SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- WEB REDESIGN
- Notice Date
- 3/17/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Justice, Federal Prison Industries/UNICOR, Procurement Branch, 320 First Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia, 20534
- ZIP Code
- 20534
- Solicitation Number
- SS-01-10
- Archive Date
- 4/16/2010
- Point of Contact
- Joscie L. Barnes, Phone: 202-305-7268
- E-Mail Address
-
jbarnes@central.unicor.gov
(jbarnes@central.unicor.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Background Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), widely known by it's trade name, UNICOR, is a program component of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, providing job skills and meaningful work opportunities to inmates incarcerated in federal correctional institutions across the country. Unlike most government programs, UNICOR does not rely upon taxpayer funding to support its operations. Instead, revenue is derived from the sale of hundreds of diverse products and services to the Federal Government and other business partners. UNICOR effectively reduces recidivism by providing inmates A real world @ work experience, while instilling a positive work ethic and other pro-social skills critical to becoming socially well-adjusted, tax-paying citizens. The UNICOR program reaches out to provide our federal inmate population what they need within the confines of prison, so that their prospects for success within our communities will be more likely. Following is a statement of work which may be revised in the future based on information received in response to this notice. Interested vendors are asked to include any suggestions based on the requirements of the Government and provide a quote based on information in this Sources Sought notice. This information shall accompany your response. The NAICS Code for this requirement is: 541511 - Website Design & Development Requirement UNICOR, (Federal Prison Industries) seeks to identify and solicit feedback from capable sources to design, develop, and implement a new e-commerce/transactional website for our organization that will increase usability and customer satisfaction; increase sales, site traffic, and marketing leads; and present a targeted, clear, and consistent message to the end-user. UNICOR, Federal Prison Industries aims to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) by transitioning offline sales activities to the website. UNICOR requires a user-friendly website that allows prospective customers and information seekers to readily identify who UNICOR is and the broad array of products and services offered. The website must provide streamlined paths for prospective customers in the decision-making process. Primary messaging must communicate solutions and services, provide information that fits users' needs, and more importantly, drive leads and sales of products and services through both online and offline channels. Goals/Objectives of the Requirement The goal of UNICOR's website is to provide a simple/easy electronic vehicle for doing business with UNICOR & serve as a public communications avenue. The current site structure and design was developed years ago and requires a significant redesign to take advantage of new design elements and growing demand for e-government transactions. UNICOR needs to redesign/enhance its e-commerce/transactional website to be resourceful, informative, and serve as a marketing asset that provides a customer/business-friendly environment that highlights UNICOR's products / services and inmate programs. The redesigned e-commerce/transactional website must support secure online credit card transactions, orders status and shipment tracking, online request forms, and a variety of other activities similar to comparable commercial sites that offer diverse products for retail sale ( i.e. Amazon.com). The website must provide easy access to e-government services, be adaptable to current and changing technology, and provide content management capability for non-technical UNICOR staff. Requirement Details Develop a highly beneficial, cost-effective, easy to use, interactive, and architecturally sound e-commerce/transactional website that is flexible enough to support future technologies and UNICOR's web initiatives for a minimum of five - seven years. The website should include a robust search engine for e-commerce activities. Examples include but not are limited to: product comparisons, search by product attributes, multiple shipping options, saving and sharing carts as done on Amazon.com. Create a consistent and standardized format and enhanced graphical look for all pages, thereby establishing a unified theme throughout UNICOR's website. However, the established theme should provide the flexibility to allow different factions a level of individuality and/or functionality within UNICOR's diverse operations segments. UNICOR will provide initial designs that have been user tested. Each section of the site must have a common look/theme. All font types and basic layout should be used throughout the site. The site must be visually appealing & allow for interactivity. The website must include an attractive mix of text, images, photos, and videos. Secure online ordering, e-mail responses, surveys, feedback, and forms. It must, likewise, incorporate the ability for users to complete e-government transactions such as secure online ordering, order status/tracking, requests for quote and, publication order capabilities. Provide easy electronic access to public information for use by targeted audiences. UNICOR's website must provide consistent orientation and navigational aids, such as hierarchical menus that tell users how deeply they have driven into a section or subsection. There must be a homepage link or icon and search box on each page and in the same position. UNICOR will provide site architecture that has been user tested. Must be easy to update. UNICOR's website model calls for authorized staff to have some ability to perform routine content management related to routine information such as updating product specifications, adding/removing products from ecommerce store, posting meeting minutes, removing old and outdated information, and general noticing. The Web Program Manager(s) should have more comprehensive ability to provide quality control and the ability to update non-routine