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BACKGROUND

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program of the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a nationwide network of not-for-profit MEP Centers (The MEP National Network (MEPNN) with locations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, whose purpose is to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the help they need to succeed in today’s competitive world. Each Center works directly with area manufacturers to provide expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs. MEP has an integrated enterprise information system known as MEP’s Enterprise Information System (MEIS). MEIS is a customized Microsoft ASP.Net application for managing key business functions of the MEP Program. Included within the MEIS Framework are integrations with various internal and external systems including Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, and Dun & Bradstreet Direct+. MEP needs to maintain current operations as well as explore further enhancements to the MEIS Framework by integrating resources and technologies that will increase the accuracy, availability, scope and sophistication of data and information about manufacturing and manufacturers.

Currently, NIST MEP uses the unique DUNS identifier to provide the NIST MEP National Network with comprehensive business data about manufacturers and the manufacturing industry. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program requires a third-party independent resource to provide complete and accurate information about the approximately 333M business establishments worldwide. While NIST MEP is primarily focused on manufacturers and the manufacturing ecosystem in the United States and Puerto Rico there is also the need to access information about organizations outside of the United States. Vendor establishment data must be sourced from a variety of different entities that have been vetted including the company directly and third-party resources. The information must be compiled using different mechanisms (direct reporting, third-party reporting, automated/artificial intelligence, web scraping), verified/validated and distributed to NIST MEP via direct login/license to access database(s) AND automated queries using an application programming interface (API). The requirement includes client verification software, search/lookup capabilities, company profile data and custom reports (about 175) for an individual company or establishment. Up to 1.5M downloads for market research will be required with continuous updating as available.

Major data categories include:

• Company information (name, address including county, phone, website, size by employee count and revenue, diversity, ownership, synopsis)


• Market Segment


• Lines of Business


• Competitors and Competitive Landscape


• Unique IDs for data analytics (DUNS, Tax ID, etc.)


• Industry Information to include all focuses of the business (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)/North American Industry Classification System (NAICS))


• Global Positioning Data (latitude, longitude)


• State, County and Rural/Metro area codes (Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC))


• Financial (Sales, Risk Assessment (credit, financial, long-term viability))


• Corporate Hierarchy (connections to other entities by identification number)


• Key positions at the company including phone and email

This requirement is assigned a NAICS Code of 519290 Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORRMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact specialist listed at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).

• Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why. Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.

• For NAICS code: 519290

Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.

If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.

• If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the services described in Background section.

• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Interested parties are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by August 31, 2023, at 11:00am. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Send to Robert Singman, at Robert.singman@nist.gov. Direct all questions to this e-mail.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future.

This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.

Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.

No award will be made as a result of this notice.

The NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.

The NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request.

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