Source Sought Notice - IT Hardware e-Procurement.pdf

Sources Sought Notice No. SS-2023-2025 IT Hardware e-Procurement Catalog

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. NREL is managed and operated for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy (Alliance), the “M&O Contractor”.

NREL currently employs 2,685 workers globally. Each NREL employee is provided a company-issued laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and docking station. Historically, NREL has procured employee-issued IT Hardware using Purchase Orders and Subcontracts, which requires a considerable degree of administration and lead time to execute. NREL is pursuing a more streamlined purchasing mechanism to handle the high demand we experience for these items.

Specifically, the lab would like to evaluate proposals for a business-to-business e-procurement solution. This tool will look similar to an “Amazon-style” punch-out catalog that allows NREL to make purchases as-needed for Dell IT hardware products. The e-procurement solution will require an integration with our Oracle financial reporting system to trigger the auto-generation of Purchase Orders (punch-out functionality).

The Alliance intends to competitively solicit for an IT Hardware e-Procurement Solution. The selection process is expected to be a two-step procurement: 1) selection of potential sources from this SSN, and 2) Request for Proposals (RFP).

Step 1 Sourcing (SSN): Parties that meet the minimum criteria outlined herein are encouraged to submit their capabilities statements. Submitted capabilities statements that meet the Alliance’s stated criteria (stated below in ‘Subcontractor Requirements’) will be included in the source list to receive the planned RFQ.

Step 2 Proposal & Selection (RFP): Qualified offerors will be asked to propose on an e-procurement solution for NREL IT in NREL’s Request for Proposal (RFP). Alliance will likely host oral presentations for this portion of the selection process, in addition to evaluation of written proposals. Specific requirements and evaluation criteria will be included in the RFP.

At the conclusion of these steps, the Alliance intends to enter into a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) with the offeror representing the best value to Alliance and the Government. The BOA will be in place for a maximum period of 3 years (currently planned to have an initial 12-month basic period of performance plus two additional 12-month option periods) and contain a general scope of work. The BOA will have an annual ceiling of approximately $3 million. It is important to note the ceiling is not a guaranteed commitment and represents a threshold limit of cumulative orders for each year an option is exercised during the agreement. Payment will be issued at the time each purchase is issued, and the BOA itself will not be funded.

Scope:

To meet the objective, the subcontractor shall develop a new e-procurement catalog, or modify existing functionality, depending on the subcontractor’s current e-procurement capabilities.

Important scope-defining details are as follows:

• NREL purchased 673 laptops in FY21, followed by 1435 laptops in FY22. This spike in demand was due to cyclical replacements of old inventory, and does not represent sustainable growth, however the vendor’s solution should be capable of meeting this level of demand, if needed.

• This catalog supports the purchase of Dell products only. The majority of those products will consist of Dell Latitude laptops, Dell Precision mobile workstations, Dell Business docking stations, and Dell UltraSharp monitors of multiple dimensions. A specific product and SKU list will be provided during RFP.

Such activities will be internal to Alliance. The subcontractor may be engaged with all levels and positions across the laboratory depending upon the required tasks.

Subcontractor Requirements:

Subcontractor Size Standard:

NAICS Code Description Size Standard 423490 Other Professional

Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

Small

334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing

Small

Capability: NREL is evaluating subcontractors who can provide an e-procurement solution for Dell products by either developing new functionality, or modifying an existing platform. The solution will be a punch-out catalog that can meet NREL’s requirements pertaining to IT Hardware product types, unit demand, and user interfacing.

For firms interested in competing for this project, please submit the following to Willem Dickinson at Willem.Dickinson@NREL.gov on or before 5:00 p.m. (MST), 03/22/2023:

1. Capability Statement

2. Organization Name and Address (include bona-fide location as stated above)

3. Point of Contact Information (Email, Direct Phone Number)

4. Respondents must address the criteria in the following table to be considered for RFQ:

CAPABILITY STATEMENT CONTENT

mailto:Willem.Dickinson@NREL.gov

The respondents shall demonstrate capability of the following:

Ability to provide punch-out catalog functionality to Oracle E-Business Suite

Ability to offer a wide range of Dell products, including those listed in the Capability Statement.

Ability to meet demand specified in the capability statement

Proven customer service effectiveness and successful customer relations

Competitive pricing of Dell products

5. The page limit for responses shall be limited to 3-5 pages.