REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

NATURAL FIBER PRODUCER’S

SORTASSIST DB & WEB FRONT END

NATURAL FIBER PRODUCERS, INC

1552 SANCTUARY LANE

HOMEDALE, ID 83628

JULY 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Summary and Background ................................................................................................... 3

2. Proposal Guidelines ............................................................................................................. 3

3. Project Purpose and Description .......................................................................................... 4

4. Project Scope ....................................................................................................................... 5

5. Request for Proposal and Project Timeline ......................................................................... 6

6. Budget .................................................................................................................................. 6

7. Bidder Qualifications ........................................................................................................... 7

8. Proposal Evaluation Criteria ................................................................................................ 7

Appendix A ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Appendix B ................................................................................................................................... 16

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1. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND Natural Fiber Producers (NFP) is currently accepting proposals from companies only in the

US with US citizen employees, to port and update an existing web application to a new

database with an up-to-date front end. The existing site was developed approximately 10

years ago, the hardware is very old and the code is out of date and not easily supported. NFP

has determined the site needs to be upgraded and hosted at our existing hosting vendor,

inMotion hosting.

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from various candidate

organizations, conduct a fair and extensive evaluation based on criteria listed herein, and

select the candidate who best represents the direction NFP wishes to go.

NFP was founded in 2007 as an agricultural cooperative. Our products are made from

member fiber such as alpaca, wool, angora and other natural fibers that have been sorted and

graded by certified sorters/graders. Acting as a service organization, we assist the grower by

managing the production of goods such as yarns, hats, scarves, gloves, socks, blankets and

more from our members’ fiber. Those products are marketed to our members and retailers at

wholesale costs with profits being returned to the members.

2. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process.

Proposals will be accepted until 5pm EST September 30, 2017. Any proposals received after

this date and time will be returned to the sender. All proposals must be signed by an official

agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal.

Only US companies with US citizens will be considered for this project. This aligns with

NFPs mission to utilize only North American fibers in their products of which are 100%

made in the USA.

If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the

requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all

costs included in proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted

work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name

and description of the organizations being contracted.

All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs.

Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this

RFP. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by NFP’s legal

representative and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining

to the project. All code developed will solely belong to NFP.

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3. PROJECT PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this project is as follows:

NFP’s current “SortAssist” system was implemented many years go and initially was

designed to be on a server housed in our corporate office. There is both a web access and a

remote access set up for various users. Since that time, the cooperative has undergone many

changes and this system no longer provides the needed access, is old and out of date, and

there is a concern of reliability of the system. General maintenance such as keeping the

system up to date, addition of new users, and modification of system is also required.

Project Description:

NFP is seeking a provider to port the existing SQL Server 2005 database, views, and stored

procedures to MySQL; to update the current .net front end to php both of which are

supported by our hosting vendor inMotion hosting and to provide a more robust interface

with validation and error handling. The design should incorporate the latest technology to

create a web site that is user friendly, simple to use, is easy to add or modify content and

provide for various user level authentication and access.

The web site design and layout should be aesthetically pleasing, simple for users to navigate,

and provide descriptions of tasks they need to perform with error handling. The site must

also be completely secure against intrusion. Regular maintenance of the site should be

quoted as a separate line item.

The project should be developed in an Agile manner with frequent customer feedback and

involvement.

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4. PROJECT SCOPE The scope of this project includes all design, development, coding, licensing, and installation

at host environment of NFP’s new SortAssist web site. Maintenance of completed site

should be quoted in a separate line item. All text and copy will be provided to the selected

bidder by NFP for inclusion in the design of the new web site.

The winning bidder will be given access to an environment at our site on inMotion hosting in

order to develop and test the system and to provide access to NFP staff as needed to

monitor/test progress.

The following criteria must be met to achieve a successful project:

Visually and aesthetically pleasing web site design

User-friendly environment that is easy to navigate and provides error handling

Consistency of design across all pages/sections of the web site in a design theme that

fits targeted market segment(s)

User authentication to only authorized sections of site

Ability to migrate current web content to new web site

All software and licensing requirements should be included as part of this project

Prominent display of NFP corporate logo throughout all pages of the web site

Site should be compatible with all current web browsing and mobile technology and

easily upgradeable

Ability to work closely with NFP IT Manager on coordination of project tasks and

resources

Plan and perform a complete testing process on web site and database in order to

ensure functionality, assisted by NFP personnel as needed

Maintenance is expected to consist of ensuring the system stays in compliance with

service updates, set-up and monitoring of backups, addition of new users as needed

(estimate 4 new users per year), troubleshooting as needed.

Existing database items which need to be ported:

The existing SQLServer database is quite small and currently is 1.25 GB in size.

There are approximately 19 tables, 43 views, and 53 stored-procedures. The current database

schema and listing of tables is included in Appendix A.

