Print Fulfillment Sources Sought Notice v1.docx

PRINT FULFILLMENT OPERATIONS

This is a SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small businesses (e.g., 8(a), service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business), that can provide a print fulfillment solution to accurately fulfill requests for preprinted (static) publications, customized print on demand (POD) publications, and other CMS publication materials, such as audiocassettes, CDs, letters and informational packages. The contractor shall provide a print fulfillment operation to publish, house, distribute and support outbound print communications such as letters, printed materials, and alternative media correspondence as needed to respond to beneficiary inquiries. The information from this market research will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

BACKGROUND

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) purchases health care for an estimated 79 million people through Medicare and Medicaid. On behalf of these beneficiaries, CMS works to ensure high quality health care at a reasonable price and to provide information about benefits, health promotion, and choices. CMS is responsible for accurate, timely, relevant, understandable, and easily accessible information that will help beneficiaries evaluate health plan options, nursing home options, and make decisions on their individual health care needs. CMS is required to broadly disseminate information to people with Medicare (and prospective people with Medicare) on the coverage options available, prescription drug information and General Medicare information.

In order to meet national program missions and strategies as well as legislative mandates (Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and Medicare Modernization Act of 2003), CMS operates a toll-free nation-wide, 24 x 7 contact center to provide beneficiary customer service and address beneficiary inquiries. Beneficiaries often request printed materials including static publications, customized print on demand (POD) packages, other publications, alternative media & formats including Braille, CDs, etc. Print fulfillment also handles all form response letters to written and fax correspondence, as well as other information dissemination packages.

The contractor will leverage its printing and mailing experience and use industry best practices to print and fulfill orders placed through CMS’s print systems. The contractor will also utilize industry best practices to mail orders and minimize postage costs through efficient solutions.

Medicare is a critical nation-wide program that is politically sensitive and highly visible. The contact center program serves as one of the primary outreach channels for over 40 million beneficiaries and therefore requires high performance standards, disaster planning (business continuity), and other important oversight and monitoring functions. Requirements for Print Fulfillment operations follow including detail on specific operational requirements. Please see Attachment 1 for additional Security & Technical Requirements.

REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW AND OPERATIONS

The following provides potential responders with an overview of the types of support that would be required of the Print Fulfillment contractor. Note that although this is an extensive list, it is not meant to be all inclusive.

Print Fulfillment Requirements:

The Print Fulfillment Contractor will:

a) Provide a print fulfillment solution to accurately fulfill requests for preprinted (static) publications, print on demand (POD) publications, and other CMS publication materials, such as CDs, letters, informational packages, and Braille booklets.

b) Provide a print fulfillment operation to publish, house and distribute both static and POD printed materials.

c) Support outbound communications such as letters, printed materials, email, and alternative media correspondence as needed to respond to beneficiary inquiries.

d) Maintain and store approximately three (3) month's worth of static publications provided by CMS, which requires storage of approximately 750,000 publications within any given month of the year.

e) Leverage its printing and mailing experience and use industry best practices to print and fulfill orders placed through CMS’s provided print ordering application, which houses orders placed via telephone calls, the network Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, XML files from orders placed through the www.medicare.gov web site, or other channels.

f) Track and report on print fulfillment data and information including, but not limited to number of orders filled, types of orders filled, bulk order mailings, returned mail, incorrect address, back-ordered requests, turnaround time, warehouse inventory, etc.

g) Track & submit metered mail cost reports to CMS on a monthly basis.

h) Generate and fulfill approximately 150,000 POD requests per year, and have available technology and capacity to accommodate additional future POD initiatives as determined by CMS.

i) Work closely with the CMS to assure cost efficiencies, process effectiveness, and adherence to United States Postal Service (USPS) regulations and policies.

j) Indicate CMS as the originator on all correspondence, envelopes, and packages. The contractor’s name should not appear on these mailings.

k) Collaborate with CMS and its contractors to ensure connectivity to the existing print fulfillment request application in order to pull requests down into the contractors print fulfillment & mailing solution.

l) Print and mail materials within three (3) business days of receipt of request with a minimum of a 95% accuracy rate. Respond to rapid changes in print volumes including meeting service level agreements (SLAs) and performance standards.

m) Tab self-mailers to prevent an open edge from jamming U.S. Postal Service (USPS) high-speed processing equipment.

n) Provide and utilize a label creation software program that is a USPS-approved address update tool and provides for adherence to applicable USPS classification reform requirements, including bar coding.

o) Comply with CMS and USPS special needs postage requirements. Fulfill print requests utilizing secure mail processes and procedures to protect and ensure the integrity & security of packages including personally identifiable information and/or personal health information (PII and PHI).

p) Provide an inventory tracking system to assist with management of the fulfillment activities. This tracking system is to be integrated with the CMS provided print request application.

