PWS.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Outgoing Presort Mail Services and Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) Marking Internal Revenue Service (IRS) National Distribution Center (NDC) Bloomington, IL 615705

INTRODUCTION

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) National Distribution Center (NDC) requires contracted First-Class Mail and postcard services, that include both Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) marking, and mail presort services. The successful contractor will collect outgoing mail from the IRS NDC location and at the contractor's facility will presort, mark and post the mail pieces. The mail presort services and Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) marking on the mail must comply with the United States Postal Service (USPS) presort and barcode marking requirements to provide to the IRS the most cost-effective postage rates on mail.

BACKGROUND

The IRS NDC maintains an active inventory of over 8,500 published products. The NDC processes orders for forms, publications and other material from the warehouse location in Bloomington, IL. Orders are received through telephone, mail, internet and a variety of other sources. Orders are shipped to external customers, such as private residences, post offices, and other businesses as well as IRS office locations.

“Mail”, for the purpose of this contract, consists of First-Class Mail letters and postcards.

The IRS warehouse mail volumes are generally highest between the months of December – April. However, NDC also performs special mailings at various times throughout the year. These mailings may increase the daily quantities and result in the need for additional collection service coverage, due to an impact on transportation, labor and storage. These special mailings can be dispersed over several days in order to minimize the impact on vendors’ services.

SCOPE

The resultant contract of this solicitation will provide IRS a means to send USPS First-Class Mail and postcards utilizing the most effective (i.e. presort) methods.

The USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) is required to obtain Commercial Base and Commercial Plus pricing rates. The IMb includes the delivery point ZIP Code information and allows the USPS to use automated equipment to sort and track First-Class Mail as it travels through the mail stream to the post offices that make final delivery at the respective destinations.

This will encompass:

MAIL SERVICES

Changes to the regularly scheduled pickup time will be coordinated and agreed upon by both the COR and contractor. The contractor will be notified at least one week in advance of any peak workload periods.

volume needed, and delivery of mail trays will be arranged with the COR.

The following charts illustrate the historical monthly mailing quantities of First-Class Mail letters and postcards for the past 3 calendar years. The first table displays the letters, and the second table displays the postcards. Future monthly quantities may increase or decrease depending on the mailing requests the NDC receives which could increase the quantities resulting in the need for additional service coverage for collections which may impact transportation, labor and storage, to name a few.

TASKS AND REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor will never become involved with the content of the mail and must never access internal contents of mail processed as part of the services in this PWS. (Refer to 18 U.S. Code § 1708).

Contractor must ensure each Requirement and Desired Outcome listed in this PWS is satisfied and that Constraints are honored and respected. If the contractor has any conflicts or challenges with these requirements, they should consult with the CO or COR.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS CONSTRAINTS

Information Protection

Special Mailings may contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that must be protected from unauthorized disclosure. All Contractor vehicles must be closed and secured during transport. Any lost or stolen mail must be reported in writing to the COR and CO as soon as the mail is discovered missing. The report must identify the following:

Date and Time loss identified Location of loss (address, place of business, etc.)

Number of items missing Actions taken by the Contractor to locate or recover items

All undeliverable or mutilated mail pieces must be returned to the NDC by the contractor at the next scheduled pick-up day.

Weather Delays

The contractor shall notify the COR and NDC representative within two (2) hours, via phone and/voicemail of Contractor’s knowledge of any weather conditions with may adversely affect the Contractor’s ability to perform under the terms and conditions as stated in the specifications of this requirement. If the COR cannot be reached the contractor must make attempts to notify the CO in the same manner required herein.

CONTACT POINTS

Contracting Officer: Patricia Brown, Patricia.E.Brown@irs.gov

Contractor Point of Contact (POC)

The Contractor shall specify an individual who shall serve as a single point of contact (POC) for all Contract related business. Contractor must provide the COR and Contracting Office with the POC contact details, to include phone and email, as a minimum:

Within 14 business days of contract award and, Within 5 business days prior to a change in the POC by the Contractor.

The POC must be easily accessible by phone and return COR calls within 48 hours of a voice message left by the COR.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Upon contract commencement, the Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor in writing as to the COR assigned to this contract, and upon reassignment of a new COR, as applicable. Contractor shall only respond to requests for service from the COR or the CO. If service is requested from any source, other than the COR or the CO, the Contractor is to advise the individual of this requirement and refuse to respond. Any billing resulting from unauthorized service will not be paid by the government.

Authority of the COR

The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to approve changes in any of the requirements of this contract. In the event the Contractor affects any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the changes will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract price or schedule to cover any increase in costs incurred as a result thereof. The Contracting Officer shall be the only individual authorized to accept nonconforming work, waive any requirement of the contract, and/or modify any term or condition of the contract. The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally obligate Government funds. No costs chargeable to the proposed contract can be incurred before receipt of a fully executed contract or specific authorization from the Contracting Officer. Oral orders may be placed by the COR directly with the Contractor’s Representative, followed by written* confirmation from both parties prior to the service commencing, and only for services, quantities and periods within the scope of this PWS and Price/Cost Schedule. (*Written confirmation does not include cell phone text messages for the purpose of ordering.)

