LAUS_LIMITED_SOURCE_JUSTIFICATION_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENCY AND CONTRACTING AGENCY:

Contracting Activity: DLAUS Customer Agency: BLS

BLS/OA/BAM BLS/OEU/LAUS

2 Massachusetts Ave, NE 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20212 Washington, DC 20212

2. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED:

This is a justification to issue a brand name, sole source firm-fixed-price Purchase Order to RedPoint Global for one-year subscriptions to the RedPoint Data Management software for the production of Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) estimates. This Order includes the Base Year plus potential one to four one-year Option Periods. The Period of Performance is 01/01/2019 – 12/31/2019.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S

NEEDS

The RedPoint Data Management software is the core of BLS’ Residency Assignment System (RAS). The RAS system enables states to upload unemployment insurance (UI) micro-records to verify and correct claimants’ addresses and assign geocodes based on the cleansed addresses.

Geocodes, such as county codes, place codes, and minor civil divisions (MCDs) are essential to accurately generate labor force estimates by place of residence at the correct city and town levels.

RAS is vital to the production of accurate monthly and annual official Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) estimates and is in accordance with BLS Strategic Objective 1.4: Provide timely, accurate, and relevant information on labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy; and with the LAUS Work Statement, Section C5, of the of the Cooperative Agreement with states that stipulates the state agency will cooperate in assessing and maintaining the accuracy of UI inputs by participating in the review and validation of UI claims and by using a residency assignment system.

Once RedPoint was implemented as the geocoding application for RAS several in-house add-on applications were developed to tailor the software to better meet our needs and to improve its functionality. The processing of files when states upload a new input file was fully automated and notifications are automatically sent to states via email that their file has been processed and the output is ready for downloading. Enhancements to fine tune the geocoding assignments were made that entail linking to the Census shape files. The shape files contain the boundary coordinates of all counties and municipalities in each state. Each states has its own unique set of job files that were set up in RedPoint with state-specific file layouts for both the input files and the output files. Each state has at least two job files (one for in-state residents’ claims and one for out of state claims). In addition, special logic statements were added to certain states’ job files at the state’s request to facilitate their own internal processing and analysis.

4. AN IDENTIFICATION OF THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The subscription and the software are proprietary to RedPoint Global and they have no current available resellers.

5. A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE ACQUSITION REQUIRES USE OF

THE AUTHORITY CITED:

Redpoint Global is the sole provider of the RedPoint RPDM application that integrates address verification/correction (US CASS) and geocoding capabilities along with other features.

BLS has been using Red Point Software since Fiscal Year 2015 and is very knowledgeable about the Red Point system. BLS has researched other software and determined that procuring a new system is not in the government’s best interest at this time (see Section 8 for more information).

If BLS acquired a new system, employees would have to be trained to use new, unfamiliar software which would require time and administrative costs. BLS would have to reinvest time, effort, training of OTSP staff, and potentially hiring new employees to efficiently implement the system. Since BLS already owns Red Point licenses, and to facilitate the continuation of operations without altering the existing software environment, this will be a brand name, sole source request.

6. A DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION TO ENSURE THAT

OFFERS ARE SOLICITED FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS

PRACTICABLE, INCLUDING WHETHER A NOTICE WAS OR WILL BE

PUBLICIZED AS REQUIRED BY SUBPART 5.2 AND IF NOT, WHICH EXCEPTION

UNDER 5.202 APPLIES:

In accordance with FAR 5.203, the Contract Specialist will post a notice about the solicitation to FedBizOpps. Due to the urgency of this procurement, the notice will be posted for 10 business days.

7. A DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED

COST TO THE GOVERNEMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE:

The Contracting Officer will consider prior BLS purchases and the manufacturer’s market pricing to determine price fair and reasonable.

8. A DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED (PART 10) AND THE

RESULTS OR A STATEMENT OF THE REASON MARKET RESEARCH WAS NOT

CONDUCTED:

The Contract Specialist conducted market research using FedBizOpps (FBO), NASA SEWP, and the previous BLS purchases. BLS posted two Requests for Information (RFI) in August of 2018, on FBO and SEWP, to determine if there was another reseller of Red Point software that could meet LAUS’ needs. We received feedback from five vendors. None of the respondents offered the RedPoint software but instead provided information on their own specific geocoding software. BLS reviewed the vendor’s capabilities and determined that using a another software was not in our best interest at this time.

After speaking with an account manager at RedPoint, it was determine that BLS could no longer purchase Ignite Solutions through the one known reseller, Quadient; BLS must purchase the software only through the manufacturer. Therefore, the Purchase Order will be sole sourced to Red Point Global under NAICS Code 541519 - Other Computer Related Services.

Software Functionalities:

RedPoint DM is a data integration and quality control software that can extract, transform, cleanse, match and key any data — structured or unstructured – which includes address correction and geocoding capabilities. BLS’s Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics uses this software as a residency assignment system for statisticians. The functionalities of this software are:

• Extracts, transforms and delivers any data – structured or unstructured – to or from any source with market-leading speed, efficiency and accuracy.

• Cleanses data rapidly – standardizing, geo-coding, matching, linking, and more – while also creating and maintaining persistent keys to ensure quality is maintained over time.

• Avoids the mistakes and inefficiencies of handling data quality and data integration separately – RedPoint’s single, integrated application can do both. Ensure data governance by creating a single point of control.

• Leverages a graphical user interface, pre-built and custom-built re-usable functions and lights-out automation of even the most complex functions.

For information about RedPoint (DM) visit http://www.redpoint.net/products/data-management-solutions/

9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: N/A (Optional)

10. A LISTING OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED, IN WRITING, AN INTEREST

IN THE ACQUISITION:

Redpoint expressed an interest in this acquisition by submitting a quote dated September 28, 2018.

11. A STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO

REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE ANY

SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION FOR THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED:

For future acquisitions, BLS will continue to monitor the market to analyze hardware and software that could meet our needs at a lower cost in an effort to remove and overcome barriers to competition. If BLS does not find a system as suitable for BLS’ needs as Red Point, BLS will document the findings through a justification, such as this one, and will make the information available through SEWP or a government-wide point of entry.

http://www.redpoint.net/products/data-management-solutions/ http://www.redpoint.net/products/data-management-solutions/