q) Quickly adjust to fluctuating contact volumes while maintaining service level goals; able to ramp up or down quickly to meet fluctuating forecasted volumes or unexpected changes in demands or inquiry types.

r) Meet required performance metrics and standards across all program areas and functions. Have the ability to meet all performance metrics and have management processes in place to support adherence to the metrics. Sample metrics and reporting may include:

· Breakdown of printed materials mailed by type

· Accuracy of Publication Sent (including returned mail items)

· Fulfillment Turnaround

· Costs associated with producing various material types

· Inventory tracking of static publications and CDs in storage facility

· Information Systems Up-Time, Downtime, Total Loss Time

s) Review monthly performance reports for accuracy and provide explanation to CMS for failure to meet any performance standards.

t) Adjust staffing and scheduling as necessary to meet fluctuating print request volumes while maintaining performance metrics during constant and peak states. Unforeseen events, such as new Medicare legislation, media coverage of issues or activities by interest groups, may spike requests for printed materials or other outbound written correspondence printed materials unexpectedly with little warning.

u) Provide quality assurance capabilities to include, at a minimum, sampling and evaluating the quality, accuracy and consistency of print fulfillment processing and mailing and the ability to measure and meet performance standards of a 95% accuracy rate in print and mail fulfillment services.

v) Provide total program management capability for the operation and maintenance of the contract and provide efficient organization, effective control systems, quality assurance and reporting procedures.

w) Provide forecasting which should account for seasonal factors, historical trends, legislation, and marketing activities generated by the government or other entities that the government agency has no control over (e.g. broadcast media, news agency, print, newspaper, magazines, etc).

x) For POD publications, the contractor shall use an end-to-end custom book-building program which can automatically assemble specific XML data, gathered and created by the various Medicare decision tools on www.Medicare.gov to build on-demand personalized health care POD documents to be mailed directly to each beneficiary. The POD program shall be designed to be easily scalable to a growing (and unlimited) number of daily individual orders.

y) Design & create POD publications using English and Spanish and maintained using a version management software program (templates provided by CMS). Current examples of CMS POD options, provided for reference only, include:

· Medicare Plan Finder (MPDPF)

· Nursing Home Compare

· Your Medicare Coverage

· Find-a-Doctor (Participating Physician Directory, PPD)

· Supplier Directory

CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION

Please address your knowledge and experience within the last three years and how you will provide each of the following points (A) through (F). Reference where applicable specific items from the Requirements Overview in demonstrating your expertise and experience providing print fulfillment and efficient mailing of printed materials.

(A). Demonstrate your expertise and experience in providing a print fulfillment and mailing solution based on CMS’s current print and inventory volume needs to accurately fulfill requests for preprinted (static) publications, print on demand (POD) publications, and other CMS publication materials, such as CDs, letters, informational packages, and Braille booklets with a turnaround time of three (3) business days since request with the ability to respond to rapid changes in print volumes.

(B). Demonstrate your expertise in and experience with print fulfillment services handling at least 100,000 customized print-on-demand packages, and approximately 3,000,000 letters and 1,000,000 static publications. Please include your ability to handle English, Spanish, Braille, CD, and other alternative media print and outbound materials.

(C). Demonstrate your experience and expertise in implementing and utilizing secure print fulfillment and mailing procedures aligned with USPS acceptable standards while ensuring the maximum security and integrity of mail packages that include personally identifiable information and personal health information (PII and PHI). Please include your experience and expertise in adhering to HIPAA, Privacy Act, and federal Security rules and standards on print fulfillment and mailing that includes handling sensitive personal health/medical information and personally identifiable information (PHI and PII).

(D). Demonstrate expertise and experience in implementing a quality control process including measuring, reporting, and improving the quality of handling to print fulfillment requests and mailing procedures without degradation to operations and performance standards.

(E). Demonstrate your experience and understanding of integrating, tracking, and reporting print fulfillment and mailing data while meeting performance standards and using industry best practices.

(F). Demonstrate your expertise and experience using industry best practices to efficiently print and mail materials within three (3) business days and your ability to achieve efficiencies and develop innovative solutions to minimize postage costs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED:

Interested parties having the capabilities necessary to perform this requirement may submit capability statements via email to Debbie Lester (Deborah.lester@cms.hhs.gov). CAPABILITY STATEMENTS MUST DEMONSTRATE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED ABOVE. Please address each in order listed above under “Capability Statement Information.”

Capability statements shall also include the following information: (Capability Statements shall be limited to 15 pages and shall designate any/all teaming arrangements and the work proposed to be performed by each team member.)

Business Information --

1) DUNS

2) Tax ID

3) Company Name

4) Company Address

5) Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address

6) Current GSA Contracts

a. Schedule

b. 8(a) STARS GWAC

c. Vets GWAC

7) Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system.

8) Business Size Status (e.g., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) for the applicable NAICS code (i.e. 323114). All offerors must be registered in the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp.

9) Point of Contact, Phone and Email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses.

Responses must be submitted not later than September 23, 2011. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Questions concerning submission requirements may be directed to Debbie Lester, Contract Specialist, 410-786-5136 or Deborah.lester@cms.hhs.gov. CMS will not entertain questions related to contracting strategy.

PRINT FULFILLMENT SOURCES SOUGHT (ATTACHMENT 1)

Security & Technical Requirements:

The Print Fulfillment Contractor will:

i. Implement Section 508 compliant systems and electronic information materials.

ii. Implement and maintain systems under FISMA moderate level compliance and pass security, ST&E, and certification & accreditation audits and processes following federal government standards and regulations.

iii. Provide necessary premise-based network-communications equipment required to connect contractor facilities to the AT&T Global Network Service (AGNS) network or other CMS-chosen network. This includes, but is not limited to, LAN, firewalls, hubs, patch panels, and necessary cabling.

iv. Ensure hardware and software are properly maintained to support interoperability between print fulfillment components and CMS provided infrastructure. Typical tasks may include, but are not limited to:

a. Monitoring system operations and performance

b. Addressing and correcting system errors

c. Implementing software maintenance programs

d. Scheduling deployments and upgrades for minimal project disruptions

e. Installing software upgrades

f. Providing performance tuning

g. Providing on-site and off-site maintenance

h. Providing on-site after hour and weekend support

i. Providing maintenance to environmental systems including; power, HVAC, UPS, and fire suppression equipment

v. Correct any security deficiencies, conditions, weaknesses, findings, or gaps identified by all audits, reviews, evaluations, tests and assessments, including but not limited to, the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) -70 Reviews, Inspector General Audits, self-assessments, and Vulnerability Assessments in a timely manner.

vi. Develop & provide corrective action plans and quarterly progress reports to CMS in accordance to the Business Partner System Security Manual (BPSSM) or otherwise as directed by CMS.

vii. Comply with the CMS Certification & Accreditation (C&A) methodology, policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines for contractor facilities and systems. The CMS C&A methodology can be found on the CMS web site www.cms.gov/InformationSecurity.

viii. Conduct or undergo an independent evaluation and test of systems security program in accordance with section 912 of the MMA.

ix. Conduct, at a minimum, annual vulnerability assessment including penetration tests of the contractor’s systems, program, and facility.

x. Support CMS validation and accreditation of contractor systems and facilities in accordance with CMS C&A methodology.

xi. Provide necessary staff to maintain equipment, and must be made available 24x7 if necessary to troubleshoot problems with CMS or other contractor staff.

xii. Develop & adhere to a Telecomm and IT Systems plan that outlines the approach and processes that will be used to manage these requirements, as well as a monthly Telecomm/IT Systems Outage Report that describes, at a minimum, the outage, the duration, the cause and the resolution.

Security:

The contractor shall comply with the applicable security requirements related to the operation of the print fulfillment operations under the contact center operations program defined in the Business Partner System Security Manual (BPSSM) (also known as IOM Publication 100-17), the Core Security Requirements and its operational appendices (A, B and C), found at http://www.cms.gov/Manuals/IOM/. The contractor shall implement a security program that adheres to CMS security standards. The Info Security Library can be found at http://www.cms.gov/InformationSecurity/ISD/list.asp. The contractor shall fully cooperate with CMS audits, reviews, evaluations, tests, and assessments of contractor systems, processes, and facilities. The following security regulations, policies, and guidelines are applicable to all CMS contractors:

(I.) Public Law 93-579, The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (II.) Public Law 99-474, Computer Fraud & Abuse Act of 1986 (III.) Public Law 100-235, Computer Security Act of 1987 (IV.) Public Law 104-13, Paperwork Reduction Act of 1978, as amended in 1995, U.S. Code 44 Chapter 35 (V.) Public Law 104-106, Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (formerly known as the Information Technology Management Reform Act) (VI.) Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 1996 (formerly known as the Kennedy-Kassenbaum Act) (VII.) Public Law 107-347, E-Government Act of 2002, Federal Information Systems Management Act (FISMA) (VIII.) Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-63 (PDD 63), Critical Infrastructure Protection, May 22, 1998 (IX.) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-123, Management Accountability and Control, June 21, 1995 (X.) OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, Transmittal 4, November 28, 2000 (XI.) Appendix III to OMB Circular No. A-130, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources, November 28, 2000 (XII.) GAO/AIMD-12.19.6, Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM), January 1999 (XIII.) CMS Business Partners System Security Manual, March 5, 2004 (XIV.) CMS Information System Security Policy, Standards and Guidelines handbook (The Handbook), version 1.2, July 19, 2004 (XV.) CMS System Security Plan Methodology, version 3.0, November 6, 2002 (XVI.) CMS Risk Assessment Methodology, version 2.1, April 22, 2005

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