U.S. Postal Service, Headquarters Purchasing, Room 4541, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20260-6230

99 -- TELEMARKETING, DATABASE MARKETING, AND FULFILLMENT SERVICES FOR USPS BUSINESS TO BUSINESS DIRECT MARKETING PROGRAM DUE 080398 POC Craig D. Partridge, Contracting Officer E-MAIL: Contact will be permitted via e-mail only. Click here, cpartrid@email.usps.gov. This is not a solicitation. The United States Postal Service (USPS) desires to prequalify commercial contract sources to provide response driven services to support the USPS Business to Business Direct Marketing Program. The required support service areas are: 1. Telemarketing/ Response Processing; 2. Database Marketing; and 3. Fulfillment. Potential suppliers will be permitted to prequalify for one or more of the required services. USPS encourages the use of partnering or subcontracting arrangements as long as they can assure USPS of performance accountability, quality, and specific value added contributions (e.g., greater technical efficiency or cost containment). Although USPS may award up to three contracts (one for each of the required support services), it should not be assumed that USPS has a preference for making multiple awards. The number of any resulting contract awards, including a single contract for all three support service areas, will be determined by the best interests of the Postal Service and the best overall value to be obtained from the performance arrangements proposed by prequalified suppliers. However, it should be noted that USPS does not desire to split awards supporting a particular service area. OVERVIEW: The mission of the Postal Service is to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient universal mail, parcel, and communications services at uniform rates for the American people and their businesses and institutions. The reinvention of USPS is well underway. Driven by the imperative to meet customer requirements, the Postal Service has stepped onto a path of continuous improvement that leads to growth, greater productivity, effective cost management and unique customer value. This continuous improvement effort demands the use of extensive and aggressive marketing and advertising strategies to promote USPS products and services. It also requires a significant improvement in customer service performance for Telemarketing/ Response Processing, Database Marketing, and Fulfillment services to capitalize on increased revenue opportunities. The majority of USPS direct marketing efforts relevant to these services are targeted at business users of domestic and/or international mailing and shipping services as well as the marketing industry. The USPS has placed contracts with four major international advertising agencies, which run market by market national television, direct mail, and print advertising throughout the U.S. The majority of these ads are response driven and generate customer responses via mail and telephone that are answered by an outsourced telemarketing supplier. The responses are coded by ad and destination interest and entered into a system for mailing by a fulfillment house. The database marketing supplier will collect this and additional data from ongoing direct marketing programs and use it to enhance customer and prospect data aggregated from other USPS sources and platforms. Campaigns offer either a product-specific, free information or starter kit and/or pre-paid materials. Pre-paid materials include, but are not limited to, Stamps, Priority Mail Monthly Service, and pre-paid flat rate envelopes for domestic expedited services. Free supplies include, but are not limited to, international and domestic expedited services flat-rate envelopes and labels. The volume of new customer data is added/updated at a varying rate, depending on promotional activity, and currently averages up to 35M monthly. Fulfillment package quantities totaled 455M from 4/97 to 4/98, and are expected to grow 20% yearly. Kit building requirements totaled 625M during the same period. REQUIREMENTS: 1. TELEMARKETING/ RESPONSE PROCESSING. The telemarketing supplier will be authorized to process direct marketing efforts through telemarketing services and provide reporting and data for campaign/ product analysis. All calls come into the 1-800-THE-USPS number and a variety of other toll free numbers owned by USPS. In addition, customer requests may be through FAX, Internet, World Wide Web, business reply envelopes or self-mailers. The campaigns also generate a significant amount of written response, which come in via white paper or business reply mail. The USPS also runs extensive tactical advertising programs. These programs work in conjunction with regional marketing efforts and require advanced response handling techniques such as telephone scripted branching and custom fulfillment kit building by product or service. These programs are extremely dynamic and require high levels of account management expertise, and a comprehensive understanding of all components of advertising, direct marketing, distribution, USPS products and promotions, partnerships, and interactive response marketing. The supplier will be required to take incoming requests for information and product orders; promote and cross-sell products using integrated database technology (IDT); track and recognize customer loyalty and buying trends using IDT; use on-line, real time competitive information to enhance selling capabilities; transmit orders to fulfillment supplier(s) and other suppliers on a timely basis; provide accurate, detailed, and timely frequent reporting; be capable of conducting outbound business-to-business