information. The system needs to be structured for maintenance and updating capabilities by non-technical staff. Contractor should list the software that would be used to create the site including all graphics software, and recommend software and licenses that UNICOR will need to purchase for the continued maintenance of the website. Note: All vulnerabilities found in any software used to develop the new website must be fixed at the Contractor's expense. This requirement is for the design, setup & implementation of the new e-commerce/transaction website, but not intended for maintenance and support. The intent is that the design will be performed so that ongoing maintenance, updating & support of the website will be accomplished in house by UNICOR web & IT personnel. UNICOR is interested in a content management process and is open to ideas on how best to accomplish this aspect of the new website. Provide a 24-hour service, and the ability to conduct secure online ordering and tracking and any e-government transactions. Provide pages for all UNICOR programs, services, and functions. Meet Section 508/ADA requirements http://www.section508.gov/ UNICOR must make its electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. All pages, including maps and tables, should be in HTML, Portable Document Format (PDF), or in a format approved by UNICOR to provide ease of viewing, printing, and downloading, as well as in acceptable 508 compliant downloadable formats. In addition, pages should be available in a "printer friendly" format without extensive graphics, to provide ease of viewing, printing, and downloading. Capability to maintain an archive of existing and past records such as trade shows, board meeting minutes, sales reports, annual reports, FedBizOpps notices etc. in HTML and/or PDF format. New website must be easily upgradeable & portable. UNICOR anticipates future expansion of its e-government use, and the redesign should facilitate future capability of additional online transactions. Must support Web 2.0 technologies and beyond. Although UNICOR has some specific requirements, we also are interested in your ideas for content. We encourage contractors to consider and propose alternative solutions, recommendations and improvements for the new website. Special Provisions Internet Service Provider (ISP) service is not part of this requirement. UNICOR has an ISP; therefore these services are not part of this requirement. However, hosting and maintenance service options should be presented as options to facilitate the redesign and maintenance of the new website. Additional Requirements A) Contractor will provide all labor and deliverables to design and develop the new UNICOR's e-commerce/ transactional web site. B) Contractor will develop the website for search engine optimization. C) The content architecture scope includes all information represented on the site and an online store that allows customers to purchase products and perform market research based on current e-commerce models. (e.g. Amazon). D) Contractor will develop the website with a robust search engine for e-commerce activities. Examples include but are not limited to: product comparisons, search by product attributes, multiple shipping options, saving, & sharing carts. E) UNICOR will provide detailed wire frames and preliminary designs (user tested) obtained from usability studies to support the website's new architecture. F) Content architecture development task and scope includes all information on the current site. Website shall meet established branding and communications objectives for our organization. G) Contractor will incorporate technical industry standards, leverage best practices, and utilize third-party usability guidelines (will be provided) to ensure optimal usability. H) UNICOR's new e-commerce/transactional website must be developed using a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software product. Note: All vulnerabilities found in any software used to develop the new website must be fixed at the Contractor's expense. I) UNICOR's new e-commerce/transactional website must adhere to Department of Justice Order 2640.2F and National Institute of Standards & Technology 800-53 policies on IT standards, systems, and security. J) Contractor will provide UNICOR with all the source code for the new e-commerce/transactional website and any applications developed in conjunction with the website. K) Training for a minimum of 20 system users and IT developers must be included along with associated training manuals. Additional Comments: All vendors shall provide the company name, business size, point of contact, address, and phone number. Responses must be received no later than April 12, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST via overnight mailing procedures or regular mail if arrived at the specified date and time. Each packet shall include two copies of your request for information and mailed to the attention of Joscie L. Barnes, Senior Contracting Officer, Interagency Solutions/Procurement Branch - 7 th Floor, UNICOR, Federal Prison Industries, 400 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20534. Vendors responding to this notice will be notified of a solicitation when issued. Any questions/inquiries regarding this notice shall be put in writing to the Senior Contracting Officer and emailed to: jbarnes@central.unicor.gov. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS only. There is no solicitation available at this time; therefore, requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. The information provided in response to this Sources Sought announcement will be used to finalize the acquisition strategy for this requirement, gain knowledge from industry, and make the determination as to the best system for the Government. This is not a request for proposal and in no way commits the Government to award a contract. The Government will not reimburse any interested vendor for any information that is submitted in response to this sources sought request. Any information submitted is voluntary.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOJ/FPI-UNICOR/MMB/SS-01-10/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02095100-W 20100319/100317235118-12c9ca991f462db5d29e140d49125acd (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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