In a recent notice USPS is seeking the following:

In concert with its Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is evaluating the augmentation and potential replacement of its existing fleet of legacy sorting machines with new equipment that will improve operational efficiency to reduce costs associated with package processing. This new equipment will be developed under the program name Postal Package Processing System, commonly referred to as “3P”.To achieve optimal equipment performance, the USPS plans to purchase a variety of commercially produced modules that, when integrated, comprise a fully functional package processing system. The modules anticipated to produce a complete 3P System include the following:

• Package Feed Mechanization (PFM)
• Pallet Bundles Destacker
• Parcels and Mixed Products Singulator (PMPS)
• Manual-Assist with Separator
• Mail Piece Information Capture (MPIC)
• Recognition (RECO)
• Sortation
• System Control and Management Software (SCMS)

USPS Engineering will evaluate vendor technical proposals for the purpose of awarding contracts to one or more Suppliers for each of these modules. USPS Engineering will subsequently manage the integration (design, development, interconnection, and commissioning), documentation and testing of these modules into a prototype 3P System. This prototype system will be assembled and tested at a postal facility located in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area.

After the performance of the prototype 3P System is successfully validated, the USPS will determine the feasibility to exercise the optional Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) included in each module’s contract award for the production and deployment of 3P Systems into postal facilities that can economically justify the investment.

The Supplier’s Project Plan shall provide for adequate resources to deploy three (3) Sortation Modules per month during the production phase. This deployment shall include the time to deliver, assemble, debug and test each Sortation Module through satisfactory completion of the acceptance testing.

Deployment Schedule (subject to change)

The Supplier shall deploy the prototype and production Sortation Modules in accordance with the following project plan schedule:

Prototype Sortation Module Contract Award – October 2007
Prototype Sortation Module In-Plant Test – March 2008
Prototype Sortation Module First Article Test – May 2008
Production Sortation Module Contract Award – November 2008
Production First Article Testing Sortation Module – April 2009
Production Sortation Module #2-4 – July 2009
Production Sortation Module #5-7 – August 2009
Production Sortation Module #8-10 – September 2009
Production Sortation Module #11-13 – October 2009
Production Sortation Module #14-16 – November 2009
Production Sortation Module #17-19 – January 2010
Production Sortation Module #20-22 – February 2010
Production Sortation Module #23-25 – March 2010
Production Sortation Module #26-28 – April 2010
Production Sortation Module #29-31 – May 2010
Production Sortation Module #32-34 – June 2010
Production Sortation Module #35 – July 2010

source: Federal Business Opportunities