Attachment 0001 Call for Solutions_Syndicated Data_ 22 July Final.pdf

ACC-APG Internal Army Use Only Version 28 January 2026

CALL FOR SOLUTIONS

Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) Syndicated Data Core Services

Project Number W91ZLK-26-R-SDCS Army Open Solicitation (AOS) Number W9128Z-25-S-A002 Call for Solution Title Syndicated Data Core Services Issued By Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen

Proving Ground (ACC-APG) in support of the Defense Commissary Agency

Submission Instructions To respond to this Call for Solution, please refer to Section 6 of this Call for Solution

Solution Briefs Due Date/Time (Suspense)*

17 August 2026 at 1300 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

Point of Contracts (POCs) for Solution Brief Submission

Contracting Officer: Shelby A. Saum, shelby.a.saum.civ@army.mil Contract Specialist: Kristen Zigmont, kristen.zigmont.civ@army.mil

*Any submissions that are received by the Contracting/Agreements Officer after the suspense date/time listed above will be deemed late and not evaluated. It is the sole responsibility of the company to ensure that its submission is received in the email inboxes listed above before the deadline specified.

NOTE: Please advise the cognizant Contracting/Agreements Officer and Specialist as soon as possible via the emails above if your organization intends to submit a Solution Brief in response to this Call for Solution.

This Call for Solution may result in the Government awarding Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO FAR) contracts or non-FAR agreements in accordance with (IAW) RFO Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (RFO DFARS) 212.70 – Defense Commercial Solutions Opening. Other Transactions (OT) that may be awarded from this Call for Solution are not subject to the RFO FAR or its supplements, as applicable.

mailto:birgit.m.jones.civ@army.mil mailto:kristen.zigmont.civ@army.mil

1. BACKGROUND

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) is a component of the Department of War (DoW) that provides enterprise-wide mission support to all United States (U.S.)

uniformed services, including the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, in both continental United States (CONUS) and outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) locations. DeCA’s mission is to deliver a vital benefit of the military compensation package that improves quality of life and readiness by providing grocery items at significant savings to military personnel and their families.

DeCA operates a global system of 235 commissaries across 45 states, 13 countries, and two U.S. territories, with approximately 3,000 checkout lanes. To ensure it meets its legislative mandate to provide savings compared to the commercial marketplace, DeCA requires robust, modern, and highly accurate syndicated market data, economic modeling, and shopper behavior analytics.

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

DeCA requires the ability to measure its performance against the commercial grocery marketplace for both CONUS and OCONUS locations. The agency must identify industry trends, establish competitive benchmarks, analyze shopper behavior, and compare prices charged by commissaries with prices charged by relevant local competitors across all grocery retail formats. Without comprehensive, timely, and highly accurate commercial data feeds and bespoke economic methodologies, DeCA cannot effectively optimize its pricing strategies, manage its product categories, or ensure it is delivering the mandated savings benefit to the military community.

This Call for Solutions is seeking to encompass the delivery of syndicated point-of-sale data, shopper behavior analysis, economic modeling for savings methodologies, geospatial location intelligence, and regulatory data management.

The objective is to obtain a solution that includes comprehensive support services, specifically:

• Program Support: On-site, highly responsive, subject matter expert support for systems, ad-hoc analysis, market insights, and issue resolution.

• Platform Usability: For any user-facing portal, secure, highly available (e.g., 99.5% uptime), full functionality for end-users (e.g., 99.5%), access that provides intuitive, self-service ad-hoc reporting capabilities (including multidimensional filtering), internal collaboration/sharing, and standard data exporting (e.g. .csv, .xlsx).

• Training: A comprehensive training program (initial, recurring, and on-demand) with enduring materials to ensure DeCA user proficiency. If applicable, on-site subject matter expert will provide in-person training, as requested by DeCA.

• Data Access and DeCA System Integration: Highly reliable, automated mechanisms (e.g., API, SFTP) to ingest complete datasets into DeCA enterprise systems, including the SAP-based ARTS environment. Delivery methods and formats must utilize industry-standard data structures natively ingestible by SAP without requiring custom middleware development. The Contractor’s solution must support data mapping and synchronization to DeCA-defined product hierarchies, including the transition to the GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC) standard.

