SOLICITATION NOTICE
D -- Amazon e-Readers, Content Management, and Logistics - Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition
- Notice Date
- 6/7/2012
- Notice Type
- Justification and Approval (J&A)
- NAICS
- 519130
— Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals
- Contracting Office
- U.S. Department of State, Office of Logistics Management, Acquisition Management, P.O. Box 9115, Rosslyn Station, Arlington, Virginia, 22219, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22219
- Solicitation Number
- SAQMMA12R0272
- Archive Date
- 7/12/2012
- Point of Contact
- Steven G. Haines, Phone: 7038756746
- E-Mail Address
-
hainessg@state.gov
(hainessg@state.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- SAQMMA12D0131
- Award Date
- 6/19/2012
- Description
- Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition, pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. This justification has been reviewed and approved in writing at all levels required by the FAR and Agency policy, as follows: Technical/Requirements Certification, Contracting Officer Certification, Legal Sufficiency Review, Branch Chief Review, Division Chief Review, Contracting Activity Competition Advocate Review, and Approval by the Head of Contracting Activity (HCA). The US Department of State intends to award an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity commercial items contract on or about June 19, 2012, on a sole source basis to Amazon Digital Services, Inc. of Seattle WA for the commercial supplies and services described below. The anticipated value is $16,500,000 over the life of the contract, which shall be one base year plus 4 option years. See attached Sole Source Justification documented and approved in accordance with FAR 6.302-1. Notwithstanding the Sole Source Justification attached and in accordance with FAR 5.207(16)(iii), all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The solicitation will not be made available through the GPE, but may be obtained by e-mail request to the contracting officer identified in this Synopsis. One or more of the items under this acquisition is subject to World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreement. ************************************************************* DESCRIPTION OF WORK The Contractor shall provide supplies and services, at the prices stated in the schedule, meeting the following requirements. Devices 1. The Contractor shall provide a content distribution and management platform to centrally manage an unlimited number of e-reader/tablet devices. 2. The Contractor shall deliver devices meeting the specifications of the Kindle Touch, as follows: must provide at least a 6" diagonal E Ink display, optimized with proprietary waveform and font technology, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale; must hold up to 1,400 books or have at least 2GB of internal memory; must be accessible to public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication or Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS); must not connect to WPA and WPA2 secured networks using 802.1X authentication methods; must not connect to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks; and must include a front light feature. 3. The Contractor shall deliver the latest generation devices that have audio and video capabilities and include 3G and Wi-Fi services. 4. The Contractor shall provide 3G services globally. The Contractor is responsible for all costs associated with 3G services globally (i.e., downloading content and access to the Internet Browser). 5. The Contractor shall provide a public-facing, online bookstore of third-party content. 6. The Contractor shall provide an exclusive, private online document repository from which the Department of State may distribute USG public domain material accesible via 3G or Wi-Fi from the locations listed in Attachment A. 7. The device shall support an Internet browser that is connected to Wi-Fi and/or 3G to support the countries listed in Attachment A. 8. The device shall have a text-to-speech capability in English so that users are able to listen to content on the device. Also, the device should have a Voice Guide feature for menus and book listings and support for audio books. 9. The device shall be light, compact, portable, durable with reinforced screens, and have extended battery life. Preferred specifications: weight equal to or less than 15 ounces, and approximate dimensions of 8" by 5" by 0.5". The battery life shall be no less than 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback. 10. The device shall have an organizing feature to sort the content into collections identified by the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. 11. The device shall have a built-in and integrated English language dictionary. 12. The device shall support the display of foreign language script and texts. 13. The device shall support audio (e.g., podcasts, Audible.com, MP3 files, etc.) and it is preferred that the device support video (e.g., MPG, MOV, WMV, RM, etc.) 14. The device shall support the display of a variety of file formats, including PDF, TXT, MOBI, PRC, HTML, DOC(X), JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. 15. Devices shall be supplied with the appropriate country or region specific power adapter. 16. The device shall provide content sharing across devices (IOS, Android, and Kindle App). 17. The device shall have an available large font size to meet user needs. 