Risk Assessment Subscription

Sole Source Justification - 20081127 Risk Assessment Subscription Pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.501 and consistent with the content requirements of FAR 6.303-2. DHS intends to award a sole source contract to Dun and Bradstreet of 4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 650, Arlington VA 22203 for Risk Assessment Subscription Service without seeking competition. This action is being taken pursuant to FAR 13.501. Type of action: Firm-fixed price contract CBP requires that all US Exporters and C-TPAT members obtain a unique Dun and Bradstreet number "DUNN" number as a condition of doing business or membership in C-TPAT. This DUNN number greatly facilitates CBP's ability to properly vet applicant exporters and C-TPAT members. The DUNN number allows CBP to uniquely identify and vet exports and C-TPAT members by providing readily available information such as the credit risks of exporters and applicants; a viability assessment to include the likelihood of the business continuing to operate in the future, and likelihood that business is involved in legitimate activities. Additionally, the DUNN number uniquely provided by Dun and Bradstreet ensures that the appropriate exporters and applicants are vetted for involvement in criminal activity or legal problems (suits, judgments), or other situations that may impact business operations and long-term viability. The DUNN number ensures accuracy in the maintenance and quality control of exporters and C-TPAT member's data (such as bankruptcy/termination of operations, mergers and acquisitions, change in financial situation, and events such as criminal, legal, or environmental) and allows for accurate and efficient reporting of any business changes that may occur affecting the continuing eligibility of a C-TPAT member or exporter. Additionally the DUNN number allows for accurate and efficient communication of modifications to members data to the CBP. Why are these capabilities important to CBP: The capabilities outlined above are critical to the effectiveness of CBP because global coverage of business interests is an essential need for CBP. While there are data providers who specialize in particular regions, Dun and Bradstreet uniquely provides a comprehensive set of global data. Actionable data providing extensive insight into the regulated population of C-TPAT members and exporters needs to go beyond simple name/address/credit data. It is essential to the viability and integrity of the C-TPAT program to vet and/or investigate corporate linkage, event-based data, and predictive information that offers insight into how C-TPAT members and exporters are currently performing as well as forecasting any changes that may occur in the future. Any repository that meets these requirements is rapidly changing and must therefore have unique controls (DUNN number) to ensure that the data provided is regularly, consistently and accurately updated. Additionally critical to the functioning of the C-TPAT program is the ability to have access to efficiently and effectively communicated accurate data that is delivered in a timely and effective manner. The market research that was gathered from the review of past CBP contracts, CBP Program Managers, and from the Web, determined that there were three companies that could possibly provide the type of information required. The market research also showed that two of the companies to be considered could not provide the depth of information required for this requirement. The market research showed that only Dun and Bradstreet could provide the following information that the other two companies could not: volume of data required for each company the ability to turn raw data into the required quality information via the DUNNS number expansive global data required by CBP, and corporate information and predictive indicators required by CBP