REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP2008-04

Auto-ID Laboratory

Tacoma Community College (TCC) seeks to receive proposals from qualified Suppliers/Value Added Resellers (VARs) for the purpose of designing, building and integrating an Auto-ID Laboratory (Lab). This laboratory will be used as part of the TCC Logistics Program to familiarize students with Auto-ID technologies, and will be the basis for the development of a certificate in RFID technology. The laboratory will build on bar-coding and EDI technologies already in place in the TCC library.

Proposals should include all equipment, hardware, software, installation, spares, maintenance and/or maintenance agreements, documentation, and faculty/technician training as specified in the Procurement Specification. The Supplier/VAR must provide TCC with a detailed implementation plan and costs broken down by line item. Project is estimated at $108,000 including tax. Implementation is required to be complete by September 1, 2008.

A letter of intent to respond, due no later than 5:00 PM on May 9, 2008, is required to enable distribution of clarifications and other correspondence to interested parties.

Proposals are due by 2:00 PM on June 2, 2008. Submit four (4) hard copies of the proposal. Two copies must have original signatures and two copies can have photocopied signatures. At least one set of electronic copies of all documents must be included with the proposal on CD or DVD in Microsoft Word or PDF format. The proposal, whether mailed or hand delivered, must arrive at the College’s purchasing office, address listed below, no later than 2:00 PM on June 2, 2008. The proposal packet must be in a sealed envelope and marked with the following number, RFP2008-04.

It is the College’s intent to announce the apparent successful bidder no later than 5:00 PM on Friday June 20, 2008.

Julie Carrier Wells

6501 So. 19th St.

Bldg. 18, Purchasing

Tacoma, WA 98466

Section I

General Information

A. PURPOSE

This document defines general requirements for the systems and physical design and construction of a laboratory for the expressed purpose of educating students in Auto-ID systems technology, setup, integration, maintenance, and testing. The laboratory (hereafter referred to as the Lab or auto-ID lab), will focus on the integration of RFID and other auto-ID technologies into a variety of warehousing and supply chain environments. The Lab will be located within the existing community college Library to take advantage of an existing auto-ID environment which currently uses the bar code standard Codabar and a Library Management System (SirsiDynix Unicorn GL3.1) to track an inventory of over 90,000 items. The Lab will be comprised of two components – a demonstration environment as well as a hands-on area. In order to take advantage of the existing inventory and real work environment, the design will need to consider both the needs of the auto-ID students and be cognizant of the needs and requirements of the Library.

B. SCOPE

Tacoma Community College desires to build an Auto-ID lab that will serve current ongoing program needs as well as meet future plans for Auto-ID training. Current needs include classes in Logistics technology which focus on various Auto-ID technologies – these classes are part of the 2-year Logistics associate degree program. Currently, one technology class is included in the degree program, although plans are to develop a second more in-depth class. The first of these two classes will primarily be an overview class, with students becoming familiar and comparing/experimenting with different Auto-ID technologies. The second class will allow students to implement and troubleshoot an RFID network. Additionally, long-term these two classes will comprise a specialized certificate in RFID technology which will be available to Logistics, IT and other professionals. The successful bidder will provide and install the laboratory hardware and software to support these two classes with laboratory functionality as described in the lab specifications attachment of this RFP. The installation will integrate with an existing campus network as well as the existing library systems.

C. SPECIFICATIONS – see attachment 1

D. ISSUING OFFICE

The Tacoma Community College Purchasing Department is the issuing office for this document

and all subsequent addenda relating to it. The Purchasing Department is the sole point of contact

with regard to all procurement and lease agreement matters. The Purchasing Department is the only

office authorized to change, modify, or clarify the specifications, terms and conditions of this RFP.

All communications should be in writing (email and fax are acceptable) and addressed to:

Julie Carrier Wells

6501 So. 19th St.

Bldg. 18, Purchasing

Tacoma, WA 98466

Phone (253) 566-5044

Fax (253) 566-5379

F. INQUIRIES

Questions regarding this RFP which could have a significant impact on vendor responses should be submitted by email to the Purchasing Department (Julie Carrier Wells). Responses will be forwarded to all bidders who have submitted a letter of intent to participate. A map of the classroom will also be available upon request.

