ESTABLISHING STRATEGIC SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS TO AUGMENT SAFARICOM’S SMB CLOUD SOLUTIONS
SAFARICOM PLC TENDER MAY 2024
| CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST |
ESTABLISHING STRATEGIC SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS TO AUGMENT SAFARICOM’S SMB CLOUD SOLUTIONS OFFERINGS IN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT, ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.
| Document Release Date: | 26th April 2024 |
| Last Date for Receipt of Proposal: | 17th May 2024 |
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Safaricom, Kenya’s leading telecommunications and technology services company, is strategically transforming itself into a world-class technology solutions provider. As part of this transformation, we are building a robust cloud ecosystem to offer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications tailored for the Kenyan market.
Through this Expression of Interest (EOI), Safaricom seeks to establish strategic partnerships with reputable SaaS vendors. Our goal is to accelerate the expansion of our enterprise cloud solutions portfolio by collaborating with qualified partners who can provide industry-leading SaaS products across key domains, including:
1) Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
2) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
3) Financial Management
4) Human Resources (HR) Management.
Safaricom PLC invites Expressions of Interest from experienced and reputable partners with advanced SaaS propositions and seamless integration capabilities. These partners will support the delivery of cutting-edge solutions that meet our company’s requirements, enabling us to offer innovative and efficient services to our customers in Kenya.
2.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Vision
To become Kenya’s preeminent SaaS solutions platform, empowering enterprises with vertically integrated, cloudbased business applications.
Aims and Objectives
1) Establish Safaricom as the preferred SaaS solutions provider for SMBs in Kenya.
2) Build a comprehensive portfolio of industry-tailored SaaS products across critical business functions.
3) Create an end-to-end enterprise cloud ecosystem by bundling SaaS offerings with Safaricom’s connectivity, infrastructure, and digital services.
4) Augment our product lineup with best-of-breed SaaS solutions across CRM, ERP, Financial Management, and HR Management.
5) Offer end-to-end, industry-tailored enterprise solutions by bundling partner SaaS products with our existing services.
6) Drive recurring revenue growth by reselling partner SaaS offerings under the Safaricom brand.
7) Leverage joint marketing, sales initiatives, and collaborative go-to-market with SaaS partners.
8) Deliver seamless, integrated solutions and unparalleled customer experiences.
Overview
The company seeks partners with specific qualifications, including proven SaaS experience, financial stability, a customer base, and commitment to collaboration. Interested parties must adhere to detailed submission instructions, with subsequent steps including evaluation, presentations, and potential contracting.
General Product and Technical Qualifications:
– Proven, modern, and scalable multi-tenant SaaS architecture.
– Robust APIs and integration capabilities with iPaaS/API management support.
– AI/ML capabilities embedded within the SaaS product for intelligent automation.
– Mobile-responsive UIs and support for omnichannel user experiences.
– 99.9% uptime/availability SLAs and comprehensive security certifications.
– Continuous delivery of updates/upgrades through automated CI/CD pipelines.
– Pricing for these applications to be <KES 500 catering for 10 users.
– Self-service options.
– invoicing currency to be Kenya Shillings (KES)
Company Qualifications:
– Minimum 5 years of experience operating and supporting an SMBs SaaS product.
– Financially stable organization with strong growth trends and funding
– Existing customer base with prominent enterprise/corporate/SMBs references
– Established partner ecosystem and marketplace for third-party integrations.
– Dedicated customer success, training, and premium local support teams.
– Published product roadmaps with consistent cadence of new feature releases.
– Compliance with data privacy, security, and regulatory standards. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Kenya’s Data Protection Act.
– SOC 2 Type 2 for security standards.
Partnership Qualifications:
– Well-defined partner program with multiple tiers and benefits -if applicable.
– Collaborative co-selling motions and joint go-to-market strategies.
– Commitment to co-marketing activities (events, content, campaigns).
– White labeling/OEM capabilities to provide SaaS under Safaricom’s brand.
– Flexible licensing models (user-based, consumption, revenue-share, etc.)
– Deal protection, registration, and equitable incentive programs -if applicable
– Comprehensive training, certification, and enablement resources.
– Dedicated partner managers and executive sponsorship.
3.0 DETAILED SCOPE OF WORK
| Product/Application | Scope of Work |
| Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) |
Implement a cloud-based CRM solution to manage the entire customer lifecycle.
Core modules: Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation, Service & Support AI/ML capabilities for lead scoring, next-best-actions, sentiment analysis Omnichannel customer engagement across web, mobile, social, messaging etc. Integration with ERP, billing systems, and other enterprise applications Self-service customer portals and knowledge base Reporting, dashboards, and advanced analytics |
| Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) – |
Deploy an integrated, cloud-based ERP suite.
Core modules: Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, Inventory, Manufacturing. Business process automation and workflow management. Advanced reporting, analytics, and data visualization capabilities. Compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Integration with CRM, HR, and other business systems. Self-service portals for employees and partners. |
| Financial Management | Implement cloud-based financial management and accounting software.
