SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Request For Information - DA Customer Assessment Program
- Notice Date
- 3/31/2004
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Defense Logistics Agency, Logistics Operations, Defense Supply Center Richmond, 8000 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond, VA, 23297-5000
- ZIP Code
- 23297-5000
- Solicitation Number
- SP0410RIFO
- Response Due
- 4/21/2004
- Archive Date
- 5/6/2004
- Point of Contact
- Patsy Bargo, Contract Specialist, Phone 8042794555, Fax 8042793246,
- E-Mail Address
-
pbargo@dscr.dla.mil
- Description
- PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE For Official Use Only Request for Information (RFI) Statement of Objectives DLA Customer Assessment Program Purpose of RFI: 1. To provide industry the opportunity to comment on the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Customer Assessment Program and to obtain information on effective customer assessment strategies in order to most effectively gauge DLA customer satisfaction with DLA support. 2. To announce the intentions of DLA to seek information which may lead to a complete revision of the current DLA Customer Assessment Program , including customer satisfaction surveys, based on the background provided below. 3. To engage industry and other interested parties in an exchange of information on customer assessment strategies/methodologies relative to DLA?s customer satisfaction. It should be noted that we are not seeking a philosophical discussion on theories and concepts. Background: DLA is a DoD agency that provides supply support and technical logistics services to military services, DoD agencies, federal agencies and selected foreign governments. It procures supplies and spare parts for customers and supports their logistics needs. This support begins with logistics planning, extends through production and concludes with the disposal of material that is obsolete, worn out or no longer needed. DLA is the one logistics support source for a wide range of customer needs for combat readiness, emergency readiness or day-to-day operations. DLA provides support for 89% of all DoD consumable items and more then 55% of all federally stocked items. DLA?s annual customer sales total $14.2 billion and its total purchases per year total $10.4 billion. Support includes: 4.1 million consumable items that include fuel, food, clothing, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, general and industrial products, electronics products, weapons systems spare parts for over 1,400 weapons systems and more. state of the art distribution and storage system worldwide property disposal services including reutilization worldwide hazardous material disposal services and information on management of hazardous material catalogue and printing services technical logistics services such as lab testing DLA?s current customer assessment program has been in place since 1999. A traditional mail-out survey has been used to measure DLA overall customer satisfaction. There are 10 DLA Field Activities (FAs) participating in the survey program currently. Each FA has responsibility for different types of support therefore making each one unique. Because there is such diversity in FAs, the actual questionnaire is separated into 3 sections; core, non-core and verbatim questions. The core questions are unique to all 10 survey instrument. The non-core questions specifically relate to each FA?s uniqueness. The 3rd section includes 3 verbatim ?write-in? questions where customers have the opportunity to provide their comments on DLA support. The questionnaires were issued 4 times per year from FY 99 ? FY 02 and reduced to two times per year starting in FY 03 since the survey response data was stable enough to do so. The survey is issued to a Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DODAAC) sample of approximately 12,000 customers per cycle/24,000 per year as of FY 03. It should be noted that DLA is open to potentially changing all or some of the current customer satisfaction survey program. One of the problems currently encountered is a very low and continuously declining response rate. One of the major reasons for the low response rate is the DODAAC database that is used to mail surveys to customers is insufficient. This database contains unit address information only which means that the surveys are mailed directly to a unit but not to any specific individual. Therefore it is impossible to know who is actually filling out the survey questionnaires. DLA has no customer database with named customers and contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses. Finally, DLA is in the discovery stage of a full fledged Customer Relationship Management Program (CRM) and therefore any customer assessment program will have to directly coincide with DLA?s CRM program. Statement of Objectives: 1. To understand what types of qualitative research might be used measure what is most important to the customer i.e.; satisfaction? Readiness? Loyalty? Etc. What qualitative analysis is used to determine what is important to the customer? 2. To gain a firm understanding of what methodologies might be appropriate in developing a comprehensive customer assessment program for DLA and what implementation of such a program entails. A methodology must utilize the best methods to obtain the most accurate and insightful feedback from DLA customers so that the feedback is actionable to the maximum extent practical for DLA to improve customer service. What techniques does industry use to obtain the most actionable items for an organization to improve upon customer service? 3. To gain a firm understanding of the best types of analysis and reporting that can be done once an assessment program is developed. Such analysis should be thorough and in an easily understandable format and should include detailed findings and recommendations so that DLA can use feedback to improve upon customer support. 4. To understand the most important criteria for both an internal and external customer feedback communication plan. It is important to internally share among DLA counterparts, any types of action taken in response to customer feedback so that members of DLA worldwide can learn from their counterparts. It is important to externally share actions taken in response to customer feedback so that customers feel the effect of good support. 5. To gain knowledge and solution alternatives from industry on effectively addressing the current concern of low response rate. What tools can be used? 6. To gain knowledge and alternative solutions from industry on the most effective way to develop a customer profile database that will include names, phone numbers, email addresses and any other pertinent profile information for some 22,000 customers. What approaches are available to establish a customer profiled database of this magnitude? 7. To understand the frequency rate of proposed methodologies and the various types of survey instruments and methods that may be utilized in a comprehensive customer assessment program. What types of assessment vehicles are available and how often should they be issued as a measurement tool? 8. What techniques are used for determining a world class benchmark and how can DLA be measured against it? 9. What are the approximate cost ranges for a comprehensive customer assessment program? 10. What types and how many labor categories are required for a comprehensive customer assessment program? Solicited Information: GSA Industry sources only are encouraged to address each of the objectives stated above in this RFI. Be as specific as possible in your response, indicating those elements that you believe are achievable to satisfy the request for information in this document. To the extent that you take issue with any aspects of this RFI be equally specific in describing alternatives. Please key the specifics of your response to the relevant objective/question numbers. Respondents Invited to Participate: Comments are solicited from all parties who have experience in the field of customer assessment and customer assessment surveys. Responses: We request that responses be provided in Microsoft Office format and forwarded via email to Ms. Patsy Bargo at patsy.bargo@dla.mil by April 21, 2004. DLA may announce, at a later date, an Industry Day to publish and further discuss the findings and recommendations that are developed as a result of this RFI.
- Record
- SN00557272-W 20040402/040331211723 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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