The objective includes providing necessary technical documentation (e.g., API dictionaries, data schemas), dedicated technical support during the initial setup phase until successful end-to-end data ingestion is validated by the Government, and immediate notification (within 3 hours) of any transfer failures.

3. REQUIRED AND DESIRED SOLUTION ATTRIBUTES

Required Attributes (Applicable to all proposed solutions):

• Complete AOI Solutions: Offerors may propose solutions for one, some, or all of the thirteen (13) AOIs. However, offerors must propose a complete, end-to-end solution for any individual AOI they pursue. Partial solutions for a single AOI will not be evaluated for award. The Government highly encourages prime-subcontractor teaming arrangements to deliver complete solutions.

• Data Access and SAP/ARTS Integration: Proposed solutions must provide highly reliable, automated mechanisms (e.g., standard API, SFTP) to ingest complete datasets into DeCA enterprise systems, including the SAP-based Advanced Retail Technology Suite (ARTS) environment. To support this integration, the Contractor’s solution must provide complete technical data schemas, dictionaries, and standard export formats (e.g., CSV, JSON) to enable the Government to map and synchronize the commercial data to DeCA’s internal systems.

• Tiered Cybersecurity: Proposed solutions must meet applicable DoW cybersecurity policies. Compliance levels will range from CMMC Level 1 (for AOIs involving only Federal Contract Information - FCI) up to CMMC Level 2 (for AOIs requiring the handling or processing of Controlled Unclassified Information - CUI).

It is anticipated that AOIs 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 will required CMMC Level 1, and AOIs 3, and 7-13 will required CMMC Level 2. The formal determination of required security controls will be evaluated later in the acquisition process as part of formal proposals based on the vendor's proposed solution.

Desired Attributes:

• Expedited on-boarding: Solutions that demonstrate a highly mature, turnkey deployment methodology capable of executing full system provisioning, initial user training, and validated data ingestion within thirty (30) calendar days of contract award. Offerors should describe how their standard commercial onboarding practices minimize transition risk and ensure immediate, uninterrupted operational readiness upon contract execution.

Specific Areas of Interest:

3.1 AOI 1: CONUS Non-Fresh Data Services

The objective is to obtain a mature, COTS syndicated Point-of-Sale (POS) data platform covering the CONUS for all grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores) (Non-Fresh). The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• Non-Fresh does not include random weight and UPC driven Fresh Produce, Fresh Meat, Fresh Seafood, and Deli-Bakery-Sushi departments.

• Enable comparative analysis against all grocery retail competitors.

• Provide a comprehensive suite of industry-standard retail performance metrics (e.g., sales, units, distribution, market share, lift, and patron savings).

• Provide high-volume ad-hoc querying for user-defined lists of at least 1,000 unique products.

• Deliver timely and comprehensive Post-Promotional Analysis reports following bi-weekly events.

• Provide grouped items and geographic locations in a DeCA defined hierarchy.

3.2 AOI 2: CONUS Fresh Data Services

The objective is to obtain a mature, COTS syndicated Point-of-Sale (POS) data platform covering the CONUS for all grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores) (Fresh). The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• Fresh includes random weight and UPC driven Fresh Produce, Fresh Meat, Fresh Seafood, and Deli-Bakery-Sushi departments.

• Enable comparative analysis against all grocery retail competitors.

• Provide a comprehensive suite of industry-standard retail performance metrics (e.g., sales, units, distribution, market share, lift, and patron savings).

3.3 AOI 3: CONUS Ecommerce Data Services

The objective is to obtain a mature, COTS syndicated Point-of-Sale (POS) data platform covering the Ecommerce CONUS for all grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores). The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• Inclusive of all items (Fresh and Non-Fresh).

• Enable comparative analysis against grocery retail competitors.

• Provide a comprehensive suite of industry-standard retail performance metrics.

3.4 3.4 AOI 4: OCONUS non-Fresh Savings Methodology & Analysis The objective is to obtain expert commercial economic consulting to design and execute a savings model where standard syndicated data is unavailable. The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• For all available grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores).

