Enterprise Resource Planning Solution

The vendor required to provide enterprise resource planning solution (ERP) of a well-established, highly qualified and experienced firm for the supply, implementation and hosting of a robust, intuitive, leading-edge ERP solution for use in its day-to-day municipal resource planning, budgeting, and operations
- ERP technical requirements:
1. Software as a solution (cloud): 
•    A high-availability (i.e., 99.9% uptime) hosted solution that includes both a production and a test environment with an unlimited number of concurrent users, other than licensing and subscription-based restrictions. 
•    The current infrastructure at the city is microsoft-centric to support single sign-on (SSO). 
•    The solution should be easy to use and can meet future regulated accessibility requirements
2. Security: 
•    The solution meets security industry standards related to access controls, multifactor authentication, data, and encryption. 
•    The proponent should have an incident response plan and conduct regular security assessment procedures and be prepared to submit summary results to the city.
3. Mobile accessibility: 
•    The solution should be accessible by mobile devices to enhance the user experience and productivity. 
•    This will ensure that all users and employees (i.e. Frontline supervisors, and management) can access critical functions, self-service portals, and reporting capabilities seamlessly from mobile devices while working remotely or on-site. 
•    The solution should be compatible with major operating systems, including iOS and android. 
•    Offline access to critical functions allowing users to perform tasks without an internet connection and syncing of data once connectivity is restored is desirable.
4. Data management: 
•    The solution meets data management best practices in a centralized database including retention requirements, activity tracking, and auditing.
5. Integration: 
•    Proposed solution modules are expected to be fully integrated and work together seamlessly; sharing information with one another in real-time. 
•    The new solution should integrate with other city systems with minimal configurations using application programming interfaces (APIS) or other tools that allow for streamlined automation.
6. Artificial intelligence tools: 
•    The solution should provide a number of process enhancement tools to improve current user productivity and data analysis capabilities, i.e. through large language models, artificial intelligence, or other approaches.
- ERP functional requirements:
1. Hire to retire: 
•    Provides a holistic and integrated approach to managing the complete employee lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement. 
•    This process includes automated recruitment and talent acquisition tools, digital onboarding platforms, performance management software, learning management systems, compensation and benefits administration software, employee engagement and retention tools, succession planning and talent development platforms, retirement and offboarding management tools, safety management system, and data-driven decision-making and analytics.
2. Payroll: 
•    Provides a process that automates and manages all aspects of employee payroll, from calculating wages and taxes to processing payments and generating pay stubs in compliance with labor laws and regulations. 
•    Payroll software integrates with other human resource and financial functionality within a solution.
•    The city processes payroll on a bi-weekly basis for active employees (as per agreements with unionized and non-unionized employee groups for salaried and hourly basis for permanent, casual, contract term, student, and part-time employees). 
•    Streamlined automated payroll processes with enhanced controls saves time and reduces errors for repetitive complex calculations. 
•    It also allows for comprehensive reporting
3. Procure to pay: 
•    Provides an integrated end-to end process for organizations to acquire goods and services. 
•    It encompasses vendor management and performance, contract administration and management (e.g., supply agreement), the development and administration of various types of procurement methodologies, purchase requisitions, purchase orders, receiving, invoicing and payment, inventory management, and helps ensure efficient procurement operations and policy compliance. 
•    Effective procurement management is vital for organizations to acquire essential resources, maintain cost control, and build positive relationships with suppliers.
4. Record to report: 
•    Provides an accounting process which involves collecting, processing and presenting information to provide strategic, financial and operational analysis. 
•    It covers the steps involved in preparing and reporting the overall accounts which are typically stored in the general ledger including chart of accounts, accounts receivable (A/R), accounts payable (A/P), financial reporting, cash and treasury management, grant management, business expense management, adjusting entries, and period close. 
•    The goal is to provide stakeholders with reliable financial information to understand the organization’s performance, ensure compliance with regulations, and support strategic decision-making.
5. Acquire to dispose: 
•    Provides a critical business process that involves planning of future capital requirements, as well as managing the lifecycle of both owned and leased assets from acquisition to disposal. 
•    The city has both capital assets (e.g., roads, facilities, water utility infrastructure) and operational assets (e.g., fleet) for which sourcing, acquisition, and disposition are handled differently.
•    This process includes the acquisition, deployment, maintenance, and eventual disposal of assets such as equipment, vehicles, and property. 
•    Maintaining accurate financial records, proper management of the asset lifecycle can help reduce costs associated with asset acquisition, cost-effective maintenance, and responsible disposal.
6. Billings and collection: 
•    Provides a business process related to the sales collection lifecycle. 
•    Municipal revenue collection activities include, but not limited to, selling taxi licenses, building permits, parking infractions, demolition of vacant and derelict buildings, reimbursement for city services, and lease agreements. 
•    This business process is important for driving non-tax revenue, improving customer satisfaction, and streamlining revenue generation and collection between the city’s service areas and the finance service area.
7. Planning and budgeting: 
•    Provides a centralized platform for managing budgets and financial projections. 
•    The platform contains features specifically designed for planning and budgeting, that automate labor-intensive tasks and provide tools for scenario modeling, forecasting, variance analysis, and reporting. 
•    These features should be integrated with the ERP solution’s core financial systems, allowing for real-time data synchronization and access to historical information, which facilitates more accurate and efficient planning and budgeting. 
•    These tools enable collaborative and more accurate budget forecasting.
8. Utility billing: 
•    The city is responsible for providing water and wastewater services to residential and commercial customers, which are billed on a flat-rate schedule and metered consumption. 
•    The utility billing function provides a centralized platform to manage the city’s water utility operations. 
•    This includes processes for billing, automated meter readings, customer information, receiving payments, and payment plans, all of which are currently managed through water meter infrastructure (out-of-scope), the Cogsdale utility billing system, and the silver-blaze customer portal.
•    The silver-blaze portal is available in english and French, which is a key requirement for all customer-facing applications such as this.
- Budget:
•    Operating Budget (General) – 2025: $223.8 M
•    Operating Budget (Utility) – 2025: $46.2 M
•    Capital Budget (General and Utility) – 2025: $72.0 M