18. The Contractor shall provide a protective cover with each device. 19. The Contractor shall be responsible for upgrading and phasing in updated software of the device product as updates are deployed. The Contractor shall ensure that software updates are compatible with e-reader devices currently in the field. Content Management 1. USG published materials, as well as third-party content, shall be disseminated by the Contractor to all or some of the purchased or supported devices as requested by the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs so that our overseas Missions will be provided with efficient, effective, instant access to all our content along with the latest updates. 2. All audio and video files, both USG-produced and 3rd party materials, shall be downloadable to the device via 3G and/or Wi-Fi, located in the United States and overseas. 3. The Contractor will supply content to the device delivered under this contract, but shall also support the delivery of content to the following other devices currently utilized by the Department of State: Apple iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, RIM Blackberry, PC, and MAC. 4. The device shall support and the Contractor shall provide the ability for locations listed in Attachment A to select and purchase additional content from a public-facing online bookstore. 5. The device shall support and the Contractor shall provide centralized content purchases, management and dissemination for any number of or subset of Department of State devices (e.g., Apple iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, RIM Blackberry, PC, and MAC) deployed around the world. 6. The Contractor shall provide centrally managed content delivery and shall disable standard features, as requested by DoS, for the device such as individual purchasing ability. 7. The Contractor shall provide a dedicated 24/7 help desk to support inquires from the Department of State and its partners in countries specified in Attachment A. 8. The Contractor shall push serialized content via 3G or Wi-Fi on a periodic (weekly, monthly, quarterly) basis. 9. The Contractor shall provide monthly reports on shipping dates, receipt dates, e-reader registration, policy download, e-reader loss and e-reader breakage (to the extent this can be reported remotely or through help desk). Format for reporting will be developed with and approved by the Department of State but will include reporting by country and serial number. 10. The Contractor shall provide data on how content is accessed on the e-reader. The information will include content accessed, content not accessed, length of time that content is viewed, e-reader features used and content downloaded. The format for reporting will be developed with and approved by the Department of State but will include reporting by country and e-reader serial number. 11. The Contractor shall provide support in the installation and use of user surveys, whether they are proprietary or third party. The Contractor will advise on the appropriate format and timing of surveys. The format for reporting will be developed with and approved by the Department of State but will include reporting by country and e-reader serial number. 12. In order to provide timely and comprehensive data on the e-reader program and accommodate new programming, the Contractor shall ensure that there is sufficient staff support to develop any surveys to be used on the e-reader, respond to data requests on shipping, Kindle registration, loss and breakage reporting and the purchase and download of content. 13. The Contractor shall pass on to the Government all 3rd party discounts (i.e. Government-specific discounts from content providers) offered to the Contractor for the benefit of the USG. Logistics 1. The Contractor is responsible for labeling, configuring, and shipping the devices to the locations identified in Attachment A, with the requested content, in coordination with the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. 2. The Department of State will provide separate shipping addresses and points of contact, at the order level, for all locations listed in Attachment A. 3. The Contractor is responsible for all aspects of shipping the devices via commercial couriers (e.g., FedEx, DHL, UPS, airline cargo etc.) to the locations in Attachment A. The use of Dispatch agencies may be required. In that event, the Department of State will provide separate funding to the Dispatch agencies for freight forwarding costs, and the order shall include only the Contractor's costs from origin to the Dispatch agency. If Dispatch agencies are used, the Contractor is responsible for labeling, configuring, and shipping the e-readers to the Dispatch agencies. 4. All special shipping instructions provided by the Department of State shall be followed exactly to avoid customs delays and fees. 5. The Contractor shall mark all shipping containers with labels indicating that its content is a "Diplomatic Shipment." 6. All language to be included on commercial invoices, packing lists and purchase orders shall be approved by the Department of State before shipping can commence. 7. To ensure efficient receipt by the locations listed in Attachment A, the Contractor shall supply all Airway Bills, tracking numbers and commercial invoices to the Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs within one business day of shipping via a specific DoS email address. (end of text)
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