Description
Request for Information (RFI) The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information from industry on establishing a service for the purchase of a Supply Chain Forums that provide the opportunity for leading practitioners and academics to pursue critical issues related to achieving excellence in Supply Chain Management. The forums support research focused on business applications, the sharing of information across industries, and makes research available through publications and seminars. As a key part of this effort, forum faculty work at their educational facility/campus with member firms and government entities to develop, install, and implement leading edge practices in member companies and agencies, as well as, publish results. The objective of this requirement is to attain a partnership and membership with a leading edge supply chain forum to maintain awareness and continual information sharing of supply chain operations and excellence through membership and participation in conferences, journals, collaborative discussions, whitepapers and research. The resulting partnership and membership with the Supply Chain Forum will provide opportunities to collaborate with supply chain forum participants and benchmark companies, as well as, attendance to two Supply Chain Forums per year for two DLA employees to be held at the University or College facility for support for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Office of Operations Research and Resource Analysis (DORRA), in Richmond, VA. As a sponsor, the University or College shall provide corporate sponsor meetings, Supply Chain Leader Forums, support the recruitment efforts of sponsors by holding Supply Chain Career Fairs, support research projects, and facilitate meetings and knowledge practice sharing for benchmarking when needed. This educational partnership will further the DLA mission on the following strategies such as: -conduct research on the nature and dynamics of material, service and information flow processes; to describe and prescribe effective methods, designs and structures for the implementation of integrated logistics management, transportation management and Supply Chain Management systems, -conduct research on the strategic logistics management practices of manufacturing and service firms, and on the role of logistics in achieving the goals of these firms, -conduct research on the development of logistics, transportation, and Supply Chain Management systems in order to identify their conceptual frameworks as a basis for the development of logistics theories, -serves as a major source of published research and other information related to logistics, transportation, and supply chain management, -develop programs, conferences and workshops for management and academic enhancement; -develop and support long-range research programs to attract and retain employees formally educated in the logistics field, -and develop and support logistics, transportation and supply chain databases that serve as benchmarks. The required benefits that are required and will result from this partnership are detailed below: -One completed collaborative research project between DORRA and awarded academic resource base; Two (2) on-site training forums per year with participation, at no additional cost, for five (5) DLA employees, -Access to educational materials (papers, reports, tools, studies, etc.) produced under sponsorship of the Forum, -Free distribution of all Forum publications; -as part of the sponsorship, membership and voting rights on the Forum Governance Board, -Guaranteed participation for fall/spring supply chain career fairs, -Access to any placement or career services offered by or organized by the Forum. -Access to a source of student hires so that exposure to potential future recruit candidates coming out of academic resource base/university's educational programs, -Notification of periodicals and internet web sites that contain news articles relating to current topics of the logistics industry, - Networking exchange and learning opportunities with industry expertise; sharing of research information related to the logistic field, -The opportunity to develop relationships with peers in other logistical industries, -The opportunity for constructive feedback to improve logistical business practices, -Notification of critical logistics research and results, and -Participation in industry workshops. The period of performance is for 12 months. All feedback and information received may be used to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a possible future acquisition. This notice is issued solely for market research and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or Invitation for Bid), or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services, nor does its issuance in any way restrict the Government as to its ultimate acquisition approach. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission. No award will be made from this RFI and the Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This RFI is prepared for planning purposes only and is not restricted to small business. If the Government decides to pursue an RFQ, portions of your RFI response may be incorporated into the Statement of Work (SOW). Sources are discouraged from submitting any information deemed competition-sensitive or proprietary. However, if sources elect to submit competition-sensitive or proprietary information, sources bear sole responsibility for marking said information as such to ensure appropriate safeguarding by the Government. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. After review of the responses to this RFI, the Government may or may not proceed with an acquisition. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.