RFP-2022-003-DOP

This call for tenders, which relates to phase I of a two-phase project, concerns the provision of specialized services with a view to assisting the UPU in researching and determining e-commerce market trends and the percentages of goods and documents carried within the parcel post, EMS and E format mail streams.

The objectives of the study are as follows:

determine the relative volumes of goods and documents flowing in the parcel post, EMS and E-format (to include both small packets and bulky letters) mail streams, as dispatched to several countries, including the United States, and share the aggregated results more widely;
critically assess the current operational practices of postal operators in processing postal items in the parcel post, EMS and E-format mail streams;
establish existing operational challenges facing postal operators in processing postal items in the aforementioned mail streams with reference to UPU standards and regulatory requirements for EAD, ITMATT, PRESDES, EMSEVT version 3, and the application of CN22/CN23 and the S10 barcode;
produce statistically valid results that can be used to adjust the number of items used in calculations of EAD performance (total number of items accompanied by EAD over the total number of items received), so that items containing documents and not goods do not factor in the numerator or denominator of the fraction used to calculate the percentage of items in a particular flow that achieve compliance with EAD requirements;
make recommendations (strategic, commercial, operational, IT, and regulatory) as to whether there are easy, low cost solutions for identifying items containing documents in mixed flows, for the improvement of the operational efficiency and processing of parcel post, EMS and E-format items.

The deadline for the submission of tenders is 4 May 2022 at 16.00 CEST.

1. Will a dataset of the UPU parcel post, EMS and E-format shipping volumes origin and destination 2021 be provided?

At the request of the Vendor, the UPU may only provide the aggregated dataset of the parcel-post, EMS and E-format shipping volumes from the selected origin countries to the United States of America (USA) for specific time periods, based on the agreed sample population. More granular data may only be provided with the express written permission of the country.

2. Will the focus of study be on the inbound parcels/documents to the USA from other postal operators?

Yes, the focus of the study is only on the inbound parcel-post, EMS and E-format items to the USA from other postal operators, which shall be based on the agreed sample population.

3. Will travel to postal facilities expected as part of this bid?

Yes, the Vendor shall be expected to travel to some postal facilities of postal operators included in the sample population of the study. The UPU will organize and coordinate travel, security clearance and access to these facilities by a maximum of two assigned consultants of the Vendor. Since the postal facilities to be visited are not presently known, Bidders are not expected to provide travel and subsistence costs at the time of bidding. However, such travel and subsistence costs shall be subject to the prior written consent of the UPU and shall be reimbursed to the Vendor. Alternatively, the UPU may cover all travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses calculated on the basis of relevant UPU rates and applied solely in case of Services performed by the Vendor or its assigned consultant(s) outside its domicile (such as the UPU premises in Berne, Switzerland or another country outside the Vendor or its assigned consultant’s current country of residence).

4. Will the UPU provide postal operators contact information?

Yes, the UPU shall provide the Vendor with the full contact details of the relevant personnel of the postal operators included in the sample population of the study.

5. Will UPU provide links to current UPU standards and regulatory requirements for parcel post, EMS and e-format including (both small packets and bulky letters)?

Yes, the UPU shall provide links to the current standards and regulations for parcel-post, EMS and E-format items, including EAD requirements. Where such material may not be publicly accessible or available, the UPU will provide the Vendor with electronic copies of these materials.

6. Are you looking for a high-level view, multiple recommendations and/or actual solutions?

This study is operationally oriented, geared towards finding solutions on how to unambiguously identify postal items that contain goods or documents in the parcel-post, EMS, and E-format mail streams so as to differentiate those that are subject to Electronic Advance Data (EAD) requirements for purposes of calculating and computing EAD performance (total number of inbound items accompanied by EAD over the total number of inbound items containing goods). Only items containing goods are subject to EAD requirements, and so are the only ones to be used when calculating EAD performance. Since it is not possible to tell if a postal item is subject to EAD just based on the service prefix, mail subclass identifier (ID) or the dispatch ID, some inbound items containing goods are received without EAD and some inbound items containing documents are included in the computation of EAD performance.

This study seeks to find actual solutions for unambiguously identifying postal items containing goods or documents in the parcel-post, EMS, and E-format mail streams such that only items containing goods are included in the calculation of EAD performance, that is, the percentage of items in a particular flow that achieve compliance with EAD requirements.