Benson, Chere V CIV USARMY ACC (USA) This can create a potential impaired‑objectivity OCI because a single vendor could design the OCONUS savings methodology (AOIs 4–5) and also collect the data used to validate it (AOIs 11 & 13), meaning they would be grading their own work and could lock DeCA into proprietary formulas or data.

Harrington, Kyle M CTR (US) DeCA HQ ITP Great point, completely agree. To adjudicate, we added Section 9.1 below. This new section mandates a strict separation of duties. It requires any offeror proposing on both capability areas to utilize completely independent, non-affiliated performing entities (e.g. subcontractors) and to submit a comprehensive oci mitigation plan with their phase 1 brief detailing their internal firewalls. It reserves the Government’s right not to award some or all of the conflicted AOIs if the mitigation plan is deemed insufficient.

• Non-Fresh does not include random weight and UPC driven Fresh Produce, Fresh Meat, Fresh Seafood, and Deli-Bakery-Sushi departments.

• Develop, operate, and maintain a defensible, transparent, and verifiable methodology to calculate patron savings for OCONUS commissaries.

• Ensure the methodology is based on a representative sample or full non-fresh assortment of product offerings (including food, non-food, national brand, and private label) against local grocery retail competitors.

• Utilizing the Government-approved methodology, deliver a timely, highly accurate monthly savings report aggregated by Commissary, Country, DeCA Area (Europe/Pacific), Total OCONUS, and by Category at each of these geographic levels, across current month, QTD, and YTD timeframes.

3.5 AOI 5: OCONUS Fresh Savings Methodology & Analysis

The objective is to obtain expert commercial economic consulting to design and execute a savings model where standard syndicated data is unavailable. The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• For all available grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores).

• Fresh includes random weight and UPC driven Fresh Produce, Fresh Meat, Fresh Seafood, and Deli-Bakery-Sushi departments.

• Develop, operate, and maintain a defensible, transparent, and verifiable methodology to calculate patron savings for OCONUS commissaries.

• Ensure the methodology is based on a representative sample or full fresh assortment of product offerings against local grocery retail competitors.

• Utilizing the Government-approved methodology, deliver a timely, highly accurate monthly savings report aggregated by Commissary, Country, DeCA Area (Europe/Pacific), Total OCONUS, and by Category at each of these geographic levels, across current month, QTD, and YTD timeframes.

3.6 AOI 6: Patron Panel Data Services

The objective is to acquire and customize a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) panel data service to generate actionable insights regarding military shopper behavior.

Innovative solutions should demonstrate the capability to:

• Establish and manage a statistically representative panel of DeCA-eligible patron households.

• Collect and provide timely access to purchasing data (items, stores shopped, retail format) integrated with comprehensive household demographic data (e.g., age, marital status, household size, income level, and commissary privilege status).

• Deliver derived industry-standard metrics (e.g., purchase frequency, share of wallet, brand loyalty) and advanced reporting capabilities that enable the Government to identify patron demographics, shopping frequency, destination choices, and purchasing influencers.

3.7 AOI 7: Competitor Location Intelligence

The objective is to obtain a COTS geospatial/market dataset and tool. The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• Includes all CONUS commissary locations, Hawaii, and Alaska and all other OCONUS locations, if available.

• Provide an accurate dataset identifying all grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores) within at least a 40-mile radius of specified commissaries.

• Include competitor name, address, format, distance, and estimated grocery/total sales.

• Provide an interface allowing users to filter by distance, DeCA Area, DeCA Zone, and Commissary.

• Refreshed on a reoccurring basis with highly accurate data.

3.8 AOI 8: SNAP Eligibility Data Service

The objective is to obtain a niche regulatory compliance data feed. The proposed solution should achieve the following:

• Deliver a highly accurate, comprehensive master data file containing current, state/territory-specific SNAP-authorized item lists.

• Provide this complete master file on a monthly basis. The objective is to receive the file no later than five (5) business days prior to the start of the following month to allow sufficient time for ingestion and quality assurance.

• Provide a rapid emergency response mechanism to investigate and correct any "Critical Data Errors" (incorrectly flagged SNAP items) within 24 hours of Government notification.

3.9 AOI 9: Competitor Pricing Percentile Data Services

The objective is to provide DeCA with item level market retails comprised of the ability to break out the retail by market impact to include regional retails and the varying percentiles by movement (15%, 25%, 50%, Average, for all available grocery retail competitors (including traditional grocery stores, supercenters, dollar stores, club stores, convenience stores).

