Request for Information – Sources Sought for a Contact Center Software as a Service

1.0 Description 1.1 The Export Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is looking for a Contact Center Software as a Service, and associated configuration services required to implement and operate a solution that meets the requirements of the attached DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW). The contact center solution must be FEDRAMP authorized ( with an Impact Level identifier of “Moderate” or “High” ) . 1.2 The scope of this requirement is for the Contact Center technology and the operation of that technology and not for the operation of the call center. The call center itself will be staffed by EXIM personnel. 1.3 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ or RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the EXIM is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Vendors are advised that the government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or RFP, if issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized electronically (see paragraph 3.2 below for details). It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. 1.4 Vendors are not required to respond to this announcement but may find it beneficial to do so if they have questions, comments, or related items to submit. The government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the government. 1.5 This requirement is currently full and open and not set-aside for small businesses. 2.0 Magnitude Anticipated 2.1 This is a new requirement with no prior requirement history or award. The government’s anticipated magnitude of this requirement is as follows: 2.1.1 $400K to $550K aggregate estimated value (5-years) for this requirement 2.1.2 Historical statistics identified in Section 2.0 Background of the Statement of Work (SOW). 3.0 Background 3.1 The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) assists American businesses in exporting their goods by providing financial assistance in the form of loans, loan guarantees and insurance. One of the primary focuses of the Export-Import Bank is on assisting small businesses. The Office of Small Business (OSB) is responsible for supporting the export of U.S. goods and services provided by businesses that focus on short-term financing. OSB chairs EXIM's Small Business Committee and manages EXIM's network of regional branches and the units engaged in outreach to minority- and woman-owned businesses, partner identification and training, as well as small business product development. To learn more, visit the EXIM website at https://www.exim.gov 3.2 Anticipated Solicitation Posting: If a solicitation is to be posted, it will be posted under the FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items as an open market requirement or per FAR 8.405 and/or FAR 13.5, or in accordance with FAR 16.5 Indefinite-Delivery Contracts with Fair Opportunity per an established Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV). Based on the determined acquisition strategy, the solicitation will be posted electronically for 15-calendar days on SAM.gov https://sam.gov/content/home -OR- GSA eBuy https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov/ebuy/ -OR- NASA SEWP QRT https://www.sewp.nasa.gov -OR- other. This is anticipated to be within the US Federal Government’s Fiscal Year 2022, 1st Quarter. 3.3 Anticipated Delivery Period: If an award is made, work is anticipated to begin during the US Federal Government’s Fiscal Year 2022, 1st Quarter which is Subject to the Availability of Funds. 3.4 Security Requirements: Reference the Statement of Work (SOW) as an attachment to this RFI. 3.5 Highlighted Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) clauses to be applied to this requirement. See attached applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Smart Matrix Table 2021-09-16 for the full list of provisions and clauses. FAR Clauses / Prescribed / Applicability 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. / 4.2105(a) / Yes; SAM.gov 52.204-25 Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment / 4.2105(b) / Yes 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation / 4.2105(c) / Yes 52.227-14 Rights in Data-General / 27.409(b)(1) / Yes 52.227-15 Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software / 27.409(c) / Yes 52.227-17 Rights in Data-Special Works / 27.409(e) / Yes 52.227-19 Commercial Computer Software License / 27.409(g) / Yes 52.227-23 Rights to Proposal Data (Technical) / 27.409(l) / Yes 52.239-1 Privacy or Security Safeguards / 39.106 / Yes All software reports and reports sent to the government shall be Section 508 compliant. 4.0 Requested Information Purpose 4.1 The Export-Import Bank of the United States is measuring industry capability to determine the availability and technical capability of qualified businesses. The purpose of this notice is to solicit input from interested parties with the specialized capabilities necessary to meet all of the elements of the scope requirements in anticipation of an upcoming competitive procurement(s) for a OSB Contact Center. Additionally, this Request for Information (RFI) is to determine the interest and feasibility of a small business set-aside. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the US Government, nor will the US Government pay for information solicited. The information from this notice will help the Export-Import Bank of the United States plan their acquisition strategy. 4.2 The Export-Import Bank of the United States intends to issue a procurement for a OSB Contact Center and is seeking statements of capability from industry that meet the requirements. 4.3 NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME. 5.0 CAPABILITY STATEMENT Submission Requirements for Response 5.1 See attached Statement of Work (SOW) requirements and objectives with the posting of this Request for Information (RFI). 5.2 All interested firms are invited to submit a capability statement of no more than fifteen (15) pages with no smaller than a 12-point font. The capability statement should demonstrate the interested firm’s understanding, capability, approach, qualification, and past experience in meeting the work requirements identified in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Firms shall provide Section 4.0 Appendix A , that is not part of the 15-page limit, that contains a mapping between EXIM’s requirements specified in Section 4 of the Statement of Work (SOW) and the firms capability. The Section 4.0 Appendix A completed template shall be an attachment included in the vendor’s response package. 5.3 Capability statements must include (not counting towards the page limitation), the name of the firm, or firms if a teaming arrangement is proposed, point of contact, phone number, address of firm(s), and the Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) or Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and CAGE Code for the prime entity. All responding businesses must identify the following: 5.3.1 Business size per North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Codes 541519 and 561422. 5.3.2 NAICS Codes SBA Size Standards are: 5.3.2.1 $30M or 150-employee for 541519, and 5.3.2.2 $16.5M for 561422. 5.3.3 Business socioeconomic status or indicate no socioeconomic status. 5.3.4 Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) or Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and whether your firm registered in SAM. 5.3.5 Identify if you are a contract holder under an established Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV) such as GSA Schedules, NASA SEWP, or other IDV that would cover the scope requirements of this RFI that EXIM would be able to utilize. If applicable, provide the contract number(s). 5.3.6 Capabilities Statement (15-page limitation), shall describe in sufficient enough detail the firm’s ability and approach, including rationale, to meeting all the specific scope explaining and demonstrating: 5.3.6.1 Description of how the vendor’s solution and configuration will meet the requirements specified in Section 4 of the Statement of Work (SOW). Note, part of this information can be provided by completing the Section 4.0 Appendix A template. The left column of this template is a summary of each requirement (more detailed description is provided in Section 4 of the Statement of Work (SOW). The right column is for the vendor to complete specifying how they will meet the requirement. 5.3.6.2 In addition to a response to meeting EXIM’s requirements state other functionality included in your OSB Contact Center response, that was not requested in the Statement of Work (SOW), that may be of interest to EXIM (and explain why). 5.3.6.3 Describe how you will go about configuring the OSB Contact Center to meet EXIM’s requirements. A sample project plan and schedule are requested. Also, what resources (labor categories and labor hours) would be required to configure the system for EXIM (Staffing Plan). 5.3.6.4 Provide examples of any engagements that you have performed that are similar to the EXIM requirements, and describe the results. Provide up to 3 reference accounts. 5.3.6.4.1 List of three (3) customers (government/non-government) within the past 3-years highlighting similar work in nature, scope, complexity, and difficulty and a brief description of the statement of work. Relevant past performance shall include the following information: 5.3.6.4.2 Name of Contract 5.3.6.4.3 Contracting Agency and Department 5.3.6.4.4 Total contract value (in $$) 5.3.6.4.5 Period of Performance 5.3.6.4.6 Description of work and how it relates to the requirements 5.3.6.5 From your existing customers experience, describe the types of need that your customers have had, that required additional services engagements (after the system is operational). Provide a few examples of follow-on engagements. 5.3.6.6 Describe the challenges, risks, and risk mitigations of a typical implementation and interfacing contact center software. 5.3.6.7 Describe your license model and costs. 5.3.6.8 Describe your support model and costs. 5.3.6.9 Provide your standard service level agreements. 5.3.7 Statement of Work (SOW) Section 4.0 Appendix A must be completed and provided as an attachment to the capabilities statement. 5.3.8 Per the RFI responses received per the above 5.3 including the Section 4.0 Appendix A , the government will assess and evaluate capabilities. 5.3.9 Teaming arrangements and joint ventures will be considered for any subsequent procurement based on the government's market research, provided the prime contract is awarded to an applicable small business. If a small business firm submits a capability statement that includes the expertise of large business partner as companies under a teaming arrangement, then the response must clearly discuss the areas of the Statement of Work (SOW) that the small business firm intends to perform and the specific areas that the large business teaming partner intends to perform. Note that at least 50% of the total cost of all services provided must be incurred by or for personnel of the small business firm pursuant to the FAR clause at 52.219-14 entitled Limitations on Subcontracting. 5.3.10 Do not submit pricing information in response to this RFI. However, your response shall identify whether the government’s $400K to $550K aggregate estimated value (5-years) is consistent with the scope requirements. If the government’s aggregate estimated value is not consistent with the scope requirements, provide an estimated range as an industry provider would deem to be more accurate. 5.3.11 Specify one primary and one alternate Point of Contact (POC) within your firm, including telephone numbers and email addresses. 5.3.12 IF INVITED, vendors may be requested to perform a demo of product and present a presentation in support of the vendor’s solution of how they will meet EXIM’s requirement. This TENTIVELY will be the week of October 15-20, 2021 if an invitation is extended. 5.3.13 EXIM personnel may contact vendors responding to this announcement to clarify a responder’s capabilities and other matters as part of this market research process prior to or after demo and presentation whether an invitation is extended to the vendor or not. 5.3.14 Do not include promotional materials or brochures or pamphlets in response to this RFI. 5.3.15 Only electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted and should be emailed to [email protected] The e-mail RFI response shall contain the following subject line: RFI Response – OSB Contact Center, Vendor’s Name 5.3.16 Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the contracting officer, [email protected]. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The government does not guarantee that questions received after October 4, 2021 will be answered. All questions pertaining to this announcement will be answered by posting an amendment or modification to this Request for Information (RFI) electronically through SAM.gov https://sam.gov/content/home , GSA eBuy https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov/ebuy/ , and NASA SEWP QRT https://www.sewp.nasa.gov 5.3.17 It is imperative that all capability statements be sent via Email to Patricia Ludlow, Contracting Officer, at [email protected] no later than October 7, 2021, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time Zone . 5.3.18 NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. 6.0 Government Set-Aside Determination 6.1 A determination by the government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the government. If capability statements are not received from at least two responsible small businesses or if the government determines that no two small businesses are capable of performing this requirement based upon an assessment of the capability statements submitted, the government may proceed with a full and open competition under an established Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV) such as GSA Schedules, NASA SEWP, or other IDV. 7.0 Summary 7.1 EXIM reserves the right to use any and all information submitted by, or obtained from, an interested firm in any manner EXIM determines is appropriate, including, but not limited to, the creation of a competitive solicitation. An interested party should avoid including any classified, business confidential, and/or proprietary information in its response. However, if an interested firm must submit such information, the information must be clearly marked, and the interested firm must provide sufficient justification as to why such information is business confidential and/or proprietary. EXIM will review the information and safeguard it appropriately. The Government will not pay for any information that is provided in response to this Request for Information (RFI) nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. 7.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide the requirements as identified in the Statement of Work (SOW). The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the government. The EXIM has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become government property and will not be returned. 8.0 Definitions sometimes used interchangeably: Sources Sought Notice (SSN) is a form of market research conducted by an agency to determine small business capabilities and interests. FAR 5.201, “the primary purposes of the notices are to improve small business access to acquisition information and enhance competition by identifying contracting and subcontracting opportunities." Request for Information (RFI) is a government market research tool used for a potentially new requirement that has no acquisition history. FAR Part 15.201 "RFIs may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes." RFIs are also mentioned at FAR 10.002 as a technique of conducting market research.