ENHANCED COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (ECAS) The Financial Information Systems System Program Office (ESC/FN) is conducting a Market Survey on Information Technology companies that have developed Enterprise-wide Activity Based Management (ABM) and Costing (ABC) solutions in a heterogeneous computing environment. This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. It is not a Request for Proposal (or solicitation) or an indication that ESC will contract for this item. ESC will not pay for information received in response to this RFI. Introduction In order for Air Force Materiel Command to more effectively manage cost, ESC/FN is developing an Enhanced Cost Accounting System (ECAS) to provide a secure method for taking cost data from our older (legacy) systems, and linking those costs to the products that are produced. Using a single point user access approach, ECAS will gather, process, and report data on command activities and products in an ABM/ABC manner. ECAS represents a technical solution for AFMC standard cost accounting requirements to report costs and revenues IAW Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) standards by Business Area product/service at each field operating activity (CONUS and overseas), each Center, and HQ AFMC, associated with command Business Area (BA) activities and products. ECAS will not duplicate, but will interface with existing cost accounting systems for the data required. When fully implemented, managers across the command will gain better insight into what activities are driving the costs for a particular product or service. Armed with this cost of output visibility, they can take action to reduce costs. The system will therefore be a management tool for use by process managers to control and improve operations while accomplishing their assigned mission. ECAS will also aggregate information to provide Business Area Chief Operating Officers (COO) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) a queries and reports capability (user-designed and standard) for Command business area, product, organizational, and cost elementanalysis. The AFMC Enhanced Cost Accounting System will be a tool for activity-based management. This initial effort is to identify the functional requirements and tasks and activities required to develop and implement a system for use by the Air Force Material Command Commander, Chief Operating Officers, and senior management at each AFMC operating activity. AFMC managers will use the new capability to determine costs of accomplishing their assigned mission (producing products or supplying services). In the future, this system may support submissions of annual budget estimates and document portions of the President's Budget. Current Environment The current AFMC corporate structure consists of eight business areas using a variety of cost accounting systems to record costs associated with their operations. Some of the fielded systems include: JOCAS II, WIMS, OLVIMS, and IFAS. Planned systems include DIFMS and PLAS. Several systems do not meet the command minimum requirements including single entry, CFO compliance, capability to collect actual hours, and to record all types of costs. These systems are hosted on different platforms using diverse programming languages and databases. Some systems are mainframe oriented with personal computers hooked through Local Area Networks (LAN) to the mainframes. A very rudimentary senior management reporting capability exists at present. Many products are developed based on data that is estimated or manually collected. No "look down" capability exists for senior managers to view source data for further detailed analysis. In some cases, monthly cost accounting products used by senior managers are developed using manually entered data or estimated data. No current capability exists in the basic systems to capture specific cost data, especially across legacy systems. Scope -Vision for the system: In today's environment, users want to be able to use their desktop computer, which is an integral part of the LAN and World Wide Web. ECAS will allow accessibility at HQ AFMC, all Centers, and field operating activities (CONUS and overseas). ECAS will be based on an "UMBRELLA" concept (pulling data from existing systems). Business areas having a cost accounting system will interface into the ECAS command level reporting capability. Functional Requirements -- Maintain Cost of Output Visibility: Interface with Department of Defense, Air Force, and AFMC systems to track AFMC Business Area Cost to specific customers, and products. -- Account for Command Costs: Collect, store, and assign actual costs to the specific Business Area customer, product, products/outputs, and activities (where appropriate). Cost must be linked to funding source/organizations. -- Collect Information for Statistical Purposes: Collect budget, business performance indicators, and units produced (where appropriate). -- Generate/Provide Cost Information Reports: Provide report capability (ad-hoc and standard) for Command business area, product, organizational, and cost element analysis. System Requirements -- Data Extraction and Loading: Ability to flow data into target database from legacy systems and other sources. This process consolidates operational data from on-line transaction processing systems into the informational data used by a data warehouse. The following functions are included: -- Data selection -- Data cleansing -- Data transformation -- Data transmission -- Data load/update -- Decision Support Architecture ("Drill-Down"): Ability to group data into views more convenient and useful to end-users. This feature supports the automatic aggregation of key activity, cost and profitability information. -- Report Writer Facility: Ability to plug data into more usable formats, such as spreadsheets, text documents, charts, other graphical presentations, and personal databases. -- Query Capability: Provide effective user-friendly query capability from ad hoc to routine. -- User Access: Provide Web-based access of data and reports. -- ABC Model: Ability to assign traditional account costs to activities, and activities to products and services. -- Administrative Facility: Ability to manage the system, to include system back-up and recovery. -- Process Mapping Facility: Ability to develop and maintain graphical views of processes and activities. -- Hierarchical Storage Archive: Ability to send old data to a hierarchical storage archive. -- Database Engine: The main engine for the data warehouse. -- Metadata Software: Supports the data warehouse catalog with the following capabilities: -- Data schema: Shows the names, the attributes, the keys, and the formats of warehouse tables. -- Semantics and data model specification: Describes the business objects and properties represented by the tables and attributes. -- Mapping of operational data to warehouse data: This mapping shows how the operational data were transformed to create the informational data. For each field in the data warehouse, metadata identifies information such as the source field(s)in the operational database(s), any conversions and derivations, name changes, and logic to choose between multiple sources. -- Common routines for summarization and access of data: Stores the algorithms used to summarize or derive data. -- Predefined queries, reports, and spreadsheets: Information used to build new tools from existing tools. -- Extract history: Indicates when data entered the warehouse and shows the currency of the data being analyzed. -- Information about external and unstructured data: Contains information such as document ID, description of document, and source of document. -- Relationship to other metadata stores. -- Data location: For a distributed data warehouse, shows what tables are located where in the network. -- Security Model -- Mechanism for secure system operation, including access control, limitation of privileges, and information protection. Requested Information: (1) Descriptive product literature that addresses the above system requirements, to include unit prices for all items; (2) Describe unique contractor qualifications for performing work in this area, to include a brief list of recent (within 2 years) customer references who are using tools that address the above requirements (3) Identify any information of a proprietary nature, or any special restrictions associated with the use of software and hardware, once purchased; (4) Identify any products available on GSA schedule (5) Availability of evaluation copies of software, and describe the hardware and operating systems they run on; (6) Availability and description of any formal hardware and software training including standard and optional courses; (7) Identify the warranty provided with the software/hardware with unit price and prices for extended warranties; (8) Availability of on-call assistance (help desk) for hardware and software products; (9) Typical equipment delivery lead times, from receipt of order, inclusive of the time required by the vendor to comply with all export laws and regulations; (10) Experience and ability to install the hardware and software; (11) Time to complete on-site installation and checkout activities, and also (12) Please identify the critical issues, risk areas, or other noteworthy issues to consider in deploying the technologies described above. Interested parties should provide cost and product information meeting the above stated requirements no later than 31 Mar 99. All sources should indicate if they are a large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a) concern or women-owned small business, with appropriate SIC codes. All correspondence relating to this matter should be directed to ESC/FNA, Attn: Ms. Jackie Whittaker, 937-656-2555. Packages (original plus one copy) shall be sent to ESC/FNA, Attention: Ms. Jackie Whittaker, 5490 Pearson Road, Building 89, Door 9, WPAFB OH, 45433-5332. ***** E-MAIL: e-mail the Program Manager, whittakj@msg.wpafb.af.mil. Posted 03/08/99 (W-SN305883).

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