3.10 AOI 10: CONUS Manual Basket Shops

The objective is for the collection of data via manual price shops and reporting of data at commissary and DeCA identified grocery retail competitors in the contiguous United States (CONUS) and outside the contiguous United States (OCONUS) at the following locations: Alaska and Hawaii.

• Conduct manual price shops collecting both regular and sale price data for brand name and private label products, as applicable.

• Deliver the resulting regular and sale price data, as applicable, comprised of brand name and private label products shopped at the commissary and competitor locations in accordance with the list of store locations and products provided by DeCA

• The scope would consist of approximately 708 locations, comprised of 177 commissaries and 531 designated competitors, annually.

Each quarter will consist of approximately 25% of the commissaries and their designated competitors located within the local commuting area of each commissary.

• Shop a list of approximately 900 national brand SKUs and PLUs provided by DeCA.

3.11 AOI 11: OCONUS Manual Basket Shops

The objective is to procure comprehensive, manual price collection and reporting services for designated commissaries and competitors in OCONUS locations (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Innovative solutions should demonstrate the capability to:

• Conduct manual price shops to collect regular and promotional (sale) price data for both brand name and private label products.

• Deliver the resulting regular and sale price data, as applicable, comprised of brand name and private label products shopped at the commissary and competitor locations in accordance with the list of store locations and products provided by DeCA

• Execute price shops across an estimated 232 locations annually (58 commissaries and 174 designated competitors).

• Manage a quarterly execution schedule covering approximately 25% of the designated commissaries and their local commuting area competitors per quarter.

• Accurately shop a government-provided list of approximately 900 national brand SKUs and PLUs.

3.12 AOI 12: CONUS Competitor Pricing Web Scrapes

The objective is to procure automated data extraction services to capture competitive retail pricing. Innovative solutions should demonstrate the capability to:

• Capture item-level retail pricing data directly from competitor websites within CONUS (including Alaska and Hawaii).

• Target the top 10 most impactful large-format grocery competitors on a regional basis.

• Deliver extracted data on a bi-weekly basis.

3.13 AOI 13: OCONUS Competitor Pricing Web Scrapes

Procure automated data extraction services to capture competitive retail pricing.

Innovative solutions should demonstrate the capability to:

• Capture item-level retail pricing data directly from competitor websites within OCONUS locations (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

• Target the top 10 most impactful large-format grocery competitors on a regional basis.

• Deliver extracted data on a bi-weekly basis.

4. AWARDING INSTRUMENT

The Call will be awarded in accordance with the Army Open Solicitation procedures detailed within Solicitation W9128Z-25-S-A002, found at the following link:

https://sam.gov/opp/014a93670e1f4352ac85b764ee9f3bed/view. This Call provides instructions to companies and how the Government will evaluate submissions.

The objective of this Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is to solicit innovative commercial solutions, technologies, and methodologies to support the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). In accordance with the CSO framework, the Government will evaluate proposed solutions based on technical merit, innovation, and value. The determination of the appropriate acquisition instrument—whether a FAR Part 12 commercial contract, an Other Transaction (OT) agreement, or another relevant procurement instrument—will be made by the Contracting Officer after the evaluation of received solutions. The Government intends to evaluate proposals independently for each Area of Interest (AOI) and may make multiple awards to different offerors. This Call for Solution will utilize Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) procedures. Use of a CSO in accordance with RFO DFARS subpart 212.70 is considered to be a competitive procedure for the purposes of 10 U.S.C. chapter 3201 and RFO FAR subpart 6.101.

5. CALL INSTRUCTIONS AND NOTES

In addition to the general guidelines included in the open solicitation, the following guidelines apply to this Call for Solution:

https://sam.gov/opp/014a93670e1f4352ac85b764ee9f3bed/view

Offerors are reminded that all awards are subject to the availability of funds and the Government reserves the right to make multiple awards, a single award, or no award as a result of this Call.

Only a Contracting or Agreements Officer has the authority to enter into, modify, or execute a binding instrument on behalf of the United States Government. All payment obligations are subject to Congressional appropriations.

