Inventory Management System

Trade Agreement: NONE Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements:

Xu, Hong Telephone No. - (819) 956-1440 Fax No. - (819) 973-3703 Email: hong.xu@pwgsc.gc.ca

Request for Information regarding an Inventory Management System for Statistics Canada

RFI Overview

Statistics Canada's Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is seeking feedback from the software community, with respect to a bilingual (French/English) commercial off the shelf (COTS) Inventory Management System (IMS) solution. This system will improve the management and quality of information received from CHMS logistics operations. It will provide management with more accurate information when making decisions about procurement trends, decision making, strategic planning and asset retention.

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is issuing this RFI on behalf of the Statistics Canada, as a means of gathering information to assist in accomplishing the following specific purposes:

To initiate an early exchange of information with the vendor community To refine the survey requirements To seek comments on what industry proposes as a realistic timeline To identify possible risks and risk mitigation strategies To identify key information required by vendors To understand inventory management technology directions/evolutions To gauge industry's level of interest in supplying an inventory management solution

Background

Statistics Canada undertakes a multitude of operations across Canada, requiring a large array of assets to be deployed in various locations across the nation. These operations consume inventories of goods which need to be restocked on demand. One of these operations is the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) which collects health information about Canadians nationwide. The CHMS has several inventory locations at its head office in Ottawa, Ontario, and at two mobile clinics that visit cities across Canada. Inventories at all locations must be monitored so that supplies are available to staff as needed. Often supplies and assets are ordered from vendors, delivered to the head office (HO), and then shipped out to the sites at key intervals. Occasionally supplies and assets will be transferred from site to site or from site to head office. All transactions must be documented.

Currently, Statistics Canada relies on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to manage stock levels, track inventory movements and expiry dates where applicable. This system is broken into sheets which track current inventory levels at sites and current orders of incoming stock. Other spreadsheets track certain assets which need to be shipped for maintenance and service. These spreadsheets offer a limited scope of the actual inventory picture and demand a large amount of manual input, which can result in input errors leading to further degradation of the inventory information. A centralized system would minimize these effects. For these reasons Statistics Canada's CHMS is seeking an inventory management software package to ensure accurate and smooth flow of its various assets.

Nature of Request for Information This is not a bid solicitation. This RFI will not result in the award of any contract. As a result, potential suppliers of any goods or services described in this RFI should not reserve stock or facilities, nor allocate resources, as a result of any information contained in this RFI. Nor will this RFI result in the creation of any source list. Therefore, whether or not any potential supplier responds to this RFI will not preclude that supplier from participating in any future procurement. Also, the procurement of any of the goods and services described in this RFI will not necessarily follow this RFI. This RFI is simply intended to solicit feedback from industry with respect to the matters described in this RFI. Note to Respondents Respondents must refer to the RFI documents for the complete requirement. Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.