A FREE online platform designed for local, small businesses to access billions in contracting and purchasing opportunities from participating regional anchor institutions. The Health Foundation of South Florida, the region’s largest philanthropic organization focused on achieving health equity in historically underserved communities, is investing up to $1.2 million through its South Florida Anchor Alliance initiative to develop the Regional Marketplace and help increase ACCESS to opportunities for small businesses.
The SFAA Regional Marketplace launched in 2023 and is a free online platform designed for Local, Small and/or Minority-ownedbusinesses to access billions in contracting and purchasing opportunities from participating regional anchor institutions. Currently there are 11 participating anchor institutions across Miami-Dade and Broward County. In preparation of the two-year pilot program concluding, the Health Foundation of South Florida and anchor pilot members are conducting a market assessment of current technologies that will maximize the impacts and objectives seeking to be achieved by the SFAA Regional Marketplace.
As part of our procurement process, we are seeking information from qualified vendors who offer services aligned with our project requirements. The purpose of the RFI is to gather comprehensive information about the capabilities, offerings, and pricing structures of various vendors in the market. This will enable us to make informed decisions regarding the selection of the most suitable vendor(s) for our project.
Release of RFI: April 2, 2024
Deadline for Submission of Responses: April 26,2024
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The deadline to submit questions has been extended to 4/23/2024 at 5pm
RFI Questions and Answers
4/19/2024
Question #9 asks: If Respondent is not the current technology vendor of the SFAA Regional Marketplace, how
would you approach a vendor transition between technology solutions. Can you clarify or restate what you mean by that question?
There is currently a vendor providing our technology solution. If a transition has to be made from the current vendor, how would you manage the transition?
In the RFI, a question asks for the vendors experience with working with “local, small and/or minority owned-vendors”. How do you define “small?”
The definition for a Local/Small and/ or Minority Owned Business varies amongst SFAA Anchor’s, please refer to SFAA Anchor institution websites for qualifications.
What is the current technology stack for the marketplace platform? What technologies are currently used, what are they used for, and how do they interact? (Ideally, share an architecture diagram).
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us what technologies you currently use, what are they used for, and how do they interact? Provide your response as part of The Required Information to be Submitted Section C. 1.
Does the current vendor practice agile development and customer experience best practices as part of a continuous iterative development environment?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how you practice agile development and customer experience best practices as part of a continuous iterative development environment. Provide your response under Question #3 in the RFI Questionnaire.
What is your data model? How do you identify entities, attributes, and relationships in a data model? How do you ensure data integrity and consistency in a data model?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share your data model. How do you identify entities, attributes, and relationships in a data model? How do you ensure data integrity and consistency in a data model? Provide your response in section under under Question #4 in the RFI Questionnaire.
What integrations are currently in place between the platform and any external systems? How many different procurement systems are currently in use across all participating anchors? What specific integration issues did you encounter in the past?
There are currently 5 different procurement systems amongst the SFAA Anchors. SFAA Anchors use a variety of integrations from SFTP>API to CSV uploads.
Are account migrations, or any other data migrations, anticipated as part of this work? If yes, could you please share an estimated number of accounts that will require platform migration?
Yes, data migration is part of this work. There are currently 11,000 vendors in the SFAA Regional Marketplace. Please provide how are your company would manage data migration and a potential technology vendor transition under Question #9 in the RFI Questionnaire.
What “dashboard” features/functionality do you currently use and/or need?
Please refer to Question 4 on the RFI Questionnaire for the desired metrics to be provided in a dashboard. This is not an exclusive list, so please share any additional data points your company may be able to provide in addition to the metrics referenced above.
Can you discuss any past security challenges or reliability issues faced by the current vendor? What improvements or features are you looking for in these areas?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us what security features your company is able to supply.
What does the process of enhancing/optimizing the user experience look like? How are product changes communicated/reviewed/approved and prioritized?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your company would approach product changes and requests from the Anchors. Please provide your response under Question #1 of the RFI Questionnaire.
How many vendors are currently signed up for the marketplace? What is the overlap between anchor institutions vs. unique marketplace vendors?
There are currently 11,000 unique vendors in the SFAA Regional Marketplace.
How many of those vendor accounts are currently “active” vs. inactive? What defines an account as “active” or “inactive” (including any associated metrics and/or activities)?
There are currently 1,500 active vendors. During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your system will be able to capture active vs inactive vendors. Please provide your response under Question #4 of the RFI Questionnaire.
