DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Small Business Opportunity (SBO) Announcement June 2, 2021: SBO issued for pre-release June 23, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals July 21, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, July 21, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by visiting https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and clicking “DSIP Listserv” located under Quick Links. Help Desk: If you have questions about proposal submission using DSIP, please contact the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at
[email protected]. The Help Desk is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Topic Q&A : From June 2, 2021 to June 22, 2021, this SBO is issued for Pre-Release with the names of the topic authors. During the pre-release period, proposing firms have an opportunity to contact topic authors through https://calendly.com/aal_leep/30min to schedule a time to ask technical questions about specific BAA topics. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirement. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through DSIP Topic Q&A module. Once the Army begins accepting proposals on June 23, 2021 , no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the pre-release period. However, proposers may submit written questions through the DSIP Topic Q&A module at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. The DSIP Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on June 10, 2021 and closes to new questions on July 7 2021 at 12:00PM ET . Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. This Small Business Opportunity (SBO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. Multiple venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity funds who own a majority part of a company, are not eligible to apply under this BAA. Companies that are more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), and have VCOCs, hedge fund, or private equity funds who whole a minority stake in the business are eligible to apply under this BAA. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this SBO Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $200,000. This includes a 3-month base period not to exceed $150,000 and a 2-month option period not to exceed $50,000. At the completion of their Phase I period of performance, companies can submit a phase II proposal for the cost of up to $1,000,000 for a 12-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this SBO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 10 pages in length, and Phase II proposals shall not exceed 15 pages in length for the technical volume. Proposers can submit an optional slide deck of 10 slides in Volume 5: Supporting Documents. The slide deck can contain information on the technical approach, the team, commercialization plans, or relevant technology/research the proposers have developed, and it can contain additional/complementary information to the technical volume. If a proposer elects to submit a slide deck, its information will be used in the evaluation process. Please refer to Appendix A and Appendix B of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on proposal preparation. More detailed instructions for what information to include in your Phase I proposal and a sample Slide Deck template are attached to this SBO. Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) will not be offered under this SBO c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this SBO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume inclusive of supporting documentation, Company Commercialization Report (CCR), optional slide deck in Supporting Information, and Fraud, Waste and Abuse documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than July 21, 2021 at 12:00pm ET . A214-038 Logistics Enterprise Enhancement Platform (LEEP) OBJECTIVE: Develop a software solution that provides an updated UI/UX for the tactical ERP, integrates the ERP data set to offer in depth data analytics, provides AI/ML analysis capabilities, and/or delivers Mission Based Forecasting (MBF) for Commanders to support operational planning requirements. DESCRIPTION: The current tactical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Global Combat Support System –Army (GCSS-A), utilizes an ECC SAP foundational core that lacks the user interface and user experience necessary to improve accuracy and efficiency of data entry. Additionally, the system does not possess the AI/ML capabilities to provide robust analytics and COA recommendations. In order to remain competitive, Commanders need an enhanced ERP that is intuitive and responsive enough to maintain logistics operations and provide the actionable data needed to make timely decisions in a resource constrained environment. The Army has begun an effort to migrate datasets into a robust, converged enterprise business solution of the future. This effort will improve business processes and collapse our ERPs into a single solution that better supports the Army. However, we currently need a tool to bridge the gap between our existing and future enterprise solutions. This tool will leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning that will be extensible into an ERP solution. Additionally, this capability will reduce the number of steps for end-to-end business processes, and incorporate an intuitive user experience/user interface that improves data entry efficiency and accuracy. Capabilities of this solution could include (but are not limited to): User experience that is intuitive for Soldiers and reduces the amount of time per task Automate management functions related to fleet management, including both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance requirements; manage maintenance plans, work-flow, skills identification, automated workload balance, data capture for predictive analysis Optimize inventory management to support current and future operations Cross-level inventory at the lowest levels Capacity planning and performance metrics that can be used to optimize worker assignment to task Provide Mission Based Forecasting (MBF) based on a set mission and element PHASE I: Design proof of concept solution that updates and improves the tactical ERP UI/UX and integrates ERP data to provide analytics and predictions. Solutions will be evaluated based on a holistic view of factors including: the ability to perform automated tasks with accuracy that can be validated by the user without the input requirement, user interface/user experience, create reliable and accurate data for mission based forecasting and support Commanders decisions on the battlefield, and show the link between equipment readiness and supply performance. The final deliverable will be a concept design presentation, proof of technology demonstration, and plans for follow-on Phase 2 work. PHASE II: Design a prototype system that will perform all required functions for fleet maintenance and supply chain management. Solution should contain all capabilities listed above, and will be evaluated on a holistic basis including quality at which the system captures operational relevant characteristics, the ability to input more accurate data, and clean historical data with extreme accuracy while maintaining auditability controls. Optional Soldier touchpoints will be provided free of charge. Proposers that plan to participate in the Soldier touchpoints (if awarded a Phase II) are encouraged to include travel costs for three touchpoints, within the continental US, of 1-2 days each for in-person event. In-person events may be substituted for virtual events depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions. Participating companies must travel and participate out of company internal operating budgets. Soldier touch-point details will be provided to awardee(s) under this topic at Phase II award. PHASE III: Develop a manufacturing-ready (production system ready) product design. The system should provide the solution for predictive analysis, usability and functionality for Soldiers, and precision mission-based forecasting. Potential commercial applications of the technology exist within the automotive and supply chain management, gaming and technology, internet of things (IoT), and manufacturing industries where predictive insights are needed. Phase III deliverables include system-level integration technical data package, installation documentation, and system-level prototype for demonstration and government-sponsored testing WEBINAR DATES: Wednesday, June 16th, 2021 02:00 pm CT Please register for webinars at: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/army-applications-laboratory-aal-20258579285 Links to video recordings of the webinars will be posted in the DSIP portal in the days following each. KEYWORDS: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Intelligent Entities, Intelligent tutoring, Adaptive, STE, Synthetic Training Environment, Scenario based, Natural Language Processing. REFERENCES “AI” , Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence, 17 May 2021. “How Data Analytics Will Improve Logistics Planning”, www.army.mil, https://www.army.mil/article/223842/how_data_analytics_will_improve_logistics_planning “User Interface Design”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_interface_design, 11 May 2021 “EBS Convergence – Participate in the Transformation.” army.mil, https://www.army.mil/article/243447/ebs_convergence_participate_in_the_transformation “US Army’s signature logistics system completes full-system deployment.” DefenseNews, https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/06/25/us-armys-signature-logistics-system-completes-full-system-deployment/. “Follow the LMP road: Modernizing US Army logistics.” DefenseNews, https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/06/25/follow-the-lmp-road-modernizing-us-army-logistics/. Author Information Technical POC Name: Romulo P. Santos Jr. Second Technical POC : Gregory Julock https://calendly.com/aal_leep/30min