Data Solution Provider Capabilities to Assess Patron Savings Against a Commercial Retail Market Basket

DeCA, with headquarters at Fort Lee, Virginia, operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military service members and their families, military retirees, disabled veterans, and other authorized patrons. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.DeCA continually seeks opportunities to enhance the benefit and services provided to its patrons, in accordance with the agency’s vision: “To be THE grocery provider of choice for our eligible patrons – delivering a vital benefit exclusively for our military community and their families.”To enhance DeCA’s ability to measure its retail prices against the commercial marketplace across all DeCA commissary locations, DeCA seeks to better understand modern and emerging data science

capabilities and data services that could be used to support this effort.The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) has a statutory responsibility to provide commissary patrons with a baseline savings as compared to commercial grocery prices. Specifically, Congress requires DeCA to maintain the savings offered to patrons prior to the implementation of variable pricing in 2017, “based on a comparison of prices charged by those stores on a regional basis with prices charged by relevant local competitors for a representative market basket of goods.” (10 USC § 2484(i)(2)(B).) The methodology currently being used was developed in 2016.The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information on worldwide capabilities of data service providers based on the most current technology, data availability, and data science with emphasis on three parameters:1. The Representative Market Basket of Goods– What are the capabilities to analyze and compare a market basket that includes, but is not limited to, Dry Grocery-Food, Dry-Grocery-Non-Food, Chilled, Dairy, Frozen, GTIN (UPC/EAN) and Random Weight Produce, and Meat. How could a market basket be defined, based on a variety of parameters such as all purchases / all channels down to a defined set of items in a market basket?2. Time – What capabilities exist to define and utilize time periods such as real-time, daily, weekly, monthly, uniquely defined time parameters?3. Geography – Attachment A contains a list of DeCA locations worldwide. What tools and data science capabilities are available to analyze and compare relevant market baskets ? What are the range of broad (total world) to granular (postal code) possibilities, based on current capabilities and technology?In addition to answering the questions above, all interested vendors should respond to the questions on the attached RFI.This request is for market research and informational planning purposes only. It is not a request for proposals and should not be construed as a commitment or intention to take or decline to take any action on the information provided or received as a result of the request. Participation in this effort is strictly voluntary. Responders are encouraged to refrain from submitting proprietary information, but if inclusion of such information is essential to explain answers to queries, it should be clearly marked accordingly.