MODIFICATION
R -- Print Mail-Handling Services
- Notice Date
- 12/24/2013
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 323111
— Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books)
- Contracting Office
- Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Office of Financial Service, Office of Financial Service-Procurement and Contracts, 77 K Street NE, Suite 10000, Washington, District of Columbia, 20002, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20002
- Solicitation Number
- TIB-2014-RFN-0003
- Archive Date
- 2/1/2014
- Point of Contact
- Timothy B. Costas, Phone: 2029421689, Pamela Davis, Phone: 2026394434
- E-Mail Address
-
FRTIBContracting@TSP.Gov, FRTIBContracting@TSP.Gov
(FRTIBContracting@TSP.Gov, FRTIBContracting@TSP.Gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Request for Information Print and Mail Services A. General The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB or Agency) is using this RFI to gather information from industry in order to better understand current approaches in high volume mailing and printing. The Agency is also interested in learning more about the latest tools industry uses for identifying, tracking, and reporting returned mail (i.e., unmailable and undeliverable mail). In addition the Agency seeks input on the attached Statement of Work (SOW) in order to further refine this document. The work is required to be performed in the continental U.S. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the FRTIB to contract whatsoever. Further, the FRTIB is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the FRTIB will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Any information that the respondent considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. All submissions become Agency property and will not be returned, including any proprietary information. Following a review of the responses received, FRTIB may elect to request additional information, or schedule one-on-one meetings with some respondents to gain additional information about their proposed solution(s). Respondents will not be notified of the results of the review. B. Background The FRTIB administers the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for Federal employees. The TSP was created by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986, codified primarily at 5 U.S.C. § 8351 and §§ 8401-8479. The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal civilian employees and members of the uniformed services that offer its participants the same type of savings and tax benefits that are offered under private sector 401(k) plans. The mission of the FRTIB is to administer the TSP solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. Currently, the Agency submits a file with participant-directed notices (i.e., letters) and high-quality financial statements to a vendor that prints the notices and, using various customer-supplied enclosures, prepares the individual packages for mailing. Mail is presorted to allow for use of any available discount rates and mailed accordingly. Notices are printed in duplex and, although are generally no longer than a single sheet, the number of pages may vary for a particular notice. Enclosures vary in size and quantity and, on occasion, require different sized envelopes. The agency also sends secure information that requires special handling (e.g., Personal Identification Number (PIN) mailers, etc.). Periodically, the Agency may require the vendor to print small quantity enclosures for a particular mailing, or send a self-mailer to a targeted audience. C. Purpose This initiative is intended to achieve the following Agency technical, management, cost, and risk mitigation objectives:  Improve printing and mailing throughput;  Help the Agency to identify address problems and to find solutions to reduce the high volume of returned mail;  Increase efficiency;  Reduce costs;  Implement common (documented) workflow methodologies and process controls;  Ensure security and privacy of Agency and participant data;  Utilize robust facility and equipment capacities in support of requirements;  Provide effective management reporting capabilities;  Ensure ready availability of back-up facilities, equipment and personnel, and  Implement uniform, established quality control procedures. D. RFI Questions To aid the Agency in understanding current industry approaches in printing, mailing, tracking, and reporting, FRTIB requests responses to the following questions: 1. What contracting strategy should be used for this requirement and why? 2. What is the optimum time-frame for this type of contract and what is your rationale? 3. What metrics should be used to measure contractor performance? Should incentives be used to oversee metric performance? If so, how should they be structured? 4. Explain the phase in and out approaches and transition time needed until a new print and mail vendor would be fully operational. 5. Based on your configurations and locations, how would you prepare for and handle disaster recovery to ensure continuing operations-especially when customer-supplied enclosures are involved? 6. How do you handle crisis responses? 7. What are some of the most common file formats you accept for files that will contain participant data? 8. What is your process for testing new or updated files? Do you have committed resources for testing files, or is this done in a production environment? 9. How do you handle postage payment and reporting? 10. Identify and describe the industry's best practices for the following: (a) address verification programs that would help the Agency collect up-to-date domestic and foreign addresses for its participants by checking for new or changed address information (b) address hygiene programs that would standardize domestic and foreign address information to make sure all addresses are complete, free of errors, and in the correct format (c) creating reports that show the addresses that had to be corrected using the address verification and hygiene programs (a and b above) and the new/corrected addresses (d) services for handling and reporting returned mail back to the Agency (e) electronic tracking and reporting of supplies, usage, and postage to the Agency (f) information security for sensitive data (g) print on demand (POD) technologies and services 11. What other future trends do you see occurring in the print and mail industry? How do you generally inform your consumers of new industry trends? 12. Identify best practices that should be applied to current and future print and mail vendors. E. Submission 1. Your submission should include a cover letter that lists the name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact(s). Also include a brief description of your company and its capability to meet this requirement. 2. In addition to responding to the above RFI questions please also provide and comments or recommendations regarding any ambiguities or potential areas for improvement in the SOW. 3. This information is due no later than January 17, 2014, close of business. Please email responses to: frtibcontracting@tsp.gov. In the subject line insert: TIB-2014-RFN-0004, Print & Mail Services/Attn: Mr. Tim Costas. All questions shall be directed to the primary POC.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/FRTIB/OA/WashingtonDC/TIB-2014-RFN-0003/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03257841-W 20131226/131224233719-96c4813384c377a9304fad413e2b8694 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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