Information technology division visakhapatnam port trust visakhapatnam

SECTION – IV

BIDDING PROCEDURE & INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

The bidding process will be open to any ERP System Integrator who will be able to supply & install all of the following either on their own or by forming a consortium:

a) ERP Product and related software licenses

b) ERP implementation services, including related process improvements, data conversion, interfaces, customizations etc

c) Requisite hardware comprising of servers, storage, backup applications etc. Detailed scope of work is given at Section III.

The above listed entity / entities must also meet certain mandatory pre-qualifications with respect to the ERP Solution being proposed by it. These criteria and the format in which the responses are to be provided have been listed out in Appendix # 2.

i The Bidder will be required to return the original Tender Document duly signed by competent authority on each page as a part of the response to the Tender. It shall be expressly agreed therein by the Bidder that he has read and understood the complete Tender Document and shall comply with the same. However the signature on the PRICE SCHEDULE alone shall be deemed as acceptance of all the documents enclosed to the Tender

ii. Deviation, if any, from the tender specifications and other parts of the Tender Document, shall be listed out separately and clearly by the Bidder as per the format in Form # 1. If deviations are not clearly listed as such, they will not be considered by the Employer later.

iii. The ERP System Integrator has to submit only one bid with the ERP Product that best suits the VPT requirement either on his own or by forming consortium with ERP Product vendor, Hardware Manufacturer. If S.I. is bidding on his own, he cannot submit bid as a consortium.

iv. Any of the consortium members other than ERP Product vendor and Port Operations Software vendor can’t submit bids either individually or partner with another consortium.
4.1.2 Bids by Consortiums

The consortium should consist of ERP System Integrator, ERP Product Vendor, and Hardware Manufacturer. The ERP System Integrator should be leader of consortium and responsible for providing the total ERP solution to VPT, VPT. While this is acceptable to VPT in principle, it expects certain requirements to be fulfilled by each of the consortium member. These include the following:

1. 
   The response to the Tender has to be submitted by a consortium and the ERP System Integrator will be designated as a Bidder for the purpose of this Tender.
   
2. 
   The ERP System Integrator should be the lead partner of such a consortium.
   
3. 
   The response to the Tender must contain a written declaration by the competent authority of all the consortium members that :
   

1. 
   they have collectively agreed to respond to the Tender.
   
2. 
   they have nominated the named entity (name of System Integrator) as the leader of the consortium and his nomination shall be evidenced by submitting a letter of authorization signed by legally authorized signatories of all the members of the consortium.
   
3. 
   the consortium leader is authorized to receive instruction / communications from VPT, authorized to incur liabilities and shall deliver all the provisions of the contract on behalf of consortium members.
   
4. 
   All members of the Consortium shall be responsible and liable jointly and severally for the execution of the Scope of Work under Contract in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Contract. However, the Leader of the Consortium shall be solely responsible for the integration, interface, coordination and completeness of the entire Scope of Work including establishment of Performance Guarantees under the Contract. A format in which such a declaration may be submitted is given as Form # 2.
   

4. 
   It will be consortium leader’s responsibility to certify the work completed by the other consortium members.
   
5. 
   must be submitted along with the response to the Tender.
   
6. 
   In case the bidder is successful, the contract will be signed between VPT and the consortium leader. The other consortium members will also sign the contract alongside the consortium leader.
   
7. 
   The invoices to be submitted for payment should be certified by the leader of the consortium and payments will be made to the respective consortium members on the written advice of the consortium leader.
   
8. 
   A company / entity cannot submit bid individually for part of the scope of the work.
   
9. 
   The bidder should provide a declaration from all the consortium members that they have full property right or requisite right to use all intellectual property / tool they propose to supply or use in course of this project.
   
10. 
    The bidder should submit the “integrity pact” as per the format provided at Form # 3.
    
11. 
    The offer shall include all the information required for a Tender as described in Tender Document including the eligible criteria, for each Consortium member.
    
12. 
    The offer shall be signed so as to legally bind all members.
    
13. 
    The offer submitted by one tenderer shall not be permitted to transfer to another tenderer.
    

VPT attaches top most priority to adherence to the highest ethical standards in all its transactions and expects the same from all entities it enters into any relationship with. Accordingly, it expects every Bidder to observe the highest standard of ethics and integrity during the bidding process and if successful, during all stages of the project. If a bidder is found to have indulged in any corrupt or fraudulent practice or in any practice, which is not in conformity with the highest ethical standards, then the bid will stand rejected. In such a case, VPT may even go to the extent of black-listing the bidder and barring it from responding to any future enquiries / tenders floated by it.

To ensure uniformity in understanding of corrupt and fraudulent practices between VPT and the bidders, the same has been defined below:

1. 
   The term ‘corrupt practice’ will include the promising, offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any thing of value to anyone who is in a position to influence the procurement process or the project execution process.
   
2. 
   The term ‘fraudulent practice’ means an intentional misrepresentation of facts or suppression of relevant fact with the objective of influencing the procurement process or the project execution process. The above will include formation of cartels or collusive practices designed to establish bid prices at artificial, non-competitive levels to deprive VPT of the benefits of competition.
   
3. 
   By signing the Bid Forwarding Letter, the Bidder represents that for the software, services and hardware it supplies, it is the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Willful misrepresentation of these facts shall be considered a fraudulent practice without prejudice to other remedies that the Purchaser may take.
   
4. 
   If it comes to the notice of the Employer at any stage right from request for enlistment/tender document that any of the certificates/documents submitted by applicants for enlistment or by Tenderers are found to be false/fake/doctored, the party will be debarred from participation in all the Employer’s tenders for a period of five (5) years including termination of contract, if awarded EMD/Security Deposit etc. given by them, if any, will be forfeited. The Contractor in such cases shall make good to the Employer any loss or damage resulting from such termination. Contracts in operation anywhere in the Employer will also be terminated with attendant fallouts like forfeiture of EMD/Security Deposit, if any, and recovery of risk and cost charges etc. Decision of the Employer will be final and binding.
   

To facilitate a better understanding of VPT’s processes and requirements, both functional and hardware related, VPT may allow consortium members to carry out an on-site study. In this regard, should a bidder feel necessary, it may write to VPT requesting for a pre-proposal scoping study explaining the specific purpose and duration of the study. VPT may, at its discretion and without being answerable to any bidder, decide on whether or not to allow such a study by the bidder. If VPT agrees to allow such a study by a bidder, it will make all attempts to ensure that the necessary process owners / individuals are available for discussion with the bidder’s team. However, VPT makes no commitments in this regard.

The Tenderer shall visit and inspect the site and shall satisfy himself of the site conditions and shall collect any other information, which he may require before submitting his tender. The Tenderer shall be deemed to have ascertained all special Local and National Standards, Regulations, etc which may affect his design, schedule, choice of supervisory personnel, etc prior to the preparation of his Tender. Claims and objections due to ignorance of site conditions and particulars mentioned above, technical details & data etc., and/or failure to get the required information shall not be entertained after submission of the Tender.

4.1.5 Cost Incurred in Responding to Tender

VPT will not be responsible or liable for any costs being incurred by individual Bidders in preparing their response to this Tender nor will it be under any obligation to reimburse the same or any part thereof to any Bidder. Each Bidder must bear all costs being incurred by it in responding to this Tender. VPT will also not be responsible for providing any facility or infrastructure to any bidder to facilitate it’s preparation of its bid.

The bid must be prepared in English language only. Further, all communication with respect to the bid including any accompanying document, must be in English language only. Clarifications sought on the Tender Document must also be in English.

While the Bidders are free to submit their response in color, the text in both the original and the copies of the Bid must be black in color, font of size not less than 10. The tenderer may seek the clarifications, if any, in writing by fax (0891-2565023) or post to reach the Director (R&P)i/c , Visakhapatnam Port Trust, 4^th Floor, AOB, Port Area, Visakahapatnam-530 035

4.1.7 Bid Validity Period

All bids, not rejected for any other reason, will remain valid for a period of six months after the date of opening of the technical bid prescribed in the Tender Document. In case of tenderer revoking or withdrawing/canceling his Tender, varying any term in regard thereof during the validity period of the Tender without the written consent of Employer, the Tender submitted shall be liable for rejection and the Employer shall forfeit the Earnest Money paid by the Tenderer along with the Tender.

In exceptional circumstances, VPT may request all the Bidders consent to an extension of the period of validity of their respective bid. The request and the response thereto will be made in writing. Extension of validity period by the Bidder must be unconditional. The bid EMD provided in the form of BG will also have to be accordingly extended. A Bidder will not be permitted to modify his bid.

a) if he withdraws the bid during the bid validity period

b) In case of the successful Bidder:

c) if he fails to sign the agreement and/or commence the work within the date to be agreed upon after issue of LOA as described in the Tender Document as at Clause 5.7.5

d) if he fails to submit the performance bank guarantee security within specified time frame (clause 6.26)

4.2.2 Letter Indicating Intention to Bid

This will include the following and should be submitted along with EMD in the same envelope:

1. 
   A Forwarding Letter indicating the submission of the Bid and the Forwarding Letter must be signed by all the consortium members (Refer Form # 2)
   
2. 
   Since all pages of the original Bids must be signed by the duly authorized person of System Integrator, this authorization must be supported by a stamped Power-of-Attorney (backed up by board of directors’ resolution) referring the agreement among the consortium’s members and submit the same along with the bid.
   
