AI-Powered Solutions for Procurement Processes and Document Development

Introduction

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) is part of the larger Naval Sea Systems Command. The NSWC PHD mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation, and in-service engineering and logistics support to the U.S. Navy, other military services, and government agencies. Its focus areas include combat systems, unmanned systems, surface ship systems, underway replenishment systems, and information systems.

The response to this Request for Information may assist NSWC PHD in determining future opportunities at an unspecified time. This notice serves to identify AI-powered solutions that can streamline the creation of procurement documents, including templates and guides, to improve efficiency and compliance. The goal is to evaluate AI technologies that can support the NSWC PHD, and other DoD entities in improving procurement practices.

Problem Description

The traditional path to procurement package development heavily relies on manual processes, resulting in inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and limited access to expert guidance. Developing a wide range of procurement documents, such as contracts, requests for proposals (RFPs), sources sought notices, modifications/amendments, and pre-award documents, demands significant time and resources, often resulting in delays and errors. Furthermore, the lack of standardized templates and centralized guidance compounds these challenges, hindering the organization from optimizing their procurement processes effectively. To address these challenges and propel procurement practices into the future, there exists a pressing need for the development of AI-powered solutions tailored to creating procurement documents encompassing templates and guides. These innovative solutions hold the potential to revolutionize procurement practices, driving efficiency, compliance, and strategic decision-making across various industries.

Desired Solution

Operational Capabilities

The goal is to leverage the capabilities of cutting-edge AI technologies, including natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, to revolutionize the creation of pre-award and post-award documents by comprehensively understanding and interpreting human language. The aim is for AI-powered tools to thoroughly analyze policies, regulations, and other relevant materials to extract text, identify relevant clauses, and generate draft documents tailored to specific needs while identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities. This solution shall provide a comprehensive approach, combining customizable templates with intelligent guidance to understand user requirements and automatically draft documents based on predefined templates, relevant data inputs, and compliance checks. Users shall have access to advanced customization options, allowing them to tailor procurement documents seamlessly to their specific needs. The system shall leverage AI algorithms to adapt templates based on user inputs, preferences, and contextual factors, ensuring flexibility and alignment with organizational policies and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, through automated checks and alerts, the system shall proactively flag inconsistencies and provide actionable insights to mitigate compliance issues.

Expected Outcome

Develop AI-powered collaboration platforms to facilitate seamless communication and cooperation among procurement stakeholders. These platforms shall feature real-time document sharing, version control, and feedback collection functionalities, all aimed at streamlining the document review and approval processes. Moreover, the AI systems shall be designed to learn from past procurement experiences, providing feedback to continually improve document quality and efficiency. These systems shall analyze user interactions and outcomes, refining document templates and providing recommendations and guidance to better meet organizational needs over time. Through the utilization of AI-powered tools, NSWC PHD aims to uncover valuable insights into procurement performance, industry dynamics, and potential cost-saving avenues.

Develop a comprehensive collection of pre-designed procurement templates, covering various contract types, terms, and clauses. These templates shall undergo regular curation and updates to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. Additionally, provide users with access to a centralized repository containing legal resources, industry insights, and best practices relevant to procurement processes. This repository will serve as a valuable resource for users seeking to enhance their knowledge of procurement law, negotiation strategies, and principles of effective contract management.

Areas of Impact

AI-powered procurement solution shall establish comprehensive frameworks and standards ensuring the smooth integration and secure management of data across various systems and interfaces. This includes developing enterprise architectures, defining data models, formats, and communication protocols, as well as identifying relevant data sources and interfaces. Furthermore, it shall encompass the formulation and enforcement of data governance policies, guaranteeing data quality, integrity, privacy, and security throughout its lifecycle. Implementation of robust data integration pipelines and application programming interface (API) management solutions is also required, as it is crucial to facilitate seamless data flow and govern interface usage. Additionally, the AI-powered procurement solution shall place emphasis on deploying stringent data privacy and security measures, incorporating encryption, authentication mechanisms, and compliance with regulatory standards. Continuous monitoring mechanisms are to be established to track usage, performance, and compliance. These mechanisms shall be supported by regular reviews and updates to ensure ongoing optimization and alignment with evolving business needs and regulatory requirements.

Project Objectives

The AI-powered solution shall be designed to seamlessly adapt to evolving demands, regulatory changes, and technological advancements, ensuring long-term relevance and sustainability in procurement operations. Importantly, all solutions developed must be compatible and functional within the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) and Flank Speed environment. This ensures seamless integration with existing infrastructure and adherence to the specific operational requirements of NMCI and Flank Speed.

