Telecommunications Transition and Management Support

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) SUMMARY: REQUIREMENT: Telecommunications Transition and Management Support THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. The Department of Labor, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) requires expert transition and management support to enable the department and its sub-agencies and offices to successfully transition telecommunications services off of expiring contracts and onto new contracts, which will be issued under four master task orders. Under this proposed contract, the Contractor shall provide management services for the OCIO Transition Program Office which will be overseeing task orders awarded by DOL on the GSA EIS contract. These management services will aid the OCIO Transition Program Office in transitioning, obtaining, and maintaining proper contract administration and management controls of the task orders issued under the master GSA contract. This effort is a new effort. There is no incumbent. This requirment is total small business set aside. BACKGROUND: Prior telecommunications acquisitions have traditionally followed a similar path or acquisition of services, utilizing broad scoped GWAC's such as FTS2000, FTS2001, Networx, WITS and other GSA vehicles. The next iteration of these GSA contracts will be a large multiple award IDIQ contract; Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS). DOL currently uses these expiring GSA contracts for a large portion of the Department-wide telecommunications infrastructure. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Whatever information is provided in response to this RFI will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed in the acquisition process for the Telecommunications Transition and Management Support. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government for forming a binding contract. This RFI is a request for interested parties to describe their technical capabilities and demonstrated experience with services and support necessary to plan and execute the transition of services from OCIO's expiring local and long distance contracts to new contracts. The expiring contracts include but are not limited to Networx Universal, Networx Enterprise, WITS3, GSA Regional Services, other GSA Local Services Arrangements and other contracts that are currently acquired under agency specific contracts. All interested contractors are requested to provide written response to the questions and potential task areas provided below. All small businesses to include Small Disadvantaged, HUBZone, and Women-Owned and service Disabled are strongly encouraged to provide timely response to this Request for Information (RFI). A response to this RFI is necessary in order to assist DOL in determining the potential levels of interest, adequate competition, and technical capability within the Small Business Community to provide the required services. In addition, this information will also be used to assist DOL in establishing a basis for developing any subsequent potential subcontract/small business participation plan and/or small business goal percentages. a) Describe your experience in providing support of overall planning and scheduling of transition and development of transition schedules. b) Describe your experience in supporting the Department and sub-agency program office(s) in developing acquisition plans and executing the plans to acquire replacement services under new contracts. c) Describe your experience in providing expert support in ongoing contract administration and management for the duration of this contracts in support of Department Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) and other appointed individuals, team or Departmental sub-agencies and offices. d) Describe your experience in providing Department level and sub-agencies/ office level support for the aforementioned support services in acquiring new services or the management of existing services as required and requested. e) Describe your experience in providing advice on cost saving measures that can be taken during transition based on a Department's current inventory and usage on the Networx contracts. f) Describe your experience in directly supporting the efforts and strategy of the Department's Integrated Project Team (IPT), attending team meetings, collaborating on the gathering of service requirements and creations of the acquisition strategy and documentation. g) Describe your experience establishing common procurement vehicles and/or utilizing GSA EIS, through which the Department and sub- agencies may procure telecommunications services; lowering the total costs associated with services while maintaining industry standard service levels; and Utilizing business intelligence to better support overall decision making and performance management related to the use, support and management of telecommunications services and related contracts. The objective of this procurement is to obtain the necessary expert support to analyze and document requirements, develop highly effective Performance Work Statement or Statements of Work (SOW), support the acquisition effort, assisting in planning and executing transitions to the new vehicles, proper and logical shut down and close out of expiring services and to provide ongoing support for contract administration and management of the new vehicles following transition completion. The following are a list of the potential task for work that maybe required: The Government requires the contractor to provide solutions for transitioning, administering, and managing a telecommunications service contract. The solution should be capable of managing telecommunication assets, inventories, billing verification and accuracy analysis, Service Level Agreement enforcement support, service forecasts, and other functions as required to administer and manage telecommunications services contracts throughout their lifecycles. Additionally, the contractor shall provide the necessary support to provide accurate status of all program objectives, preparing reports, briefings and other communications to properly inform stakeholders of activities, progress and value. The contractor must provide all program management services and support to the Government in administering their programs. To fulfill the requirements of this contract, the contractor is expected to provide five categories of service: 1. Transition Management 2. Project Startup Services 3. Acquisition Support 4. Program / Project Management Services 5. Ongoing Contract Administration and Management Requirements for each of these service categories are spelled out in the following subsections. While each of the service areas requires specific skill sets and resources, it is the Government's expectation that the contractor effectively blend the service areas to render satisfactory results. Task 1: Transition Management Services The contractor shall be expected to: - Collaborate with all stakeholders to develop and maintain a transition plan. The contractor shall: a) Provide a detailed description of its transition strategy recommendations b) Provide a list of potential risks and probable mitigations c) Provide accurate status in weekly, monthly and quarterly reports. The format of these reports will be collaboratively established between the COR and the provider after award. - Monitor and document key events associated with the transition a) Report on Milestones reached b) Notify the COR when perceived impacts on the transition schedule are identified c) Recommend solutions to resolve schedule conflicts or impacts d) Maintain a system of records to effectively support the documentation and retrieval of information as needed and required. Task 2: Project Startup Services The contractor shall be expected to: - Provide a project implementation plan that clearly details the steps to be performed and information to be provided by the contractor and the Department of Labor Services. The project implementation plan shall be delivered NLT 30 days after task order award in accordance with the delivery table. - Assign a project manager to work with the Department's COR to gather all relevant infrastructure, service and asset data to establish and maintain a valid inventory as well as service and operational requirements for inclusion onto SOOs or SOWs to acquire telecommunications services under the new replacement contracts. The project manager will maintain daily contact with the COR during the startup phase to ensure timely communication and flow of information with the Department and to work towards the resolution of any problems or issues. Task 3: Acquisition Support The Contractor shall assist the government with acquisition-related items, which will include acquisition/procurement approaches and/or strategies, market research and market reports, acquisition plans, business and technical requirements, and development of work statements (SOO, SOW, PWS, task orders, and modifications). Task 4: Program / Project Management Services The Contractor shall be expected to provide program and project management services throughout the life of this proposed contract. For the purposes of this proposed contract, program management includes those services and activities required to coordinate resources and provide management and performance reporting. Program Management - Manage, track, and coordinate the activity of all of the contractor's resources, partners, and subcontractors needed to fulfill the requirements of this contract and to ensure successful and on-time delivery of all services and deliverables. - Meet with the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer (CO) at contract and program initiation to jointly review program management tasks, roles, responsibilities, and the program management reporting requirements of this contract and the contracts for which the contractor will be providing support services in transitions, acquisitions, and ongoing administration. - Develop a Program Management Plan outlining the approach to performing program and cross-project coordination tasks required to meet the requirements of this contract. The contractor shall provide a draft program management plan for consideration as a deliverable under this solicitation. - The final Program Management Plan shall be delivered to the COR no later than twenty (20) working days after contract award. Updates to the plan shall be delivered to COR as requested. - Support management meetings with the COR and, at the COR's request, with stakeholders, to address program level issues and to discuss progress on key Program- level performance measures. - Provide quarterly Program Performance Status Reports (PSR) to the COR summarizing progress and status towards achieving key program management goals and performance against the Program-level performance measures. The contractor shall describe its approach to compiling and providing the PSR. Project Management The contractor shall be expected to: - Manage, track, and coordinate the activity of all its resources as well as those of any partners and subcontractors used. - Meet with the COR to jointly review project management tasks, work assignments, roles, responsibilities, and the schedule for startup and/or any project transition activities. - Develop a Project Management Plan (PMP) outlining the approach to be used to coordinate and control the performance of all service tasks required. The PMP should also include an overall project schedule plan. A PMP shall be delivered to the COR no later than twenty (20) working days after task order award. Updates to the PMP shall be delivered by the provider to the COR as requested. - Support weekly management meetings with the COR during startup and/or transition periods to address service contract related issues and to report on key performance measures. Management meetings should occur at least quarterly or in accordance with the COR's instructions, after the initial startup period to review and assess ongoing contract performance. - Provide quarterly Project Performance Status Reports (PSR) summarizing progress and status towards achieving key project management goals. Task 5: Ongoing Contract Administration and Management The Contractor shall be expected to handle four broad areas within this category: (1) contract administration, (2) management reporting, (3) contract optimization, and (4) dispute recovery. Contract administration will entail the following tasks/duties: - Monitoring Service Level Agreement performance of telecommunications carriers - Monitoring Department spending levels, service line counts, or other measurable indicators that have been agreed upon between the Department and support provider or as detailed in contracts with the new telecommunications services provider(s). The intent will be to track the Department's attainment of any commitment levels or spending obligations. - Meeting regularly with the COR to develop strategy and guidance for dealing with carrier contract related issues, practical strategies