lead generation programs; access inventory information on products and promotional items; provide telemarketing training and internal training on USPS products and services, advertising, and promotions. One or more of the following payment services will be required: credit card (MC/Visa/Amex/Discover) secure environment facility (USPS secured Merchant Number); check and money order secure environment facility; advanced payment against inventory management; and coupon secure environment. Telemarketing services shall be provided 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 2. DATABASE MARKETING. The supplier will be authorized to facilitate the creation, execution and tracking of the Postal Service's direct marketing programs and customer services. The system database will be initialized by assembling relevant customer and prospect information frommultiple sources within USPS. This data will include transactional information regarding product orders and revenue as well as postal account ledger entries on a period/ fiscal year basis. In addition, the aggregated data will be enhanced and updated with business information overlays and a number of prospect lists. The database will be used to collect additional data from ongoing direct marketing programs. Marketing programs are executed by product management and sales groups at USPS Corporate Headquarters in Washington, DC, as well as by field marketing offices and the telemarketing supplier. User query, reporting, and analysis tools are required features of the database. Desktop access to the data will be provided by a graphical user interface (GUI) front-end system. The system will provide on-line analytical processing (OLAP) abilities to support report generation, ad hoc queries, standard information requests, and list generation (including selection, coding and recording). The precision and depth of information will evolve into a decision support system (DSS) for effectively planning and executing direct marketing programs and managing the customer. The database will be used for development and utilization of predictive response models, decision support, campaign management and customer care. The primary goals of Database Marketing are to: understand the customer base, individually and by grouping; support the creation, tracking and evaluation of the Postal Service's marketing programs; identify the most profitable segments of customers and prospects and grow or acquire them; maximize the return on each marketing dollar spent through the use of profiling and scoring techniques; manage the customer relationship throughout the customer's life cycle, including building one-to-one relationships; ultimately lift the acquisition and retention rates to produce a corresponding increase in revenue; and provide ongoing analysis and segmentation based on customer behavior. 3. FULFILLMENT. The supplier will be authorized to process fulfillment requests generated from direct marketing efforts. The supplier must have a sophisticated distribution facility operation with an appropriate degree of mechanization. Product/ kit fulfillment will be an ongoing process fueled by advertising and promotion via print and broadcast media and by direct mail programs. Competencies needed to meet critical requirements are: maintain and monitor inventory levels, assemble and prepare kits for shipment; ship kits in an accurate and timely manner; maintain and post all transaction history to the customer record; generate communications and/ or packing slip notifications; and provide customer service for issues related to fulfillment processing. The several aspects of the fulfillment process include dynamic production of personalized letters, packaging and shipment, printing, inventory management system, warehousing, and on-line frequent reporting. Fulfillment package configurations cross four major product lines: Correspondence and Transactions(Banking and Retail); Ad Mail; Package Services; and Global. Each product has multiple package kit configurations which may be pre-assembled or require custom (pick-and-pack) fulfillment. Custom kits include various complex combinations of package components (e.g., business reply cards, envelopes, brochures, books, posters, surveys, articles, sell sheets, synopsis sheets, etc.). HOW TO RESPOND: In order to compete for one or more contracts, interested parties MUST first demonstrate that they are qualified to perform the work in at least one of the three service support areas. Respondents are to provide, BY TWO O'CLOCK EASTERN TIME ON AUGUST 3, 1998, for each service area for which they are seeking to prequalify, a SEPARATE Capabilities Statement that shall detail: 1. TELEMARKETING/ RESPONSE PROCESSING. (1) your switch and the technology that you support (i.e., ANI, DNIS, IVR, etc.); (2) your software support capabilities, including your ability to incorporate multiple scripts and multiple campaigns into a specific operational database system; (3) your philosophy behind hiring, training, motivating and retaining your employees; (4) your process flow (describe or illustrate) for two telemarketing programs you currently support; (5) your minimum and maximum requirements in telemarketing; and (6) specific references (including project identifier and description, period of performance, dollar amount, client name and telephone number) for pervious related work that your firm is currently performing or has completed within the last two years. 