SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS SUPPORT (FASS)
- Notice Date
- 7/5/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541512
— Computer Systems Design Services
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, 77058-3696, Mail Code: BJ
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- NNJ05BJ099R
- Response Due
- 8/11/2005
- Archive Date
- 7/5/2006
- Description
- NASA/JSC has a requirement for the continuation of the Financial and Administrative Systems Support (FASS) services to provide real-time operations and sustaining support to the Financial Management, Human Resources, Procurement and Center Operation areas. It includes user support and operation and sustaining engineering activities for 1) Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP) formerly the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP), the Electronic Government (e-Gov)and other administrative systems such as time and attendence and budget modules implemented at JSC; 2) legacy applications operating at JSC; 3) pre-implementation planning and implementation support for the transition to future IEM and e-Gov modules and 4) development and sustaining engineering of new JSC unique administrative systems to support Center Management requirements. IEMP is an Agency-wide initiative designed to moderize NASA's financial systems and processes. NASA/JSC intends to acquire the services from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The 3-year base period of performance of the contract will be from August 25, 2006 through August 24, 2009 with two 1-year options for extensions of services through August 24, 2011. The statutory authority for proceeding with this acquisition under Other Than Full and Open Competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as contemplated by the provision of FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), which states that full and open competition need not be provided for when the services required by the Agency may be deemed to be available from one original source in the case of a follow-on contract, for the continued provision of highly specialized services. The provision also states that this exception is applicable when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition or there would be unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Agency's requirements. The original JOFOC for the current FASS contract was approved by the JSC Competition Advocate of July 16, 2001. This JOFOC determined that, pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), continued support by SAIC was essential to prevent a lapse in the real-time operations and sustaining support services to JSC. SAIC has developed most of the existing legacy systems during the past eight years and acquired a unique level of expertise and corporate knowledge necessary to provide the required program support that is currently not available from any other source. SAIC?s knowledge of the NASA-unique processes involved with the Federalized SAP version and its knowledge of our legacy systems will be critical to JSC during the aggressive Agency mandated implementation schedule of new IEMP and e-Gov modules during the next six years. SAIC has a unique level of expertise and corporate knowledge in-place, including the documentation, facilities, and the personnel required to support the IEMP and e-Gov modules and the legacy applications currently utilized by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Human Resources (HR), Office of Procurement (BA) and Center Operations Directorate (JA). These qualifications and resources are not available from any other company since many of our legacy systems were developed specifically for JSC by SAIC personnel. Qualifications include expertise in the data structure, transactional processes, reporting, and information technology of these applications, for both the local JSC and the implemented Agency applications. Due to these combined factors, the resources required for continued operations support for the CFO, HR, BA and JA administrative systems and the Agency-mandated schedule for implementation of the new modules, the services provided for in this contract must be expanded. SAIC?s support has been vital to JSC in dealing with the changing government priorities and new requirements associated with the IEMP and e-Gov implementations. Their knowledge of our legacy data was instrumental to our success in converting to the SAP financial system. They have the same level of knowledge for many of the legacy systems that will be converted or interfaced to the Integrated Asset Management (IAM) module. In addition, their involvement in our implementation of the core financial module of SAP uniquely qualifies them to provide support for our implementation of the IAM module. The increased complexity associated with real-time SAP processing and report generation, and coordination with Headquarters and the IEMP Competency Center at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have made their technical support and knowledge crucial to our continuing operations. SAIC recently participated in the Agency consolidation of the NASA Equipment Management System (NEMS) and NASA Supply Management System (NSMS) databases. SAIC was instrumental, through their knowledge and expertise, in making this happen for JSC. Although these applications are maintained by MSFC, the local required reports and interfaces are very complex. SAIC understands the data structure and local interfaces, thus enabling them to aid in rapid recovery from system failures and facilitate the integration of the system with other systems. In addition, it allows them to respond quickly to non-routine requests for information and provide required user support. To attempt to make contract changes as we prepare for implementation of IAM may result in our inability to implement on schedule as required by the Agency. Due to the steep learning curve, a transition at this time would impact our ability to support daily operations without interruption and would further complicate our challenging business processes. SAIC personnel?s knowledge and skill of the Business Warehouse (BW) reporting tool have been instrumental in providing the support our users need to report financial data in a timely manner. Personnel participated on the Agency implementation team at the Competency Center prior to the implementation of SAP at JSC. Once we went live, this knowledge of the data in SAP has been invaluable to our users. In addition, these personnel have taken advanced training in the technical structure of the BW reporting tool, and participated in the Proof of Concept phase for the new BW augmentation tool that will be rolled out to users in FY 2006. This level of knowledge cannot be duplicated by any other contractor. The Integrated Budget Office Toolbox (IBOT) is a Center-Unique application currently in development by SAIC. This application is critical to the Program Operating Plan (POP) cycle at JSC. The POP cycle involves not only the JSC organizations, but also the Shuttle and Space Station Programs located here at JSC. SAIC?s unique level of knowledge of our data structure, SAP, and the BW has contributed to the development of this state-of-the-art