BEP MES RFI.pdf

MES Modernization. Operations, & Enterprise IT Support RFI 2031ZB26RFI00027 1

MANUFACTURING EXECUTION SYSTEM (MES) MODERNIZATION.

OPERATIONS, AND ENTERPRISE IT SUPPORT

1. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI): 2031ZB26RFI00027

THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IS RELEASED PURSUANT TO

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10, MARKET RESEARCH.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as either a solicitation or the obligation on the part of Government. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This notice is for market research purposes only.

No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.

Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of the analysis. All data received in response to this notice that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with all applicable Government regulations. All documentation shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned.

2. BACKGROUND:

Since 2009, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has implemented and enhanced its Manufacturing Execution System (MES), a commercial off the shelf based Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution with multiple custom modules supporting currency production and direct support processes. BEP seeks to sustain and modernize MES while simultaneously maturing enterprise-wide IT governance, program management, data management, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and business system capabilities.

BEP requires a contractor capable of delivering:

• Oracle E-Business Suite MES operations, maintenance, and continuous optimization

• Enterprise IT Program Management Office (PMO) support

• Enterprise Architecture development

• Knowledge management modernization

• Technical and functional Operations and Maintenance (O&M)

• Enterprise data governance and performance management

• Data analytics and visualization

• Artificial intelligence and emerging technology integration

• Maximo, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and business systems enablement

• Transition-in and transition-out support

MES Modernization. Operations, & Enterprise IT Support RFI 2031ZB26RFI00027 2

Draft Desired Outcomes and Measures (PWS/QASP-Aligned) For market research purposes, BEP is considering outcome-based performance requirements aligned to the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). Respondents should (1) confirm feasibility, (2) recommend target levels/AQLs and definitions (including denominators/exclusions), (3) identify tooling/data sources used to produce evidence, and (4) state key assumptions and risks.

Outcome Area Draft Measures / Targets (examples) Suggested Verification Evidence

Service Reliability & Support (Sub task 6)

System availability maintained at 99.9% or greater (monthly). Incident resolution: Tier 2 incidents are resolved within 24 hours; Tier 3 incidents are resolved within 72 hours unless otherwise approved.

Monitoring/availability report; ticket timestamps (ServiceNow/Jira);

incident RCA and corrective actions; on-call logs.

Cybersecurity & Compliance (Sub tasks 6, 10 11 and 16)

Patch compliance: security patches applied within 30 days of release in alignment with cybersecurity directives.

Changes are deployed with documented testing and rollback plans.

Patch/upgrade runbooks; change tickets; test evidence;

vulnerability scan results; POA&M tracking evidence.

Program Governance & Reporting (Sub tasks 1 to 7, 10 to 12 and 13 to 18)

Monthly status report delivered within 5 business days after month-end; meeting minutes/action items within 5 business days after briefings. Program governance artifacts are current per cadence (charter, IMS, risk/issue log, decision log).

Submitted reports with dates, repository history, governance artifacts, and government approvals/meeting notes.

Delivery Predictability & Release Quality (Sub tasks 6, 10, 11 and 16)

95% on-time delivery of planned sprint/PI commitments and agreed deliverables; Zero defects in production releases; regression/UAT evidence provided for each release.

PI objectives and burn-up; release notes; test reports; UAT sign-off;

defect leakage trend;

change failure rate/rollback data.

Data Governance & Data Quality (Sub task 7)

Data governance policies established and enforced; data quality assessment deliverables completed for in-scope environments; minimum data defects at release; measurable improvement in data quality scorecards/rule coverage over time.

Data catalog/metadata;

DQ scorecards; pipeline run logs; access control evidence; data issue log and remediation outcomes.

MES Modernization. Operations, & Enterprise IT Support RFI 2031ZB26RFI00027 3

Outcome Area Draft Measures / Targets (examples) Suggested Verification Evidence

AI Governance & Responsible AI (Sub task 9)

AI governance and architecture deliverables implemented to enable secure, compliant AI solutions; Zero critical governance gaps; monitoring triggers and privacy/security controls in place for in-scope AI capabilities.

Model documentation;

approval records;

monitoring dashboards;

audit logs;

security/privacy reviews; MLOps pipeline evidence.

Manufacturing IT/OT Integration & Modernization (Sub tasks 11 and 18)

Production-critical integrations monitored/alerted; operational runbooks updated for new/changed capabilities;

Zero defects at go-live for commissioning/press integration changes; sustained integration reliability.

