JA_BEMS_bridge_-_FBO.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

InfoPro Inc.

PR 20068146

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

(1) Agency and Contracting Activity

Requiring Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Requiring Activity: Border Enforcement and Management Systems (BEMS)

Contracting Activity: Procurement Directorate

(2) Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule Program (40 U.S.C. § 501). As required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(c)(1), this justification supports a limited source award to InfoPro Incorporated, (InfoPro) under GSA Multiple Award Schedule 70, SIN 132-51. A limited source order will be awarded to InfoPro to provide for continued delivery of BEMS mission critical information technology support services for the 12-month period from September 30, 2013, through September 29, 2014.

The 12-month period of performance for the proposed limited source order is based on the period required to complete corrective action and includes an additional five-month period that provides for transition between incumbent and successor contractors, as established in the RFP for the aforementioned competitive award. The RFP specified a five-month transition period when performance of the incumbent contract and the re-competed contract will overlap, regardless of the selected awardee.

(3) Description of Supplies/Services

The services that will be provided through this order include technical and management services in support of the full life cycle in planning, development, deployment, operations and maintenance of systems. The primary objective of this work effort is to establish operational maintenance and systems development support services for BEMS. Maintenance may also be required for development as a consequence of changes in business processes or other applications, but the new development will continue to fulfill the requirements of the system as originally defined. Operations and maintenance activities also cover the general support of existing systems in the production environment – e.g., review of system sizing based on current usage, update of code/tables in response to organization/business process changes.

The award value of this order, as estimated in the IGCE, is $45,948,043.40 for the One-year period of the Task Order.

(4) Authority and Supporting Rationale

The regulatory authority for this limited source award is FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(A), an urgent and compelling need exists and following the competitive procedures of FAR Part 8 would result in unacceptable delays.

The required services are currently being performed by InfoPro under CBP Task Order HSBP1011F00303 which expires on October 19, 2013. On July 15, 2013, following an open market competitive source selection, CBP awarded the re-compete for the BEMS Operational Maintenance and Development Services to Unisys Corporation. The filing of a post-award protest with GAO resulted in an automatic stay of performance under the newly awarded IDIQ contract in accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984. In response to the protest, CBP elected to pursue corrective action which is estimated to take approximately 7 months. To sustain critical systems in the interim, a limited source bridge contract with the incumbent, InfoPro, is necessary until all corrective actions are completed and a new award decision is made.

The proposed limited source order provides for uninterrupted services to meet this mission critical requirement until corrective action is completed and a new award decision is made. BEMS provides continuous and concentrated support for Border Enforcement Systems, Office of Border Patrol (OBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO), Office of Air and Marine (OAM), and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office. In addition, BEMS also supports Management Systems solutions for the Office of Administration (OA), Office of Internal Affairs (IA), Office of Human Resources Management (OHR), and the Office of Training and Development (OTD). As part of the support, BEMS ensures the safety and security of America's borders and ports of entry, as well as extending the zone of security beyond physical borders. It also support CBP’s mission of apprehending individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, stemming the flow of illegal drugs and other contraband, protecting our agricultural and economic interests from harmful pests and diseases, protecting American businesses from theft of their intellectual property, and regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. This order will provide uninterrupted development, maintenance and operations to these mission critical computer systems and related applications that are required to achieve the priority mission of CBP and support these offices. Without a timely award of this order, services under the existing contract will expire. In the absence of these services, maintenance of the systems supporting a wide range of functions, from CBP’s personnel management systems, CBP payroll system, financial systems including SAP, and Mission Critical Officer Safety Border Enforcement Systems would cease. Additionally, any statutory updates would not be implemented, causing critical failures in CBP central day-to-day operating functions.

InfoPro, as the incumbent contractor, possesses the immediate capacity, comprehensive understanding of the BEMS program and systems, and security clearances. An award to any other vendor would result in extra costs and time delays incurred due to the background investigation process. Given their long-term work on these systems, they are best positioned to maintain and deploy system upgrades in a quality and timely manner, allowing the Government to avoid incurring substantial cost and causing unacceptable delays.

Hence, InfoPro is the only source currently that can meet CBP’s immediate needs without incurring unacceptable costs, delays in performance, and risks to our national security.

(5) Order Represents the Best Value to Meet the Government’s Needs

Although prices under GSA schedules are considered to be fair and reasonable, the Government will further evaluate the task order:

Examining whether current GSA rates are discounted from current contract rates;

Utilizing the Independent Government Cost Estimate;

Comparing the proposed hourly rates to similar GSA schedule contractor’s hourly rates;

Evaluating the level of effort and total price to historical data from past task orders from the same contractor;

This order will not require submittal of certified cost or pricing data. Certified cost and pricing data is not required when using GSA MAS contracts.

(6) Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification

In anticipation of the expiring contract held by InfoPro, CBP has taken the appropriate steps to replace the incumbent contract in a timely manner. A competitive source selection was conducted and a contract was awarded in advance of the incumbent contract expiration on October 19, 2013. As a result of a post-award protest of the newly awarded contract, performance under the competed contract was suspended.

The subsequent expiration of the existing incumbent contract provides no suitable alternative to maintaining mission critical functions, other than the proposed limited source order with the incumbent contractor. As previously described, mission critical operations would be suspended, causing unacceptable delays.

(7) Actions, If Any, the Agency May Take To Remove or Overcome Any Barriers That Led To the Restricted Consideration Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Is Made

As previously stated, CBP took the appropriate steps to competitively award a new contract upon expiration of the current contract for these services. A competitive source selection was conducted, and a contract was awarded in advance of the incumbent contract expiration on October 19, 2013. The action proposed is a result of a post-award protest requiring a stay of contract performance. The subsequent expiration of the existing incumbent contract provides no suitable alternative to maintaining mission critical functions other than the proposed limited source task order with the incumbent.

CBP will ensure that all corrective actions will be taken in a proper and timely manner such that the new award decision will be approved expeditiously.

(8) Description of Market Research

No market research was deemed practicable or conducted in this action to award a limited sources order pending completion of the aforementioned corrective action and issuance of a new award decision. The market research performed to establish the new competitive contract resulted in findings which supported a full and open competition.

However, the circumstances of this immediate need for continuation of uninterrupted services do not permit further research and selection of an alternate source. InfoPro maintains a contract on GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule 70, General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services, which directly aligns with the work to be performed under this proposed action.