Scope of Work I. Scope of Solicitation II. General


Scope of Work I. Scope of Solicitation II. General...

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Travel Management Services

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Bid 64046933

Scope of Work

I. II. III. IV. V.

Scope of Solicitation General Information/Instructions to Offerors Qualifications Award Criteria Next Steps

I. SCOPE OF SOLICITATION Purpose The purpose of this RFQ is to evaluate and select a pool of travel management companies to submit solutions to a Request for Proposal (RFP), and ultimately award a contract to a company with an online booking capability. Clemson seeks significant improvements in travel service, airline ticket costs, communication, data analysis and value for the traveler and planners. The contract award resulting from this effort shall result in a travel management solution that is owned, hosted, and operated by a commercial supplier and provided to Clemson University via a secure web portal and mobile application. Various functions of official travel and travel management shall be provided online using process and procedures consistent with Clemson University travel policies and South Carolina regulations and statutes. Travel functions may include, but not limited to, the following:    

Travel planning and cost estimation Creation of travel authorizations and approval workflow Reservation and fulfillment services (to include Duty of Care functions) Interface with University business systems; and Reporting/Data exchange

The services rendered by the Contractor shall include, but are not be limited to the following:      

University travel processes and travel management expertise App and/or web-based reservation service Training Implementation and integration planning and support Travel workflow creation with protected user roles Customer support including functional and technical support for related integration issues, as well as assistance with travel arrangement (en-route, emergency support); and Clemson University-specific requirement and objective

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Travel Management Services

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Bid 64046933

Background Information The Clemson University (also referred to as CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, Clemson, or the University) is a public, land grant research institution and university, a 501(c) (3) employer. For a detailed description of Clemson’s academic divisions and organization visit http://www.clemson.edu

The main campus is hosted on approximately 1,400 acres in Clemson, South Carolina (situated halfway between Charlotte NC and Atlanta GA). The University’s 19,000 students can select from approximately 80 undergraduate and 110 graduate degree programs offered by five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development—employing over 3,500 FT/PT staff and faculty. Clemson is well known for its prominent athletic programs and for the spirit of its fans. Another important aspect of Clemson is its dedication to improving the world through public service, which is why the University encourages faculty to engage their classes through service learning. While 60 percent, of University official travel, involves conferences and seminars hosted primarily out of state, a good portion of the travel dollar is spent, within the state, as employee’s travel from county to county working with citizens, legislators, customers, co-workers & researchers, and other higher education institutions. The University operates many other South Carolina locations and missions: namely, an MBA School, CU-ICAR (International Center for Automotive Research), and University Center (adult education and certifications) in Greenville SC; Architectural studies, Wind Turbine test facility and Restoration University in North Charleston, SC as well as the South Carolina Cooperative Extension Offices, in all 46 counties, and at the five Research & Education Centers. Focusing upon researchbased information in agriculture, environment, food safety & nutrition, economic & community development, youth & families; Cooperative Extension Service engages citizens to help build a better South Carolina. The nearest airport, serving the main campus and Greenville SC, is Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) Airport about 45 minutes from Clemson. The main campus lies halfway between Charlotte NC and Atlanta GA, 12 miles from Interstate-85, in the northwest corner of South Carolina. Other airports utilized by University travelers include Asheville, Columbia, Charleston, Atlanta and Charlotte.

Overview of Current University Travel Environment Currently, Clemson University does not contract with a travel agency or management company; does not possess a booking or expense management tool; and does not issue travel cards to its travelers. The staff of each department is generally responsible for the selection of travel arrangements, making reservations (usually via commercially online outlets) and forwarding Microsoft Excel spreadsheet expense reports with requisite attached receipts; once approved culminating in an 2

Travel Management Services

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Bid 64046933

Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment into the traveler’s chosen banking account. Using this open market for selection, each of the academic colleges, project groups and administrative organizations travelers have developed independent sources for travel reservation services. Each traveler must utilize their own personal credit card for hotel arrangements, car rental/fueling, and meals while airline, rental vehicles and conference fees may be placed on the no-interest, University-issued Procurement card (P-card) contracted through Bank of America NA. This open market flexibility has put the emphasis on the service necessary to satisfy unique individual, department or group needs but sometimes exposes those same departments to unissued or restricted tickets, expensive itinerary change fees and no travel partnerships (i.e. airlines, hotel chains, etc.) as well as very limited travel data analysis. The University now plans to aggressively move forward with a continued focus on service by teaming with a travel management company with an online booking tool capable of handling our international/domestic, faculty/staff, student and group travel requirements via best industry practices. At this time, the intended contract’s service would involve employee official travel only, it will not apply to athletics, alumni, leisure or student travel but could be added in the future. Serving the diverse requirements of the University’s travelers is the #1 priority within the policy and laws of the State of South Carolina.

