SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Request for Information (RFI) on a Universal Product Code (UPC) Repository and Clearinghouse For WIC State Agencies Authorized Product List
- Notice Date
- 7/21/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 518210
— Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Contract Management Branch, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 228, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302
- ZIP Code
- 22302
- Solicitation Number
- FNS-RFI-MC-001
- Archive Date
- 9/7/2010
- Point of Contact
- Miatta N. Cleveland, Phone: 7033052265
- E-Mail Address
-
miatta.cleveland@fns.usda.gov
(miatta.cleveland@fns.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is an RFI issued solely for information and program planning purposes; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. FNS will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that FNS is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind FNS to any further actions related to this topic. There is no commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, to make an award(s), or to be responsible for any monies expended by any interested parties in support of any effort in response to this RFI. Any information submitted in response to this RFI is strictly voluntary. This RFI is for information planning purposes and the Government will not pay or otherwise reimburse respondents for information submitted. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Unless otherwise stated herein, no additional information is available and requests for the same will be disregarded. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Purpose The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is issuing this RFI to obtain information from industry experts regarding the development of a Universal Product Code (UPC) clearinghouse. This clearinghouse would be used to support Authorized Product List (APL) file transfers for WIC State agencies that deliver benefits via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), and potentially for any State agency delivering benefits using paper checks or vouchers. FNS is also interested in obtaining additional information on different options for operating, maintaining, and enhancing the FNS National UPC database. 1.2 Organization The WIC Program is administered by FNS. FNS provides grant funding and issues regulations which are utilized by WIC State agencies that operate the WIC Program in conjunction with local clinics. The WIC Program provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. The program operates throughout the 50 States, in the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and in 34 Indian Tribal Organizations. WIC State agencies are required to authorize eligible foods on their WIC food list by federal regulations at 7 C.F.R. Part 246. Under these regulations, State agencies must review food products for eligibility in accordance with Federal regulations and State agency policies. State agencies are not required to authorize all food products eligible under federal regulations, but generally select foods based on factors such as cost, availability and acceptability to participants. After review, the State agency develops a list of food items available to WIC participants for purchase. State agencies require authorized vendors (i.e., stores authorized to provide WIC foods to participants) to ensure that only authorized food items are purchased. Many of these vendors have programmed their point of sale systems to identify WIC approved foods and their associated Universal Product Code (UPC) or Price Look-Up (PLU) code as they are scanned at the checkout; however, some vendors still rely on their checkout clerks to ensure only authorized WIC products are approved for purchase. WIC State agencies that operate EBT systems provide authorized vendors with an electronic file containing the State agency's current authorized products list (APL). This file complies with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X9.93 Part 2 file format requirements. In State agencies that have implemented EBT systems, as products are scanned at the checkout lane the UPC or PLU is matched to the State specific APL list. Food items that match the APL and the specific quantity of a food category/subcategory associated with a WIC EBT card are approved. Unmatched items are denied for purchase. Each item on the APL is linked to a specific food category and subcategory. For EBT State agencies, the APL is revised as needed to add or remove WIC products and the APL is typically made available daily on each State agency's file transfer server that is accessed by authorized WIC vendors or their providers. All State agencies review their Authorized Product List on an annual or biennial cycle. Additional information on the WIC Program is available on the FNS WIC webpage at http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic and http://www.fns.usda.gov/apd/library/wic_ebt_docs.htm 1.3 Background The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required FNS to develop a National UPC (NUPC) database to serve as a national repository of WIC approved food items. The NUPC database allows WIC State agencies, retailers, and manufacturers, to add products to the database via an interactive webpage. WIC State agencies may also add products to the NUPC database by uploading files which contain data derived from their list of authorized products. In either case, the system prevents duplication of products upon entry into the system. WIC State agencies can review the products in the database, conduct additional research with the manufacturer if deemed necessary, select those items they wish to approve and download a State agency APL file. FNS is interested in the development of a clearinghouse capability that would consolidate individual APL's from the 90 State agencies and make one or more of those APL's available for electronic transfer to WIC retail vendors authorized by State agencies. At present, there are more than 49,000 WIC approved food vendors. However, WIC vendors that have been authorized to support multiple State agencies would be able to download all required APL files through a single connection; therefore we expect the number of users to be substantially lower than 49,000. FNS is also interested in generating suggestions for enhancements to the NUPC database as discussed below. 