Bureau of the Census, Procurement Office, FOB #3, Room 1541, Washington, (Suitland, MD) DC 20233

R -- MARKETING SERVICES SOL n/a DUE 030397 POC Thanos Theodoropoulos, 301-457-2778 Request For Information (RFI) Marketing and Selling the Census Bureau's CD-ROM's Purpose: The Census Bureau, a leader in statistical data products, seeks market information to explore the potential of establishing a sales agreement with a reliable and knowledgeable data vendor or other private company. The successful contractor will market and sell selected or all of our CD-ROM titles under a consignment or other mutually agreed arrangement. Our objective is to expand current sales by tapping into new markets not covered by the Census Bureau's sales program. Since the Census Bureau will continue to operate its selling program, the selected contractor will not have exclusive sales rights and will not take over the Bureau's CD-ROM sales operation. We envision receiving from the successful firm monthly/quarterly revenues from all sales, less their agreed-upon commission. CD-ROM Sales: The Census Bureau produces and sells a variety of statistical data products in different media, particularly CD-ROM's. During the past fiscal year (October 1, 1995-September 30, 1996) we fulfilled 8,811 CD-ROM orders. The total orders, however, are not representative of the potential sales which vary over a 10 year period. Product categories include: Demographics -- Statistics from the Census of Population and Housing, and a variety of surveys; Economic -- Statistics on retail and wholesale trade, service industries, transportation/communication/utilities, financial/insurance/real estate industries, manufacturers, mineral industries, and construction industries; Foreign Trade -- Current monthly and historical data on U.S. imports and exports; Compendia -- Statistics from different governmental agencies; Geographic -- All the latest mapping information and coordinates required for geographic information systems; and Governments -- Statistics on State and local governments, employment and finance, as well as expenditures and obligations by program and locality. Seeking Market Information on: Consignment or other innovative methods including appropriate commission and payment schedules; General indications of possible new markets, innovative marketing approaches, distribution channels, and sales networks; Subject categories or CD-ROM title preferences; Additional information a potential contractor will need to make an informed decision about marketing and selling Census Bureau CD-ROMs; and Overall concept and recommendations on appropriate financial and marketing arrangements. Please submit your information within 30 working days. For more information call or write: Thanos Theodoropoulos, Marketing Services Office, Phone: 301-457-4081, FAX: 301-457-2778, E-mail: Athanasios.Theodoropoulos@ccmail.census.gov. (0014)

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