In order to be eligible for award, offerors must:

o Possess a Unique Entity ID (UEI) and be registered in the System for Award

Management (SAM) prior to award and maintain active registration throughout the period of performance.

o Register in the prescribed government invoicing system (e.g., Wide Area Work Flow).

o Accurately represent their small business size and status as required.

o Be determined responsible by the Contracting/Agreements Officer and not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise prohibited from receiving an award.

o Disclose any actual or potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) to the

Contracting/Agreements Officer prior to award.

Offerors are responsible for monitoring SAM.gov for any amendments or updates to this Call.

Resellers and academic research proposals are not desired.

All Solution Briefs will be valid for 180 calendar days after the submission date.

Notice to Offeror(s): The Government reserves the right to cancel this open Call, either before or after the closing date. If the Government cancels this open Call, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

6. SOLUTION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Companies responding to this call shall submit a Solution Brief for evaluation.

Submissions are to be sent via email only to the Contracting/Agreements Officer and Specialist (POCs) listed in this Call for Solution. The Government is interested in unique and innovative solutions, including techniques to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance performance. Submissions will be evaluated based on the merit of the proposed solution in addressing the Call – not against other submissions in response to this Call. The response process for this Call will generally consist of the following phases:

Phase 1: Solution Brief (White Paper) For Phase 1 of this acquisition, offerors shall submit a Solution Brief. The brief is a written technical submission that must provide a detailed discussion explicitly addressing the technical merit of the commercial solution offering with respect to the problem statement defined herein, using the content guidelines in Section 6.1.1. Furthermore, the submission must clearly articulate how the proposed solution meets the Government's objectives and satisfies the evaluation criteria detailed in Section 7. All Solution Briefs will be evaluated against these criteria. Offerors are advised that the Government will not reimburse any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of a Solution Brief.

Phase 2: Pitch (unless bypassed) Offerors whose Phase 1 Solution Briefs that demonstrate technical merit, satisfy the minimum evaluation criteria, and are selected to proceed may be invited to participate in a Phase 2 Pitch Session. The Government reserves the right to limit the number of offerors invited to pitch. As such, an offeror’s solution may be evaluated to be of merit, however not invited to pitch.

If conducted, the Pitch Session may include a technical demonstration or challenge, and specific instructions will be provided to selected participants. The Government reserves the right to record all pitch sessions for evaluation purposes. Furthermore, the Government reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to bypass Phase 2 entirely and proceed to an award decision based on the Phase 1 submission. Unless otherwise stipulated, the Government will not reimburse offerors for any costs associated with preparing for or participating in the Pitch Session.

Phase 3: Solution Proposal Following the completion of the preceding evaluation phase(s), the Government may issue an invitation to select offerors to submit a full Request for Solution Proposal (RSP).

The invitation for Phase 3 will provide detailed instructions on the required format and content for the solution proposal submission. Unless otherwise stipulated, the Government will not reimburse offerors for any costs associated with preparing the Solution Proposal or engaging in any subsequent negotiations. Furthermore, offerors are advised that any potential award resulting from this solicitation is contingent upon the availability of Government funds and need.

Detailed submission requirements for Phase 1 are provided in Section 6.1. Evaluation criteria for Phase 1 are outlined in Section 7. Phase 2 and/or Phase 3 submission requirements and evaluation criteria will be provided via subsequent invitation letters.

6.1 Phase 1 – Solution Brief

6.1.1 Phase 1 – Solution Brief Content

Solution Briefs shall not exceed ten (10) written pages using 12-point Times New Roman font or, alternatively, may take the form of briefing slides not exceeding twenty (20) slides. Any pages exceeding the limit will be removed and not evaluated. The Government will not consider inserted textboxes/pop-ups or internet links to additional information as part of the Solution Brief and will not consider such information in its evaluation. Solution Briefs are intended to be clear and concise.

All Phase I Solution Brief submission emails shall contain the subject line “Solution Brief Submission – DECA_26 – Syndicated Data Core Services, [COMPANY NAME]”.

