Sources Sought.docx

SOURCES SOUGHT:

The General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Acquisition Systems/ Integrated Acquisition Environment Division, is measuring the interest and availability of both large and small companies as well as other agencies that have the capability to provide a unique identification system for government contractors, grantees, loan recipients, and individuals on an international and domestic basis. Supporting processes to monitor and verify information about these entities are also required. Governmentwide acquisition systems, budget systems, and other agency specific systems currently depend on the ability to assign a unique identification number to any domestic or international entity seeking government contracts or awards and/or payments to those entities, as well as minimum critical metadata attached to that number including:

· Company legal business name, or other name by which the entity is commonly recognized.

· Company physical street address, city, state, and zip code (international or domestic).

· Company mailing address, city, state, and zip code.

· Company telephone number.

· City and state of company registration (if different from physical address).

· Date the company was founded.

· Number of employees at each location.

· Names of chief executive officer and/or key manager.

· Industry (s) in which company operates.

· Family tree structure: Company’s relationship with affiliates, subsidiaries, headquarters, and branches of all levels of company organizational structure on an international scale.

Not only must this information be attached to a specific identification number for each entity currently doing or seeking to do business with the government, but the information must also be monitored and updated into the government systems at least annually. Furthermore, a web-based interface must be provided for companies that do not have an existing identification number to register and attain a number. This interface should be used to assign numbers within 24 hours and collect the above critical data elements; then the information collected must be monitored and verified to ensure accuracy and reliability. These are the minimum services that the government needs to operate its acquisition community; however, capabilities to provide any other relevant data items and services are also of interest to GSA.

The acquisition community currently contracts for these services and is looking to measure availability of other options to complete this process. If your business can provide a unique identification system, transition out the existing identification system for a new system, OR provide the above data and/or relationship linkage information for companies in the acquisition community, please submit to the contracting officer a brief summary of your capabilities and experience. If you have other capabilities that may be relevant or useful to government processes in these areas, please include a description of them as well. This document should demonstrate your ability, experience, and operational capabilities to perform one or more of the requested services. Please include a description of your processes, company infrastructure, and basis for assigning costs. In addition to outlining your processes, a swim lane diagram outlining the role of the government, the contractor, grantee, loan recipients and/or individuals should be provided. Documentation should specifically address:

Ability to perform one or more steps of the vendor registration process, including but not limited to-

· Assigning a unique identification number to current and new awardees

· Operating a web-based interface for the purpose of identifier registration and collection of data.

· Transitioning out the existing identification system and transitioning in the new system.

· Matching company identification numbers to critical data elements.

· Creating and matching company family tree and linkage information to company identification number.

· Monitoring, verifying, and updating information into the acquisition system on a real-time basis.

· Providing all services on a world-wide basis.

In addition, please answer the following questions:

1. What is your process for assigning a unique identifier?

2. What are the services that support this process?

3. Do you have the capability to provide the government with information about individuals as well as entities? If so, please explain how your processes differ for each.

4. What are your capabilities for transmitting information about family tree structures to the government?

5. What is the role of the government in your processes, and what information or services would the government have to provide?

6. What is your time-frame for delivering a unique identification number to a new registrant?

7. What are the proprietary aspects of your processes?

8. What, if any, are the restrictions on public access to the information you collect and deliver? Are you willing to allow public access to family tree structures?

9. How do you price your services? What is the basis for pricing?

10. The government is interested in exploring alternative funding models where costs are borne by the recipients of the unique identifier. Describe your approach to implementing such a model.

11. What is the geographic scope of your capabilities (CONUS and OCONUS)?

12. Can you ensure that information such as debarment and past performance assessments about a contracting entity can be readily associated with the unique identifier, even if they are associated with various addresses or offices of the contracting entity?

In addition to this Sources Sought, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council is also planning to release an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making on other policy and guidance issues related to tracking corporate information, beyond the effort in this Sources Sought.

This sources sought is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach or strategy. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

Responses to this Sources Sought should be submitted no later than November 21st , 2011 to:

U.S. General Services Administration, Acquisition Systems Division Attn: Katherine Pearlman Katherine.Pearlman@gsa.gov