Government Alternate Points of Contact (POC) – Emergencies Only

The COR will identify Alternate Points of Contact (POC) to be used only for instances of emergencies when the COR is not easily contactable. These will be individuals in supervisory or managerial roles within the same department as the COR. The contractor will be provided this information within 5 days after contract award and within 48 hours of a change to this information. An Alternate POC does not replace the COR nor do they replace the Contracting Officer during the performance and administration of this contract, nor does it relinquish or diminish the Contractor’s requirements in relation to the performance of this Contract.

CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

At all times during performance of Services, in accordance with this PWS, the Contractor must ensure Contractor personnel:

Be able to read, understand and apply printed rules, detailed orders, and instructions.

Be familiar and compliant with this PWS and all Contractual requirements.

Wear Contractor-issued identification name tags in a way that are visibly displayed on the uniform in a prominent manner, being clearly visible to the general public.

Maintain decorum at all times. During the performance of services care and consideration must be given to IRS visitors and staff.

Park only in the dock loading area or other parking areas as designated parking by the COR.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Check In/Out Procedures

Prior to commencement of, and immediately after each service visit, the Contractor or Contractor’s authorized Personnel, must check in and out with the COR or authorized IRS Mail staff. Only individual IRS Mail staff at the Location can coordinate check in and check out procedures for the Contractor in the absence of the COR.

The Contractor, when applicable, shall follow guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State regulations and mandates and the IRS location when applicable.

At a minimum, when applicable, all individuals are to wear cloth face coverings while in IRS facilities and workspaces. You may wear an alternative cloth face covering if it covers your nose and mouth and meets CDC requirements.

OPERATING HOURS

Standard Business Hours and Days, including Federal Holidays IRS National Distribution Center standard operating hours occur between 7:00am to 3:30pm Monday- Friday excluding Federal holidays, except by special alternate arrangement, coordinated and authorized by the COR.

Pick-ups will be made on business days (Monday through Friday) and will exclude the following legal public holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr Day; President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

If a holiday occurs on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is a legal public holiday. If a holiday occurs on a Sunday, the legal holiday is the following Monday.

In addition to the days designated as holidays, the Government observes:

Any other day designated by Federal Statute Any other day designated by Executive Order Any other day designated by the President of the United States to be a Federal holiday

SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

The Contractor is responsible for all charges, fees, applications and procurement of all permits, licenses, registrations and certificates, pursuant to lawful application of the provision of services. Where there is a conflict between applicable regulations, the most restrictive will apply.

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED EQUIPMENT / PROPERTY

The contractor shall furnish all facilities, equipment, materials and labor required to meet the requirements of this contract which shall include, but is not limited to pick up, barcoding, application of postage, presorting mail and delivery to the Post Office.

INSURANCE

The contractor shall be required to carry liability insurance that will cover the fair and reasonable cost incurred in regard to document replacement, and/or reconstruction of mail that have been damaged, destroyed, lost, or stolen while in the contractor’s possession. The contractor shall also be liable for any PENALTIES or monetary losses incurred while in contractor’s possession. The Contractor's payments for claims for monetary loss will be subject to verified documentation.

The contractor shall notify the COR within 24 hours of a lapse in, or termination of, their insurance policy. The contractor shall provide a copy of the insurance to the Contracting Officer.

QUALITY

Rework or Remedy

Rework or Remedy is defined as performing the Service again until the Purpose of this PWS is achieved in full. This involves less than Satisfactory Service by the Contractor and as noted by the COR. Rework or Remedy occurs at no additional cost to the Government.

Quality Control Plan

The contractor will devise a Quality Control Plan to ensure successful service, that encompasses the contractor’s intent for satisfying services in the PWS, to include Deliverables.

The written Quality Control Plan must be mutually agreed upon by the COR and contractor for effectively maintaining the Purpose of this PWS and updated as necessary changes are made. Agreement to a written Quality Control Plan must be reached by both parties within 5 business days upon commencement of services, and within 5 business days following any revisions or changes.

The written Quality Control Plan must include a monthly reporting method to be agreed upon by both the contractor and the COR as reflecting quality services performed by the contractor and provide to the COR no later than one week following the applicable monthly services to which the report pertains.

Test Mail Articles

The IRS will send random mail articles through the contractor to pre-identified recipients with instructions to notify the Mail Room or COR upon receipt. Notification will be sent by email and will include:

Date Item Received Scanned Copy of presort address or IMb and postage markings.

These notifications will be used to verify contractor services.

DELIVERABLES

Service Reports

On a weekly basis, the contractor will provide the COR with a report to include the following information for the previous week's processing:

The contractor will provide a weekly, written report which includes, as a minimum, the following information pertaining to the previous week’s services. Each report must be submitted to the COR within 5 business days following completion of the previous week’s services.

Report Information Total cost and number of pieces qualified for presort Total cost and number of pieces not qualifying for the presort rate Number of mutilated/unreadable items returned to the IRS/NDC Costs for encoding or any special services provided Total amount of actual postage cost

DEFINITIONS

CO – Contracting Officer COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative DMM – Domestic Mail Manual IMb - Intelligent Mail Barcode IRS – Internal Revenue Service FY – Fiscal Year (October – September) Mail – refer to the section titled Background in this PWS for more specifics on what is considered “mail” NDC – National Distribution Center PII – Personally Identifiable Information POC – Point of Contact PWS – Performance Work Statement Services – Presort Outgoing Mail Services as identified in the Purpose of this PWS as well as the Tasks and Requirements section of this PWS USPS – United States Postal Service