1.4 Scope FNS is looking to create the capability for WIC authorized vendors to go to a single site to download all the State APL files the vendor may require to support daily operations. The clearinghouse must be able to support authorized WIC vendors or their providers (e.g., acquirers or electronic cash register re-sellers) connecting daily to retrieve from one to 90 different APL files. The APL is distributed daily to WIC authorized vendors in each State now delivering WIC via EBT. Authorized vendors load the APL data to their cash register systems to enable them to match food items that are scanned at the checkout lane to the food prescriptions linked to an EBT card. Items that do not appear on the APL are not permitted to be redeemed. While paper check or voucher systems at present do not require UPC data in the same manner that WIC EBT requires, we understand that the food retail vendors have interest in getting electronic APLs from States utilizing paper systems. Conceptually, the APL clearinghouse is envisioned to be a file server based application using a common transfer process such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The needs of registered retail vendor users would be supported with administration of user access via a web page interface. The specific technology may differ if it can accomplish the task as defined. The web pages would enable authorized vendors to self-register, provide a minimum credential (e.g., a valid WIC Vendor ID), and permit them to designate which State agency APL files they require. It is expected that the FTP site will be able to support an automated connection which does not require manual logon (i.e. machine to machine) to allow the various APL files to be obtained. A manual download initiated by a user of a one or more APL files may also be necessary. The clearinghouse site is expected to push file to users initially, rather files will be placed into a file folder which is accessed by the user with an appropriate password. The capability to push files or data may be considered as an enhancement but present EBT system operations are all file based using the ANSI X9.93 file formats. The clearinghouse site must be able to receive transmissions of State APL files, either from the National UPC Database or from a State Agency. Most operating EBT State agencies update their FTP site nightly although changes may happen less frequently. State agencies are expected to transmit a copy of their APL file to the national clearinghouse FTP site on a daily basis and more frequently if their APL's are updated. At present, the specific format of each State agency APL is consistent with X9.93 Part 2, but the version in use may vary between State Agencies and they may contain State specific features, such as maximum price for cost containment purposes. Cost containment data, often called a "Not to Exceed" price, is not contained in the NUPC database due to its high degree of variability. Furthermore, State agencies are not required to disclose this pricing data (an option supported by the ANSI X9.93 standard). After establishing an operational APL file transfer capability, FNS envisions the potential for adding other EBT related file transfers. At present, two technologies have been utilized to deliver WIC EBT. In the smartcard (offline) environment, file transfers between State agencies and authorized vendors include the APL file, a Hot Card List (HCL), a Claim file, and an Auto Reconciliation file. In the magnetic card (online) environment, file transfers between State agencies and authorized vendors include the APL and an Auto Reconciliation file. FNS is also interested in a process which consolidates the various State Agency APL files into a single national APL file that identifies each food item by UPC, product description, and benefit quantity as well as each State agency that has approved the item. This could include up to 90 different State agency specific flags and must accurately reflect any variances between State agency APL's. Since State agencies do not use standard product descriptions and benefit units for the same product UPC, such a national level file would need to address these differences. For example, some State agencies consider a gallon of milk, UPC 123412341234, to be deducted as 1.0 gallons from the WIC benefit prescription. Others would issue benefits in quarts so this same UPC will require a benefit unit of 4.0 (4 quarts = 1 gallon). In addition to the Clearinghouse capability described above, FNS is interested in identifying alternative models or new ideas from industry for operating, maintaining, and enhancing the NUPC database either in conjunction with the APL clearinghouse or independently. For example, ongoing operation of the NUPC might be accomplished utilizing a "Service Option" model with the systems residing in either the FNS data center or another external location. The provider of this service would operate this service for authorized users but the system would not be subject to federal system security, authentication and web site design requirements that are applicable to federally operated systems. However, FNS will require the ability to approve the overall service capability and subsequent enhancements. Other enhancements to the NUPC database might include, but are not limited to, the following: • Development of a rules based engine to validate product nutritional information against WIC standards; • Import of product specific information such as nutritional data or photographs from external sources; • Automatic updates of external databases such as the WIC Works Formula database when changes occur within the NUPC. The WIC Works formula database may be viewed at: http://riley.