19AQMM23R0015 Questions_Responses - FINAL.xlsx
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- Solicitation number
- 19AQMM23R0015
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This document summarizes a solicitation for classified and unclassified pouch and mail services. The Department of State seeks a contractor to provide diplomatic pouch and mail processing services at multiple locations, including receiving, sorting, packaging, and handling mail and packages for delivery to various government customers. Key requirements include ensuring accurate and timely processing, maintaining appropriate staffing levels, efficiently operating government-provided equipment and technology, complying with various safety and security standards, and adjusting operations in response to threats or disruptions. Offerors must demonstrate capabilities such as cooperative team relationships, workforce flexibility, process optimization expertise, and regulatory compliance. The period of performance is a one year base period starting July 2023 with four one-year options. Pricing will be a hybrid of firm-fixed-price, labor hour, and cost reimbursement contract types. Proposals are due in two phases with evaluations based on technical approach, past performance, and price.
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| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 19AQMM23R0015 A0002 Amendment 002.pdf | ||
| 19AQMM23R0015 Attachment C - WD 15-4281 Rev 26.txt | TXT text file | |
| 19AQMM23R0015 Attachment C WD 2015-4281 Rev 25 27 Dec 202.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 19AQMM23R0015 A0001.pdf | ||
| 19AQMM23R0015 (28 Apr 2023).pdf | ||
| Section J_Attachment B - Offeror Information.docx | DOCX document | |
| Section J_Attachment A - Bidders DD254.pdf |
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| Solicitation Questions | |||||||
| # | Document | Page | Section | Paragraph | Question/Comment/Rationale | Government Responses | |
| 1 | Solicitation | 2 | 52.252-1 - Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference | N/A | Does 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards apply to this contract? If so, will the government please provide the applicable Wage Determination, as required by FAR 22.1007? | Yes, Service Contract Labor Standards does apply to this contract. The applicable Wage Determination is WD 2015-4281 Revision 25 Dated 12/27/2022. | |
| 2 | Solicitation | 2 | 52.252-1 - Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference | N/A | Does the government expect to incorporate FAR Clauses 52.222- 43 or 52.222-44 into this solicitation, as required by FAR 22.1006(c)? | Yes, FAR Clause 52.222-43 will be incorporated in this solicitation via Amendment 001. | |
| 3 | Solicitation | 9 | C.5.6 | 1 | Does the government want the price of the Safety Shoes included in the Firm Fixed Price amount? | No, Labor and ODCs shall be priced in separate CLINs. Therefore, Safety Shoes should be priced in an ODC CLIN that is cost reimbursable (CR). | |
| 4 | Solicitation | 9; 13-15 | C5.5; C-013 APPENDIX A CURRENT STAFFING POSITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS – VEHICLES, | 1 (pg.9); | |||
| Table (pg.13-15) | The government states that the “The contractor shall be authorized to utilize a government owned vehicle (GOV)” and lists driver’s licensing and driving record requirements. |
| Please identify the labor categories that must adhere to the driver’s license and driving record requirements. | Driver Courier | |||||
| 5 | Solicitation | 10 | C 5.9 PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE; C-014 - APPENDIX B PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS | C.5.9 Performance Incentive | Items b and c state: "The units of measurement and the incentive amounts associated with achieving each unit are shown in the Performance Requirements Summary", however, the units of measurement and the incentive amounts do not appear to be provided in the Performance Requirements Summary. |
| Will the government quantify the monetary incentive or disincentive amounts for each Performance Requirement in C-014 Appendix B? | Currently we offer 2 percent of direct labor cost, if all performance requirements are met at or above the acceptable quality level. However, the Government is looking for the offeror to propose its own incentive and disincentive percentage. | ||||||
| 6 | Solicitation | 72 | L-009 | N/A | Given the anticipated file size of Phase 1, Volume 1 that includes the Orals Presentation slides, does the Government have a file size limitation if submitted via email, or does the Government intend on establishing an upload link for submission purposes? | No, the Government does not intend on establishing an upload link for submission purposes. | |
| 7 | Solicitation | 76 | L-015 | 2 | Will the government please clarify the instructions to “highlight exceptions in the margin of the proposal where they appear in the text”? |
| Does providing deviations, exceptions, or assumptions in a titled, separate section with exceptions highlighted meet the government’s requirement? | Yes, providing deviations, exceptions or assumptions in a titled, separate section with exceptions does meet the Government's requirement. | ||||
| 8 | Solicitation | 71, 77, 81 | L-007; M-004; M-005 | 1 (pg 71); |
Table (pg.77);
Table (pg.81) Phase 1 instructions indicate that Experience and Past Performance shall be submitted as Vol. I, Part C. M-004 indicates Part C is evaluated as Phase 1, Factor 4.