Solution Briefs shall include the following at a minimum:

a. Title Page (does not count against page limit)

i. Company Name, Call Title, Date, Point of Contact Name, POC Title, E-Mail Address, Phone, Address, and Call reference number. If registered in SAM.gov, include the Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code and Unique Entity Identification (UEI) code. Note: SAM registration is required for any award.

ii. Explicitly list which of the thirteen (13) Areas of Interest (AOIs) the Solution Brief is addressing. Identify any proposed teaming partners or subcontractors supporting the proposed AOIs.

b. Executive Summary (one page) The executive summary shall provide a concise, high-level overview of the offeror’s proposed solution, its key benefits, and the company’s relevant experience. The summary must address:

i. Solution Overview: A summary of how the proposed commercial data platforms, consulting methodologies, or data feeds meet the specific performance objectives outlined in the SOO for the proposed AOIs.

ii. Key Discriminators: A description of the unique features, innovations, or primary advantages of the proposed solution (e.g., automatic data ingestion capabilities, advanced shopper panels, or proprietary methodologies).

iii. Corporate Experience: A brief overview of the offeror’s (and any teaming partners’) proven expertise in integrating and delivering similar commercial syndicated data, economic methodologies, or geospatial intelligence services.

c. High-Level Technology Solution/Concept

i. Describe how your proposed commercial solution fully meets the performance objectives outlined in the SOO (Attachment 0001) for each proposed AOI.

ii. Explicitly describe how your proposed technical approach satisfies the Required and Desired Attributes outlined in Section 3 of this Call (specifically addressing SAP/ARTS compatibility, data schema delivery, and your plan to expedite onboarding).

iii. Explain how the proposed technical approach is feasible, commercially mature, and supported by a technical team with the expertise to accomplish the objectives.

iv. Provide a proposed, high-level Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate.

The ROM must be fully itemized, providing a distinct, standalone price for each proposed AOI individually. The proposed ROM for any single AOI shall not be made contingent on the selection of any other AOI. The Government reserves the right to award any single AOI, or combination of AOIs, at the standalone price proposed.

o Optional multi-AOI discount: Offerors proposing solutions across multiple AOIs may optionally include a “Multi-AOI Discount Schedule” detailing any percentage or flat-dollar discounts the Government would receive if specific combinations of AOIs are awarded together.

Example Proposal Structure (For Informational Purposes Only):

If an offeror is proposing on AOI 1, AOI 2, and AOI 3 (only), their ROM might be structured as follows:

AOI 1 CONUS Non-Fresh Data: $4,000,000 AOI 2 CONUS Fresh Data: $1,000,000 AOI 3 CONUS Ecommerce Data: $500,000 Total Standalone Sum: $5,500,000 *Optional Multi-AOI Discount: If the Government awards both AOI1 and AOI 2 to the Contractor, a 5% discount will be applied to the total of those two awarded CLINs.

v. Provide a proposed high-level project schedule detailing the milestones and timeline required to achieve Full Operational Capability (FOC).

o For any COTS-based subscriptions or off-the-shelf platforms being proposed: The offeror may provide a single, consolidated timeline for the provisioning and user onboarding of these platforms.

For any bespoke services, custom methodologies, or manual data collection efforts being proposed: The offeror must provide a distinct, standalone onboarding duration (stated in calendar days from contract award) for each proposed service-based AOI. The schedule for any single AOI shall be fully severable and not made contingent on the award of any other AOI.

d. Company Viability

i. Provide a brief overview of the company’s financial viability and commercial market presence.

ii. Provide a description of your solution’s adoption within the commercial grocery, retail, or federal ecosystem (e.g., existing implementations, major client base).

iii. Data Ownership: Clearly define whether the offeror owns the proprietary datasets being proposed, or if the offeror is licensing/subcontracting the data from a third-party commercial data provider.

e. Intellectual Property Statement/Agreement/Disclosures (does not count against page limit)

i. The Solution Brief must identify any intellectual property involved in the effort. The offeror must affirm their ability to grant the Government a Standard Commercial Internal Use License that allows DeCA to ingest, merge, and utilize the raw data within its enterprise IT environment. This section must describe any asserted restrictions on the Government’s use of technical data, software, or other deliverables in accordance with RFO DFARS Part 227.

ii. The offeror must affirm the Government’s unlimited rights to any bespoke reports or methodologies generated specifically for DeCA (e.g., AOIs 4 & 5).

f. Affirmation of Business Status Certification (Does not count against page limit)

i. Include documentation for each company that would be a participant in the solution/concept (see Attachment 0002).

g. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Analysis and Mitigation Plan (As applicable, no page limit)

i. See Section 9 of this Call.