3. 
   The contract (not necessarily with the financial implications) among the consortium members indicating their unequivocal acceptance of System Integrator as the consortium leader who is authorized to sign the contract, raise invoice, receive payments and instructions, and incur liabilities on behalf of the consortium – A notarized copy of the duly executed Consortium Agreement to this effect must be enclosed.
   
4. 
   Authentication of Bid documents is detailed in clause 4.3.3
   

This part of the bid consists two parts;

This part of the bid shall include the details of:

1. 
   List of deviations and exclusions as per Form# 1
   
2. 
   Profile of the Bidder/consortium members (Form# 4) and relevant experience
   
3. 
   Proposed ERP product literature, modules offered and support methodology
   
4. 
   3rd party software(s) proposed, software company details, market position integration with ERP proposed support offered.
   
5. 
   Project organization including CV of the team members (Form# 5 & Form # 6).
   
6. 
   Methodology to be followed in execution of the project.
   
7. 
   Project plan detailing Phases and activities, dates and resource allocation.
   
8. 
   Requisite hardware configuration including details of quantity and configuration of servers, back-up facility.
   
9. 
   Training program for Core team, users and pre-qualification required if any including infrastructure required for conducting the training.
   
10. 
    Conference Room Pilots, System Integration Tests, User Acceptance Tests etc proposed.
    
11. 
    Post go-live support methodology.
    
12. 
    An overview of the functional solution and technical, security architecture.
    
13. 
    Confirmation to FRS and TRS as at Appendix# 3 & Appendix# 4.
    
14. 
    Organizational structure of the Consortium & escalation mechanism for technical issues
    

This part of the bid shall contain the following:

1. 
   Signed copy of Tender Document (all pages including Annexure’s, forms and appendixes to be signed & stamped)
   
2. 
   List of Deviations / exclusions (Form # 1).
   
3. 
   Signed copy of Price Schedule (Blank Price Bid with prices blanked as ‘xxx’) confirming that the bidder is submitting his price schedule in this format given at Form # 8.
   
4. 
   Organizational structure of the Consortium Members & escalation mechanism for commercial issues.
   
5. 
   Latest Auditors report/charted accountant’s report/ self attested Annual Reports/Balance sheet etc.
   
6. 
   Self attested Photostat copy Registration under Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952.
   
7. 
   Self attested Photostat copy of Registration certificate APVAT, Service Tax etc. as applicable.
   
8. 
   Self attested copy of Employees State Insurance (ESI) registration indicating their code number incase same is not available the bidder shall submit a letter of undertaking stating that ESI registration certificate will be submitted by them before award of contract.
   
9. 
   Self attested copy of Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by Income Tax authorities.
   
10. 
    With respect to the Company which is a member of the Consortium, a self attested copy of “Certificate of Incorporation” issued under Companies Act, 1956,
    

The Price Bid should be submitted as per (Form # 8). The Price Bid must be submitted only in original. The bid shall contain no erasures or overwriting, except to correct errors made by the Bidder, in which case the person or persons signing the bid shall initial such corrections. Price should be quoted in number & words, in case there is a mismatch between the two, prices quoted in words shall be considered.

Every Bidder is required to submit his bid in four parts:

Envelope-I:	Part - a: consisting of Tender Cost, EMD and other information as per clause 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.3.3 and Integrity Pact duly signed by all consortium members.
Envelope-II:	Part - b: consisting of Confirmation on submission of documents and Mandatory Requirements as per clause 4.2.3
Envelope-III:	Part - c: consisting of Technical and Commercial Bid as per clause 4.2.4
Envelope-IV:	Part - d: consisting of Price bid as per clause 4.2.5. The Technical and Commercial Bids of Part – c are to be submitted in two different envelopes and to be put in one sealed packet Superscribed as “techno-commercial bid” on the cover. The content and format of the technical and commercial bid has been described at Clause 4.2.4.

