirements and shall be comprised of a written response to the questions contained in Annex C – Technical Response. Proposal shall not exceed 40 pages excluding the Checklist and CVs.
Responses shall be submitted via e-mail to n accordance with the timetable set out in section 4.2 of this RFP. Titled “PUR1510/01 – Provision of an Enterprise Spreadsheet Management Tool – Technical Response”
Please note Suppliers must submit their Technical Response by email and their Quotation File in an envelopeas per the instructions in 4.5.
4.5Quotation File Submission
All Suppliers are required to complete the applicable quotation file (the ‘Quotation file’) attached as Annex D of this RFP. Prices are to be quoted in GBP net of VAT.
The Quotation File must be submitted:
- on a CD or a USB drive by courier in a sealed envelope clearly identified as “PUR1510_01 – Provision of an Enterprise Spreadsheet Management Tool – Quotation File”;
- in an envelope clearly bearing the Suppliers’ name; and
- in accordance with the timetable set out in section 4.2 of this RFP.
4.6 Quotation File Validity
Quotes submitted shall be valid for ninety (90) days following date of receipt.
4.7Demonstration/Presentation
Following evaluation of the Technical Response by the Bank,Suppliers that pass the minimum requirements checklist will be requested to deliver a demonstration/presentation for the Bank at its London headquarters. The presentation should last no more than 3 hours and will cover the topics identifiedin Annex E - ‘Presentation Agenda’.
The demonstrations/presentationsare scheduled for the week commencing22ndMay2017.
Suppliers will be notified by e-mail the date and time they must attend the demonstrations/presentations. Best efforts will be made to give Suppliers a minimum of 48 hours’ notice of their slot. The allocated meeting slot will not be negotiable.
4.8 References
The Supplier shall provide details of three customers for reference, preferably in the same sector (financial services) and country (UK). References should be for customers with requirements similar to those of EBRD. References should include information about the contract (specific products in use, date of contract execution, "go live" date and any services provided), as well as contact information for the customers’ project manager or other senior staff members familiar with the project.
5EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
5.1Technical Evaluation
Suppliers’ Technical Proposalsalong with a Demonstration/Presentation will be evaluated and scored by a nominated Tender Evaluation Panel (TEP) of Bank staff selected from operational departments who are directly involved with the services to be provided.
Element of the Evaluation / Maximum Score availableImplementation / 11
Ease of Use / 17
Scan/Discovery Mechanism / 17
Spreadsheet Analysis / 15
Spreadsheet Management / 15
Reporting / 12
MaintenanceSupport / 8
Technical Questions / 5
TECHNICAL MAXIMUM SCORE / 100
FINANCIAL MAXIMUM SCORE / 100
A minimum technical threshold applies to theTechnical Proposal. A Supplier will be deemed to have passed the threshold on meeting the following condition:
- the combined TEP scores reaches or exceeds the minimum threshold of 75% (weighted score)of the total number of points available for the Technical Response and Demonstration/Presentation.
5.2Financial Evaluation
Following the review of the Technical Proposals and Demonstration/Presentations, the Quotation Files of those Suppliers who have reached or exceededthe minimum technical threshold detailed in section 5.1 will be opened. The Bank will calculate a Total Bid Price for each Supplier based on the costing provided along with the estimated EBRD costs to implement and support the Tool.
The Supplier proposing the lowest total bid price will be given the maximum financial score available (100). Other Suppliers’ (higher) prices will be divided into the lowest price and the result multiplied by the maximum score given.
FSa = LP/EPa x Maximum Financial Score
FSa= financial score for proposal a
LP= the lowest evaluated financial proposal
EPa = the financial proposal of a.
5.3Financial Errors
Mathematical errors detected by the Bank in the submittedQuotation Files will be corrected in the following manner:
- if there are errors in the mathematical extension of unit price items, the unit prices prevail and the mathematical extension is adjusted accordingly;and
- if there are errors in the additional of lump sum prices or unit price extensions, the bid is not rejected but the total is corrected and the correct amount reflected in the total bid price.
5.4Preferred Supplier
The Supplier achieving the highest combined score following the technical and financial evaluations shall be nominated as the preferred Supplier (the ‘Preferred Supplier’).
5.5Checking of References
The Bank may contact the three references provided by the Preferred Supplier. The Bank reserves the right to speak to any company which has dealt with the Preferred Supplier, whether provided as a reference or not, without prior notification to the Supplier.
In the event that the Preferred Supplier’s references prove unsatisfactory, the Bank will consider the next highest scoring Supplier to be the Preferred Supplier and will repeat the procedure described above.
5.6Negotiations
Upon satisfactory conclusion of the reference checking, the Bank will move to negotiate a contract with the Preferred Supplier.In the event that a satisfactory conclusion to the contract negotiations cannot be agreed the Bank may consider the next highest scoring Supplier to be the Preferred Supplier and will commence the procedure described above.
6CONTRACT
6.1Status of the EBRD
The EBRD is an international organisation established by international treaty. As such, the EBRD possesses a special status under public international law which has been confirmed under English law through statute (Statutory Instrument 1991, No. 757, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Immunities and Privileges) Order 1991), available at:
Please also refer to the aforementioned establishment treaty of the Bank ("articles of incorporation") which lays out the immunities as found in Chapter VIII. These can be found at:
The special status of the EBRD requires it to seek specific provisions relating to such status in all contracts with external suppliers and service providers. EBRD is unable to agree to terms that expressly contradict its special status and internal policies as an international organisation.
6.2Contract Term
The Contract term will be 5 years for support & maintenance of the Tool.