The Government may be unable to evaluate the Solution Brief if a Company fails to provide the information requested above. For ease of evaluation, please include ALL sections (a. through g.) in one (1) .pdf submission.

6.2 Phase 2 – Pitch/Live Demonstration (if applicable)

Phase 2 submission requirements (e.g., presentation materials, platform demonstrations scripts) and logistical instructions will be outlined in the formal invitation letter sent to shortlisted offerors, unless the Government elects to bypass Phase 2.

6.3 Phase 3 – Proposal

Phase 3 submission requirements (including instructions for the formal Firm-Fixed-Price commercial proposal, final Performance Work Statement, and definitive CMMC/cybersecurity documentation) will be outlined in the Request for Proposal (RFP) invitation sent to finalists.

7. EVALUATION CRITERIA

7.1 Phase 1 – Solution Brief Basis of Evaluation

Solution briefs correctly submitted in response to the Call will be evaluated against the below criteria. The Government reserves the right to use external market research in the evaluation of a Company's viability. The Government reserves the right to not respond to solution briefs incorrectly submitted under this Call. The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the solution submissions submitted in response to this Call.

The Government will evaluate proposals for each AOI independently. An offeror’s technical approach for one AOI will have no bearing on the evaluation of any other proposed AOI. The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the proposed AOIs within a submission for further consideration.

Solution Briefs submitted in response to this open solicitation will be evaluated using the following factors, in descending order of importance: (a) Technical Merit, (b) Schedule & Cost Feasibility, and (c) Viability.

a. Technical Merit: The Government will evaluate the Company’s Solution Brief submission for Technical Merit in accordance with Section 6.1.1(c), i through v.

Evaluation will assess the relevance and capability of the solution in addressing the specific performance objective outlined in the SOO Attachment 0001 for the proposed AOI(s). The Government will further evaluate the feasibility and soundness of the technical approach, specifically assessing the offeror’s ability to achieve the Required Attributes (e.g., SAP/ARTS integration, data schemas). Solutions that successfully incorporate the Desired Attributes (e.g., native GS1 GPC mapping, expedited onboarding, advanced OCONUS coverage) as outlined in Section 3 will be evaluated more favorably.

Based on this evaluation, the Government will assign one of the following determinations:

• The Company’s solution has Technical Merit: The solution is relevant, addresses the capability gap, demonstrates scalability, is feasible and achievable, and is considered compelling.

• The Company’s solution does not have Technical Merit: The solution fails to meet one or more of the Technical Merit criteria. (i.e not relevant, does not address the capability gap, does not demonstrate scalability, is not feasible and achievable, is not compelling.)

If the Offeror’s solution is evaluated as not having Technical Merit, the Government reserves the right to not continue the evaluation for the remaining Evaluation Criteria, assigning an overall Solution Brief rating of ‘Not Selected for Further Consideration’.

b. Schedule & Cost Feasibility: The Government will evaluate the proposed project schedule, transition approach, and high-level ROM cost estimate in accordance with Section 6.1.1(c). The Government will assess whether the proposed schedule minimizes transition risk prior to the January 31, 2027 expiration of current services and whether the ROM is realistic and aligns with Government budget availability.

c. Viability: The Government will evaluate the Company Solution Brief in accordance with Section 6.1.1(d). The Government will assess the offeror’s commercial presence, the maturity of the proposed COTS platforms/data feeds, and the proposed data ownership or teaming structure.

7.2 Phase 1 - Solution Brief Selection Process

Based on the evaluation of each AOI, the Solution Brief (or specific AOIs within the Brief) will be categorized as Selected for Further Consideration or Not Selected for Further Consideration. The selection of one (1) or more submissions into the next Phase will be based on the criteria listed above and funding availability. If a Solution Brief is considered not to have sufficient merit for a specific AOI, or if funds are not expected to be available for that AOI, the submission for that AOI may be declined without further review.

Selected for Further Consideration: The submitted Solution Brief (for the specific AOI) has been determined to be of high technical merit, represents an achievable schedule, and demonstrates a viable commercial pathway. As such, the Government intends to invite the Company to participate in next phase for that specific AOI should funding be available.

Not Selected for Further Consideration: The submitted Solution Brief (for the specific AOI) does not represent the necessary degree of technical merit, proposes an unacceptable partial solution, or lacks relevance to agency priorities to warrant further consideration.

The Government anticipates this Call may routinely receive more Solution Briefs than resources to award. All submissions will be fairly evaluated, however, only select Solution Briefs will be invited to Phase 2 and/or Phase 3. The Government reserves the right to limit the number of Companies invited to Phase 2 and/or Phase 3. As such, a Company’s solution may be evaluated to be of merit but not invited to Phase 2 and/or Phase 3. Solution Briefs that are chosen for Phase 2 and/or Phase 3 will be notified in writing as soon as practicable. The Government reserves the right to bypass Phase 2 into Phase 3 to request a formal proposal should funding be available and the Phase 1 submission be deemed sufficient.

8. NON-GOVERNMENT ADVISORS

The Government does not plan to utilize any non-Government technical advisors to assist in the evaluation of submissions received in response to this Call for Solutions. All evaluations will be conducted solely by authorized federal civilian personnel.

9. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (OCI)

The Offeror shall perform an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) analysis and submit the results of that analysis as part of their Phase 1 Solution Brief submission.

Specifically, the Offeror shall analyze the details of the Call and the implementation of their proposed commercial solution for any actual or potential OCI situations associated with the performance of the Offeror, or any of the Offeror’s proposed teaming partners or subcontractors. This analysis must consider any contract or agreement the Offeror (or their teammates/subcontractors) has been or may be awarded by any federal agency or other entity that could present a conflict with the independent and objective performance of the DeCA Syndicated Data Core Services requirement.

The Offeror shall describe in detail the methodology used to identify actual or potential OCI issues. RFO FAR Subpart 9.5 shall be used as a guiding framework for this OCI analysis. If no conflicts are identified, a risk mitigation plan is not required; however, a description of the analysis methodology and an affirming statement that no conflicts exist shall be included in the submission. (Note: This section will not count against submission page limits.)

If the Offeror identifies any actual or potential OCIs with respect to the performance of the Offeror or the Offeror’s subcontractors or teaming partners, the contractor shall provide an OCI Mitigation Plan with their submission. The Government will review the plan to determine if it is acceptable and may incorporate it as an attachment to any resulting contract. Any proposed avoidance or mitigation techniques shall be consistent with RFO FAR Subpart 9.5 and the most recent decisions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

9.1 Specific OCI Mitigation – OCONUS Methodology vs. Data Collection

To mitigate the risk of an "Impaired Objectivity" Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) as defined in FAR 9.505-3, the Government requires a strict separation of duties between the development of the OCONUS Savings Methodology (AOIs 4 and 5) and the performance of the corresponding OCONUS data collection services (AOIs 11 and 13).

• Teaming & Subcontracting Restrictions: An Offeror proposing a solution that encompasses both the OCONUS Savings Methodology (AOIs 4 & 5) and the corresponding OCONUS data collection (AOIs 11 & 13) must utilize completely independent, non-affiliated business entities to perform the respective scopes of work. The subcontractor or business unit performing the OCONUS Savings Methodology must have no shared corporate ownership, shared financial interest, or joint venture agreement with the subcontractor or business unit performing the OCONUS data collection.

• Mandatory OCI Mitigation Plan: Any Offeror proposing on both capability areas must submit a comprehensive OCI Mitigation Plan with their Phase 1 Solution Brief. This plan must detail the robust operational, physical, and technical "firewalls" established to ensure complete independence between the performing entities. The plan must demonstrate that the data collection team has no influence over the methodology design, and that the methodology team has no influence over the price collection parameters.

Government Oversight: The Government reserves the right to not award to some or all of the AOIs in question if the proposed OCI Mitigation Plan is deemed insufficient to protect the legal and analytical integrity of the program.10.

APPENDICES

Attachment 0001: Statement of Objectives (SOO) SOO Attachment 1: DeCA Commissary Locations Attachment 0002: Affirmation of Business Status Certification