SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Revenue Modernization-Collections and Financial System
- Notice Date
- 7/3/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Procurement Directorate - DC, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 1310 NP, Washington, District of Columbia, 20229, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20229
- Solicitation Number
- HSBP1013R20070001
- Archive Date
- 8/1/2013
- Point of Contact
- Dione R. Shelton, Phone: 2023443273
- E-Mail Address
-
dione.shelton@cbp.dhs.gov
(dione.shelton@cbp.dhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Administration Revenue Modernization - Collections & Financial System Request for Information and Sources Sought (RFI/SS) This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute an Invitation of Bid, Request for Proposal or Request for Quotes. 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. Further, CBP is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The Government will not provide reimbursement for any information that may be submitted in response to this RFI. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. No assurance is offered that any solicitation will result from the information provided in response to this RFI. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is conducting inquiries about replacing their current system of collections and financial records. The purpose of this RFI is to outline the vision and business need for modernizing CBP's revenue management, financial system and business processes that protects $40.6 billion in annual revenue collections. The proposed modernization promotes greater efficiency and reduced risk in achieving CBP's trade-related mission objectives. As part of its mission to facilitate efficient flow of legitimate international trade and travel, CBP is charged with collecting, processing, and reporting all revenue lawfully owed to CBP as well as other Government agencies. When any good is imported into the United States, it must be cleared or "entered" through one of over 300 ports of entry. In FY 2012, CBP collected $40.6 billion in duties, taxes, fees, fines, and penalties. CBP's revenue management processes are supported by the Automated Commercial System (ACS), which is a 30-year old database system, built using an outdated programming language called Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL). ACS was originally custom-built for CBP to track, control, and process all commercial goods imported into the United States with a focus on CBP's trade mission. Over the years, technology changes and system developments were required outside of ACS because ACS was not readily adaptable to evolving business processes and emerging laws and regulations. In a dynamic operational and regulatory environment, technology limitations have impeded CBP's ability to modernize its revenue business processes to service the needs of the Trade community and other government or non-governmental organizations that rely on CBP to collect revenue and report on trade activity. CBP's revenue management and collection processes rely on this outdated technology and corresponding skill sets that have yielded a patchwork financial system environment comprised of ACS and other cuff systems supporting a disjointed collections process. Outdated programming language has prevented needed improvements to collection and revenue processes. Objective: CBP is seeking information related to Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) finance and accounting system to replace the current CBP revenue system functionality and provide the capability to upgrade CBP's current revenue operations. The replacement system must support current financial business practices, be compliant with Federal financial standards and regulations, and be adaptable to changing operational and technological requirements. Background CBP is the frontline border security agency within DHS charged with the priority mission of preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States while also facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. CBP prevents narcotics, agricultural pests and smuggled goods from entering the country and also identifies and arrests individuals with outstanding criminal warrants. CBP leverages its enforcement and intelligence-gathering capabilities to execute the mission of border and airspace security. CBP is responsible for protecting more than 5,000 miles of border with Canada, 1,900 miles of border with Mexico and 95,000 miles of shoreline. CBP's mission is vitally important to the protection of the American people and the national economy. CBP's Office of Administration (OA) is responsible for the budgeting, appropriations, expenditure of funds, accounting, procurement, facilities, real and personal property business processes that enable CBP to accomplish its mission. In support of these business processes, the Revenue Division is responsible for the business processes that protect $40.6 billion in annual revenue collections. Approximately $34.5 billion (85%) of collections relate to cargo imports estimated and paid by the Trade Community. The remaining $6.1 billion consists of more complex collection and payment types, including a large number of fees for CBP and other Federal agencies, taxes for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and various collections at the ports of entry. In addition to collections and reporting, the Office of Administration (OA) Revenue Division's mission focuses on several key aspects of CBP's trade mission. The Revenue Division provides critical support for CBP's overarching mission by securing revenue that funds Federal programs, facilitating timely trade and travel across U.S. borders, providing operational support to CBP's ports, and leading special