However, the Evaluation Factors for Phase 2 also reference that Experience and Past Performance will be evaluated as Phase 2, Factor 3.
| There are no instructions to include Experience and Past Performance information in any Phase 2 volume. Does the Experience and Past Performance information from Phase 1, Vol. 1, Part C also need to be included in Phase 2, Vol. I in order to be evaluated as Phase 2, Factor 3 as written? If so, please update L-007 instructions to define where to include this information. | Experience and Past Performance is to be evaluated in Phase 1. Experience and Past Performance in Phase 2 was in error and Phase 2 Factor 3 will be removed from solicitation. | |||||
| 9 | Solicitation | 10; 12-16 | C-006 Key Personnel; C-013 APPENDIX A | 1 (pg.10); | ||
| Table (pg. 12-16) | Both sections identify locations by Labor Category and/or Position. Assuming some positions may be required to report to both Springfield and Sterling, will the Government add both locations in parenthesis for these positions or clarify for those that are missing locations? | |||||
| • | Assistant Supervisor | |||||
| • | Analyst/Statistician | |||||
| • | Project Manager | |||||
| • | Services Now Representative/Pouch Expeditor | Assistant Supervisor - (Sterling); Analyst Statistician - (Sterling/Springfield); Project Manager - (Sterling/Springfield); Services Now Representative/Pouch Expeditior - (Sterling) | ||||
| 10 | Solicitation | 81-83; 71 | M-005 Phase 2 Evaluation Factors and L-007 ORGANIZATION OF VOLUMES | All | The Phase 2 non-price evaluation factors listed in the table in section M-005 do not align with Phase 2, Volume 1 Parts A-F (L-007), nor do they align with the Factor Descriptions (pg. 81-83). |
Will the Government confirm that:
| a) | Parts A-D are evaluated under Phase 2, Factor 1, Technical/Management Solution? | |||||
| b) | Parts E-F are evaluated under Phase 2, Factor 2? | The Crosswalk of the M-005 evaluation factors for Phase 2, Volume 1 Parts A-F can be found in L-014 Phase 2 - Volume I Technical Proposal Instructions. | ||||
| 11 | Solicitation | 81-82 | M-005 PHASE 2 EVALUATION FACTORS, | Table (pg. 81); 8 (last) (pg. 82) | For Phase 2, Volume I, the non-price evaluation factors are listed in the table and include Factor 3 – Experience and Past Performance (Part C from Phase 1, Volume I). |
| Does the Offeror need to resubmit the Experience and Past Performance content from Phase 1 if invited to Phase 2? | See Response to Question #8 | |||||
| 12 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Public records indicate that the National Labor Relations Board issued a Notice of Election and Tally of Ballots in favor of the Union of Operating Engineers, Local 99, A/W International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO to the incumbent contractor, referencing SA-8 and SA-32. |
| Will the government confirm whether there is a Collective Bargaining Agreement currently in place, or is imminent?. If so, will the government please provide a copy of the CBA, as required by FAR 22.1008-2(d)(2)? | Under the current contract there is no Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place. However, it is imminent. | |||
| 13 | Solicitation | 81; 6 | M-005 PHASE 2 EVALUATION FACTORS; | |
| C-003 OBJECTIVES | 2 (pg.81) | |||
| Does the government intend “Statement of Objectives” in M-005 to reference the “Objectives” listed in C-003? |
| If no, what objectives does the government require to be addressed as part of the performance statement of work? | Yes | |||||||
| 14 | Solicitation | 74,75 | L-014 PHASE 2 – VOLUME 1 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS | last sentence pg 74; first sentence pg. 75 | What does the government require to be included as part of the “approach” noted as being part of the Performance Statement of Work? | Per L-014, the offeror's technical proposal shall include approach for conducting the required effort and a performance statement of work. | ||
| 15 | Solicitation | 74,75 | L-014 PHASE 2 – VOLUME 1 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS | first sentence pg. 75 | Will the government clarify what elements are required to be included as parts of the Performance Statement of Work? | The elements in the Performance Statement of Work is going to be based on the offeror's approach/solution in meeting the objectives of the Statement of Objectives. | ||
| 16 | Solicitation | 7 | C4.1 | Mail Volumes vary by season within the year. The following attachments provide data representing the last three full years of volume. | No volume attachments were provided, can you submit the historical volumes for the past three years for each site. | |||
| 17 | Solicitation | 7 | C4.1 | Inbound Mail includes mail and commercial courier shipments coming from a number of sources including local DoS annexes, other local ICASS Agencies, USPS and commercial carriers like UPS, FedEx. | Can you provide the approximate number of inbound trucks received at each location? Can you provide the schedule for these inbound trucks? | SA-32: [Containment Room Docks A & B] - This can fluxuate daily; there are generally anywhere from 12-20 inbound delivery trucks and freght deliveries that are received on our containment rooms docks. The delivery windows for our commercial couriers are as follows - USPS(Dulles) 6:30-7:00am, FedEx(Express) 7:00-7:30am, USAID 7:00-715am, USPS(DC) 7:30-8:00am, UPS(VA) 7:30-8:00am, FedEx(Ground) 8:00-9:30am, LaserShip 8:30-9:00am, DHL(VA) 10:30-12:00pm, FedEx(Express) 10:00-11:00am, UPS(MD) 11:00am-12:00pm, DHL(DC) 12:00-12:30pm. [Back Docks] - Varies by day, USAID Warehouse 7:00-7:30am, DHS/CIS 9:00-9:30am, Peace Corps 9:00-10:am, GITM 9:30-10:00am, Peraton 9:00-9:30am, GDIT 10:30-11:00am, SA-17 11:00-11:30am, USAID - 7:00-11:00am, FBI before 11:00am, DEA before 11:00am, Commerce befor 11:00am, DAO before 11:00am, MSG Supply before 11:00am, SA-10 & SA-7C 12:30-1:00pm, HST/Mainstate 1:30pm. | ||
| 18 | Solicitation | 7 | C4.2 & C4.3 | Can you provide an approximation percentage (%) that is processed manually for each category: letters, flats, and parcels. | Can you provide an approximation percentage (%) that is processed manually for each category: letters, flats, and parcels. | Depending on volume, Letter/Flats: 3-5%; Parcels (Small/Oversize): 15-20%. | ||
| 19 | Solicitation | 7 | C4.3 | Parcel Processing - Diplomatic pouches are prepared in accordance with the dispatch schedule for freight forwarder pickup. | How many different freight forwarders are used for each site? | Curently we have five (5) freight forwarders picking up from our Sterling Va location. At the Springfield locations, there are currently two (2) trucking companies that regularly pick-up and drop-off for the various airlines and freight forwarders. | ||
| 20 | Solicitation | 8 | C4.5 | Retrograde Pouch Processing | Can you provide an approximate number of inbound letters that require metering? | SA-32: We receive anywhere from 70-75 letters/flats that require metering on a daily basis. Please note that due to recent changes in operations, all of this mail requiring metering is sent to HST/Mainstate Official Mail Center for metering. | ||
| 21 | Solicitation | 8 | C4.7 | Pouch Returns | Are the empty diplomatic pouches staged onsite, in another warehouse or in trailers? | SA-32: Onsite in facilty warehouse or containers. SA-8: Onsite in facility warehouse. | ||
| 22 | Solicitation | 9 | C5.1 | Organizational Support Services | Is there still a necessary requirement for two tour operation? Does this only apply to SA 32? | SA-32: There are currently two shifts/tours of operation - 1st shift: 6:30am-3:30pm & 2nd shift: 4:30pm-1:30am. SA-8: there is curently one (1) shift with customer operation hours form 7 am to 3 pm. | ||
| 23 | Solicitation | 9 | C5.5 | Vehicles | Can you provide a list of the Government owned Vehicles? Can we assume that State Department will provide all funding for fuel, oil, and maintenance? | Yes, we will provide a complete list of GFE. SA-32: Box Truck, Van, SUV. SA-8: One (1) passenger van. | ||
| 24 | Solicitation | 9 | C5.6 | Safety Shoes | Is the requirement to purchase new safety shoes for all employees at the beginning of the contract term or just replace old or worn-out shoes? | Safety shoes are required for all employees at the beginning of contract term, and must be replaced when old/worn out. | ||
| 25 | Solicitation | 11 | C-008 | Government Furnished property | Can you provide a listing of Government furnished property for each site? | Yes, we will provide a complete list of GFE as an attachment to the solicitation | ||
| 26 | Solicitation | 12 | C-013 | Appendix A Current Staffing Positions and Descriptions | How many contractor personnel currently run each operation (SA32 and SA8) | SA-32: A total of 87 contract personnel at this time. SA-8: At total of 12 contract personnel at this time. | ||
| 27 | Solicitation | 15 | C-013 | Appendix A Current Staffing Positions and Descriptions | What is the average monthly volume of pouches that require seamstress work? | Approximately 87.5 pouches are repaired by the seamstress per month. | ||