Which businesses qualify for registration on the marketplace, and what criteria are used to determine their eligibility?
A vendor must be certified with a participating SFAA Anchor and must also meet the SFAA Anchors certification criteria as a local, small and/or minority owned business.
What percentage of vendors have third-party certifications as relevant to meeting the program’s goals (e.g., minority-owned, if known)?
SFAA Anchor Members vary in their verification processes, some accept third-party certifications while others accept vendor “self certifications.” This percentage is dependent on the anchor certification requirements.
What training or onboarding processes are in place for new users to ensure they can effectively use the platform?
On going webinars , in person events and training videos have been provided.
What challenges have you experienced related to vendor adoption or engagement associated with the existing technology provider ?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your company would approach challenges related to vendor adoption and engagement. Please provide your response under Question #3 and/or #4 on the RFI Questionnaire.
How is customer satisfaction captured, evaluated and prioritized? Do you have any customer response safeguards as part of your current engagement with the incumbent? Are any service-level agreements (SLAs) in place?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your company currently manages customer satisfaction under Section 3.1 Submittal Instructions: Required Information to Be Submitted C.2.
How do you capture and validate stakeholder feedback? Is user testing a continuous or sporadic part of the current vendor’s development model? Please share the current approach in detail.
SFAA Anchors meet on a regular basis and decisions are made as a collective. During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your company currently manages stakeholders’ feedback.
How are user-flagged functional and technical issues identified/resolved? Have you experienced any issues or delays resolving technical problems?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how your company would deal with functional and technical issues that arise.
Can vendors and anchor institutions access in-person support or troubleshooting from the current provider? If yes, how is the current provider’s local presence structured to facilitate these services?
During this part of the selection process the SFAA Anchors are looking to gain a better understanding of the technology solutions available. Please share with us how you could provide a local presence structured to facilitate troubleshooting.
What is your definition of success for this venture at a granular level, and how is it measured and monitored? Have you generated a series of objectives and key results (OKRs) and associated key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress against set vision and goals?
Yes. Under Question #4 on the RFI Questionnaire, you will find a list of KPI’s identified by the SFAA Anchors. Additionally, SFAA Anchors collectively agreed to adopt a technology solution that would, at a minimum, accomplish four things which can be found in Section – 2.2 – Purpose of Request For Information: Objectives of the SFAA Regional Marketplace.
Are you going to attach any quantifiable goals to the first two objectives (increase vendor pool and enhanced matchmaking) of the Marketplace?
Yes. SFAA Anchors will review the outcomes of the current SFAA Regional Marketplace Pilot to help set the goal/targets for the next phase of work.
What value does the marketplace provide to businesses that are already registered with anchor institutions? Does the current technology vendor provide any additional services to engage/support vendors?
Please refer to Section 2.2 Purpose of Request for Information: Objectives of the SFAA Regional Marketplace. Please share your approach to engage/support vendors.
Are there any plans to add additional anchor institutions to the marketplace? If yes, is there a specific number target.
The SFAA Regional Marketplace pilot is currently working with up to 11 anchor institutions.
How does the SFAA currently assess its impact on the local community and small/minority-owned businesses? Are there specific success stories or areas of improvement identified by the community?
Please refer to Section 2.2 Purpose for Request of information.
Would vendor proposals be submitted on the new SFAA marketplace platform or an existing anchor institution procurement system?
In alignment and advancement of the two-year SFAA Regional Marketplace pilot the technology solution must be able to integrate with existing procurement systems at each of the anchors, it is not the intent of the selected SFAA Regional Marketplace technology platform to replace the existing procurement software currently utilized by anchor institutions. Thus, bidding and awarding of procurement contracts will remain outside of the selected SFAA Regional Marketplace technology platform, however it is highly desired that the selected technology vendor be able to track whether vendors matched in the system have bid for procurement opportunities they were matched with and whether they were awarded a contract.
Would the system be expected to handle vendor questions?
Only as they pertain to the use of the system.
What information does SFAA foresee the marketplace solution pushing and pulling from existing anchor institution existing systems?
The full cycle from vendor uploads, procurement uploads and bid and award data uploads.
Are there any workflow requirements for contract approval or contract activity post-award?
It is desired that the system be able to track post award data such as the name of the vendors that bid and the name of vendors that were awarded contracts. Please refer to Question #4 in the RFI Questionnaire.
How many opportunities are anticipated to be posted using this solution?
The number varies by month depending on the opportunities available by the anchors. The monthly average during the last 3 months was 107.
Would vendors be required to authenticate to use the system?
Currently, vendors are preselected through a set of qualifications set by the SFAA Anchors. Qualifying vendors are then uploaded on a monthly basis.
What is the estimate number of users for the marketplace platform?
There are currently 11,000 unique vendors in the SFAA Regional Marketplace.
Can you provide the name of the anchor systems existing procurement systems?
There are currently 5 different procurement systems amongst the Anchors. Other procurement systems include GovSpend, B2GNow, Demand Star and other systems developed by the anchors.
If decided to issue an RFP, when do you anticipate it being released?
To be determined.
Is there an incumbent technology services provider for the South Florida Anchor Alliance and the Health Foundation of South Florida? If yes, can you provide the name?
The SFAA Regional Marketplace is currently working with a 3rd party technology vendor, Avisare.
Have there been any amendments or addendums issued?
None at this time.
Is the due date still April 26, 2024, by 5:00 PM?
Yes.
What current bidding and procurement systems are being used by the Anchor organizations? We have partner relationships with many companies that provide bidding and procurement systems and so knowing who they are would be useful.
There are currently 5 different procurement systems amongst the Anchors. Other procurement systems include GovSpend, B2GNow, Demand Star and other systems developed by the anchors.
Can you provide examples of current vendor search functionality that you have?
Please refer to Question #4 in the RFI Questionnaire.
What are some elements you see as “advanced” in terms of vendor matching?
The current technology uses AI enhanced matchmaking that promises more targeted matching between vendors and RFP opportunities. Please describe what enhanced features does your system have that helps improve matchmaking of vendors to RFPs that can then potentially lead to a higher success rate in contracts.
Do you envision the new system directly capturing vendor qualification information from the vendors? Is that data available for import from the anchor organizations?
Yes, the system should directly capture vendor qualification information from the vendors. In some cases, the anchors may have this data available. Please describe how you would capture vendor qualification information.
Can you summarize any highlights or successes from your pilot as well as pain points?
The pilot is in its first full year of implementation. Highlights include an increasing trend in vendor activation and matchmaking. Challenges have included integrations with the different procurement systems anchors are using, automating the process from vendor upload to bidding and award data as the bidding occurs in other systems.
What vendor data points would you want to capture directly from vendors? From third-party entities? From the anchor organizations?
Vendors: The SFAA Regional Marketplace uses vendor profile information for business matching to provide vendors with suggested RFPs matches and other procurement opportunities. Data points of interest also include, but are not limited to, employee size, financial revenues, location, and other demographic characteristics. Please describe what current vendor data points your system currently capture.
Anchors: The full cycle from vendor uploads, procurement uploads and bid and award data uploads.
Qualifying vendors currently registered with a participating anchor institution will be uploaded automatically to the South Florida Anchor Alliance Regional Marketplace. Following the vendor upload, RFPs and other procurement opportunities from our anchor institutions will be accessible in the Marketplace. Be one of the first vendors to take advantage of this groundbreaking initiative.
This is only the beginning!
The South Florida Anchor Alliance Regional Marketplace increases your access and expands your business opportunities! Ready to get started? It’s as easy as 1,2,3.
The South Florida Anchor Alliance Regional Marketplace uses your vendor profile information for business matching to provide you with suggested matches for RFPs and other procurement opportunities. The more robust you make your business profile, the more likely you are to get “matched” to opportunities that are right for your business.
Updating your vendor profile is easy. You can take advantage of any or all of the enhancements below, making your profile more competitive:
If you are not a registered vendor with one of these anchor institutions, you can still register in the Regional Marketplace platform.
South Florida Anchor Alliance is a collaborative of regional institutions-hospitals and healthcare systems, education enterprises, and municipalities-coming together to harness their collective multibillion-dollar spending power and vast human and intellectual capital in order to create a more just and inclusive local economy. The collective commitment of these institutions supports the stability and growth of our local small business community by providing access to critical resources that expand access to contracting opportunities, training assistance, capacity building and workforce development.
The South Florida Anchor Alliance was founded by the Health Foundation of South Florida, with support from Citi Foundation.
If you still have questions about the Regional Marketplace, please fill out our form below and a member of our team will contact you directly.
THE SOUTH FLORIDA ANCHOR ALLIANCE IS MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO SUPPORT FROM...
