Internet Search Tool for Monitoring

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ("RFI") ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This RFI does not constitute a Request for Proposal ("RFP") or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the U.S. government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Furthermore, the government currently is not seeking a proposal and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in responding to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the expense of the interested party. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participating in any future RFP, if any is issued. DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC"), Office of Information and Technology Services is requesting information from industry and other vendors to determine whether capability and interest exists for implementing an effective Internet search tool to monitor and deter illegal sales of recalled and banned products. This tool also could aid in conducting analysis to determine the types of products offered in the marketplace that might be subject to new and proposed rulemaking. In addition, the tool should be able to help the CPSC confirm that a firm's representations regarding the number of units in the marketplace, and any units potentially subject to a proposed recall, are reported accurately. If there is a recall, the tool should be able to help CPSC assess the recall's effectiveness. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail only to: rmurray-johnson@cpsc.gov, no later than June 15, 2015. Please provide business type, based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. BACKGROUND: Currently, the CPSC employs field staff to conduct extensive Internet surveillance of consumer products. This Internet surveillance involves staff routinely scanning the retail marketplace and Internet websites for dangerous recalled and banned products. Field staff concentrates on the largest and most popular retail and resale sites, monitors online sales and offers, and works closely with website management to improve the internal procedures online companies use to identify improper listings. Our goal is to expand the scope of this work, to monitor the Internet marketplace more effectively to locate dangerous products. The Internet tools staff would use for this purpose could increase dramatically the number of websites reviewed by investigators, provide automated seller notification, and enhance the speed of the response process. REQUEST: Interested firms should submit a response to the RFI and include a written statement of interest and capability, demonstrating how your proposed tool or solution will accomplish the following: 1. Provide automated, continuous website searches; 2. Send graduated compliance enforcement responses to firms and individual sellers, depending on previous history. 3. Track violative firms, and provide alerts for repeat violators. 4. Provide alerts regarding firms or individuals who do not remove the offending listing or sales offers in a timely fashion. 5. Allow investigators to conduct case-specific searches and send unique responses; 6. Identify current sales offerings involving newly recalled products, and allow customized workflow process (es) to send press releases, recall alerts, or other CPSC safety notices to these sellers as the information is made public. The workflow process will track the iteration and elevation of each case with the firm for CPSC and will allow CPSC staff to customize the message and the package of the information. This feature would allow CPSC to reach firms and consumers directly affected by the recall and quickly reduce the chance of further distribution. 7. Alert when matching keywords in recall notices and similar products are detected. 8. Generate compliance and enforcement reports (violators, repeat violators relevant data) and reports detailing outcomes. Technical: - Provide a brief description of the architecture of the tool or proposed solution and the host environment needed. - Describe the methods used in your tool or proposed solution to support user capacity, service level, and simultaneous/concurrent-user capacity. - Describe the accuracy of the search function in your tool or proposed solution and how the accuracy is gauged. - Describe any limitations and compatibility, if any, including database and server that should be considered. - I dentify the underlying technology and any open source development and utility that the tool or proposed solution used. - Describe the licensing methods and types, if any, the tool or proposed solution required. - Describe the maintenance for supporting regular operation, if any, the tool or proposed solution required. Capability: - Provide a brief description of your experience and capability in Internet searches of recalled and banned consumer products. - Provide a case study or success story in which the tool or proposed solution was implemented to solve similar challenges. - Identify the methods in your tool or proposed solution that meet the federal standards and regulation, including security and Section 508. QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to: rmurray-johnson@cpsc.gov only. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted (No telephone calls please). Questions will be answered by email and shall not contain any business proprietary information or marketing materials. Please be advised that all submissions become government property and will not be returned. The government does not guarantee that questions received after June 1, 2015 will be answered.