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/formulas/FormulaSearch.php. • Development of a capability to track and record changes to the NUPC database; and/or a method to enhance data integrity while continuing to allow State agencies to add, edit, and delete UPC records. • Alternative web security processes that allow verification of users from different user classes. For example, we would not expect product APL file access to be made readily available widely via internet or web technology. It is critical to assure that the data utilized by retail vendor chains is not compromised. However, there may be ways to segment user access so that general web users may obtain access to the UPC data. Federal systems must adhere to USDA standards for external user authentication; presently we use the USDA level 1 and level 2 eAuthentication processes for validating users prior to granting them access to the National UPC database. FNS would also like to consider any other concepts which may not have been included above but which have the potential to improve system performance when deployed in an operational environment. Comments on alternate pricing and maintenance support are explicitly sought from responders to this RFI. Contractual performance requirements must be established with appropriate reporting and procedures for remedying performance levels below those established by contract. In addition, FNS asks responders to consider the present statutes governing WIC EBT implementation when developing pricing alternatives. These statutes specifically prohibit the imposition of EBT related costs onto authorized WIC vendors (retailers). FNS will therefore be unable to consider any model or approach which includes a recurring "subscription fee" to be paid by retailers. On the other hand, retailers may be willing to pay for "value added" services or capabilities as an optional service feature. 1.5 Technical Requirements The data contained in the NUPC database and individual APL files is not protected information which requires substantial security features. However, the systems must be able to protect against internet or web site intrusion and/or tampering with the files or any other component of the systems. The present APL files used by State agencies conform to the X9.93 Part 2 WIC UPC/PLU record file format. The files are a text based file. FNS is working with industry and State agencies to align the APLs with X9.93 2008 but several EBT operations are using an older version of X9.93. The current NUPC is a SQL database with a web based interface allowing authorized users to add, edit, and delete UPC records. A State agency may approve individual UPCs and download this in the X9.93 format with some exceptions such as pricing data for cost containment. The interface also allows users to search and select records based on unique criteria. Selected records may then be reported to an Excel, PDF or text format. State agency users are also able to upload files containing UPC data they currently use. The National UPC database upload/download file format is available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/apd/Library/WIC_EBT/WIC_NUPC_DB_System_Upload_Download_spec_Nov192009.pdf 2.0 Questions related to development of an automated Clearinghouse for APL files a. Should this system be developed as an enhancement to the UPC database or independent of the NUPC as a standalone system? b. What type of user validation should be employed to facilitate vendor access yet prevent unauthorized persons from accessing files in the clearinghouse? c. Is FTP the best protocol for use in this environment or should another more secure protocol be considered? d. Given that there are a limited number of updates to each APL daily, should a messaging system to transmit only modified or added records be adopted (as opposed to transferring the entire APL file on daily basis)? e. While system availability is not a critical consideration, availability is expected to exceed 99%. Is a redundant capability required? f. What pricing alternatives are available for both the development and the operation of an APL clearinghouse capability? 3.0 Questions related to the operation and maintenance of the NUPC database a. Are there commercially available data sources which contain unique product data (UPC, Product description, Package size, etc) and which could be used to populate the NUPC with food items which are potentially WIC eligible (both national and regional brands)? b. Please describe alternate models for hosting, operating, and maintaining, the NUPC database which facilitates user access while maintaining data security. c. While each State agency has unique data requirements and each includes different data elements in their APL, how is data integrity maintained while allowing State agencies the flexibility to satisfy individual requirements and simultaneously share data across State agencies? d. What pricing alternatives are available for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the NUPC database? e. What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing public access to the NUPC database? How would such access be managed? Would public access affect system design? 4.0 Questions related to the development of enhancements to the NUPC database a. How might technologies and databases similar to those utilized by the iphone application "RedLaser" be utilized to capture product data and update the NUPC? b. What are the advantages and disadvantages resulting from partnerships with online data sources similar to www.foodessentials.com or www.dailyburn.com? c. What level of effort is required to develop a "rules based software engine" to automate the process of validating nutritional and ingredient information in order to ensure products in the NUPC database meet Federal requirements for WIC approved foods? d. Are there comprehensive commercial data sources capable of providing product photographs, nutritional information, and item ingredients, for import into the NUPC? e. What level of effort is required to automate the update of external databases, similar to WIC Works, as changes are made to the NUPC? Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to Miatta.Cleveland@fns.usda.gov no later than 5:00pm (EDT) on August 23, 2010. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email and must be no more than 30 pages in length in 12 point Times New Roman font. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Only electronic responses will be accepted. Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic. Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy development. FNS will review and consider all responses in its formulation of program strategies for the identified materials of interest that are the subject of this request. FNS will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI: Company/lnstitution name; Company/lnstitution contact; Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address. F FNS will not pay for information provided under this Request for lnformation (RFI). This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. FNS has no obligation to respond to those who submit comments, and/or give any feedback on any decision made based on the responses received.
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