Procuring EDRM system and supplier services
The second and major procurement you will need to make is the EDRM system and associated supplier services.
Detailed advice on compiling a Statement Of Requirements for an EDRM system and services can be found in stage six of the toolkit.
There are two main decisions to make here.
System or service?
The first is whether you are procuring a system or a service or both and, if the latter, whether you want to procure the system and the services separately.
To decide this you really need to study stages four to six of the toolkit. At the outset it may appear that if you are planning to procure an EDRM system that will be used by 1,000 plus staff then it will clearly be a system procurement and the software and hardware elements of the procurement will be well over 50% of the total. However, in any EDRM procurement there are usually a large number of service requirements which - unless you have a large project team and IS department - will need to be provided by the supplier. Examples include:
Specifying the solution
agreeing the classification scheme/file plan in detail and loading it on the system
supporting each Department during the roll out
scanning backfiles of paper documents to be loaded on the system
assisting with the migration of data from relevant finding aids
redesigning business processes
integrating the system with existing business administration systems
running acceptance tests
training users, operators, records managers and administrators
project management
support services
If you employ consultants as part of the project team then you can define your requirements and your file plan in more detail and this will reduce the services element.
If you require a significant number of services then you need to be aware that not all of the suppliers of the system software can provide all the services you may need. Many of the suppliers focus on developing and publishing their software and providing technical support. They work with systems integrators or value added resellers who are specialists in particular markets and provide a full solution to clients including all the services that may be required.
In some EDRM projects we have been involved in the value of the final contract comprises 75% services and only 25% software and hardware. 60% services and 40% software and hardware is very common.
Some government departments and local authorities have opted to let two contracts. Firstly they decide on the software supplier and procure a corporate license for the software. Then they separately let a contract to cover the required services including specifying and implementing the required system.
Why do you need to know all this? Firstly it can influence your choice of procurement route whether you are procuring a system or service. Secondly you should note that when estimating the cost of a solution you need to take account of more than just the cost of the software quoted by your supplier.