programs stemming from Government initiatives. Functional Requirements The ACS Collections environment is housed in CBP's mainframe systems environment and includes several associated systems that enable CBP to perform financial processing functions related to entry and revenue collections. ACS is the centralized system that collects, reports, and retains all deposit records and other pertinent information related to CBP collections. Payment types range from: ACH Debit ACH Credit Credit Cards Checks Money Orders Cash Fedwire IPAC Transactions Functional Areas include but are not limited to: Accounts Receivable Management (including collections and deposits) Non-Receivable Collections Account Maintenance and Reporting Debt Management Accounts Payable Management General Ledger Management Financial Reporting Fund Accounting The COTS system must support multiple collection processes at multiple sites, such as Point of Sale functions at over 300 field locations, electronic and credit card collections, and easily interface with Department of Treasury financial deposit and reporting systems. The proposed COTS solution should be easily adaptable to emerging financial technology that can be quickly modified to accommodate evolving laws and regulations. Technical Requirements Capability to process high volume financial transactions Scalability Service Oriented Architecture compliant Capability to interface with SAP Responding to this RFI/SS Information provided in response to this GSA Schedule 70 RFI/SS must be submitted no later than July 17, 2013 at 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time(EST), in the form of a not to exceed, 10 page MS Word document submitted to Dione.Shelton@cpb.dhs.gov. Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to email address provided above. Verbal questions will not be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after July 11 th will be answered. All responses are due no later than 3:00pm EST on July 17, 2013. Interested parties should address all of the characteristics identified above. In addition, there are a number of challenging characteristics CBP would specifically like to see industry address in their RFI/SS response. These are as follows: 1. Company Information - Provide background information on your company. Include the company size, DUNS number, the socioeconomic status, and POC information (name, email address, telephone, and fax numbers). 2. GSA Schedules - If applicable, please provide your GSA Schedule(s) that could be utilized for this requirement and, in your estimation, how much of this requirement would be considered open market items based on the provided GSA schedule(s). 3. Corporate Experience - Identify up to three existing or recently completed Federal Government contracts including scope, pricing/dollar amount, and level of effort that are of similar scope to this requirement. Note your role as prime or sub-contractor, any experience with similar COTS systems startups or alternatives in particular if available, and provide a breakdown of expected costs and resources to accomplish this requirement, for example include: staffing and resource requirements; cost out from planning, development, pilot, to implementation; and include any costs that may be incurred throughout this process. 4. Market - Describe and characterize the market for similar COTS products? Is there an interest in providing this capability? 5. Methodology - This set of Government requirements includes providing and developing a COTS solution to replace an existing mainframe financial system of record and collection/payment processing to include financial systems improvement and advancement. On a conceptual level, how do you conceive these varied requirements will be achieved? You should include in your response the utilization and structure of teams, project resource needs, partnering and subcontract agreements envisioned, as necessary. 6. Best Practices - What applicable industry best practices exist regarding requirements such as these? 7. Transition -What issues or considerations surround the transition of CBP's current ACS system to your COTS solution? Consideration system/applications modification, patch management, and continuity of service activities required in systems integration (mid project handoffs). In your experience, what is the time span (30, 60, or 90 days) needed to successfully complete the transition-in activities on a newly integrated or replacement mainframe system? 8. Procurement Considerations - What contract types or conditions does industry believe are appropriate for these requirements? 9. Business Model/scope creep/ contract flexibility -Describe how you would envision providing an interim or transition mechanism while implementing a new COTS solution of high volume and complexity. 10. Costs - Describe any pertinent cost issues or cost control measures not previously addressed in other sections. 11. Other Risks and Issues - What other risks or issues related to provisions of this type of service is industry aware of? What steps could be taken to mitigate these risks? All responses are to be provided electronically on company letterhead and limited to no more than 10 pages. SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE no later than July 17, 2013 at 3:00 PM EST. Please provide your responses by e-mail to:Dione.Shelton@cbp.dhs.gov by the closing date.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/USCS/PDDC20229/HSBP1013R20070001/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Office of Administration/Procurement, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, District of Columbia, 20229, United States
- Zip Code: 20229
- Zip Code: 20229
- Record
- SN03107832-W 20130705/130703235717-10f651743d11e34ac59bc4ec72f135f1 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |