Records Management and Storage Services

This invitation to qualify number 1000353414A cancels and supersedes invitation to qualify number 1000353414 published on December 23, 2020 and closed on February 10, 2021.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has a requirement for records management and storage services associated with the secure off-site storage and management of information records in paper-based, microform, and electronic storage media forms, on an as-and-when requested basis.

The CRA requires a Managed Services Provider (MSP) to house its existing paper-based records inventory of approximately 550,000 cartons and to provide associated records management services.

To fully support the CRA’s business requirements, the following Records Management and Storage Service (RMASS) business capabilities are required: inventory management, storage, accession, retrieval, refile, delocation, destruction and data exchange.

This Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) is not a solicitation of bids or tenders; a contract will not result from this ITQ. The CRA reserves the right to cancel any of the preliminary requirements included as part of the Project at any time during the ITQ phase or any other phase of the procurement process. Given that the ITQ process may be partially or completely cancelled by Canada, it may not result in any of the subsequent procurement processes described in this solicitation. Suppliers who submit a response can choose not to bid on any subsequent solicitation.

The requirements identified in the ITQ are the CRA’s current expectation and vision of the way the CRA’s records management and storage services will be met. However, as indicated in the ITQ, the CRA will seek feedback from the Qualified Respondents to clarify and refine the Statement of Work further during the Review and Refine Requirements phase, as necessary.

The CRA is considering a five year contract period, plus up to five one-year optional periods.

A multi-phase collaborative procurement approach called Collaborative Procurement Solution (CPS) will be used for the CRA’s RMASS procurement process. This approach focuses on the engagement with industry in order to help define the requirements and the procurement approach and allow the CRA to perform due diligence with respect to the requirements with Qualified Respondents before issuing a bid solicitation.

Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) Phase (Current Phase):
The ITQ will be used to qualify Respondents who have the required experience in records management and storage services.

The responses received under this ITQ will be evaluated against mandatory evaluation criteria as detailed in Part 6 – Evaluation Procedures and Basis for Qualification.

Respondents who meet all the mandatory criteria will be notified in writing by the Contracting Authority and will be considered “Qualified Respondents” and proceed to the Review and Refine Requirements phase described below.

Review and Refine Requirements (RRR) Phase:
The CRA will start the RRR phase by providing all Qualified Respondents with the detailed process that will be followed for the RRR phase.

The CRA has provided a preliminary Statement of Work (SOW), attached herein as Annex B. The CRA will seek feedback from the Qualified Respondents to clarify and refine the SOW further. The CRA may also seek feedback concerning other elements, such as recommendations on a pricing structure and bid evaluation criteria, for use in any potential RFP. These interactions could include:

a) one-on-one discussions;

b) presentation sessions; and

c) written questions and answers.

The one-on-one discussions and presentation sessions may be done remotely through the use of technology. Specific tool(s) that may be used for this purpose will be determined prior to the start of the RRR phase.

The CRA encourages Qualified Respondents to offer service options for additional goods and services that are not defined herein during the RRR phase. Any such offerings will be reviewed with the Qualified Respondents during RRR phase.

Request for Proposal (RFP) and Contract Award Phase:
As part of the RFP process, the CRA intends to conduct a proof of proposal verification of the top-ranked Bidder’s proposal.

After completion of the RFP phase, including a successful proof of proposal verification, the top-ranked Bidder will be recommended for contract award. A detailed selection methodology will be provided in the RFP document.