MEPCOM MIRS Bridge 13.5 Justification_signed_redacted.pdf

FEDSIM is a Client Support Center housed within GSA, FAS, AAS Page 1 Version 06/23/2020

General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM)

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR

CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

FOR BRIDGE CONTRACT

CONTRACT 47QFCA21Q0009

INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT NUMBER 47QFCA20S0038

The General Services Administration (GSA) makes this Sole Source Justification Under Procedures for Certain Commercial Items pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.5.

1) Identification of Agency and Contracting Activity:

Agency:

General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) Acting in support of: United States Military Entrance Processing Command

(USMEPCOM)

Contracting Activity:

GSA FEDSIM Contracting Office (QF0B) 1800 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20405

2) Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved:

The FEDSIM Contracting Office, in support of the US Military Entrance Processing Command, proposes to award an open market, sole source, Labor Hour (LH) contract type. The USMEPCOM Integrated Resource System Bridge (MIRS-B) contract will be awarded to Tandem for a two-month base period and up to four, one-month option periods. Other direct costs (ODC), tools, and travel will be provided as a cost-reimbursable contract type. The purpose of this contract is to provide interim support to allow USMEPCOM adequate time to complete the re-organization of their program, finalize the completion of the ongoing system modernization and allow for a separate competitive action to be awarded and transition to take place. The total proposed period of performance (POP) for this sole source contract is from April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021, with an estimated value of $2,000,000.

The current contract value is $9,976,784 and has a POP of a one year and three months base period and no option periods, which expires on March 31, 2021. The current contract has reached both the maximum funding and ceiling allowed and no further extension can be made under the current contract terms.

The rationale for this sole source procurement is that the existing contractor is the only capable vendor to complete the work in the required time frame. The contractor is needed to execute tasks and requirements necessary for implementing lifecycle and software engineering services, integration engineering, system configuration updates, which are required to complete a Minimally Viable Product (MVP) for USMEPCOM.

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Due to the fact that Tandem is currently providing this support to USMEPCOM and the requirements are complex and developmental in nature, only Tandem has the complete understanding of the current environment to execute these requirements successfully in such a short timeframe.

3) A Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet Agency’s Need:

USMEPCOM currently uses the MIRS system for determining recruits’ qualifications for military service and for processing their applications into the US Armed Forces. The current Tandem contract provides an innovative and agile solution to advance the MIRS version 1.1 from a software prototype to a production ready system and deploy that new system at up to all 66 Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) locations. The MIRS-B contract will continue this support until the competitive action is awarded and services are transitioned to the new vendor. That support includes:

Feature Development Application Programming Interface (API) Documentation, Adoption and Support Notifications to the Services Infrastructure, Security and Networking MEPS Adoption and Training Quality Assurance and Release Management

The program is currently in the stage of fielding the new system and providing new and enhanced capabilities as well as improvements to meet current security protocols.

4) An Identification of the Statutory Authority Permitting Sole Source:

The authority under which this sole source justification is made is pursuant to FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii).

This sole source contract will be awarded pursuant to the authority of 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1901 as implemented by FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii).

Awarding to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government as well as unacceptable delays in fulfilling USMEPCOM’s requirements.

The relationship between the original order and this follow-on contract is due to the short duration, only one responsible source, Tandem, can provide the required services at the level of quality required. This incumbent contractor is uniquely qualified to provide the support required due to having spent over one year developing and implementing the unique requirements. In addition, Tandem is uniquely qualified to seamlessly continue performance efforts without substantial duplication of cost to the Government that would not be able to be recovered through competition, and without delays to USMEPCOM’s schedule.

Completing this action as a sole source award will save USMEPCOM money both through contract execution savings and savings as part of the cost of performing the acquisition. Tandem currently burns approximately $500,000 a month in labor costs.

Transitioning the Tandem work to another vendor would result in at least two months’ worth of duplicated effort for transition, knowledge sharing and left-seat, right-seat

FEDSIM is a Client Support Center housed within GSA, FAS, AAS Page 3 training. FEDSIM is already in the process of awarding a competitive task order which will require transition so this effort will eliminate the need for two transition periods.

From an administrative cost standpoint, FEDSIM’s cost for an acquisition from start to finish starts at Due to the shorter level of effort to procure a bridge for our customers, FEDSIM is able to secure a bridge contract at a fraction of its typical fee. This will save USMEPCOM upwards of in addition to the internal cost of the months of USMEPCOM resources that they would need to commit to a new acquisition that could otherwise be spent supporting the USMEPCOM mission.

In addition to the cost savings, the schedule considerations warrant the use of a sole source award as well. FEDSIM’s average acquisition timeline is approximately seven months long. USMEPCOM requires support in place starting April 1, 2020. There is no feasible way to award a competitive action to extend support on the current contract in under two months. FEDSIM and USMEPCOM have been working on a competitive action since April 2020 which will continue the work being provided today. Therefore, MIRS-B needs to be procured because there is only one responsible source and no other supplies or service will satisfy agency requirements.

5) A Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited:

For all on-going work a contractor would require in-depth knowledge of the organizational environment, and knowledge of the systems that have been modernized.

Tandem’s knowledge of the unique applications that are being developed and specially configured to handle the systems modernization and transition to the cloud is not replaceable with the short duration remaining toward completion. As stated, a competitive award is currently being done. MIRS-B is needed to transition support of the MIRS 1.1 system from Tandem to the new contractor. Only Tandem has the ability to transition this work.

Tandem has developed the system to perform critical service functionality, enhancements and fixes which are essential to the in-processing of military personnel entering into the service without undue delay. To transition to another contractor this close to completion of the MIRS 1.1 MVP development and deployment would put the project at risk of delays caused by a lack of understanding of the system. Tandem is uniquely qualified to continue supporting these requirements as it is the only company with any hands on knowledge of the system and therefore the only company that can successfully complete deployment and affect a reasonable transition to the competitively awarded contract without degradation of service or significant delays.

There is no ability to extend the current task order that expires on March 31, 2021 due to ceiling limitations. The new competitive effort is expected to be awarded in February 2021. Time will be necessary to transition from the sole source task order to the competitive contract; a 90-day transition period is planned. The Government intends to award this sole source contract with a two-month base period and four one-month options to extend services if needed.

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The Government will also include FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services in case there are any unforeseen events that would require a continuation of services beyond the PoP listed.

6) A Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited From as Many Potential Sources as Practicable:

As required by FAR Part 5.201, a FAR 12 synopsis was published on beta.SAM.gov to serve as the Government’s notice of intent to sole source this acquisition. As previously indicated, the Government is in the process of preparing a competitive acquisition to which this sole source bridge contract will transition. That action included market research such as a Request for Information as well as a Market Analysis Notice (MAN). Advance Notice was provided to industry and Industry Day as well as Due Diligence Sessions were held. The solicitation was released to all contract holders on the VETS 2 Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) and will be for a max of seven years. As a result, the Government will not be soliciting offers from any sources other than Tandem for this sole source acquisition.

The Government synopsis on beta.Sam.gov from March 02, 2021 through March 17, 2021.

The noticed stated the anticipated classification code for the solicitation and award would be D - IT and Telecom - Information Technology and Telecommunications and NAICS code 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services. The Government only received notice of one interested vendor.

Vendor: US Federal Government Proposal Writer LLC

DUNS: 962312513

CAGE Code: 5ZBN0

After further research, it was determined that the vendor is not capable of fulfilling the requirements due to lack of skill set. The two NAICS codes associated with the vendor are 541310 - Architectural Services and 541613 - Marketing Consulting Services. The vendor did not provide any information to indicate it could complete the requirements within the constrained timeline nor did it provide any information to prove it acquires the required information technology background.

7) A Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

Based on the data gathered, the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable (F&R). Additionally, the Government has invoices from the current contract to base anticipated costs on, and reserve the right to negotiate until the price is F&R. The expectation of reaching a fair and reasonable price was determined through market research to determine best value for United States Military Entrance Processing Command. The total amount of funding required for the total estimated period of six months is approximately $2,000,000.00. One-million-dollar base and $250,000 per one-month option period.

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8) A Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted:

The incumbent, Tandem, has demonstrated it is uniquely capable of providing the services required by the sole source contract, and can do so without interruption to the program schedule. Based on being the only responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, awarding to Tandem is in the best interest of the Government.

USMEPCOM provided the requirements. USMEPCOM and FEDSIM conducted research for the proper contract vehicle. Because the Government seeks to acquire professional IT support services with a very limited duration, most GWAC vehicles are not suitable for this acquisition. Many of the small business GWACs were considered but Tandem was not a contract holder on any of the available small business vehicles.

Therefore, open market sole source set aside option was selected.

9) Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Sole Source:

FEDSIM anticipates the competitive task order will be awarded in February 2021.

If full and open competition were to be utilized, Procurement Acquisition Lead Time (PALT) time alone would exceed the POP of the contract. There is also the risk of a gap in service if a full and open competition was pursued given the short time frame, and sufficient schedule time needed. The current contract does not have the ability to extend past March 31, 2021. Tandem has the requisite knowledge, subject matter expertise, theater business clearance, and experience to continue providing these services during this interim period. Tandem has been providing these services over the past year and three months under the current contract. A new contractor without the inherent knowledge or experience would not be effective in a timely manner.

The Government cannot afford to have any lapse or degradation in services due to the critical and timely nature of this work. A degradation would result in greater security risks and the potential for USMEPCOM to be unable to carry out their mission of in-processing applicants into the Armed Forces.

The sole source task order requires the following deliverables, which only Tandem can deliver in the timeline allotted:

a. Design, develop and deploy continuous software releases of MIRS 1.1 system at all processing locations.

b. Provide a more user-friendly interface and mission supporting features for MEPS users and military applicants.

c. Software delivered must be based on open-source code, platform agnostic, with attention to bug fixes and performance improvements.

d. Sustain and improve data system integrations for MIRS 1.1 with 13 primary external systems and all internal MIRS applications to ensure data availability and integrity.

e. Sustain and improve MIRS cloud architecture, infrastructure and networking as needed for data transmission, storage, retrieval, and cyber security accreditation.

f. Complete transition out activities to prepare Government and new vendor for future MIRS sustainment and improvement.

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g. Ensure MIRS 1.1 is operating at maximum capability to support mission needs and handover can occur with minimal disruption to system operations.

Currently, Tandem is the only company capable of completing the above tasks and with access to the existing system.

10) A Listing of the Sources, if any, That Expressed, In Writing, An Interest in the Acquisition:

To date, the Contracting Officer has received only one, non-relevant statement of interest (see paragraph 6) regarding the proposed Sole Source effort, except for the incumbent provided, by Tandem.

11) A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required:

FEDSIM is currently in the pre-award phase for the competitive acquisition that will follow the sole source task order. Extensive market research has been conducted for the competitive acquisition including industry day, due diligence sessions and a MAN was conducted to maximize competition. The competitive acquisition is planned to be awarded in February 2021.

12) Contracting Officer Certification that the Justification is Accurate and Complete to the Best of the Contracting Officer’s Knowledge and Belief:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that a simplified procedures for certain commercial items approach is in accordance with the requirements and is in the best interest of the Government.

Sterling Whitehead Contracting Officer FEDSIM Acquisition, Army Sector

Technical and Requirements Personnel Assertion:

The Technical and Requirements Personnel assertion is provided as an Attachment.

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Final Approval I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that a simplified procedures for certain commercial items approach is in accordance with the requirements and is in the best interest of the Government.

Peter Burr GSA Competition Advocate