Core capabilities: General Ledger, Accounts Payable/Receivable, Billing, Revenue Recognition. Accounting, invoicing, banking integrations. Project/Timesheets billing and reporting. Asset management and tax compliance. Financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and planning tools. AI/ML for expense management, fraud detection, predictive analytics. Integration with ERP, CRM, procurement, and other systems. Compliance with accounting standards, tax regulations. |
| Human Resources (HR) Management | Deploy a comprehensive, cloud HR management system.
Core HR modules: Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, Learning & Development, Performance, Succession. Recruitment marketing and applicant tracking. Learning management and talent development. Time & attendance with scheduling/rostering. Vehicle/Fleet management for field workforce. Employee and manager self-service portals. Workforce analytics, reporting and forecasting. Integration with ERP for payroll, benefits, and compensation. AI/ML for candidate matching, predictive attrition modeling. Compliance with employment laws and data privacy. |
4.0 SUBMISSION OF ENQUIRIES AND RESPONSES
All enquiries relating to this EOI and the final responses should be addressed to; ramayo@Safaricom.co.ke ; copy to pkyengo@Safaricom.co.ke on or before
Requirements relating to this Expression of Interest are accessible via the below link. Kindly review all instructions on this document before proceeding to the requirements.
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Important Instructions
All new and participating suppliers for this EoI will be expected to register as new suppliers via the below link to be able to access the EoI. Please use this link to register Supplier Registration (oraclecloud.com) if you aren’t registered with Safaricom already. Eric Kiamba (ekiamba@safaricom.co.ke) will review your registration and feedback.
- a)Once registered Please log into the portal via the link below; https://egjd.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/supplierPortal/faces/FndOverview?fndGlobalItemNodeId=itemNode_supplier_portal_supplier_portal and submit your proposal only via the portal for consideration.
- b)Kindly review all instructions on this document before proceeding to the requirements.
- c)NOTE that the responses to this EoI are to be submitted via the Safaricom i-sourcing portal and e-mail responses will not be considered.
- d)For any support on this EoI, kindly send an email to ramayo@Safaricom.co.ke copying pkyengo@Safaricom.co.ke
5.0 EOI REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BIDDERS
More details on the EOI Requirements are; https://www.safaricom.co.ke/about/join-safaricom/our-suppliers/tenders
6.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS
Below are instructions that responses to this EOI MUST adhered to;
- Please provide all responses in standard file formats i.e. XLSs, DOC(X) and PDF.
- Please NOTE that the receipt of a response shall not bind Safaricom into any contractual agreements with the vendor responding to this EOI. Such arrangements shall only come into place once a tender process has been undertaken and an award issued to successful bidder(s) as evaluated technically and commercially.
- Please NOTE that any costs associated with the preparation and submission of the response to the EOI shall be borne by the vendor.
- Please indicate if you intend to submit this bid as a joint venture/consortium or any other joint format and state the partner in this case.
- Please submit your organization and staff experience information in the format provided in appendix 1 (Information on staff and organization experience) of this document.
- Please share accompanying links to demos/documentation on the necessary technical descriptions of previous work undertaken of a similar nature.
7.0 NEXT STEPS
Once Safaricom PLC receives responses to this EOI on the closure date indicated, an Evaluation Committee will be constituted to evaluate the responses provided by the EOI respondents.
– The Evaluation Committee constituted shall evaluate all the responses to the EOI and including all supporting documents, links & documentary evidence. Please NOTE that failure to submit requisite supporting documents or documentary evidence, may lead to rejection of the EOI response.
– The Evaluation Committee may seek additional documents as it deems necessary, at its discretion as part of the evaluation exercise that will be undertaken.
– EOI respondents who meet the minimum requirements will be called for a detailed presentation for further evaluation of their technical capability, product quality, Quality Analysis procedure, etc. as part of the EOI evaluation.
– Only those EOI respondents that meet the minimum requirements indicated in the Aims and Objectives section will be shortlisted following successful presentation of their offering/solution proposal.
– Successful potential partner(s) will be notified accordingly.
Below is a summary of activities from when the EOI will be sent out to closure/contracting.
NOTE: These durations are tentative and any changes that deviate from the below will be communicated.
| No. | Activity | Approximate Duration |
| 1. | EOI sent out | 26th Apr 2024 |
| 2. | EOI receipt | 1 week |
| 3. | EOI responses review and evaluation | 1 week |
| 4. | EOI Presentations and Demo (clarifications and further discussions on partnership) | 1 week |
| 9. | Evaluation, Award and Contracting | 1 week |
8.0 NOTE
Safaricom PLC reserves, at its sole discretion, the right to select or reject either in totality or partially, any or all proposals made in the context of this EOI. Any such decisions made will be final and no correspondence will be engaged into, other than for informing the bidders of the outcome of the process.