G. SCHEDULE OF PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES

Issue RFP / 5/2/08
Vendor ‘letter of intent to respond’ to be received by / 5/9/08
Walk thru of library (optional) * / 5/16/08
Last date for questions regarding RFP / 5/20/08
Proposals due / 6/2/08
Evaluate proposals, demo requests, check references / 6/2-6/19/08
Announce apparent successful vendor / 6/20/08
Award RFP to successful vendor / 6/23/08
Implementation to be completed by / 9/1/08

* Walk thru is scheduled for:

May 16, 2008, 1pm

Tacoma Community College

6501 S. 19th St, Bldg 7

Tacoma, Wa 98466

The college reserves the right to revise the above schedule.

Section II

Proposal Instructions

A. ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDANCE

This RFP is designed to provide interested vendors with sufficient information to prepare proposals that respond to the minimum and alternate requirements, without limiting proposal content or excluding submission of additional relevant data.

B. WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

Proposals may be withdrawn any time prior to 2:00 PM June 2, 2008. Withdrawal does not preclude the subsequent submission of another proposal prior to 2:00 PM June 2, 2008.

C. EVALUATION MATERIALS

Proposals must include relevant references, a description of the proposer’s business history and that of the product vendor if different, as well as URL(s) for online training, demonstrations, technical specifications and other materials of use in the proposal evaluation process.

D. ONSITE PRESENTATIONS AND DEMONSTRATION

The College may award the procurement agreement without benefit of an onsite presentation. However, vendors receiving final consideration may be required to present the details of this proposal to the evaluation committee.

E. PROPOSAL FORMAT

The proposal must include a point-by-point response to the minimum requirements and alternate features as specified in attachment 1. Minor irregularities in proposals that are immaterial or inconsequential in nature may be cured or waived whenever it is determined to be in the best interest of the College.

It is not the intention of the Procurement Specification described in Attachment I of this Request for Proposal to rule out or eliminate any prospective Supplier/VAR. If the equipment, supplies or services bid do not comply with the specifications as they are written, you are instructed to attach to your proposal a complete itemization and explanation for each deviation or variation to the specifications. TCC will, at its discretion, consider or deny any deviation and award the procurement agreement to the Supplier/VAR that best meets the needs of TCC.

The proposal must include an implementation plan including timeline and major milestones. Implementation is required to be complete by Sept 1, 2008.

F. PRICE QUOTES

Quoted prices should be valid for 6 months from date of contract.

Section III

Evaluation of Proposals

The award will be made to the vendor proposal offering the best value and most economical bid as determined by Tacoma Community College. Tacoma Community College’s selection committee will evaluate and summarize the proposals. Proposals found to meet all minimum requirements will be scored and evaluated by the committee using the point system/weightings described below, reference site responses and the length and stability of proposer’s business history.

1. Overall solution. (20 points) The ability of the Supplier/VAR to propose a creative solution while

meeting the intent of the RFID LAB Procurement Specification. At a minimum, compliance with the intent

of the RFID Lab Procurement Specification (per Attachment 1) including but not limited to:

  • Detailed design specification of the RFID Lab - this should address the functional requirements of the individual components of the Lab, but also minimize redundancies where possible
  • Turnkey RFID lab solution including timeline for implementation
  • Documentation of the proposed RFID Lab solution
  • Integration of the RFID components with the existing library data management system
  • Integration with the existing TCC network
  • Detail of planned support and ongoing maintenance of equipment, software and system integration
  • Expendable supplies such as RFID tags, labels etc.
  • Test scripts and documentation of test results
  • Training for faculty and staff

2. Pricing of equipment and software for the RFID Lab. (15 points) Each Supplier/VAR is encouraged to leverage strategic business partnerships for the purpose of providing hardware and software which would be integrated into the RFID Lab that would benefit TCC at reduced cost or no cost. All hardware and software identified should be priced as a separate line item. Items provided at no cost should be identified as so. Where increased functionality and/or performance are proposed resulting in a pricing increase, the Supplier/VARs proposal and quote will not be penalized.

3. Scalability/expandability of the proposed laboratory components. (15 points) The auto-ID lab will consist initially of two fundamental components: (1) a demonstration environment which will allow the library to serve as a “warehouse” to allow receiving, picking, inventory, etc of all or part of the library collection thru Auto-ID interaction with the library data management system; and (2) a hands-on lab which will allow access to a replicated set library of library data, and will allow implementation and extensive and experiment with Auto-ID components. It is anticipated that the RFID functionality of the demonstration environment could be expanded to other college functions such as asset management. Additionally, the hands-on lab could be expanded to allow more capacity and greater RFID functionality. Ideally, a proposal would allow for this expansion with minimal ‘reworking’ of the fundamental lab components. “Off-the-shelf” solutions with the capability to interface with a large variety of vendor products is desirable.

4. Quality and Performance. (20 points) The quality and performance of the equipment/software to

be provided by the Supplier/VAR as determined by TCC.

5. Technical support and service. (15 points) Ability to provide technical support and service for

equipment and software functioning as a system for the purpose described in the RFID Lab Procurement

Specification. Availability of prompt service as evidenced by promised response times, number of

authorized technicians available for service, access to inventory of replacement parts, etc.

6. Relevant experience in similar enterprises. (15 points) Experience in higher education will be considered an asset.

7. Recommendations for lab functionality not specified in the RFID Lab Procurement

Specification. (To be considered when evaluating proposals rated highly under other criteria) The

Supplier/VARs proposal will not be penalized for pricing including enhanced functionality/performance.

Point weightings

All features will be awarded points based on following weightings:

Required or desired feature exceeds expectations = 1.0

Meets requirement or desired feature satisfactorily = 0.90

Meets requirement or desired feature minimally = 0.70

Does not meet requirement or include desired features = 0.0

Section IV

Terms and Conditions

See attachment (State Terms & Conditions.doc), Part III, for Washington State terms and conditions.

ATTACHMENT 1

Tacoma Community College

Auto-ID Laboratory Procurement Specification

  1. Purpose

Automated Identification (Auto-ID) technology is instrumental in achieving the goal of real-time item level visibility from packaging to arrival at the destination and is a component of Logistics training at Tacoma Community College (TCC). Familiarization with auto-ID is vital for students that will ultimately be employed in the transportation and distribution industries. This document defines general requirements for the systems, physical design and construction of an auto-ID lab which will be used to train students in the Logistics program, and potentially in other industries that are adopting bar-coding and RFID as a means to track an item’s identity and location. Training will include auto-ID systems technology use, setup, integration, maintenance, and testing. To allow demonstration of auto-id in a live environment as well as hands-on experimentation in a laboratory environment, and to build on current item level-tracking using bar-coding in the college library, the Auto-ID lab will be comprised of a demonstration environment and hands-on laboratory that will be housed in current library spaces. A detailed Auto-ID lab design specification will be developed by the Supplier/VAR as a deliverable document in the response to this RFP.

  1. Lab pedagogical requirements

a. The Auto-ID Lab will consist of two components:

1. A demonstration environment will include appropriate RFID hardware and software to augment the existing library data management system and bar-coding/EDI technologies and will simulate a “fulfillment center” environment. The existing library data management system will be configured to allow student access as appropriate. RFID middleware will allow the addition of RFID components to demonstrate/perform the activities of receiving, putaway, storage, picking, shipping, and item analysis of library inventory.

2. A hands-on laboratory will support one or more teams of students implementing and experimenting with RFID technology. Appropriate middleware will allow the implementation of RFID components to read and write to a replicated copy of the library data. Students will use middleware functionality and/or a separate WMS-like tracking software that will permit students to perform receiving, storage, picking and shipping tasks, updating the inventory database as tasks are completed and analyzing item data as appropriate. The Supplier/VAR Lab Specification should breakout components/costs per each team setup, with incremental costs per setup specified. The hands-on lab set up will accommodate each team conducting experiments simultaneously or sequentially. Experiments performed by each team may be identical at any given time or may be different. Lab experiments that involve radio frequency (RF) measurements, transmission and reception will be performed in compliance with requirements defined by Unlicensed Radio Frequency Devices regulations and in compliance with current federal and state safety requirements.

b. Examples of Lab Activities

1. Demonstration environment

  • Use bar-code and RFID reader/tags to compare performance of the different technologies in performing functions associated with the library inventory including receiving library items, ‘picking’ library inventory items’, altering database entries of bar-coded and RFID-tagged items to show that items are ‘on loan’, and when items are returned from loan status, indicating that items are in active inventory.
  • Create a new database entry for an item, create and print a tag for the item, apply

and read the tag, verify the middleware delivery and database entries

  • Query the database to determine inventory of items, as well as profiles of item activity.