| 28 | Solicitation | 7 | C-4.2 | Letter and Flat Processing | What is the daily read rate of the tritek letter sorting machine. | Varies between 93-99% depending on the condition of the mail and addressing. | ||
| 29 | Solicitation | 32 | H-002 | Performance Incentive | Concerning the incentive is the evaluation done quarterly? | Yes. | ||
| 30 | Solicitation | 7 | C-4.2 | Letter and Flat Processing | What is the read rate of the flat sorter? | Varies between 93-99% depending on the condition of the mail and addressing. | ||
| 31 | Solicitation | 7 | M-004 | Phase 1 Evaluation Factors | Are there any additional points to be received if you are a woman owned business? | No | ||
| 32 | Solicitation | 7 | C-4.1 | Unclassified Pouch and Mail Processing | Does the government authorize additional billable personnel for the Christmas season August-December? | Yes, for the second shift DPO mail sortation/processing. The first shift is to be covered using existing resources. In other words, the contract workforce should shrink slightly during the off-season, and increase during peak to meet the increased demand | ||
| 33 | Solicitation | 75 | L-014 | Volume Technical Proposal Instructions | Has SA-32 incurred any viable threats in the last 5 years requiring evacuation of the building? | None. | ||
| 34 | Solicitation | 75 | L-014 | Volume Technical Proposal Instructions | If the building is to be evacuated is there an approved evacuation plan currently that designates where employees are to go in bad weather conditions. | SA-32: Yes, this is listed in the SA-32 Emergency Response Plan. SA-8: Yes, it is listed in the GSA Building Integrated Emergency Response Plan. | ||
| 35 | Solicitation | 7 | C-4.3 | Parcel Processing | The parcel sorter what is the down time for the machine annually, excluding maintenance? | The SA-32 parcel sorter operates anywhere from 2.5-4.0 hours on a daily basis depending on the volume. Excluding regularly scheduled periodic maintenance that generally occurs outside of the first shift operational tour, there have been three occasions where the machine was non-operational for 4 hours, 8 hours, and 16 hours while being repaired or awaiting parts for repair. | ||
| 36 | Solicitation | 71 | L-007 / L-008 | Part B: Key Personnel Resumes w/ Signed Commitment Letters | Can the government confirm if commitment letters are not required for key personnel who are currently employed with the Offeror? | The commitment letters are for proposed key personnel regardless if the proposed individual is a new hire or current employee. | ||
| 37 | Solicitation | 71 | L-007 | Phase 1 - Oral Presentation Volume shall consist of one (1) volume, organized as follows: | ||||
| Volume I: Oral Presentation (Due May 29, 2023) | Would the government consider extending the due date for Volume 1 proposal submission since it falls on the Memorial Day holiday on May 29th? | Yes, the due date for Volume 1 proposal submission will be extended to May 30th. | ||||||
| 38 | Solicitation | 76 | L-017 | Notice of RFP Closing and Time | Would the government consider extending the due date for Volume 1 proposal submission since it falls on the Memorial Day holiday on May 29th? | See Response to Question #37 | ||
| 39 | Solicitation | 1 | SOLICITATION, OFFER, AND AWARD | In which section of Volume 1 should Offerors provide the standard form 33? Is this to be included in Phase 2 with Amendments? | Per Section L-007 Organization of Volumes, the SF-33 along with amendments are to be included in Volume II Cost/Price of Phase 2. | |||
| 40 | Solicitation | 74 | L-013 | Phase 1 - Volume 1 Oral Presentation Proposal Instructions: Volume I, Part C Experience and Past Performance (Phase 1 Factor 4) | Requires the Offeror to provide a record of their Past Performance, confirmed by references, on contracts that are the similar. To fulfill this requirement, please provide the Performance Questionnaire document? | Refer to Section L-013 Phase 1 - Volume I Oral Presentation Proposal Instructions, Volume I, Part C Experience and Past Performance (Phase 1 Factor 4) for required infomation. No Performance Questionnaire will be provided. | ||
| 41 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | Oral Presentations | Will the dates for Oral Presentations be provided with at least one week’s notice before the scheduled presentation? | Yes, All Oral Presentations will take place on June 5, 2023. The order will be as follows: 0800 Offeror A; 0930 Offeror B; 1100 Offeror D; 1300 Offeror K and 1430 Offeror L. Use the first initial of your company name to determine your time slot. The location for the Oral Presentation is provided in response to question #60. | ||
