At the CFO meeting in February, we received direction that we should follow a formal and open process for the evaluation and selection project (as opposed to selecting from an existing state contract). Following that meeting we have met with TAMU System procurement on several occasions and have decided to proceed with an RFP approach. Additional guidance at the CFO meeting was that we should focus our efforts in the HR/Payroll area. So it is our intention to not provide detail requirement for finance in the RFP, but to simply ask the vendors to provide general information on their financial offering and how it will integrate with their HR/Payroll proposal.
Additionally in February we completed the assessment conducted by Workday. We thank all of you who participated in those meetings. We will share the results of that assessment with you as we move forward and define our requirements.
As Carol and I have worked to push this project forward, we have been encumbered by our other duties. To assist with resources and provide overall guidance to the process, we have decided to engage a consultant to help develop and push out the RFP. We are in discussions with one who has specific experience with Texas higher education. We hope we can agree to a statement of work by the end of next week. We are excited to get the help and the guidance.
Over the next two weeks Carol Manthei will be contacting several of you to participate in working group meetings to define and review our requirements. The consultant we engage will bring base requirements for higher education which should expedite this process. The work will primarily be done in May and June as we plan on sending out the RFP in mid-July. We also expect the consultant to provide a web-based collaboration tool that will allow all of you, as well as other stakeholders, to participate and give feedback. Also, Carol and I have shifted her duties and expect her to dedicate 75% of her time to this project until its completion.
Note also that we plan on having meetings for both the Steering Committee and Advisory groups in early May.
Several have still asked why we are proceeding down this path without a clear funding strategy. In the judgment of TAMU System leadership, knowing the cost of a solution and having a clear understanding of the value it will provide will provide the business case to acquire the funding.
We have also adjusted the project timeline. We now propose the following timeline, and feel that it is realistic and achievable.
| ACTIVITY | TARGET START DATE | TARGET COMPLETE DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Contract with an ERP Selection Consultant | April 23, 2014 | |
| Form internal project team | April 15 | April 30 |
| Project start-up/planning with consultant | April 23, 2015 | April 30, 2014 |
| Define business processes/Document requirements | May 1 ,2014 | June 30, 2014 |
| Create RFP, attain approvals | July 1, 2014 | July 15, 2014 |
| Issue RFP – receive vendor responses | July 15, 2014 | August 15, 2014 |
| Determine short list (extended time due to FY end) | August 15, 2014 | Sept 15, 2014 |
| Schedule/prep vendor demos | Sept 15, 2014 | Sept 30, 2014 |
| Vendor Demonstrations/review alternatives | October 1, 2014 | October 31, 2014 |
| Determine recommendation | Nov. 1, 2014 | Nov. 15, 2014 |
| Advisory Group: Report recommendation to Steering Committee | November 15, 2014 | |
| Steering Committee: Review recommendation and make decision | November 15, 2014 | December 1, 2014 |
| Determine Funding Plan | December 1, 2014 | December 31, 2014 |