budget and reporting tool. The local JSC interface with the SAP core finance module may require substantial changes due to the PMI2, SVU, and IAM implementations. Since the contractor developed this interface, the contractor is the only source with the required skills and unique experience to perform this task. SAIC also provides sustaining engineering support for the Human Resources Office (HRO) functions. Because of the ePayroll integration, all sustaining engineering activities for JSC HRO applications are now the responsibility of FASS. These applications include the agency-wide NASA Employees Benefits System (NEBS) and NASA Operations Profile System (NOPS). Other JSC HRO applications added to the list of supported applications for FASS include: Astronaut Selection Support System (ASTRO); Overtime Management System (OMS); Workforce Representation System (WREP); Workforce Tracking System (WTS); Awards System; Employee Emergency Contact System (EECS); JSC Mentoring Program (JMP); Student Tracking System (STS); Training Registration System (TRS); Admin Star; and the Volunteer Support System (VSS). The incumbent has provided the support necessary to convert these systems to use the data from the e-Gov module implemented in FY2004, the Department of the Interior?s Federal Personnel Payroll System. Sustaining support requires knowledge of several programming languages and platforms. This support uniquely qualifies the incumbent to continue the support of these applications. This action is required to ensure JSC's ability to support two critical Agency initiatives: 1) successful implementation of the new NASA IEMP and e-Gov modules and 2) NASA's effort to obtain an unqualified audit opinion of its financial statements. The consistency provided by the developer of the legacy software for these functions can only be provided by SAIC and this consistency is required by the Government to sustain these vital functions. The risk to the Government associated with transitioning a new contractor cannot be accepted at this time due to the criticality of the work effort during the next 5 years. The Agency currently has the following implementations planned for the contract period: ? Project Management Information Improvement (PMI2): This is a joint effort of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE) to implement a new budget structure and technical Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) to support Earned Value Management. It will require highly skilled, knowledgeable implementers to ensure that current financial operations and reporting are not compromised. The implementation will occur in three phases, with the first phase beginning in FY 2005. SAIC?s knowledge of our current data, data structure, and reporting needs is crucial to JSC?s success in implementing this Agency initiative. A change in our support contractor during any phase of this implementation would add unreasonable risk to our ability to meet the reporting and processing challenges this change will present to our users. ? Contract Management Module (CMM): The Contract Management Module will provide a comprehensive tool to support contract writing, contract administration, procurement management and data and reporting management materials for NASA. This component will provide detailed and quantitative data to facilitate, economize, and expedite procurement processes. It will be interfaced to the Core Financial module of SAP. SAIC?s knowledge of JSC?s current legacy systems, data and interfaces is integral to our ability to successfully implement this system. This knowledge will be invaluable as we validate the Center data in the new system. ? Federalized SAP Version Upgrade (SVU): This is a major upgrade to the current Federalized SAP R/3 Financial System. The upgrade impacts both resources and procurement processes, providing budget planning capability and a streamlined year-end closing process that involves greater automation of the process, resulting in shorter cycle time to complete the closing cycle. Additional benefits include the ability to more efficiently and effectively investigate and resolve errors on contract instruments and the ability to see information by Standard General Level account postings. SAIC?s knowledge of NASA?s and JSC?s unique processes and the NASA configuration of the SAP software will be critical to our continued operation through this upgrade. They have the knowledge to provide help desk support, training, and data validation support. A change in contractors just before go-live would be a major risk to our success in implementing this upgrade. ? Integrated Asset Management (IAM) Module: NASA's concept of IAM includes the functional areas of Facilities Management, Logistics Management, Aircraft Management, and Environmental Management. NASA uses its Asset Management processes to maintain the stewardship and safety of all real and personal property owned by the Federal Government, and assigned control to the Agency. NASA controls a wide range of assets such as land, buildings, aircraft, space vehicles, computers, plant equipment, chemicals, supplies, and hazardous waste. Functionality of the IAM component will include financial reporting, physical inventory, maintenance, and liability. As part of the IEMP initiative, NASA re-engineered IAM into four cross-functional business processes: Plan, Acquire, Maintain, and Disposition. These business processes represent the asset life cycle that will be the basis for the IAM system framework's evolution, and incorporate best practices such as Product Life Cycle Management, Supply Chain Management, and Electronic Commerce. Sustaining and stabilization support will be required beyond the implementation date. The corporate knowledge possessed by key individuals currently on the contract and supporting the JSC Logistics organization software is crucial to our continuing success. Interruption of support by this contractor during this period would increase the risk to our implementation to an unacceptable level. ? e-Travel Module: this module will replace the current Travel Manager system. It will include not only the capabilities of the current system, but will also allow employees to complete all phases of their travel, from reservations through the final voucher. Extensive training and help desk support for all Civil Service personnel who travel will be required for this module. SAIC personnel understand the current level of knowledge in the civil service workforce and will be instrumental in providing training at the right level for the new system. Their continued help desk support will be vital to retaining an acceptable level of customer support at JSC. Because of these considerations, including the unacceptable costs and delays that would be incurred to conduct a competition and/or select a different contractor, the potential benefits from competition do not justify accepting these substantial risks for the IFMP. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. See Note 26. See Note 22. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. An Ombudsman has been appointed. See NASA Specific Note "B". Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html
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