2. DATABASE MARKETING. (1) your ability to develop and maintain a consumer and business-to-business database system; (2) your methodology and experience in householding this type of unique environment; (3) your process flow (describe or illustrate) for two database clients you currently support; (4) tools you are certified on to support on-line multi-dimensional ad-hoc queries (OLAP), standard report formats, and passive and active data mining tools, and realistic turnaround timesfor generating each of those outputs; (5) your technical approach and capability for assuring real time or near real time database updates; (6) your technical approach and capability for handling multi-site data feeds and user access; (7) the communication protocols you can support; (8) your change/ enhancement management process for system modifications and new capabilities; and (9) same as item (6) for Telemarketing/Response Processing capabilities. 3. FULFILLMENT. (1) your operational environment and physical facilities; (2) your core and ancillary services; (3) your software support capabilities, including access available to clients to order and inventory data, and your ability to produce variable text and personalized printed letters within a fulfillment pick-and-pack environment; (4) your working environment supporting a typical pick-and-pack client and the quality assurance steps taken to produce "zero defect" shipments; (5) your philosophy behind hiring, training, motivating and retaining your employees; (6) your minimum and maximum requirements in fulfillment; and (7) same as item (6) for Telemarketing/Response Processing capabilities. The Capabilities Statement should not exceed FIVE PAGES IN LENGTH (excluding the cover letter). The cover letter must be prepared on your firm's letterhead, must not exceed one (1) typed page, and must specifically identify (a) the USPS project title and one of the three service areas; (b) the full legal name and address of your firm; (c) the date of submission; and (d) the name, title, telephone number, FAX number, and Internet e-mail address of your firm's principal point of contact. The cover letter should also indicate whether you currently have the capability to read Adobe Acrobat (i.e., PDF) files. The Capabilities Statement must be typed on 8 " x 11" (letter size) paper, with a font no smaller than courier 10 pitch or equivalent, 1" margins all around. Printing on both sides of the paper will count as two pages. Pages should be numbered. Respondents shall submit their Capabilities Statement in original and four (4) copies to Craig Partridge, Contracting Officer at Headquarters Services Purchasing, United States Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-6237. EVALUATION: Your Capabilities Statement will be evaluated based on (1) your ability to take on USPS as a client (full technical solution provided; established partnerships, range of services offered); (2) your history of successful completion of similar projects; and your history of delivering high quality services, on schedule and within budget; (3) technological flexibility, strength and leadership; and (4) currency, quality and depth of staffing, facilities and logistics. The USPS evaluation team(s) will review all responses and assign an overall "pass/fail" score. An overall passing score will indicate that your firm is qualified to compete for contract award for the particular service area evaluated. Your firm may be prequalified to compete for contract award in one or more areas. The contracting officer, as business leader of the purchase team, will make all final decisions concerning a respondent's qualifications. All qualified suppliers may not be placed on the prequalified list if the purchase team determines (a) that a smaller group will provide adequate competition or (b) that some respondents are considerably more qualified than others, thereby precluding contract opportunities for the less qualified. The USPS decision to prequalify suppliers is a business decision of the contracting officer. Prequalification does not constitute contract award. It is the intent of the USPS to award any resulting contract(s) using the prequalified list of suppliers. Upon completion of the prequalification process, all respondents will be notified of the USPS' decision. SELECTION: Following review of all Capabilities Statements, a list of those deemed most qualified to perform the work in each of the three service areas will be established and those firms will be notified and provided additional proposal instructions and contract requirements. USPS intends to award one or more performance based commercial contracts using PS Form 8203, ORDER/ SOLICITATION/ OFFER/ AWARD. The period of performance of any resulting contract(s) will be two (2) years with three (3) one-year options. Successful contractors will be entitled to full payment for services that fall within the maximum allowable deviation from standard technical performance. Standards are based on commercial and industry practice. Performance below the acceptable limit will affect the price computation system, and may result in a payment of less than 100 percent of the maximum payment for services. The solicitation will fully describe the price computation system. The resulting contract will also include Award Fee provisions for performance that exceeds the technical performance standards as well as for subjective rating areas, such as contract management, quality assurance, efficiency and continuing process improvement, and cost control. The principal purposes of the payment computation system and Award Fee provisions are to motivate the contractor(s) to make the best possible use of company resources and to improve performance. Posted 07/23/98 (W-SN227622). (0204)

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