Interface success-rate dashboards; alerting configuration;

commissioning checklists; go-live readiness package;

runbooks/SOP updates.

Process Digitization & Modernization (Subtask 17)

Prioritized manufacturing/manufacturing-support process inventory; digitized workflow pilots deployed; reduction in manual handoffs/rework and improved cycle time for priority processes; data controls embedded to improve AI/data readiness.

As-is/to-be process maps; workflow configuration evidence;

adoption/usage metrics;

cycle-time baseline vs post; DQ controls and scorecard changes.

Optional ERP Replacement (Subtask 18)

Decision-quality business case and roadmap; fit-gap and target architecture;

conversion and integration strategy with mock conversions; cutover readiness gates; hypercare (post deployment /go-live) stabilization targets if authorized.

Business case and cost model; requirements baseline; interface inventory; conversion test results; cutover plan; post-go-live defect/incident trends.

Note: These outcomes are drafted and intended to improve the quality of market research.

Respondents are encouraged to recommend refinements and identify any measures that are not meaningful, not measurable, or likely to drive undesired behaviors. Additionally, the contractor must demonstrate deep expertise in Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Oracle EBS/OCI, Agile delivery, cloud-native services, data engineering, AI, enterprise architecture, and federal compliance frameworks.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work consists of 19 subtasks, including one optional subtask. BEP requests industry feedback, capabilities, and recommendations for each area. See attached DRAFT PWS.

MES Modernization. Operations, & Enterprise IT Support RFI 2031ZB26RFI00027 4

4. SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

BEP and IRS are requesting submission of Technical Capabilities.

Respondents should provide concise, actionable information that helps BEP validate feasibility, define measurable outcomes, and select an acquisition approach. At a minimum, include the following:

1. Company overview (size, locations, socioeconomic status if applicable, contract vehicles).

2. Relevant experience delivering manufacturing ERP/MES sustainment and modernization in regulated/high-availability environments.

3. Do you have similar experience with operating model aligned to outcome-based delivery (e.g., SAFe/PI cadence) and how did you ensure traceability from requirements to test evidence and releases? Note: SAFe is referenced as an example of an outcome-based, cadence-driven delivery model. Several subtasks require PI-aligned backlogs, incremental releases, UAT evidence, and traceability from requirements to test results.)

4. Please provide examples where you produced and executed measurable service outcomes (availability, incident response/resolution, patch compliance, change success), including how metrics were calculated and what tool-based evidence did you use

5. Please provide examples where you executed an approach for IT/OT integration and onboarding of new manufacturing equipment (interfaces/protocols, cybersecurity for ICS/OT, commissioning/validation, monitoring, and runbooks).Note: Information Technology (IT) refers to enterprise systems such as ERP, networks, data platforms and business applications. Operational Technology (OT) refers to manufacturing and industrial control systems, including MES, SCADA and other equipment used to monitor and control physical production processes. IT/OT Integration refers to the alignment and interoperability of IT systems with OT systems to enable secure data flow, automation, equipment onboarding, monitoring, and Industry 4.0 capabilities.

6. Please provide examples where you executed an approach that implemented enterprise data governance, data quality, and self-service analytics e.g., data catalog/metadata, stewardship model, data quality rules/scorecards, pipeline automation, adoption metrics). How was success measured?

7. Please explain your experience executing AI governance and delivery (e.g., use case portfolio, controls aligned to OMB guidance, MLOps, monitoring, documentation, training/enablement).

8. Staffing and transition-in strategy, including how you will manage clearance/onboarding lead times, knowledge transfer, continuity of operations, and ramp to full performance.

Staffing approach, including team structure and skill sets.

9. Key risks/assumptions and recommendations to improve the requirement’s outcome clarity and measurability (e.g., suggested performance metrics, acceptance criteria, deliverable structure, and governance).

MES Modernization. Operations, & Enterprise IT Support RFI 2031ZB26RFI00027 5

Questions in response to this notice may be submitted electronically on or before February 13, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). The deadline for responses to this RFI is 5:00 PM EST, February 27, 2026. Responses should be forwarded via email to gladys.m.wilks@irs.gov.

RFI responses shall not exceed 20 pages. and shall not contain any brochures, advertising or any other type of extraneous, graphic literature or documents that have not been requested and are not relevant or essential in demonstrating the company’s ability to provide the required services.

Vendors may provide links to relevant websites, as appropriate. Links are not a replacement for addressing the RFI.

Vendors shall reference “RFI _ BEP MES Modernization. Operations, and Enterprise IT Support” in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **