The process involves faxing the RFP to several installation contractors and inviting them to respond with a quote by return fax. From the quotes received, you select one contractor and invite them to inspect your premises and finalize their quoted price. If you are not satisfied with the final quote, you can repeat the process with the next contractor until one is selected and a contract is signed. Finally, fax a short note to the contractors not selected thanking them for their participation. A sample RFP follows. XYZ IndustriesRequest For Proposal
Installation of Digital Telephone System (Today's Date) We require installation of a telephone system we will provide. You do not need system specific knowledge for installation. We will provide diagrams for main distribution frame wiring (feature tail punch down), cabinet mounting and card insertion. You will not have to program the system. The system is a WIN Communications 100D digital switch. Digital telephone instruments require only single pair wiring terminating on RJ 11 jacks. It is not necessary to inspect the premises at this time. You will have the opportunity to inspect the premises and finalize your fixed price quote prior to signing a contract. At that time, you can identify the need for any additions including feeder cables and secondary distribution frames. A detailed list of equipment is attached. Questions regarding the equipment should be directed to PhoneEquip.com at service@nbts.com or (562)594-0760. Installation generally requires the following tasks:
You should respond by completing the quote form below and faxing it directly to XYZ Industries at (555) 555-1235. Include information about your company as you deem appropriate. Responses are due one week from date of receipt of this RFP.
SCOPE OF WORK Cabling: For the purposes of this quote, assume we will reuse existing Category 3 cabling that presently originates at the main distribution frame and terminates on RJ 11 jacks. You can identify any additional cabling requirements at the time of your premises inspection. Any cabling required will be in addition to this quote. For the single cable price portion of the quote, assume Category 3 PVC jacketed cable, runs are not more than 100', dropped ceilings and stub-ups to wall jacks. System Installation: Each system cabinet has a maximum of 9 card slots and weighs approximately 18 lbs. empty. Each cabinet is approximately 18" wide, 8.5" deep and 10.5" tall. We will provide a plywood backboard at the main distribution frame. The main system cabinet houses the system central processing unit (CPU), read only memory (ROM) card, power supply (preinstalled), telephone line and telephone station interface cards. Each expansion cabinet is "daisy chained" to the previous cabinet via one inter-cabinet power connector cable and one data cable. Expansion cabinets house telephone line and telephone station interface cards. System cabinets are to be "stacked" in a vertical manner whether they are wall or floor mounted. All necessary brackets are provided. You should ground the main cabinet via 10 gauge ground wire. Card Insertion: The CPU will either be preprogrammed or programmed remotely after installation. Cabinets are counted from bottom (main cabinet = #1) up through #4. Each slot is numbered. We will provide a list of card slots and the corresponding circuit card by cabinet. Cards are to be inserted, seated and tied down with a mounting screw. Line and station interface cards have modular connectors on the cards. Feature tails are provided. You should have the ability to make up replacement tails with either 8 or 6 conductor plugs as needed. We will provide a wiring diagram for punch down of feature tails on standard 66-M25 type blocks. You should provide all punch down blocks, standoffs, cable guides and any other required backboard materials. Modems Two external modems are provided for remote programming. You should connect one modem to the system maintenance port (DB 25 pin connector) and one modem to the voice mail modem port (DB 9 pin connector). We will provide the pin outs for the connectors and you should be prepared to make any cables not provided. Cross Connects You will cross connect the system to telephone lines and station legs. We will provide strapping lists sorted by both port and telephone line/station number. Ports are easily identified by cabinet, slot and circuit number. Thus, port 1403 is cabinet 1, slot 4 and circuit 03. You should install one station test jack at the backboard for testing. Setting Stations You will install telephones out of the box. This requires connecting the handset, base cord and inserting customer provided designation strips. Once the station cable is "hot", plug the base cord into the RJ-11 jack and test the instrument for intercom dial tone. You should provide any required base cord extensions and be prepared to replace any defective jacks. Testing When the system (including modems) is installed and "turned up", call the remote maintenance center at (562) 594-0760 to test remote maintenance connections. Test each CO line as appearing on the console. Test inbound calls and station to station calls. Test voice mail/auto attendant answering as required. Cutover This is an "in service" cutover. That is, you will disconnect the existing system and cut the new system into service during regular business hours. Initially, eight telephone lines and eight telephones should be cut into service to provide us with a limited ability to receive and make calls. From there, the remainder of the telephone lines and telephone instruments should be placed in service. QUOTE FORM
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||