The Technical bid should be submitted in original plus two copies. The copies of the technical bid should be made from the original bid after completing the original bid in all respects including signatures. The copies must be marked as “Copy 1 of 2 of technical bid” and Copy 2 of 2 of technical bid”. The original should also be marked as “Original Technical bid”. Original technical bid should be kept in a separate envelope super scribed as “Original Technical Bid”. The two copies of the technical bid should be put in a separate envelope super scribed as “Two copies of Technical Bid”. These two envelopes containing the original & copies of technical bid should be put in a third envelope super scribed as “Technical Bid”. Similarly, the Commercial bid should be submitted in original plus two copies. The copies of the commercial bid should be made from the original bid after completing the original bid in all respects including signatures. The copies must be marked as “Copy 1 of 2 of commercial bid” and Copy 2 of 2 of commercial bid”. The original should also be marked as “Original Commercial bid”. Original commercial bid should be kept in a separate envelope super scribed as “Original Commercial Bid”. The two copies of the commercial bid should be put in a separate envelope super scribed as “Two copies of Commercial Bid”. These two envelopes containing the original & copies of Commercial bid should be put in a third envelope super scribed as “Commercial Bid”. Subsequent to the opening of Technical and Commercial Bids, to facilitate easier circulation of the technical and commercial bids to different people for their evaluation, VPT may request for soft copies of certain sections of the same. In the event of any discrepancy between the original, copies and soft copy of the bid, the original Bid will prevail.

All pages of the original Bids must be signed by the person or persons of the leader of the Consortium, duly authorized to sign such a Bid. This authorization in favor of person/persons signing the bid must be duly supported by a stamped Power-of-Attorney from the leader of the Consortium (backed up by board of directors’ resolution) which must be submitted along with the Bid. In addition, the authorization letter of all the members of the Consortium indicating their mandate to the leader of the Consortium for submitting the tender must also be submitted along with the bid.

Any changes, erasing, alterations, additions or overwriting made in the Bid will be valid only if the person or persons signing the bid have authenticated the same with their signature.

4.3.4 Addressing the Bid

The Bid packets must be addressed to VPT at the address given at 4.4.1. The outer envelope must clearly indicate the Project Name, the Tender Title, Tender Number and the statement “DO NOT OPEN BEFORE <1430 hrs on 19-08-2010>”

The envelopes must also indicate the name and address of the Bidder so that the bid can be returned unopened in case it is declared “late.” If the outer envelope is not sealed or marked as required, VPT will assume no responsibility for the bid’s misplacement or premature opening and consequent rejection.
4.3.5 Sealing the Bid

All the envelopes containing the Bid documents must be put in a tamper proof packet and sealed preferably with lacquer.

The Bid Document must be submitted in the format of printed document. Bids submitted directly by fax or email will not be treated as valid and rejected outright, however if the same are received in a sealed cover before opening of the bid, the same shall be treated as valid. Once the deviations as submitted along with the original tender documents are sorted out at mutually agreed terms and conditions with all the participating tenderers, no further deviations are acceptable and any bids submitted with any deviations shall be liable for rejection. Bids not containing all the four parts as per clause 4.3.1 will be rejected.

Sealed Tenders marked "Original" and super-scribed “Tender for SUPPLY, CUSTOMIZATION AND INSTALLATION OF INTEGRATED ERP SOFTWARE SOLUTION. VPT” should be sent to Director (R&P), Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Visakhapatnam - 530 035, Andhra Pradesh, India. The Bid must be submitted as described in the previous pages up to 14.00 hrs IST on 19-08-2010

Tenders will be opened immediately there after in the above said office, in the presence of the Tenderers or their representatives should they choose to be present.

Bids received after 14.00 hrs on the 19-08-2010 will not be accepted.

However, in case the Tender Opening Date (TOD) is declared as a public holiday in the State of Andhra Pradesh or as a holiday for VPT, Bids will be accepted till 14.00 hrs on the immediate next working day.

4.4.2 Extension of Tender Opening Date

VPT may, at its sole discretion, decide to extend this Tender Opening Date for submission of Bids. In such a case, all rights and obligations of VPT and that of Bidders previously subject to the Tender Opening Date will thereafter be subject to the new Tender Opening Date.

Any bid received by VPT after the expiry of the specified Tender Opening Date for submission of bids will be rejected outright and returned to the Bidder.

The Bidders must take all responsibility of submitting the Bids within the prescribed Tender Opening Date. VPT will not accept as valid reason or be responsible for any postal delay or non-receipt / non-delivery of the Bids.

