US Postal Service, Automation Purchasing, 8403 Lee Highway, Merrifield, Virginia 22082-8150

39 -- NEXT GENERATION FLAT SORTING MACHINE. DUE 080197 POC Pauline McTeer, (703) 280-7804 The USPS is seeking to pre-qualify sources capable of providing a Next Generation Flat Sorting Machine for a six-week competitive test at a designated US Postal facility. The USPS desires to test flat sorting machine designs to replace the existing flat sorting machines (model 881) located in Post Offices around the nation. The test is tentatively planned for April/May 1998. The USPS plans to issue a solicitation in August 1997 to those firms that are determined to be pre-qualified for this requirement. These firms will be asked to submit a firm fixed price proposal to transport and test their system (no development costs will be paid by the USPS). The solicitation will include a machine specification, test plan and OCR/BCR interface specification. The USPS plans to evaluate these proposals and make one or more test contract awards. The USPS plans to issue a production solicitation for approximately 200 systems by January 1998. Only those firms (or their licensees) that receive test contracts will be considered for the production award. The results of the test will be used in the evaluation process for a production contract that is planned to be awarded by June 1998. The Next Generation Flats Sorting Machine must meet the following requirements: 1. Automatically feed flats 2. Process flats at a minimum throughput of 10,000 pieces per hour 3. Minimum 100 separations -- capable of expansion to 200 4. Video encode all the BCR/OCR rejects on-line 5. Tray take away conveyor 6. Adaptable to robotic tray handling 7. Sort into standard USPS flat mail trays 8. Adaptable to USPS Flat Mail OCR/Bar Code Reader 9. At a minimum, process all USPS mail including magazines, poly-wrap and flimsies with the following standards: MIN MAX Length 5" 15" Height 6" 12" Thickness .009" .75" Weight .01 lb. 11 oz 10. Low machine stop and jam rate 11. Low missort rate 12. Proper mail stacking for efficient subsequent handling It is highly preferred that the sorter be presently operating in a postal facility. Interested firms are requested to submit the following information: (1) written material, drawings, floor space requirements, photos, videos and operating statistics that demonstrate the machine specifications listed above; (2) the location of their currently deployed machine; (3) a list of all contracts performed within the last 5 years for similar requirements including the contract number, dates of performance, customer's and Contracting Officer's name and phone number, and the dollar value of the contract; (4) a technical plan to integrate the USPS OCR/BCR into the firm's machine; (5) Quality and reliability data relating to the firm's design; (6) Company's most current financial statements. During the pre-qualification process, the USPS plans to visit each site identified by the firm to physically evaluate the machine attributes. The USPS will evaluate the pre-qualification statements based on the following factors: (1) technical capability to meet USPS requirements; (2) past performance; (3) quality and reliability. This announcement does not in any way commit the Postal Service to test any equipment or make an award. Any subsequent award is contingent upon USPS funding approval. Interested firms may send the required information to the address in item 7, no later than August 1, 1997. The qualification statements should not exceed 25 pages. All inquiries must be in writing, no telephone requests will be accepted. (0191)

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