1.18.5. National Distribution Center

(1) The websites customers use when placing internal and external orders are:

• website for internal orders: http://caps-as.enterprise.irs.gov/osms/views/homePage.xhtml

• website for external orders: http://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

(1) We use the following acronyms throughout the IRM:

(1) The NDC provides order fulfillment services and distribution of products to IRS internal and external customers. The distribution center uses two software systems for operations:

• Enterprise Logistics Information Technology (ELITE)

• Computer Assisted Publishing System (CAPS)

(2) ELITE maintains NDC inventory, controls orders, manages account information, and provides warehouse management tools. ELITE also generates picking tickets that NDC staff uses to fill orders. ELITE is a commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) application that includes the following modules:

• Order Management System (OMS)

• Warehouse Management System (WMS)

• Distribution Management System (DMS)

• ELITE Reporting Facility

• Forecasting Management System (FMS)

• Resource Management System

• ELITE Warehouse Control System (EWCS)

• Transportation Management System (TMS)

(3) The CAPS maintains product specification information. NDC staff enters orders for several specialty programs in CAPS and downloads them into ELITE. The Order Subscription Management System (OSMS) is an online ordering system for internal orders that operates with the CAPS.

(1) Processing clerks respond to telephone messages from internal customers who place orders or request information about the status of products and orders.

(1) Some products and quantities are restricted to particular customers or customer groups. ELITE flags orders that exceed the quantity limits and the system generates a daily report of those orders. Analysts review the report each day and decide whether to override the limitations or reject the order.

(2) The quantity limitations for tax products by customer are set in Electronic Status Notice (ESN) and can change: n individual ordering tax related materials.

(1) NDC processing clerks open and sort incoming mail. The clerks forward misdirected mail and remittances to their correct destination.

(1) NDC receives orders by:

• Mail from IRS offices, taxpayers, employers, tax professionals and other public customers

• efax

• email

(1) The NDC uses Forms 5753, Action on Your Tax Form Order, to notify customers about changes in their orders. This notification includes referrals to other agencies or offices, and product information.

(1) All customer addresses must comply with the U.S. Postal Service address requirements.

(2) ELITE verifies that addresses are valid postal addresses and generates a report of all orders with unacceptable addresses.

(3) NDC employees review the report and use reference materials and internet resources to attempt to correct addresses.

(1) The IRS has various methods of making tax forms and instructions available to the public. Processing clerks fill orders for the programs listed below.

(2) The terms “order type” and “programs” are interchangeable. An order type/program indicates who is placing the order.

(1) A public order is a request for IRS printed product(s) from a non-IRS customer. This may include an individual taxpayer, employer, tax professional or other requestor.

(1) An internal order is a request for IRS products from an IRS employee.

(2) NDC clerks fill orders for most internal use products from a stock carousel. The carousel is a storage and retrieval device consisting of a series of linked bins mounted on an oval track. When the carousel is activated, the bins rotate to bring the required items to the operator. The operator places the product into a tub. After completing the order, the operator pushes the tub onto a conveyor that takes it to a packing station.

(1) ELITE uses demand and minimum level parameters to replenish fulfillment stock.

(2) Line resupply impacts productivity, quality, turnaround times, and safety.

(1) NDC Transportation Staff:

1. Provides information for shipping orders at the Distribution Center, updates ELITE transportation tables, and maintains a system of accountability for outgoing shipments

2. Provides guidance to NDC employees for determining and obtaining mail and transportation services so that materials arrive at destinations timely and efficiently using the most cost effective method

3. Works with the Postal and Transport Policy section in M&P Distribution, Distribution Requirements branch to ensure that policies, standards, techniques, and procedures are followed when shipping printed materials

4. Acts as the NDC’s mail Pre-sort contracting officer’s representative (COR) Point of Contact (POC)

(1) The NDC stores and distributes appropriate revisions of printed products. Designated M&P analysts identify current, prior year, and obsolete revisions and product disposition.

(1) Throughout the year, NDC employees must dispose of obsolete, revised, damaged, or unusable products. NDC employees identify and dispose of products as directed by designated M&P analysts.

(1) The NDC maintains accurate inventory records to meet customer needs. The Distribution Center uses cycle counting to ensure their inventory records accurately reflect what is stored in the warehouse and order fulfillment areas. Cycle counting is the process of verifying inventory accuracy by manually counting products in specific locations, comparing the counts to ELITE and reconciling differences.

(1) ELITE reorder points alert NDC and other Distribution employees that product inventory has fallen below specific quantities. A reorder point consists of a date range and quantity.

(2) NDC Logistics Inventory Management Specialists establish a reorder point for all NDC products (with the exception of On Demand and TPDS), and update them on a monthly or annual basis to avoid stock outages and back orders, increased transportation costs, and potential work stoppages.

(1) Specialty program customers place annual orders for products they will need during the filing season. The NDC ships groups of products to these customers as these orders and products are received. These shipments are called planned shipments.

(2) Contractors ship some of these orders directly to the customer. These shipments are called contractor planned shipments.

(1) The NDC fills public and internal orders for full cartons of published products directly from the warehouse. Full carton orders are also called bulk orders.

(1) The International program supplies the American embassies, consulates, and various military legal assistance offices worldwide with sufficient tax products to meet the needs of Americans overseas. Each summer, International program analysts email to these customers a survey listing the items and quantities they used in the prior year. The customers place orders for the subsequent year and return them to a designated electronic forms mailbox.

(1) The IRS distributes tax materials to outlets that are readily accessible to the public. The NDC distributes some of the tax materials, and contractors deliver the bulk of the orders. Most Program participants are libraries or post offices, however, selected other organizations also distribute forms through the program.

(1) Training Publication Distribution System (TPDS) provides training materials to IRS operating divisions worldwide. Training instructors use over 3,000 TPDS products in more than 500 courses. End users may be at IRS offices or off-site locations. Orders for training materials originate in the field offices.

(2) IRS employees use OSMS to order training material from the NDC.

(1) The IMDDS program maintains IRS office mailing addresses and distributes various published products to IRS audiences. The author(s) of the products and the IMDDS coordinator identify the targeted audience(s), and establish automatic distribution quantities for each location.

(1) Some IRS published products contain protected information or are serially numbered. These security products require specific measures for receiving, storage, shipping, and disposal. Management authorizes and designates employees within certain order points to order security products. Management identifies and authorizes which products a designated employee may order.

(1) The NDC will enter and fill orders only for current forms and publications and five-year prior forms and instructions . The NDC may elect to use on-demand printing to fill orders that extend beyond five prior years.

(1) The VITA program uses an electronic ordering process. VITA program analysts send order information electronically to CAPS for Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communications (SPEC) review and approval. following SPEC approval, the analysts download the orders into ELITE for fulfillment.

(1) The Small Business program is an established partnership with stakeholder organizations to conduct Small Business Tax Workshops (SBTWs) on behalf of the IRS to provide resource materials for the stakeholder organizations' clients and members.

(1) The NDC assembles packages of printed products as a service to IRS employees only.

(2) Package Assembly Program requests include a list of cataloged products for use in workshops, conferences, trade shows, or one-time events. This program also includes New Hire Kits for IRS employees.

(1) The NDC receives data files and correspondence files from IRS organizations to create personalized letters for taxpayers and /or IRS employees. The NDC prints, folds, and ships the correspondence.

(1) The NDC receives and fills IRS internal customer orders for supply items such as bubble mailers, boxes, and secure shipping supplies IRS offices order through OMS.