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ACST Policies & Guidelines

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Centralized Purchasing Policy and Procedures

Request for Proposal (“RFP”) Process

Purpose

The purpose of this process is to establish the methods by which ACS Technologies Group, Inc. (“ACST”) will evaluate third-parties’ solutions, goods, and services (collectively “Services”). The RFP process is a bid / solicitation process intended to ensure that we engage with the most appropriate vendor service providers. It helps us to make smarter purchases by identifying the vendor that can provide the best solution. This does not mean that the vendor you have chosen will be selected as the best solution.

Scope

This process is applicable to all Hardware, Software, and Services ("HSS") that

  1. If the cost per year is greater than $35K;

  2. If the term is 3 years or more; and

  3. If the HSS will be used by more than 1 department.

Procedures

  1. To initiate the RFP process, the Centralized Purchasing and/or CI Team will provide a generic RFP Vendor Screening Scorecard Template to the Requestor to solicit the responses of at least three (3) potential providers (candidates).

  2. The Requestor will need to add or remove specific criteria to the Scorecard to ensure that Business Case requirements are addressed.

  3. The next step is a more in-depth RFP questionnaire. It is based on the standard RFP template, but should be modified to suit the intent of the RFP.

  4. Risk Management will conduct a Risk Assessment and review any resulting contract. Risk Management will recommend negotiating any unfavorable terms. It is critical that ACST knows the legal, technical, and financial risks of partnering with third-parties and understands how they would interact with our systems and client data. The RFP Team can involve additional resources as needed to qualify the decision.

  5. Information gathered from the steps above will be prepared and offered to the RFP Team for review and consideration as well as to identify the provider. Timeline: 30 days from time of submission of information.

  6. A provider will be chosen by the RFP Team and the solution will be implemented following a standardized Implementation Plan.

Requirements for RFP Process

  • Must evaluate a minimum of 3 candidates

  • Must complete the RFP Vendor Score Card Set up

  • Work with the appropriate teams outlined

  • Allow at least 30 days for the process

  • Gather and note any potential integrations with existing HSS

RFP Team Members

RFP Team Members will be requested to attend a review meeting to discuss 1 or more business cases. At least 5 members must attend the meeting to begin the RFP process. The RFP Team can involve additional resources as needed to qualify the decision.

  • Requestor

  • Chief Financial Officer (or their designee)

  • Chief Technical Officer (or their designee)

  • Chief Ventures Officer (or their designee)

  • Information Technology Team Member

  • Director, FP&A

  • Risk Team Member

  • Business Operations Manager

  • Continuous Improvement Manager

  • Legal Analyst

Retrospective & Accountability

According to the Business Case, the CI Team will follow up 90 days prior to renewal to confirm if goals have been met and if the product accomplishes what we set out to do.

Last updated: May 28, 2025