U.S. Office Of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 1342, Washington, DC 20415

R -- PRE-SORT MAIL SERVICES SOL OPM-98-RFP-00377 DUE 052998 POC Ray Hesson, 202-606-1045 WEB: OPM Procurement Home Page, http://www.opm.gov/procure. E-MAIL: Contracting Officer e-mail, rdhesson@opm.gov. R -- The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to solicit proposals for mail services at the OPM Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. The contractor shall be required to prepare first-class national distribution mail furnished by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to qualify for rate discounts under the United States Postal Service's (USPS) automation and non-automation discount programs. The contractor must comply with all applicable USPS regulations and guarantee USPS acceptance of the daily volume generated by OPM no later than the next USPS acceptance day (Monday through Saturday, excluding Federal holidays) following turnover of the daily product to the contractor. Refer to the USPS Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) for the applicable USPS regulations. The proposed contract will include both domestic and international mail. Offerors may elect to propose for both domestic and international mail support, domestic mail support only, and/or international mail only. The total annual volume of domestic OPM first-class, national distribution mail is estimated to reach approximately 1,500,000 pieces for the base period and 1,750,000 pieces per year for the option years of the contract. Of this amount, approximately 6,000 pieces per year will weigh over 3 ounces. While the total volume of mail on the majority of days is expected to be between 5,000 and 10,000, there are wide variances. The international mail volume will be from 50 to 100 pieces per day with once a month programs producing as much as 200 to 1500 pieces of mail. Twice a year programs could produce mailings of 30,000 pieces. OPM intends to execute one or more contracts with a base year and four one-year options. The contractor shall process OPM mail to maximize postage discounts. Specifically, the contractor shall: (1) Pick up mail from the OPM mailroom each day; transport mail to the contractor's facility for processing. The contractor shall provide a receipt showing the number of trays of mail picked up, prior to leaving the OPM mailroom. The contractor's receipt shall also be marked appropriately to provide a place for OPM to indicate the three piece counts that OPM will provide in accordance with Section C-1F.(6). In picking up the mail, the contractor shall transport the mail from the OPM mailroom to the loading dock and load it on the contractor's vehicle. (2) Perform all barcoding/presorting services in compliance with applicable regulations and requirements in USPS DMM to date, and as subsequently amended during the contract period. (3) DPBC, if necessary, and presort OPM letter size mail weighing 3 ounces or less to qualify the greatest amount of OPM mail possible for the automation 3-digit rate. (4) Prepare barcoded OPM letter size mail weighing 3 ounces or less that does not qualify for the automation 3-digit rate for the automation basic rate. (5) The contractor shall print "AUTO" endorsement on the OPM mail weighing over 3 ounces when necessary, as required by the USPS. (6) Prepare OPM mailthat does not receive a DPBC, OPM mail weighing over 3 ounces, and mail, (if any) that is over 1/4 inch in thickness as non-automated presorted mail. (7) Effective July 1, 1997, the contractor shall use FASTFORWARD software to apply an updated address and barcode to OPM mail, as required, in accordance with USPS reclassification regulations. The contractor shall not be required to provide updated addresses to OPM.. (8) In processing both automation mail and non-automation mail, commingle OPM's mail with other first-class mail to increase the qualification rates. (9) Complete all documentation on forms required by the DMM to be submitted with each mailing. (10) Transport the presorted mail to the USPS. (11) Correct preparation errors as necessary for USPS acceptance. Preparation errors are defined as errors made by the contractor in preparing the material, such as in sorting, labeling, preparation of documentation, etc. (12) Pay to the USPS the additional postage required on OPM mail at thetime of mailing. (13) Maintain such control and production records as necessary to verify compliance with USPS requirements and for contract management purposes. (14) Maintain the security of the OPM mail by assuring that it is not opened or in any way tampered with, including that at no time is it left unattended unless it has been secured against tampering or theft. Also, maintain the security of the mail. This acquisition is being handled on an unrestricted basis. The SIC Code is 7331. The applicable size standard is $5 Million per year. The solicitation is scheduled to be released on or about April 29, 1998,. All requests for RFP packages must be in writing and be addressed to Ray Hesson, Contracting Officer, Room 1342, OPM Headquarters, 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20415 (fax 202-606-1464). This solicitation will also be available for downloading from the OPM Procurement Home Page at http://www.opm.gov/procure. (0086)

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