Existing front end:

The current system is designed with 4 user types in mind: a sorter, an RCF Manager, a Run

Manager, and an Admin. Each has access to only one area of the system with the exception

of the admin. The sorter/grader enters detail of the customer’s fiber in one section of the

system. The RCF Manager will have access to another section of the system where they can

receive the fiber into inventory that the sorter has entered into the system. The third section

is accessible to the Run Manager(s) who can pick available fiber for a run. Each user can

modify their section. All sections are available to an admin user.

In addition to data entry screens, there are several reports that are available.

Screen shots are shown in Appendix B.

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5. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND PROJECT TIMELINE

Request for Proposal Timeline:

All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 5pm EST September 15, 2017.

Evaluation of proposals will be conducted from September 18, 2017 until October 6, 2017.

If additional information or discussions are needed with any bidders during this 3-week

window, the bidder(s) will be notified.

The selection decision for the winning bidder will be made no later than October 15, 2017.

Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately.

Contract negotiations will be completed by October 30, 2017.

Notifications to bidders who were not selected will be completed by October 31, 2017.

Project Timeline:

Project initiation phase must be completed by November 17, 2017.

Project planning phase must be completed by December 30, 2017. Project planning phase

will determine the timeline/schedule for the remaining phases of the project.

6. BUDGET All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project

scope. Costs should be stated as one-time or non-recurring costs (NRC) or monthly recurring

costs (MRC). Pricing should be listed for each of the following items in accordance with the

format below:

Project Initiation and Planning NRC MRC

Site/Database Development NRC MRC

Site/Database Testing NRC MRC

Site/Database Deployment NRC MRC

Site/Database Hosting NRC MRC

Site/Database Maintenance NRC MRC

NOTE: All costs and fees must be clearly described in each proposal.

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7. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

Bidders should provide the following items as part of their proposal for consideration:

Description of experience in planning, building, and hosting corporate web sites

List of how many full time, part time, and contractor staff in your organization

Examples of 3 or more corporate web sites designed and implemented by your

organization

If you will outsource, provide examples of work completed by them

Testimonials from past clients on web site building and hosting work

Anticipated resources you will assign to this project (total number, role, title,

experience)

A full testing plan

Timeframe for completion of the project

Project management methodology

8. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

NFP will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for

this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following

criteria:

Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs

included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner

Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it

pertains to the scope of this project

Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to

web site design and hosting as well as client testimonials and references

Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the

work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project

Technical expertise and experience: Bidders must provide descriptions and

documentation of staff technical expertise and experience

Each bidder must submit an electronic copy in PDF format of their proposal to the address

below by September 15, 2017 at 5pm EST

Sue Schalk

IT Manager / Director, NFP

sueschalk@gmail.com

9. CONFIDENTIALITY It is understood and agreed to that the information provided herein may contain certain

information that is and must be kept confidential. The bidder agrees not to disclose any

information obtained unless required to do so by law.

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Appendix A Database table schema, list of tables, views, stored procedures

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TABLE Alpaca Breed

TABLE Colors

TABLE Grade and Length

TABLE Contacts

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TABLE Sort Data Entry

TABLE Sort Summary

TABLE Sorter List

TABLE sorts per year

TABLE Inactive sorter list

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TABLE Carriers

TABLE Collection Facilities

TABLE Outgoing Shipment Info

TABLE Pick Ticket Info

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TABLE Product Costs

TABLE Processing Facilities

TABLE NAAFP contact info

TABLE Producers Choices

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TABLE Switchboard Items

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TABLE Switchboard Items1

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Appendix B List of current screens and reports

Sorter

Login screen: username, pw

Main Page: Add a new Sort Summary

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View the data

Logout

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RCF

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Sorter.fibersorting.com

Each sorter has their own unique username and password for data entry

Add a new Sort Summary

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View Sort Data

Log out

Go to Login – doesn’t work

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RCF web entry – only accessed by RCF managers, each has own user/pw

Main Page

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Add or Edit Data – Contact Management

Enter Processing Costs

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Enter Shipping costs

Processing Facilities

Collection Facilities

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Certified Sorters

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Edit Data Entry

Editing

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RCF entry – Pick Menu Options

Initial Fiber Report

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Bags Available to Pick

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Pick Editor

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Select Length/Grade of ticket

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Edit Ticket

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Add New Ticket

Shipping Inserts

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Pick Tickets

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RCF – Post Pick

Selection Data

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Cost per Pick Ticket

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Go To Enter Costs

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Product Per Region

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Choose a pic ticket and show products

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Where’s My Fiber

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Fiber Recv’d for Retains

Enter date range and select show totals

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Products Per Ranch

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Ranches Rec’d by Each RCF

Enter date range and show list

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RCF site for collection managers

Select a ranch

Select area, enter date Directions are at bottom of page