1. Synopsis This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for Market Research. The National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is seeking assistance to determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses preferably of some sort of socio-economic category i.e., small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, service disabled veteran-owned or HUB Zone small businesses capable of serving the needs of NTIS. 2. Background The National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is the official source for Government-sponsored U.S. and worldwide scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related information. NTIS may charge reasonable and justifiable service fees to other Government agencies for services performed (15 U.S.C. §1151-§1157, as amended). Through services to other agencies, NTIS helps recover its operating and modernization costs and remains self-sufficient, as required by law. In addition, section 3704b(e)(5), as amended, authorizes NTIS to implement new methods or media for the dissemination of scientific, technical, and engineering information, including producing and disseminating information products in electronic format. The operations of NTIS includes on-line information delivery services and fee based subscription services accessible in various formats used by NTIS and other agencies to establish a presence on and disseminate information through the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web as a part of existence and growth in the archival and distribution arena of Government information. 3. Purpose NTIS is seeking the necessary services of storage, tracking, retrieval and delivery of archival paper documents in support of preservation and demand fulfillment for Government publications and reports. Currently, NTIS has archives of scientific, technical, and engineering information stored and ranged by accession number within approximately 40,000 record boxes, located off-site from our primary office. For purposes of this announcement a standard records box (12Wx15Lx10H) shall be equivalent to one cubic foot of document material. Contractor shall provide courier service delivery of archives within 24-hours being requested by NTIS. NTIS requests an average of two dozen individual documents and/or record containers per business day for retrieval and demand fulfillment. 4. Requirements Due to logistics of NTIS operations and courier purposes interested firms shall be within a 25 mile radius of the NTIS facility. Contractor shall supply the record retention boxes, indexing equipment, box barcode labels, pallets, shrink-wrap material, transportation supplies, and all labor necessary to accomplish objectives, except locating archives to staging area. Contractor shall maintain an electronic, searchable file of the bar-coded boxes. The file shall be made available for use and retention by NTIS. The Contractor shall coordinate the format, transfer, and use of the file with NTIS technical staff. Storage boxes and locations shall be traceable at all times. Boxes shall be arranged for transport in a manner that prevents damaging or other deterioration of boxes and files. Once relocated, boxes shall be stored on industrial shelving in a manner that prevents damaging or other deterioration of boxes and files. In addition, boxes shall be stored in a manner that permits expeditious retrieval of individual files and ease of access at such time as any such files and/or boxes may be retrieved by NTIS. Contractor shall comply with Federal Government safety and security requirements. The contractor shall indicate preventive measures taken to safeguard the NTIS collection within the contractor's location, to include but is not limited to theft, loss of data, fire, and water damage. The record retention boxes and accompanying labeling and any embedded information on box labels shall be property of NTIS. At no time, shall any analog or digital copy be made of any NTIS document file in the custody of the Contractor. In the event of destruction of document files while in custody of Contractor, the Contractor shall be liable for all the costs associated with NTIS' reacquisition of such document files and records or facsimiles from whatever source and relocation to a storage facility of NTIS' choice. The document files being stored at the Contractor's location are at all times the property of NTIS and at no time, shall NTIS or its agents be restricted from access or handling of the records boxes or files. Such boxes and files, as well as Contractor's storage facilities, shall be available during normal business hours for on-site inspections on either a scheduled or unscheduled basis. All work performed shall be monitored by the COR or an appointed NTIS project representative. 5. Requested Response This is a Small Business Sources Sought Notice. This is not a solicitation for proposals or quotes. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small businesses, preferably of some sort of socio-economic category as mentioned under paragraph 1 above. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition strategy, including whether a set-aside is possible. Interested firms responding to this sources sought notice must adhere to the following: (a) Provide a capability statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirements stated above. The capability statement should contain enough sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabilities. (b) The capability statement must identify the responder's small business type; DUNS number; registered NAICS codes; and technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses. (c) Responses to this announcement should not exceed 10 pages. Responses must be submitted electronically to Gina Lee at
[email protected] (with copy to Daniel Ramsey at
[email protected]). 6. Disclaimer and Important Notes This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in FedBizOpps.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in resulting solicitation.