In today’s world, organizations are expected to use the latest technologies to improve customer experiences. Leasing mobile devices instead of purchasing them allows organizations to cut their expenses while also enhancing the quality of services provided to customers. A Request for Proposal is a useful document that allows sharing the organization’s needs and expectations with potential service vendors (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2016). The present paper will discuss five vendors that provide mobile devices on lease and offer a Request for Information (RFI) that can be sent to these vendors.
Vendors
Firstly, KWIPPED is an American company that leases various IT devices, including computers, laptops, and tablets. The mobile device range offered by KWIPPED includes several models of Apple iPads, as well as Samsung and Microsoft tablets (KWIPPED, Inc., 2018). There are competitive prices for daily, weekly, and monthly leases, and the company also provides tailored offers to large organizations. Secondly, NFS Leasing could be considered for the solution, as it offers a variety of lease scenarios, including traditional lease, leaseback, and asset-backed lease (NFS Leasing, Inc., 2018).
The company has an extensive product range with regards to IT equipment, with several models from different manufacturers available for rent. Rentacomputer is the third vendor that could be considered by the organization. Apart from leasing a range of Android, Apple, and Microsoft tablets, the company also provides other mobile devices, such as smartphones and kiosks (Rentacomputer, 2018).
This vendor also tailors its pricing schemes to the customer’s needs. Meeting Tomorrow should also be reviewed, as it offers rental services nationwide. The company has a broad product range, including iPhones, iPads, and Microsoft Surface tablets (Meeting Tomorrow, 2018). Finally, Wholesale Tablets was also included on the short list because it has a variety of tablets available and provides special rent conditions to businesses (Wholesale Tablets, 2018).
Request for Information (RFI)
Vital Criteria
In selecting the most appropriate solution, it is critical to consider pricing, technical assistance, maintenance, contract conditions, and vendor demos. Pricing is one of the essential factors because the solution must fit into the organization’s budget. Most organizations working in the healthcare sector have a strict annual budget, and any overhead expenses could result in issues with the Board or create a need for cost-cutting.
Similarly, the conditions of long-term lease or rent should respond to the organization’s needs. There should be options to switch to newer devices free of charge, as this would help to keep the equipment up to date and ensure improved accessibility of electronic health records. Also, the penalty for contract termination should be minimal because this will allow avoiding unnecessary expenses when switching to another vendor or newer technologies.
Adequate technical assistance and maintenance will also be required to use devices correctly and effectively. For instance, it would be ideal of the chosen vendor had a 24/7 technical support and provided maintenance services at a small price. In case of any problems with devices, the company should arrange for a replacement as soon as possible so that there would be no gaps in EHR accessibility. Lastly, vendor demos are an essential part of the selection process, as it is crucial to ensure that devices offered by vendors can be used to achieve the goals set for a successful solution. Vendors should demonstrate the technical capacity of their devices and allow for a testing period that would help to determine whether or not the staff are comfortable with the selected product.
Selection Process Requirements
The selection process will aim to ensure that the chosen devices can fulfill the organization’s needs with regards to EHR use. Firstly, vendors should prepare a demonstration of all available mobile devices and explain how they can be used to improve the accessibility of EHR. Then, vendors should provide devices for testing in the organization so that employees could provide feedback and participate in the decision-making process.
During the testing stage, the devices need to be installed in two or three different units of the facility to identify any local problems or barriers to implementation. After all three stages are finished, devices and vendors will be rated based on performance and vital criteria explained in the previous section.
Rating by Third-Party Organizations
Third-party organizations, such as KLAS Research, often compose ratings of service and software vendors. These ratings can also be used to select an appropriate solution. Apart from identifying the vendors’ overall ratings, it is also necessary to take into account their ratings for specific components. The performance of devices is important to estimate whether or not they have the capacity to improve EHR accessibility.
Moreover, vendors’ ratings in customer service should also be considered, as they reflect technical support and maintenance capabilities of vendors. Lastly, KLAS Research ratings usually mention compatibility of certain devices, software, and services. This is also an important component of vendor ratings, as it helps to ensure that the devices offered by vendors are fully compatible with the organization’s EHR software.
Site Visit Feedback or Current User Interviews
As part of the selection process, vendors will also be required to visit the site in order to understand the needs of the organization. Staff and the management will then be able to provide their feedback on the vendor. The feedback on communication with vendors is an integral part of the process, as it will allow potential users of mobile devices to share their thoughts and concerns. For instance, staff members will evaluate the vendor’s understanding of using mobile devices for accessing EHR, whereas the management will examine if vendors take the initiative to propose different options to achieve the organization’s goals.
Current user feedback will also be reviewed during the selection process. Reviews of vendors can be found online, but it would also be beneficial to contact some of the current users and interview them about their experiences with a particular vendor. The interviews should focus on customer service, contract negotiation and fulfillment, technical support, and the quality of devices provided.
Pricing Models and Contracts
The chosen pricing model is fixed pricing, which involves paying a set amount of money for a product and service. In the present case, the total price will consist of rent price of all devices ordered and any service prices, such as delivery or technical support. Ideally, vendors should offer annual contracts with a one-time payment for the upcoming year. However, monthly contracts and fees might be considered for the first 3-5 months, as this will allow the organization to evaluate its experience with a vendor and switch to a different one in case of any problems.
The needs and responsibilities of the parties should be fully stipulated in the contract. It is preferred that the contract assigns the vendor as the party responsible for technical support, installation, and maintenance. The cost of severing the contract early should be minimal, while the support fees should be included in the monthly or yearly price of rent.
Conclusion
Overall, all of the chosen vendors are appropriate to the goals of the project. The proposed RFI stipulates the essential requirements and needs of the organization that the chosen vendor must fulfill. The request also details the selection process, which will help vendors to make proposals and suggest different options. Based on the information provided by vendors in response, the organization will be able to choose two or three companies for comparison.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2016). Developing an RFP. Web.
KWIPPED, Inc. (2018). Rent, lease or finance tablets on KWIPPED. Web.
Meeting Tomorrow. (2018). Nationwide rentals. Web.
NFS Leasing, Inc. (2018). Programs. Web.
Rentacomputer. (2018). Rental products. Web.
Wholesale Tablets. (2018). Who we cater to. Web.