Lodging Air Fare Mileage Meals Registrations Auto Other Employee Travel Non-Employee Travel Reported to State

FY14 3,167,835 3,071,892 1,826,348 960,146 1,676,137 326,131 646,250 11,674,739 1,293,005 12,967,744

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FY13 2,899,846 2,869,289 1,886,671 909,633 1,554,830 304,610 699,203 11,124,083 1,236,296 12,360,379

FY12 2,730,542 2,733,001 1,710,815 878,227 1,511,936 317,492 643,533 10,525,546 1,130,481 11,656,028

Travel Management Services

Lodging Air Fare Mileage Meals Registrations Auto Other Employee Travel

E&G 1,641,432 1,401,223 611,693 448,288 1,016,780 194,442 300,947

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PSA 338,600 126,651 478,426 111,755 129,378 24,992 38,520

5,614,805 1,248,323

Bid 64046933

FY14 Restricted Athletics Auxiliary 857,599 270,439 59,765 866,431 651,900 25,688 499,946 202,617 33,666 289,979 99,415 10,709 380,072 77,037 72,869 100,018 0 6,679 201,001 98,562 7,220 3,195,046 1,399,969

216,596

Total 3,167,835 3,071,892 1,826,348 960,146 1,676,137 326,131 646,250 11,674,739

II. GENERAL INFORMATION/INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS Schedule of key Events: 1. Issuance of Request For Qualification (RFQ) 2. Deadline for receipt of responses

7/14/2015 8/07/2015

Offeror shall submit a qualification proposal online in the buyWays system as outlined within this RFQ. Offeror should submit all other information and documents requested below. Please note, no pricing should be included at this stage in the solicitation process. In order to submit proposals electronically in the Clemson University online bidding system, Offerors must login at https://sciquest.ionwave.net/prod/default.aspx?company=clemson , and follow specific instructions for this RFQ. If not already registered, you should register several days in advance of the bid closing date so you can be approved and login in time to submit a response. III. QUALIFICATIONS The following qualifications should be used as an outline for responding to this request for Qualification. Your response to each of these items will be used to determine those Offerors who are most qualified to meet the requirements of the University for this future contract. 1. Provide a brief overview of your company highlighting size, location(s), business objectives, certifications, accolades, disadvantaged/minority owned or partnership, years of experience with higher education travel management services. 2. Identify your online booking tool and/or mobile app and illustrate its/their capabilities and safeguards, in particular, protection of traveler profiles and data access.

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3. Represent your company’s practice and/or ability to manage a Study Abroad program, encompassing greater than 2,500 participants annually. 4. Explain your Duty of Care program with respect to the traveler, their department and the University. 5. Describe your direct billing capabilities in handling traveling staff/faculty, special guests, and faculty/staff candidates. 6. Describe your client commissions-sharing strategy. Describe your service fee structuring for self-service online tool reservations and over-the-phone reservations. Describe your philosophies regarding rebates & rewards programs. 7. Explain your experience with implementing a travel program, where one formerly didn’t exist. Describe your marketing and/or campaign philosophy in garnering and encouraging traveler adoption. 8. Describe your reporting mechanisms and data sharing programs. In addition, describe your role(s) in negotiations with airlines, accommodations, vehicle rentals, airport or offairport parking, limo/taxi & rail services and in client policy consultation. 9. Is your company Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) certified? 10. Describe your company’s Global Distribution System (GDS) relationships. 11. In limited detail, address the following regarding your company:  Ability to train/educate your staff and turnover rate of frontline customer/reservation agents  Account and provide listing of outsourced services (i.e. call center, accounts receivable, collections, server hosting, IT support, web and mobile apps booking tools)  Indicate experience serving clients remotely & via on-site engagement  Open booking philosophy  Experience with geographically disparate clients  Experience with non-mandated policy with preferred TMC

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Travel Management Services

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Bid 64046933

12. Include at least 5 references for the scope of travel management services indicated within this RFQ. The reference information should include:  Name of the reference, company name  Status: Current or a former client  The name, telephone number and email address of a contact that is specifically knowledgeable of the products, services and results of your travel services  A template of your master service agreement and any local/regional addenda  A brief summary of the scope of each project IV. AWARD CRITERIA Offerors responding to this Request for Qualifications will be evaluated based on the information provided. All submittals will be considered. In accordance with Section 11-35-1530, SC Procurement Code, Offerors will be ranked from most qualified to least qualified based on vendor qualifications (responses to the twelve (12) items above) as they relate to your ability to perform future requirements of this contract. Offers will be solicited from at least the top six (6) Offerors by means of a Request for Proposal. V. NEXT STEPS After submissions from this RFQ have been evaluated and ranked based on qualifications, Clemson will choose at least six (6) vendors to respond to a Request for Proposal. The Request for Proposal will contain detailed requirements and a request to provide costs that are not part of this initial RFQ stage.

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