6.3Contract Negotiation
Subject to the Bank’s status, see section 6.1, the Preferred Supplier’s standard terms for delivery of these services shall form the basis of any contract that may ensue. EBRD reserves the right to subject each proposal to final negotiations.
7GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS RFP
7.1Amendment
EBRD reserves the right to negotiate any or all terms and conditions, and to cancel, amend or resubmit this RFP in part or entirely at any time. None of the terms and conditions of this RFP can be revoked or amended in any way by Suppliers without the prior written agreement of EBRD.
7.2Supplier Costs
EBRD is not responsible for any Supplier costs associated with this RFP, Supplier responses or any contract discussions or negotiations. Nor is EBRD responsible for any indirectly related costs. No statement by EBRD should be viewed as a request by EBRD or justification for Suppliers to increase or change inventory, staff, facilities, business relationships with its suppliers, or internal business processes. All actions by Suppliers in response to this RFP or subsequent discussions or negotiations should be taken with the clear understanding that neither this RFP nor subsequent actions or omissions by EBRD obligate or commit EBRD to pay or reimburseSuppliers for any costs or expenses they incur. This RFP is not an offer to enter into a contract.
7.3Professional Competence
Suppliers shall absolutely rely on their own professional competence in evaluating and verifying the information contained in this RFP. Suppliers must take every opportunity to inspect and verify the information contained or referred to in this document or subsequent to it, subject to the confidentiality restrictions as detailed in section 7.6 of this RFP.
7.4Intellectual Property
The information contained in this RFP will remain EBRD’s intellectual property. Suppliersare granted a limited, revocable license to use the same for the purpose of responding to the RFP. By submitting a response to the RFP Suppliers grant EBRD a royalty free, irrevocable license to use the intellectual property in the proposal for its internal business purposes in relation to the procurement of the services required.
7.5Sole Response
Submission of a response as part of this process shall be deemed to be the Suppliers’ only offer(s).
7.6Confidentiality
Suppliers shall treat the RFPand EBRD's process of evaluating Suppliers as strictly private and confidential. The contents of this RFP, including specification, designs, drawings or other related documents shall be considered confidential and shall not be disclosed by the Supplier, the Supplier’s servants or agents to any persons, firm or corporation without the prior written consent of EBRD. Any such specifications, designs, drawings or other documents shall remain the property of EBRD and shall be returnable to EBRD within five (5) days of the Supplier receiving either, notification that it has been unsuccessful, or on written request from EBRD. EBRD will require Suppliers to sign an NDA or similar agreement related to the examples to be used in the demonstration/presentation.
7.7EBRD Logo Protection
Please be advised that EBRD logo is a registered service mark and as such should not be reproduced without the express written permission of the Bank.
7.8General
Incomplete or inadequate responses, lack of response to an item or items, or misrepresentation in responding to this documentation may result in rejection of a Supplier’s Proposal.
After receipt of the RFP and until the award of any contract, neither information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of the submissions nor recommendations concerning the award of a contract shall be disclosed to the Supplier, or to any other outside parties, until the RFP process has been concluded and a contract awarded.
Any effort by a Supplier to influence EBRD in the process of examination, evaluation and comparison of the RFP, or in decisions regarding the award of a contract, shall result in the rejection of the Supplier’s Proposal.
Ownership of documentation or other information submitted in the RFP will become the property of EBRD unless otherwise requested at the time of submission. Any materials submitted in response to the RFP, which are considered to be confidential, should be clearly marked as such by the Supplier.
The Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any RFP response, or part thereof, and to annul the RFP process and reject all RFP responses at any time prior to award of contract without incurring any liability to the affected parties.
Annex A
Technical Considerations
Applications currently used at EBRD, for information:
Data Source/Application Name and Version / DescriptionOracle Database v11+ / One of the Bank’s existing strategic relational database management platforms.
Microsoft SQL Server
(v2008R2 and 2012) / One of the Bank’s existing strategic relational database management platforms.
MS Office 2010 (32 bit) / EBRD’s standard desktop office tools.
MS Outlook 2010 SP2 / EBRD’s standard mail system
MS Windows 7 SP1 (64 bit) / EBRD’s standard desktop environment
Internet Explorer 11 / EBRD’s standard browser
Citrix XenApp 6.5 / EBRD’s remote working desktop
Bolden James Classifier / EBRD’s data classifier, add-in for MS Office
NOTE: The Bank is currently working towards at a new Target Operating Model which is likely to utilise cloud centric facilities and as such we will be evaluating how the tool can operate in these environments.
The Bank expects the Platform to be used by the following numbers of users:
Number of users*: / WorkstationSpreadsheet Checking / Spreadsheet
Management / Spreadsheet
Reviewers / Adminis-trators
Estimates of Users** (who could use the Solution on a daily basis) / 3000 / 400 / 50 / 5
* Users are spread over multiple geographic locations (50 offices) with the majority (approx. 2000) being based in our London HQ.
** The number of users in each role is not mutually exclusive; we would have administrators that would be using all elements of the tool.
Annex B
Minimum Requirements Checklist
Please note only Suppliers who can answer “yes” to all of the following questions are eligible to participate in this tender,
Requirement / Description / Yes/ No- Service requirements
- Service requirements
- Service requirements
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Scan/Discovery
- Spreadsheet Analysis
- Spreadsheet Analysis
- Spreadsheet Analysis
- Spreadsheet Management
- Spreadsheet Management
- Spreadsheet Management
- Reporting
- Reporting
- Maintenance / Support
- Maintenance / Support
- Maintenance / Support
- Maintenance / Support
Annex C