7. Are you open to recommendations with a focus on B2B but that also supports B2C?

The question of B2B or B2C is not relevant to this study. The recommendations should focus on ways of unambiguously identifying postal items containing goods or documents in the parcel-post, EMS, and E-format mail streams such that only items containing goods are included in the calculation of EAD performance, that is, the percentage of items in a particular flow that achieve compliance with EAD requirements.

8. Is there expectation that we would address pricing in the competitive marketplace?

No, there are no such expectations. The study focuses more on internal postal operations rather than the external competitive marketplace.

9. Refer to section 2.4 of the call for tender. Kindly provide some examples of the trouble/issues that postal operators have in distinguishing mail subclass identifiers.

Postal operators may not have as much trouble in distinguishing mail on the basis of mail subclass identifiers as when determining whether the mail contains documents or goods. As a result, destination operators end up receiving, for example, small packets (E format) in mail class U and subclass UR with missing CN 22 forms or handwritten content data that is not linked to the barcode, or UN receptacles mixed with letter, registered, and small packets. The Vendor will be expected to establish and provide more examples, from the field, of the troubles/issues that postal operators have, not only in distinguishing mail on the basis of mail subclass identifiers, but more so in determining whether the mail contains documents or goods.

10. Refer to section 2.4 of the call for tender. How are these issues discovered and recorded currently? Does UPU have an indication of the common causes for such issues?

In most cases, such issues are discovered by the destination operators, who then can use various forms, depending on the nature of the case, to record the issue. The causes for such issues are varied, ranging from personnel quality and quantity, automation and technological capabilities, operational infrastructure and resources, etc. The Vendor will be expected to more precisely determine the causes of such issues. Refer to the answer to question 9 above.

11. Refer to section 2.4 of the call for tender. Kindly provide some insights into why some postal operators deviate from the provisions. Is this typically related to systems capabilities or process maturity? How are these discrepancies discovered and recorded currently?

The Vendor will be expected to establish the challenges facing postal operators when assessing their current operational practices. The reasons why some postal operators deviate from the provisions could be varied, as mentioned in the answer to question 10 above.

12. Section 2.4 mentions as dispatched to the United states, while section 2.5 mentions as dispatched to several countries including the United States. Kindly clarify on the exact destination countries that need to be considered

The primary destination focus of the study is the United States of America. As long as the sending countries deviate from the provisions, for one reason or the other, the issues facing the destination countries would be similar. In case any other destination countries would need to be considered in the study, then this would be discussed with the Vendor at the sampling stage.

13. Refer to section 2.5 of the call for tender. Kindly specify on the tentative volume of transactions and associated data that will need to be analysed? Is there an expectation to also analyse historical data?

The tentative volume of transactions and associated data that will need to be analyzed can only be determined once the sample population of the study has been determined, as transaction volumes vary per country. The Vendor is expected to establish a sampling criterion, with the support of the UPU. It is expected that historical data will also be analyzed.

14. Refer to section 2.5 of the call for tender. How many postal operators are expected to be in scope of the engagement? Is there any preference by the UPU that certain geographies/operators must be covered as part of the research?

The number of postal operators to be included in the study should be statistically representative of the entire population of the study. There are no preferences that the study must include or exclude certain regions or operators. Refer to the answer to question 13 above.

15. Refer to section 4.1 of the call for tender. Kindly provide an indication of the expected data sources i.e. primary and secondary data sources, number of such data sources and the format and structure of the data

Data sources are determined by various factors, such as the sample population or case studies selected. The Vendor will determine how to structure the study, and to use various primary data sources such as surveys, interviews, observations, etc., as appropriate. Secondary sources may include previous relevant research studies, reports, UPU datasets and statistics, etc. The data come in various forms, formats and structure, as collected by the Vendor.

16. Refer to section 4.1 of the call for tender. Kindly elaborate on nature of data analysis instruments currently available with UPU and/or postal operators that will need to be leveraged

The Vendor is expected to use its own data collection and analysis tools and instruments. However, the Vendor may request to use UPU’s Survey Monkey platform, in case the Vendor selects to use the survey method as the only or one of the ways to collect primary data.

17. Refer to section 4.1 of the call for tender. Kindly indicate the number of minimum postal facilities expected to be visited/researched and the preferred locations if any?

The number of facilities to visit is a factor of the sample population, and will be established by the Vendor with support of the UPU. Refer to the answer to question 14 above.

18. Refer to section 4.3 of the call for tender. If UPU rejects a specific profile will this be communicated during the RFP phase or post contract signing?

This will be communicated at the contracting stage, and only discussed between the UPU and the winning Bidder (the Vendor).

19. Refer to section 4.4 of the call for tender. Does UPU expect to contact the references provided?

It is at the discretion of the UPU to contact the references provided, especially where there may be a need to cross-check an assertion or a claim made by the Bidder. In case a Bidder has some concerns regarding UPU contacting some references provided, then these concerns should be addressed to the UPU in confidence.

20. Refer to section 4.6 of the call for tender. Kindly indicate the maximum number of operational sites and provide an indication in which countries will these be located.

Refer to the answers to question 17 above.

21. Refer to section 4.7 of the call for tender. Kindly indicate which are the possible "any other locations" that may be expected.

‘Any other locations’ include the field visits to postal operational sites. The Vendor may also be called upon to make a presentation of the research findings in the United States or at a conference or event organized by the UPU in any of its Member States.

22. Refer to section 4.7 of the call for tender. Kindly provide a sample of the timesheet format

The timesheet format will be agreed between the UPU and the Vendor, based on existing UPU templates.

23. Refer to section 4.8 of the call for tender. Kindly elaborate on locations specifically designated by UPU, at which point will these locations be finalised. If feasible request you to provide a list of possible locations from where services may need to be provided

Refer to the answers to question 20 above.

24. How is UPU expecting to agree on the terms and conditions of the contract? Does UPU allow negotiation of contractual provisions? Could you provide any contract templates?

The relevant contract shall be established with the selected Vendor on the basis of standardized service agreement terms usually concluded by the UPU with other entities, as well as the UPU’s General Terms and Conditions concerning contracts for the provision of services (as already referred to in the call for tenders). In principle, such contractual terms (including the General Terms and Conditions) are not negotiable; but certain aspects might, at the UPU’s discretion, be slightly adjusted or derogated from if deemed appropriate by the organization depending on the specific case – Bidders wishing to communicate potential areas where contractual adjustment might be anticipated may indicate so in their bid responses as outlined in section 3 of the call for tender.

25. Does UPU expect a vendor to organize site visits in at least one postal operator in each UPU region, or can interviews be conducted remotely by survey?

The Vendor will be expected to conduct site visits, as outlined in section 4 of the call for tender. Questionnaire surveys and interviews may also be conducted. The Vendor will determine the research methodology, tools and instruments to use, which will include site visits. Refer also to the answers to question 15 and question 14 above.

26. Will UPU cover the additional cost of travel and accommodation to conduct site visits and meetings with UPU representatives?

Refer to the answer to question 3.

27. Who will be responsible for making appointments with postal operators? How does UPU plan to support the organization of site visits and interviews?

Refer to the answer to question 3.

28. How was the project duration determined? Does UPU allow a vendor to propose an alternative schedule?

A number of factors were considered in determine the project duration, including but not limited to (a) the project objectives, (b) the project scope, (c) service requirements and expected deliverables, and (e) historical data / previous research experience.

29. Could the vendor get direct access to internal UPU data, for instance, access to EDI messages containing ITMATT (customs declaration), PREDES (dispatch information), and EMSEVT (tracking information) data records? What would be the conditions to directly access this internal UPU’s big data systems?

Refer to the answer to question 1. The data access conditions and confidential nature of documents and information are defined in the UPU’s General Terms and Conditions of contracts for the provision of services.

30. If there is no direct access to internal UPU’s big data, could the vendor be provided with samples of EDI messages fitting the data model and structure proposed by the vendor for a selection of origin and destination countries and for a selected time period? What would be the conditions to be provided with such a selection of data directly sourced from UPU big data systems?

Refer to the answers to question 1, question 5, question 15 and question 29.

31. Could the vendor access the data collected in previous bilateral flows studies conducted by the UPU? What would be the conditions to access this data?