2. Hands-on lab

  • Read/write RFID tags and print RFID labels
  • Reader and antenna set up, integration, and testing
  • Implement, configure, and troubleshoot physical and logical connections between readers, middleware server, and database server
  • RF measurements of reader transmission and reception, ambient electromagnetic noise, and signal strength
  • Tag reading with variations in position, orientation to the reader, distance from the reader, placement on an item, enclosure in a box, and reflection and absorption by various materials
  • Development of test procedures and scripts to verify system connectivity and integrity
  • Application and testing of tags on various positions on item, and on items containing metal and water or other liquids
  • Use RFID components and appropriate WMS-like tracking software to perform receiving, storage, picking and shipping tasks, updating a replicated copy of the library database as tasks are completed
  • Query the replicated copy of the library database to perform item analysis.
  1. Functional Lab Requirements
  1. Demonstration environment requirements – this lab component will be used to demonstrate and compare auto-ID technologies in a ‘live’ environment using all or part of the library collection as items to be tracked. The library is already using bar-coding and EDI technologies as well as a SIRSI-DYNIX (Unicorn GL3.1) library data management system, so hardware and software proposed for this implementation must integrate with this data management system. Components should include the following as a minimum:
  • Middleware software to integrate RFID with existing library data management system/server; middleware must be VM compliant with VMWare ESX version 3.0
  • One or more fixed portals that can be used for library security applications
  • One or more handheld interrogators that could be used for various library

functions such as check-out, check-in, picking, receiving, etc

  1. Hands-on lab requirements – this lab will be used to implement and experiment with RFID components that make up a warehouse RFID/Auto-ID system. Ideally, the students would be exposed to the widest variety possible of RFID implementation components and/or manufacturers.

Suppliers/VARs are encouraged to recommend additional components that might provide

maximum benefit to the learning experience in the lab. Requirements include:

  • Specification of one or more servers as appropriate to host Middleware, replicated copy of the library Data, and WMS-like software as appropriate. The college will provide appropriately sized HP Blade servers enclosed in a HPC3000 enclosure.
  • Conveyor system - The hands-on lab will include one or more conveyor units with appropriate RFID components based on individual cost. Number of sections/components will be specified at contract award. Suppliers/VARs should provide specifications/costs for each of the following options:
  • Minimum - Section of non-motorized conveyor with one mobile portal-style RFID production reader.
  • Alternate – A motorized conveyor with one mobile portal style RFID production reader
  • One or more motion sensors, photo-electric sensors, indicator lights, or light stacks normally associated with production conveyor and RFID systems.
  • All conveyor RF and Ethernet cabling should allow for repeated removal and reinstallation by the students and/or faculty. All supports and cable troughs should be provided.
  • Five RFID kits will include readers, writers, tags, antennas and other facilities necessary to read and write to tags at a portable table top station. The kits will include reader displays, either integrated or with connections to a PC for the purpose of data displays.
  • College provided wireless laptop PCs (5) shall be LAN networked and used by students and faculty to access the Lab Servers and networked RFID components
  • Routers, switches, hubs, firewall and other required networking components, rack, and cabling as needed to support the lab network. All supporting installed cabling for interconnection is included. HP switches and Cisco routers are required.
  • Appropriate Tags/ RFID labels in quantity that may satisfy multi-year need if bulk cost savings can be realized. List of other expendable materials and quantities to be mutually agreed to by the Supplier/VAR and TCC.
  • RFID label printer with network connectivity
  • Spectrum analyzer with antenna and software (portable or fixed)
  • Provisions for intentional generation of RF interference in order to simulate real world environments while complying with the RF exposure safety regulations.
  1. General requirements
  2. All RFID equipment will be compliant with EPCGlobal Class 1 Generation 2 UHF RFID Protocol Standards or EPCGlobal 13.56 MHz ISM Band Class 1 RFID Tag Interface specification or both. Supplier/VAR should recommend one or the other standard (or both) and explain reasons for the recommendation.
  3. RFID Components shall be interconnected via a TCP/IP protocol LAN.
  4. Middleware Server(s) shall be LAN networked and contain a ‘Mark-up language

interpreter/compiler with code and syntax error detection capabilities and be able to: