RFI Coversheet - VISN 23 Consol Doc Ctrl v.2.pdf

Request for Information (RFI) 36C10B26Q0340

THIS IS A RFI ONLY. This request is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute a Request for Quote, a Solicitation, or an indication that the Government will award a contract for the items contained in this RFI.

This notice is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government does not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information being requested or, reimburse expenses incurred for responses to this RFI. Companies are encouraged to respond if they have the capability and/or capacity to provide the items identified below. Respondents should identify their company name, address, email, telephone number and a name and telephone number of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives. Respondents are requested to identify the applicable contract vehicle, contracts and any additional information applicable to this RFI. Submissions are due NO LATER THAN May 12, 2026 at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time and may be made by submitting your response through email response to the Contract Specialist Samantha McIntyre via email at Samantha.McIntyre2@va.gov and the Contracting Officer Peter T. Lewandowski via e-mail at Peter.Lewandowski@va.gov. This RFI notice is part of the Government’s market research, a continuous process for obtaining the latest information from industry, with respect to their current and near-term abilities. If there are not multiple responses to this RFI from preferred socioeconomic categories, any future Request for Quotations for this requirement will be open to ALL vendors under the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. The Government requests information regarding whether vendors can provide any/all of the products identified, please see the attached Draft Product Description (PD).

The NAICS for this requirement is 513210. The Small Business Size Standard $47.0 million.

Small Business companies with the capability to perform this requirement, in total or in part, are encouraged to participate. If you are interested only in subcontracting opportunities, please indicate this fact clearly in your submission. If you believe a different NAICS code better applies to the requirements required under this RFI, please include your suggestions in your response to the RFI. Please indicate your company size and socio-economic status for applicable NAICS codes.

Be advised that set-aside decisions may be made based on the information provided in response to this RFI. Responses should be as complete and informative as possible.

mailto:Samantha.McIntyre2@va.gov

REQUIREMENT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Midwest Health Care Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 23 Pathology and Laboratory Medical Service requires a commercially available off-the-shelf Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for a Document Control System to:

• Manage and store laboratory related documentation.

• Provide audit readiness for accreditation bodies (College of American Pathologists, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, Joint Commission, and Food and Drug Administration).

• Monitor staff training, compliance, and continuing education.

• Facilitate reporting and tracking of deviations from standard procedures

• Create a paperless document management environment.

The SaaS solution must handle multi-site operations (14 sites) with approximately 800+ users.

The Contractor shall provide the specific deliverables listed within the performance period specified in Sections 1.3 through 2.2, as well as 6.7 through 6.7.3 of the PD. VA is contemplating a firm-fixed-price contract for 1 12-month base period of the MediaLab Federal Document Control System Brand Name or Equal SaaS Solution from the October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, with 4 12-month option periods under the attached PD. This contract is not expected to exceed five years.

Interested vendors may submit “Equal” solutions that meet or exceed the Government’s Salient Characteristics as defined in PD Section 1.2.

RFI RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

Note: Provide a capability package that is clear, concise, and thorough/comprehensive. VA is under no obligation to provide feedback to the company or to contact the company for clarification on any information/material submitted in response to this RFI.

There is a page limitation for this RFI of 15 pages or less. The Government will not review any other information or attachments included, that are in excess of the 15-page limit (Page count excludes the cover page, title pages, and table of contents). Vendors may also submit additional information not specifically requested above, which would provide value and insight to the Government. NO MARKETING MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED AS PART OF THIS RFI.

Generic capability statements will not be accepted or reviewed. Your response must address capabilities specific to the services required in the attached draft PD and must include the following:

a. Interested Vendors shall at a minimum provide the following information in the initial paragraph of the submission:

Name of Company Address Point of Contact Name Phone Number Fax Number Email address Unique Entity Identifier System for Award Management (ueiSAM) under which the company is registered in SAM/VetBiz.Gov NAICS code(s) Commercial and Government Entity Code (CAGE Code) Company Business Size and Socioeconomic Status If your business is an 8a, please provide your cognizant small business office and small business representative's information Existing Contractual Vehicles the contractor holds for providing these products and/or services (GWAC, FSS, other agencies GWACs or MAC, etc.). If there are any existing contractual vehicles, please submit their details.

Do you anticipate proposing as a prime contractor?

Will you be using subcontractors with this effort?

For Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), proof of certification in the U.S. Small Business Administration website.

For SDVOSB/VOSB business concerns indicate whether at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred is planned to be expended for employees of your concern or employees of other eligible SDVOSB/VOSB business concerns.

All responses should be submitted electronically using PDF with subject line “RFI Response – VISN 23 Document Control System – Company Name” and submitted NO LATER THAN May 12, 2026, at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time. Submissions may be made by submitting your response through email response to Samantha.McIntyre2@va.gov and Peter.Lewandowski@va.gov. Total e‐mail file limit size is restricted to 5MB. Files exceeding this threshold must be submitted over multiple email messages, and be identified as "Email #x of #y."

mailto:Samantha.McIntyre2@va.gov

RESPONSES:

If you can provide the necessary supplies or services, please respond to this RFI certifying capability.

The following information details the Government’s intent and requests information for this acquisition:

Included with your response, VA requires a reply to each of the questions posted below;

responses should be as complete and informative as possible:

Please do not submit general marketing information for capability statements.

Solution Overview (Brand Name or Equal Capability)

1. Identify the proposed solution and indicate whether it is MediaLab Federal Document Control or an Equal SaaS product.

2. If Equal, provide a side-by-side comparison demonstrating how your solution meets or exceeds the salient characteristics.

3. Describe how your solution supports:

• Document lifecycle management (create, review, approve, archive)

• Audit readiness for College of American Pathologists (CAP), Clinical Laboratory

Improvement Amendments (CLIA), Joint Commission (JC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB)

• Training, compliance, and continuing education tracking Technical and SaaS Architecture

4. Confirm your solution is cloud-based (SaaS) and describe the hosting environment.

5. Describe system scalability to support 800+ users across 14 sites.

Security, Compliance, and Authority to Operate (ATO)

6. Describe how your solution meets:

• Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 (and/or its successor, FIPS 140-3) encryption requirements

• Data at rest and in transit protection

7. Provide details on Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization status (Authorized, In Process, Not Authorized). Include Level (Low, Moderate, High).

8. Describe your experience obtaining a VA ATO or operating under an existing ATO.

9. Provide estimated timelines and dependencies for VA ATO approval.

10. Identify any risks that could delay system authorization or deployment.

11. Confirm whether your solution can obtain and maintain a VA ATO.

12. Identify any third-party hosting providers or subcontractors and their FedRAMP status.

13. Describe your approach to data ownership, storage location, and access control.

Functional Capabilities (Salient Characteristics Validation)

14. Describe your capability to:

• Manage document version control and audit trails

• Track approvals, edits, and user actions

• Automate workflows, routing, and notifications

15. Explain how your system supports:

• Role-based access and permissions

• Task management and escalation workflows

• Reporting and dashboard capabilities

16. Describe ability to:

• Link documents to forms and policies

• Maintain standardized templates and formats

• Provide full traceability of document history

Accreditation and Audit Support

17. Describe how your system supports CAP/CLIA/JC, FDA, and AABB accreditation checklist management.

18. Explain how users can:

• Link documentation to audit checklist items

• Track deficiencies and corrective actions

19. Provide details on reporting capabilities for audit readiness and compliance tracking.

Training, Continuous Education, and Competency Management

20. Describe your ability to:

• Delivery and track training assignments

• Monitor continuing education credits

• Manage competency assessments

21. Confirm support for:

• Automated reminders and notifications

• Exam simulation and testing modules (if applicable)

Implementation and Transition-In

22. Describe your implementation timeline, including ability to meet 30-day deployment requirement.

23. Can your solution be fully implemented and operational within 30 days of award? If not, provide a realistic timeline.

24. Identify any Government dependencies required for implementation.

25. Describe your Transition-In Plan approach, including:

• Key milestones

• Dependencies (Government and Contractor)

• Required resources

• Data Migration, including data migration from an existing document control system, can your solution support:

o Bulk document ingestion o Metadata retention o Version history migration o Describe any limitations or constraints related to data migration

• User Onboarding and Training

26. Describe your experience with transitioning from an incumbent system.

Transition-Out / Data Ownership

27. Confirm the Government retains full ownership of all data.

28. Describe your process for providing complete data export (e.g., full back up, structured format) at contract end.

29. Can your system support transition to a new vendor without data loss or proprietary restrictions?

30. Describe any tools or support provided for transition-out activities.

Continuity of Operations

31. Describe how your solution ensures no disruption in service during transition (in or out).

32. Identify any risks to continuity of operations during system cutover.

33. Are there any requirements within PD Sections 1.3 and 1.4 (Transition In/Out) that are overly restrictive, unrealistic, or would limit competition?

Support and Maintenance

34. Describe your help desk support model (hours, response times, escalation).

35. Confirm availability of:

• Dedicated implementation support

• Ongoing training and system updates

36. Describe system maintenance, downtime notifications, and update procedures.

37. Describe system availability (e.g., uptime %, redundancy, failover).

38. Explain how your system supports 24/7/365 access across multiple VA sites.

Pricing and Licensing Structure (Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM))

39. Based on the draft PD, please provide a ROM cost estimate for your proposed Brand

Name MediaLab Federal Document Control or Equal SaaS Solution. The ROM should reflect anticipated pricing over a multi-year period (e.g., base year plus four option years):

• Base system (800 users)

• Additional modules (IQE, Inspection Proof, Compass, CE, Simulators, etc.)

40. Describe your pricing model (e.g., per user, per site, enterprise license etc.).

41. Identify any additional costs (implementation, training, data migration, technical support, and any optional features or modules etc.).

42. Please indicate any pricing assumptions, license models (e.g., user-based, enterprise, concurrent), and volume-based pricing tier if applicable.

Please note that this request is for market research purposes only and is not a request for formal pricing.

Market Research Validation

43. Based on your knowledge, are you aware of any other solutions that meet all stated requirements?

44. Identify any gaps or limitations in your solution relative to the requirement.

45. Provide any recommended adjustments to improve competition or feasibility.

Industry Feedback

46. Are there any requirements that are overly restrictive or uniquely aligned to a specific vendor?

47. Is the 30-day implementation requirement realistic?

48. Are Transition-In/Out requirements feasible?

49. Provide recommendations to increase competition without compromising mission needs.

50. Do you have any issues, concerns, or need clarification on the PD?

51. Does the draft PD adequately state the technical and functional requirements for software development and production operations support services in this effort?

______ YES _______ NO (if no, answer the next question).

52. If “NO”, please give technical comments/recommendations on the draft PD sections to improve proposal accuracy and efficiency.

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is market as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul 15.101(c), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government and contractor personnel reviewing submitted responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.