Commandant (G-ACS), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001

T -- PHOTOGRAPHIC, MAPPING, PRINTING, AND PUBLICATION SERVICES POC Contract Specialist: Mr. Joseph L. Widdup, Code G-ACS-2A, (202) 267-6290 / Contracting Officer: Ms. Shirley Kyle, Code G-ACS-2A, (202) 267-2514 THIS IS NOT A SYNOPSIS TO ADVERTISE A SOLICITATION THAT IS READY FOR RELEASE; rather, the purposes of this synopsis are (a) to determine whether there are a sufficient number of responsible sources who can meet a forthcoming competitive United States Coast Guard (USCG) requirement for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC's) and (b) to conduct market research to ascertain whether the ENC requirement may be solicited pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 "Acquisition of Commercial Items." The ENC requirement will solicit (a) the initial purchase of ENC's which contain waters in United States Coast Guard's (USCG's) 13 Districts and (b) weekly updates to the aforementioned purchased ENC's, based upon USCG Notices to Mariners. The ENC's will also be required to comply with the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) S-57 format and will be utilized on board Juniper Class and Keeper Class Buoy Tenders via Offshore Systems Ltd.'s "Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System" (ECPINS); ECPINS is an International Maritime Organization (IMO) compliant Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). POTENTIAL OFFERORS WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY MAY BE POISED TO RESPOND TO THE AFOREMENTIONED COMPETITIVE ENC REQUIREMENT (WHEN RELEASED) ARE REQUESTED (BUT NOT REQUIRED) TO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING 6 QUESTIONS BY 15 AUGUST 1997, IN WRITING BY MAIL, TO MR. JOSEPH L. WIDDUP AT THE ADDRESS ABOVE: (1) Please indicate whether you believe the ENC requirement is a competitive requirement that more than one company could satisfy. (2) Please indicate whether you believe the aforementioned ENC requirement may be met (a) with products currently available in the commercial marketplace or (b) with commercially available products with modifications made to them that do not significantly alter the function or physical characteristics of that product. (Factors to be considered in determining whether a modification is minor include the value and size of the modification and the comparative value and size of the final product.). (3) Please describe the supplies and/or services that your company currently sells (if any) that appear to be related to the scope of the aforementioned ENC requirement and state who your major customers for those supplies and/or services are. (You may also send a copy of commercial literature describing these supplies and/or services to Mr. Joseph L. Widdup by mail if you so choose.) (4) What has your company's annual sales revenue been for each of the past 5 fiscal years? (5) What is your company's core line of business? (6) How many persons are directly employed by your company? NOTE: PROPOSALS ARE NOT SOLICITED AT THIS TIME FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED ENC REQUIREMENT, AND NO CONTRACT AWARD WILL BE MADE FOR PROPOSALS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS "SOURCES SOUGHT" AND MARKET RESEARCH SYNOPSIS. (0198)

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