AI-Driven Document Generation

The solution shall utilize cutting-edge AI technologies, including Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, to automate the creation of pre-award and post-award procurement documents. It should be capable of analyzing and interpreting human language, extracting relevant clauses from policies, regulations, and other materials to generate tailored draft documents.

3.1 Customizable Templates

The system shall provide customizable templates for various procurement documents, with intelligent guidance to understand user inputs and preferences. It shall automatically draft documents based on predefined templates, relevant data inputs, and compliance checks, ensuring that documents are customized to meet specific procurement needs while adhering to organizational policies and regulatory requirements.

3.2 Compliance and Risk Mitigation

The solution shall incorporate automated checks and alerts to flag any inconsistencies in documents, identify potential compliance issues, and provide actionable insights to mitigate risks. The AI algorithms shall analyze text and context to proactively suggest necessary changes or improvements.

3.3 Collaboration and Communication

The platform shall include AI-powered collaboration features to facilitate seamless communication among procurement stakeholders. This includes real-time document sharing, version control, and feedback collection functionalities aimed at streamlining the document review and approval process.

3.4 AI-Driven Learning

The system shall be designed to learn from past procurement experiences, continuously improving document quality and efficiency. It shall analyze user interactions and outcomes, providing feedback, refining templates, and offering recommendations to better meet the needs of the organization over time.

3.5 Template Management and Repository

The solution shall include a wide range of pre-designed procurement templates, covering various contract types, terms, and clauses. These templates shall be regularly curated and updated to ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements and industry standards.

3.6 Centralized Repository

The system shall provide users access to a centralized repository of legal resources, industry insights, and best practices relevant to procurement processes. This will enhance the user's understanding of procurement law, negotiation strategies, and effective contract management principles.

3.7 Integration

The AI-powered solution shall support seamless integration with existing systems and interfaces, such as Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (N-ERP) and contract management systems, such as electronic Procurement Systems (ePS), Standard Procurement System (SPS), SeaPort Next Generation (SeaPort-NxG). The solution shall adhere to established data models, formats, and communication protocols for smooth data exchange.

3.8 Governance and Security

The solution shall implement robust data governance policies, ensuring data quality, integrity, privacy, and security throughout its lifecycle. It shall include encryption, authentication mechanisms, and compliance with applicable data privacy regulations.

3.9 Application Programming Interface (API)

The system shall feature data integration pipelines and API management solutions to facilitate the smooth flow of data across various platforms while ensuring secure and compliant usage of interfaces.

3.10 Monitoring

Continuous monitoring mechanisms shall be implemented to track data usage, performance, and compliance. Regular reviews and updates will be conducted to ensure ongoing optimization and alignment with evolving business needs and regulatory requirements.

3.11 Scalability and Adaptability

The AI-powered solution shall be flexible and scalable, designed to adapt to changing organizational demands, evolving regulatory changes, and technological advancements. This ensures long-term relevance and sustainability in procurement operations.

3.12 Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) and Flank Speed Compatibility

The solution must be fully compatible with the NMCI and Flank Speed environment, ensuring seamless integration with existing infrastructure and adherence to specific operational requirements for these environments.

Submission Instructions

This announcement identifies a multiple-round, competitive assessment process to identify solutions that best solve DoD problems.

Although there are a multitude of great ideas, the Government has limited resources for experimentation and piloting purposes. This process enables the Government to focus on the few ideas and solutions that have technical merit and take action with a pilot project award. As a result, not all solution providers will participate in all rounds or obtain a pilot project agreement with the Government.  

The Government also needs flexibility to learn new concepts and refine processes during new assessment activities. The Government may skip or combine rounds as necessary to collect and assess information as it relates to proposed solutions. Further, the Government may go back to earlier rounds with clarifications and additional requests as necessary to identify successful solutions that will meet intended pilot project objectives. Finally, the Government may initiate steps toward a prototype project award at any round.   

Round 1 - Discovery

If you have a solution that addresses the problem description, we would love to hear about it! Submit a brief discovery paper for assessment. Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) and select subject matter experts may invite those that have the highest potential to solving the problem to Round 2. 

WHAT DO I SUBMIT IN ROUND 1?       

Submit a 3-page Discovery Paper by the deadline answering the following questions and instructions. The discovery paper should be clear yet concise with relevant and convincing arguments to support your solution. There is no required format, but please answer the questions in the order provided.

PROBLEM ALIGNMENT: Provide a description of your solution and how your solution aligned to address the published problem(s)?

VALUE PROPOSITION: Why is your solution the best approach from a technical, business, or operational perspective?

OPERATIONAL IMPACT: How will your solution improve the jobs or lives of DoD personnel who will be impacted by your solution? What is the impact of your solution vs. today's solutions?

END-USER DEMAND: Make your best pitch to the end user/warfighter directly. Why would an end user want to adopt your solution?

Product Questions:

- What is the name of your AI-powered procurement solution?

- What are the key features and functionalities of the procurement solution?

- Are there different versions of your product? If yes, explain the differences between them.

- Who is the manufacturer or developer of your AI-powered solution?

- Are there any partnerships with other organizations?

- What kind of support and maintenance services are available for your product?

- How are software updates, bug fixes, and patches managed?

Round 2 - Video Submissions

This is your chance to pitch your best proof of concept to Government assessors. Participants provide 5-10 minutes presentation and 5-10 minutes to respond to the list of questions provided below. The presentation and responses should be relevant to the information provided in the round 1 discovery paper. The Presenter has complete control over the structure and format of the presentation and responses and is encouraged to focus on the value proposition and the proof of concept that will be provided to the Government. The video submission should be able to be understood by a technical and non-technical audience. Any organizational descriptions and introductory company remarks should be kept to a bare minimum or not at all. It is highly critical that the presenter demonstrate it understands the capability gap, how the proof of concept will solve the problem, and how it can be deployed to DoD networks in a secure fashion. If invited to this phase, additional logistical information may be provided separate from this Call to Industry. Additionally, provide rough order magnitude (ROM) of costs to complete project.

Some questions for consideration when preparing your video submission:

Technical Questions:

1. How does the AI system use NLP and machine learning algorithms to interpret and generate procurement documents, and how adaptable are the AI-driven templates for different procurement types (e.g., solicitations, contracts, terms, clauses)?

2. To what extent can the AI adapt to organizational-specific requirements and regulatory guidelines based on user feedback and input, and what level of user input is needed to train the system to understand organizational language and requirements?

3. How does the AI system identify relevant clauses, extract text, and ensure that generated draft documents comply with current policies and regulations? Additionally, what compliance frameworks and regulatory standards (e.g., FAR, DFARS) does the AI adhere to, and how does the system flag inconsistencies or potential compliance issues in draft documents?

4. How is sensitive procurement data managed, and what data security protocols, including encryption and authentication mechanisms, are in place to ensure confidentiality and integrity during storage and transmission? Additionally, how does the system ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and seamlessly integrate with existing data governance frameworks to maintain data accuracy, integrity, and security throughout its lifecycle?

5. Can your solution integrate with existing procurement and enterprise management tools currently in use by the organization (e.g., N-ERP, ePS, SPS, SeaPort-NxG)?

6. Is your solution fully compatible with the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) and Flank Speed environments?

7. Can your solution handle real-time data exchange through APIs or other integration mechanisms, and what steps will be taken to ensure smooth integration with existing infrastructure while minimizing disruption to current operations?

8. How does your solution adapt to future technological advancements and changing regulatory requirements?

9. How scalable is your solution in handling increasing volumes of procurement documents and data, and can it be easily adapted to evolving procurement regulations, technological advancements, and changing business needs?

10. How does your solution ensure its long-term sustainability and relevance as procurement processes and technology continue to evolve?

Unique Features of Your Solution:

1. Please provide a list of the U.S. Federal Government agencies using your solution, including a point of contact name, email address, and phone number.

2. What features and functionalities within your AI-powered procurement solution set it apart from other AI-powered tools on the market?

Answers to the above questions should be detailed enough to determine whether an AI-powered procurement solution exists, but not necessarily comprehensive. All interested vendors are encouraged to register on the Tradewind portal and submit a round 1 response to the Solutions Marketplace at tradewindai.com.

Round 3 - Project Award

Invited participants will be provided a request for prototype proposal and will work with the government on the projected solution and costs. The Government reserves the right to make one, some, or no pilot project awards based on the results of any Round. Successfully negotiated awards are intended to be Other Transaction Agreements under 10 USC 4022. An award under 10 USC 4022 may result in a subsequent award of a follow-on production agreement without additional competition based on successful prototype completion. 

Notices

Feedback

The Government is committed to transparency and providing timely feedback to help you improve your offerings. If you are not chosen for a subsequent round(s), the Government will make its best efforts to notify you in writing as soon as practical.

If you are invited to any round, subsequent round(s), or a return to earlier round(s), the Government will notify you via email with details and instructions on what information we are looking to assess. The Government is not able to provide instructions in advance due to the individual variance between problem sets and unique circumstances that may impact a pilot project.

Assessors

Government subject matter expert (SME) assessors will be used any as the assessment activity. Such assessors will be operating at the direction of the Government Agreements Officer and through signed non-disclosure agreements (NDA). The Government understands that information provided in response to this announcement is presented in confidence and it agrees to protect such information from unauthorized disclosure to extent required by law. Your participation in any round of assessment under this Open Call indicates concurrence with the use of Government SME assessors.