Instructions_to_Offerors_Section_L_Amend_01.docx

Instructions to Offerors

Question & Answer Period Questions concerning this solicitation may be submitted in writing via email to Ms. Lauren Phelps, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Phelps@nist.gov by or before January 4, at 11:00 AM EST. Late questions will not be accepted.

Proposal Due Date Proposals shall be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Phelps, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Phelps@nist.gov by or before January February 2218, 2019 at 11:00 AM EST. To be considered for award, Offerors must be “active” registrants in the U.S. System for Award Management (SAM) at time of solicitation close.

Instructions for Proposal Offeror proposals shall be submitted electronically via email and shall consist of two volumes as detailed below. Each proposal volume shall include the Offeror’s name, DUNS number, and CAGE code in the cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a contract without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government.

Volume 1: Technical Proposal This volume shall contain the Offeror’s cover letter, technical proposal, and any assumptions or exceptions related to technical requirements. Cover letter, technical proposal, and technical assumptions or exceptions (not including proposal cover page and table of contents) shall not exceed twenty (20) single sided pages. If alternate packaging designs are proposed, the proofs shall be provided as part of the technical proposal; proofs have no page limit. Text shall be no less than 12-point Arial font in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format.

The cover letter shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Offeror’s primary solicitation point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Offeror (if negotiations are determined to be necessary).

The technical proposal shall include a narrative detailing how the offeror will meet the mandatory specifications identified in Statement of Work, as well as any plans to meet preferred specifications. This narrative shall discuss manufacturing capability for the requested cigarettes and packaging, as well as the Offeror’s approach and capability with regards to delivery of the cigarettes (including the Offeror’s proposed approach for submission of “test” cigarettes prior to full production, if applicable).

The technical proposal shall also include information on up to five (5) previous contracts/orders in which the Offeror performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. The information provided shall be for work performed within the past ten (10) years. Organizational experience shall include the following information:

· Name of the Organization Supported

· Contract Number

· Period of Performance

· Dollar Value of the Contract

· Narrative describing the services performed. The narrative should make clear similarities to the scope of work outlined in this solicitation.

Volume 2: Price Proposal The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

The Proposal Form (Standard Form 33), must be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of this volume. ALL AMENDMENTS TO THE SOLICITATION MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON THE SIGNED SF33 PAGE 1, OR ON ADDITIONAL PAGES IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SIGNED SF33 PAGE 1 IF NECESSARY. Therefore, all Offerors must submit a signed and completed SF33 as part of their Price Proposal.

In addition to the signed SF33, this volume shall contain the Offeror’s business proposal in read-only Microsoft Excel format or searchable PDF. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Proposals shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure identified in Section B: Schedule of this solicitation. The awarded production amount will be based on the evaluation of the proposals received. Therefore, Offerors shall propose a total firm fixed price for each of the following contract line item numbers (CLINs). NOTE: Any “test” cigarettes proposed will count towards the total production amounts in each CLIN:

· CLIN 0001: 20,000 cartons (4,000,000 cigarettes) --- Base/Minimum Production Amount

· CLIN 0002: OPTIONAL Additional 5,000 cartons (to be exercised at time of award)

· Total Production Amount would be 25,000 cartons (5,000,000 cigarettes)

· CLIN 0003: OPTIONAL Additional 5,000 cartons (to be exercised at time of award)

· Total Production Amount would be 30,000 cartons (6,000,000 cigarettes)

The offeror shall provide a breakdown of the proposed firm fixed price detailing prices associated with cigarette manufacture, packaging, and delivery. The offeror shall clearly indicate whether it has or will obtain the Alcohol, Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) Federal Excise Tax Exemption, and any price implications this has.

The default payment schedule will be one lump sum payment to be made upon the Government’s acceptance of the full production number of cigarettes. However, the offeror shall identify any exceptions to the solicitation provisions, clauses, or pricing expectations. Exceptions shall be detailed including the provision(s), clause(s), or other term(s) at issue, an explanation of the exception, and a proposed alternative which identifies the benefit to both parties.

Alternative Proposals The Government will accept alternative proposals for this requirement. Offerors are encouraged to be creative in their responses and may submit more than one proposal. Alternate proposals shall be submitted by the same proposal due date as non-alternative proposals. Alternative proposals shall be identified as such in the subject line of the email submission and each volume of alternative proposals must be marked “Alternative Proposal.” However, all proposals will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria identified in Section M of this RFP.