SOLICITATION NOTICE
99 -- Mail and Courier Service Study
- Notice Date
- 8/6/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Library of Congress, Contracts Services, Contracts Section, 101 Independence Ave SE LA-325, Washington, DC, 20540-9411
- ZIP Code
- 20540-9411
- Solicitation Number
- Sol-03-3761
- Response Due
- 8/27/2003
- Archive Date
- 9/11/2003
- Point of Contact
- Joann Walker, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-707-0467, Fax 202-707-8611,
- E-Mail Address
-
jwalker@loc.gov
- Description
- Mail and Courier Services Study Statement of Work Background CRS currently has three mail and freight distribution units, operating under three separate divisions: (1) Office of Information Resources Management (IRM); (2) Information Research Division (INF); and (3) Office of Finance and Administration (FIN). Each unit handles different phases of the mail and freight distribution process. FIN and INF both handle courier services (for pick-up and delivery of materials to, from, and between CRS locations and Congressional offices) . 1. Current INF mail processing and courier services to congressional offices: CRS maintains a special mail room wherein they sort incoming mail and books (intended for congressional offices, the CRS, or other Library offices) and from which they provide the delivery and pick-up services of mail and books for Congress. Congressional deliveries/pick-ups are made to/from various offices in four House office buildings (the Cannon, Longworth, Rayburn, Ford buildings), three Senate office buildings (the Russell, Dirksen, and Hart buildings), and the United States Capitol building. Mail service to congressional offices is particularly time-sensitive. The special mail room operation is staffed by eleven (11) full-time contract staff. 2. Current FIN mail processing and commercial courier services : CRS/FIN staff pick up the sorted mail from the CRS special mail room and deliver it to CRS offices/divisions three times daily. CRS/FIN staff also provide pick-up services for the CRS offices/divisions and pick-up and delivery of freight and Federal Express mail from the Library?s Madison building mail facility. The CRS Office of Finance and Administration also arranges for outside couriers needed by CRS staff. These pick-up and delivery functions are performed by three (3) full-time CRS/FIN staff. Arrangements for the courier service is handled by another CRS/FIN staff member; however, the workload for this activity is marginal. 3. Current IRM mail processing: IRM has a pick-up service twice daily to handle the USPS mail that is forwarded from the Library?s offsite mail screening and decontamination facility to the Library?s Madison building mail facility. IRM staff handle the initial sorting of mail to pull out print subscriptions and books and to deliver the remaining outside mail to the CRS special mail room, where it is sorted by CRS office/division. Twice daily, IRM staff pick up Government Printing Office (GPO) items from the Madison building loading dock. In addition, staff from the Services?s research divisions go to IRM to pick up daily priority newsletters, congressional documents, and monographs. These activities are performed part-time by one (1) IRM staff and one (1) IRM contract employee. The IRM staff member spends about 1?.hours per work day on these activities, and the contract employee spends about ? hour per day performing his assigned duties related to this function. The various division staff involved in pickup of division materials range in level and just spend a few minutes of each day ? usually at a set time in the early morning of each day ? picking up division materials to ensure that daily subscriptions and other critical materials are available for use by the Service?s research analysts. 4. CRS estimates the volume of mail and freight handled in CRS to be approximately 225,000 pieces annually. The majority of the receipts are periodical subscriptions, books, and other research materials used in a research or Library environment. 5. INF and IRM are being reorganized and consolidated under a new and different organizational structure. Under the new organization, the work activities should be limited to that of information professionals and research assistance. 6. CRS seeks (1) an independent analysis of the current mail operations; (2) a description of current best business practices for a comparably sized mail and freight distribution operation (in both commercial and Federal environments); and (3) a prioritized recommendations with an implementation plan to restructure and/or re-engineer the Service?s operation ? to include possible consolidation under a single office. Scope of Work The requirements as specified in this document shall provide for a study to assess the current CRS mail and freight distribution operations and its management of courier services; to make recommendations for achieving greater operational efficiencies in both staff and management; to offer recommendations for improving the processes related to handling mail, freight, and courier services ? including the possible functional consolidation under a single office. Requirements In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of existing operations, or the status quo, and to understand fully the business requirements of the Service, the contractor will interview managers and other stakeholders involved with CRS mail and freight distribution processing and management of courier services. The study and analysis will include but may not be limited to the following: ? Analysis of current processes A description and documentation of each of the discrete existing processes. Evaluation of the of each of the discrete existing processes with identification of possible process deficiencies. Evaluation of how each existing process relates to and/or complements another process. Identification of areas of overlap or redundant activities. Analysis of whether the current processes meet customer needs. ? A description of current best business practices for a comparably sized mail and freight distribution operation (in both commercial and Federal environments. ? An evaluation and recommendations for improving the processes related to handling mail, freight, and courier services ? including the possible functional consolidation under a single office ? with possible redesign/re-engineering strategies, elimination of duplicate activities, combining related activities, changing the order of activities, and performing activities where and how it is most efficient. The study and analysis shall include recommendations for the most efficient level of staffing, the most efficient management structure, and a recommendation for using contract staff versus federal employees to perform each of the functions. ? A transition plan for implementing recommendations. Evaluation Factors Award will be made on a ?Best Value? Base ? Past performance on similar projects ? Project staffing/qualifications of project staff, Offerors shall submit resumes ? Technical approach to accomplishing the requirement ? Experience References Period of Performance Library of Congress anticipates a 30 day delivery. Interested vendors may submit an alternate schedule, which will be evaluated. No solicitation will be issued. Quotes shall be accepted by fax to: 202-707-8611
- Place of Performance
- Address: 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540
- Record
- SN00394099-W 20030808/030806214246 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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