Sources Sought Notices (herein referred to as a Request for Information) are issued by the Department of State when performing market research to determine industry interest and capabilities. The Department of State is interested in the capabilities of businesses, especially small businesses to perform the services. This is a Request for Information announcement only. This is not a solicitation or request for proposal and in no way commits the Government to award a contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract(s) based solely on the submission of this Request for Information nor does it intend to pay for any costs incurred in response to this announcement. The Department of State reserves the right to terminate this request and change its requirements if needed. Responding to this Request for Information does not guarantee participation in future Department activities. Background: Reverse Auction is a strategic sourcing concept where suppliers bid against each other in real-time to drive the price downward. Bids are conducted electronically in real time and will continue on until no other supplier is willing to bid lower than the current bid. The contract is awarded to the responsible offeror whose price is lowest at the auction closing time. Period of Performance: The period of performance is one base year with 4 1-year options. At this time, the Department is seeking sources capable of providing services which will strengthen AQM's procurement functions. The software shall support multiple lot and line items under a single auction event. Business Size: Unrestricted Facility Clearance Requirement: SECRET On site Personnel Security Clearance Requirement: Secret, Interim Secret Required NAICS Code: 454112 Electronic Auctions MARKET RESEARCH - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (Capability Statement) Instructions: 1. The Request for Information (Capability Statement) response should be concise and focused and not exceed twenty five (25) pages including cover pages, table of contents etc. 2. Sale brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials are not solicited and will not be reviewed. 3. Do not submit cost or price information with the response. 4. Interested companies shall submit an electronic copy of their capability statements via email to
[email protected]. The due date and time for submission of responses is 2 PM (EDT) October 5, 2015. No phone calls related to this Request for Information will be accepted. All correspondence shall be via email with the RFI number in the subject line. MARKET RESEARCH - CAPABILITY STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS A viable interested party shall demonstrate, in any capability statement submitted, the company's capabilities to meet the performance objectives and the customer's requirements. A viable interested party shall provide relevant, applicable examples of previous work or solution implementations, to include client points of contact. Content: Company and Contact Information: 1. Company Name and Address; 2. Contact Name, Title, Phone Number, Fax Number, and Email Address; 3. Organizational history brief and capabilities statement; 4. Geographic location(s) of office(s) and number of employees at each domestic and international location; 5. Current Facility Clearance Level; 6. List GWACs available for use by Company and 7. Business categorization(s) under NAICS Code 454112 Capabilities: Business The Office of Acquisition Management requires reverse auction support inclusive of tool, ancillary support such as on site resources, training etc. Provide a description of your corporate capabilities regarding each of the following: 1. A description of where and how you have provided these services in the past. Provide experience details, extent of global reach, and identification of customers, commercial as well as government, local and/or federal. Within the page count described above, you may include as many examples as necessary to convey the breadth and depth of your corporate capabilities. Please include: a. Client organization and point(s) of contact b. Brief description of the scope of the work and the results achieved c. Contract and task order number d. Dollar value of services provided e. State whether your company was a prime or sub-contractor 2. A description of your reverse auction tool along with features, capacity, number of users and user access 3. Scalability 4. Knowledge and experience in the application of federal acquisition regulations and statutes 4. Contract types offered via the tool 5. A description of on- site resources if offered 6. Fee structure and basis of fee calculation under various competition scenarios - only one bid received; compliance with BPA item ceiling price; customer visibility 7. Security features of your solution 8. Conflict of interest concerns 9. Access to potential bidders 10. Interfaces with Fedbizopp and GWACs such as Schedule 70 and NASA SEWP 11. Use of Options in the period of performance 12. Source selection methods such as the use of best value, lowest price technically acceptable 13. Statistical reporting and report generation