for achieving optimal pricing or service terms, and methods to maximize negotiation strength with carriers. - Advising the COR on how their contracts or agreements might be impacted by changes in the telecommunications industry or by new service offerings and assist with developing strategies to include new, or terminate old, technical services into their carrier contracts or agreements. - Maintaining an accurate master inventory of all services in current use by the Department. Inventory accountability shall be maintained from requisition through disposal or final disposition of the service line and equipment. - Providing the capability to generate and deliver to Department's inventory managers both standard periodic inventory reports as well as custom-designed and ad hoc reports (as agreed-upon with the contracting agency) at both a summary level, and at various organizational or inventory account levels, depending on the level of detail and information provided by the COR. - Supporting periodic government audits of inventory accounts by providing inventory listings and cooperating with Department audit officials as they perform their duties. - Verifying all carrier invoices billed to the Department in an effort to realize audit savings on behalf of the Department. At a minimum, auditing should include: o Validation of account ownership and service existence o Verification of rates, charges, and discounts o Verification of correct account/hierarchy numbers and phone numbers associated with accounts - Preparing monthly reports identifying billing and invoicing errors. - Integrating invoice data with procurement and inventory management data records to enable and support spend, inventory and usage analysis support provider and Department telecommunications managers. - Preparing monthly standardized management reports detailing spending levels and trends by carrier, regions, business units, service lines and service types. - Providing the capability to generate custom-designed and ad hoc spending reports at both a summary and various organizational or financial account levels. - Providing recommendations to the Department on areas for improvement and savings regarding the Department's invoice process (e.g. where invoice consolidation with major carriers might make sense). - Providing necessary support to process and manage contract modifications Management reporting will entail the following tasks/duties: - Compiling, preparing, and delivering in electronic format standard reports that detail the following about the Department's telecommunications: o Spending and expense levels, patterns, forecasts and trends o Usage levels, patterns, and trends o Invoice and billing statuses o Savings/cost efficiencies and value generated by or attributable to the EIS PMO - Providing access to subject matter experts that are able to help Department managers find answers to management questions or run ad hoc queries against data and information collected and maintained by the provider. Contract optimization will entail the following tasks/duties: - Performing a comprehensive assessment of the Department's existing service contracts and agreements to identify improvement and cost savings opportunities. This includes benchmarking the Department's existing pricing, service terms and conditions with those of other federal and commercial customers and accepted "Best Practices" to identify recommended changes. - Making specific recommendations for rationalization migration of service lines between specific carriers, changing the number of total carriers, changes in contract terms & conditions, and other opportunities that might lower total cost while maintaining or improving the quality of service provided to the Department's users. - Working with the Department to carry out and implement approved contract optimization recommendations, changes, and sourcing/competitive bidding among carriers intended to lower overall total cost. - Tracking and reporting savings derived from contract optimization efforts. Dispute recovery will entail the following tasks/duties: - Collecting and preparing support material necessary for government to file and defend claims submitted to the carriers for billing and account corrections. - Researching, reviewing, and tracking all potential billing errors. - Assisting COR with preparing written claims to carriers and suppliers, including reasonable and necessary support documentation, to identify and recover any audit savings for the Department. These are not contract claims as defined in FAR Part 33, which will be handled by a warranted Contracting Officer. - Tracking all claims through final resolution. These are not contract claims as defined in FAR Part 33, which will be handled by a warranted Contracting Officer. Rather, these are expected to be billing errors identified by the Contractor. - Providing the COR with monthly reports detailing the status of claims filed with the carriers, billing accuracy rates for individual carriers, and the amount of any savings (or additional cost) recovered as a result of the audit and dispute recovery efforts. Respondents shall classify their company using one or more (if applicable) of the following NAICS Codes: - 541618 - Management Consulting Services - Size: $15M The Government contemplating a Hybrid contract with Firm Fixed Price and Labor Hour CLINS. The term of the resulting contract will be a Five year period (base period plus four option years). NAICS CODE: 541618 REQUEST FOR CAPABILITES STATEMENT: Interested small businesses should provide a capability statement to address their ability and experience to perform the tasks associated with the requirements stated above. Submission should be received by 10:00AM Eastern Standard Time, December 4th, 2017 and should not exceed three pages (one-sided), single spaced, 12-point type with at least a one-inch margin on an 8-1/2" X 11" inch paper. The responses should specifically describe the contractor's ability to meet the requirements outlined in the RFI. Please include the company's name, point of contact, address, phone number, DUNS number, CAGE Code, and Tax ID. Responses to the RFI must be submitted via e-mail onuorah.stella.e@dol.gov and jackson.michael.d@dol.gov NO HARD COPY or FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered. Questions concerning submissions should be directed: Stella-Maris Onuorah Office: (202) 693-4573 Contract Specialist Email: Onuorah.Stella.E@dol.gov Michael D. Jackson Office: (202) 693-4580 Contracting Officer Email: Jackson.michael.d@dol.gov