4.5. MODIFICATION & WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS:

4.5.1 VPT Right to modify

VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust reserves the right to modify any terms, conditions and specifications of the Tender document and to obtain revised price Tenders from the Tenderers with regard to changes in tender document clauses.

The Bidder may be allowed to modify it’s Bid after it’s submission, provided that it makes a written representation to VPT. It may be allowed to do so only if the request has been received and the modifications can be effected prior to the expiration of Tender Opening Date prescribed for submission of Bids.

No bid shall be withdrawn during the period between the Tender Opening Date and the expiration of the bid validity period as specified in Notice Inviting Tender. Withdrawal of a bid during this interval period may result in the forfeiture of the Bidder’s Bid Security (EMD).

4. 
   In case technical modifications are required by VPT which result in the need to make adjustments to the original bid price, the Tenderer’s shall be asked to submit the revised cost bid in a sealed cover. The supplementary cost proposal shall contain the price only for the changes resulting from the discussed changes in the Technical proposal. These changes in price must realistically reflect the Technical changes agreed upon during the discussions.
   
5. 
   The employer reserves the right without assigning reasons to reject or accept any tender and to annul the tender process or rejection of tenders at any time prior to award of contract without thereby incurring any liability vis-à-vis the affected tenderers or nor are they under any obligations to inform the affected tenderer of the grounds for the action by the employer.
   
6. 
   The employer reserves the right to accept the offer in full or part.
   
7. 
   The Employer shall determine to its satisfaction that the Tenderer is qualified to perform the contract satisfactorily prior to the award of the work. This shall take into account the Tenderer’s financial, technical and performance credentials and capabilities. It shall be based on an examination of the documentary evidence of the qualifications submitted by the Tender, as well as such other means of investigation/inquiry the employer deems necessary and appropriate.
   
8. 
   The employer shall award the contract to the successful tender whose tender is determined as the lowest evaluated responsive Tenderer, provided that the Tenderer is determined to be qualified to satisfactorily perform the contract. The employer will notify the successful Tenderer in writing by a registered letter or by fax to be confirmed by a letter that its offer has been accepted.
   
9. 
   The notification of the award shall constitute the formation of the contract until the contract has been signed. The successful Tenderer shall submit the duly filled in and signed agreement form (Annexure# 1) provided in the tender document no notification of the award within 15 days from the date of the notification by the employer
   
10. 
    The successful Tenderer shall sign and date the agreement and return to the employer within 10 days from the receipt of such agreement form.
    
11. 
    The successful Tenderer shall furnish performance security within 15 days of the receipt of the notification of the award from the employer, in accordance with the conditions of the contract and as per the performance security form prescribed in the tender document.
    
12. 
    In case of failure on the part of the Tenderer at any time during the operation of this contract to comply with the conditions (general and special) of the contract or in case of any breach of any portion of the contract, the employer shall be entitled to forfeit the performance security furnished by the Tenderer or to assess the loss or damage which it suffered by reasons of such failure or breach and to appropriate the said security towards such loss or damage without recourse to a court of law and without prejudice to any right to recover by any other means. Balance, if any, shall be recovered through the legal process or from any other contract of contractor/tenderer.
    
13. 
    A pre-bid meeting will be held on 18-6-2010, 1400 hrs at the CONFERENCE HALL, 1^ST FLOOR, AOB, VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust to offer clarifications required, if any, on the Tender documents. The Tenderers are advised to examine the Tender document carefully and if there be or appear to be any ambiguity or discrepancy in the documents, or any clarifications needed in filling the Tender documents, these shall be referred to the DIRECTOR(R&P) i/c, in writing well in advance so as to reach him at least two days before the date fixed for the pre-bid meeting. It is to be noted that no queries seeking clarifications will be entertained after the pre-bid meeting. Regardless of the statements made at the meeting, Tenderers are cautioned that Tender requirements will only be changed if the change is contained in a formal written amendment issued by VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust.
    
14. 
    Prospective tenderers are advised to attend the pre-bid meeting since no excuse for ignorance of clarifications/amendments given by the Tender Committee in the pre-bid meeting shall be accepted. Minutes of the pre-bid meeting will be posted in VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust website and also communicated to the bidders who attended the pre-bid meeting. Any offer having deviation from VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust’s Terms & Conditions after those are frozen in the pre-bid meeting, may render the offer unacceptable to VISAKHAPATNAM Port Trust.
    
15. 
    The Tenderer shall note that no alternative Tender conditions, or alternative proposal for whole or part of the work will be acceptable.
    
16. 
    The time schedule for the various activities in connection with the tender will be as under: