1.0 Description 1.1 The Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP), Program Development and Implementation (PDI) is seeking input on the feasibility of setting an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 832 standard for vendors to upload catalogs for selling items to Federal Agencies. 1.2 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 Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs are solely at the interested party's expense. It is the responsibility of the vendor to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service associated with the information provided. Further, DPAP PDI is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future Request for Proposal (RFP). If one is issued, the solicitation will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. 2.0 Background The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) chartered the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 to develop uniform standards for inter-industry electronic exchange of business transactions, namely electronic data interchange (EDI). The X12 Transaction Set contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Price/Sales Catalog Transaction Set (832) for use within the context of an EDI environment. The transaction set can provide for customary and established business and industry practices relative to furnishing or requesting the price of goods or services in the form of a catalog. The EDI 832 replaces the paper catalog, and is used by manufacturers to provide detailed product information to their supply chain(s), including retailers and distributors. The EDI 832 price/sales catalog transaction set is also used by commercial firms to submit the following to Federal Government Agencies: 1) a catalog of goods and/or services available to the general public; 2) a catalog of goods and/or services available only to Government entities; 3) sales information that is not available within a catalog; or 4) to identify special promotions. The EDI 832 generally includes two basic sets of information: product information and prices. More specifically, the EDI 832 transaction can include the following information: • Seller name and contact information • Terms of sale information, including discounts available • Item identification and description • Pictures of items • Physical item details including type of packaging • Item pricing information including quantity and unit of measure Recipients of EDI 832 transactions can integrate the data directly into their business software. The information provided in an EDI 832, such as minimum order quantities, case-pack quantities, etc., can then be used in the order process. 3.0 Requested Information DPAP PDI would like to receive industry input on the following: • How does your company prefer to electronically transmit pricing/sales catalog information to online sales platforms such as DoD EMALL? • Feedback on whether EDI 832 is the best standard to use or if there is a more favorable one. • Views on establishing EDI 832 Federal 4010 as a catalog transaction standard. • Do you use a standard product classification code? What code(s) are used? • Do you use a broker/third party vendor service for your transactions? • Identify whether a tool/capability already exists within your organization that allows for catalog uploads; or • Identify the difficulty of creating a tool that would help automate receiving/uploading EDI 832 transactions. 4.0 Responses 4.1 Interested parties are required to respond to this RFI with a white paper. 4.2 White papers in Microsoft Word 2010 compatible format are due no later than Friday, December 18, 2015, 5:00 P.M. EST. 4.3. Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information and the following as a minimum: 4.3.1. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number and e-mail of designated point of contact. 4.3.2. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business). The number of pages in Section 1 of the white paper shall not be included in the 10-page limitation, i.e., the 10-page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the white paper. 4.4 Section 2 of the white paper will address the information requests in Section 3.0 above. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages and submitted via e-mail only, to
[email protected]. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 5.0 Questions Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to
[email protected]. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after Wednesday, December 16, 2015, will be answered. 6.0 Summary THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide input for an EDI 832 standard. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Release of this RFI should not be construed as 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.