| 42 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | Oral Presentations | Would the government consider extending the question deadline past May 12th considering Volume 1 proposal submission falls on the Memorial Day holiday on May 29th ? | Question deadline will not be extended. However, the due date for Phase I Volume 1 submission will be extended to May 30 | ||
| 43 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | Oral Presentations | Would the government consider allowing eight people, key personnel, and senior management to attend the Oral presentation instead of the stated limit of five people? | We are limited to space, so only the stated limit will be allowed. | ||
| 44 | Solicitation | 72 | L-009 | General Format Requirments | Is there an email size limit that Offerors should be aware of when submitting the proposal? | No | ||
| 45 | Solicitation | 73 & 74 | L-012 / L013 | Oral Presentations | Can the government please confirm if the format for the oral presentation slides includes presenting the key personnel, past performance, the proposed technical/management solution, and performance management strategy? Even though the proposed technical/management solution and performance management strategy sections are listed for Phase 2 and not under L-013 of Phase 1 - Volume I: Oral Presentation Instructions. | The oral presentation slides should include info the offeror deems necessary to address Technical/Management Solutions and Performance Management Strategy presentations. Correct, the offeror is to only present these areas orally (refer to M-004) | ||
| 46 | Solicitation | 77 | M-004 | Phase 1 Evaluation Factors | Factor 1 indicates this is to be part of the Oral Presentation however, it is not included on the Oral Presentation outline provided in Section L-012? What is required for the Oral Presentation | Factor 1 is to be included in the Phase 1 Oral Presentation Volume in Section A but not presented in the oral presentation. Refer to L-012 for what is required for the Oral Presentation. | ||
| 47 | Solicitation | 73 | L-011 | Facilities Tour (Site Visit) | Could you please provide the list of contractors who attended the site visit that took place on May 10 Facilities Tour (SA-8 and SA-32). | Contractor list will not be provided. | ||
| 48 | RFP | 73 | L-012 - Oral Presentations | 2 | Question: Will the Government consider allowing the Offeror to provide a 45 minute oral presentation covering all 3 of the required topics, rather than requiring specifically a maximum of 5 minutes for Introductions and 20 minutes each for Technical Management Solutions and Performance Management Strategy? | All need to keep with the outline format provided. Introductions – 5 minutes |
Technical/Management Solutions – 20 minutes (Phase 1 Factor 2) Performance Management Strategy – 20 Minutes (Phase 1 Factor 3) Question & Answer Session – 25 Minutes
| 49 | Solicitation | 74 | L-012 - Experience and Past Performance | 1 | Question: Can the Offeror cite experience and past performance of a proposed subcontractor? | Refer to Section L-013 Phase 1 - Volume I Oral Presentation Proposal Instructions, Volume I, Part C Experience and Past Performance (Phase 1 Factor 4). | |
| 50 | Solicitation | 78 | M-004 - Factor 3: Performance Management Strategy (Oral Presentations) | 1,6 | Factor 3 (Performance Management Strategy) requires offerors to address, inter alia, “Incentives/Disincentives – Quality, relevance, appropriateness, and innovation of the proposed incentive and disincentive metrics, scoring range, and weighting factors for each performance requirement as it relates to accomplishing DPM objectives.” The Phase II Volume II Cost/Price Proposal will not have been fully developed, let alone submitted, by the time of the oral presentation, and there are 24 individual performance requirements in RFP C-014 Appendix B Performance Requirements. | ||
| Question: Given that Incentives/Disincentives are closely related to the Offeror's Phase 2 Price Proposal and Offerors will be providing the details of the performance incentive/disincentive in the Phase II Factor 2 submission, would the Government consider removing this topic from Phase I Oral Presentations? | This topic will not be removed from the Oral Presentations. | ||||||
| 51 | Solicitation | 77-79 | L-0013, M-004 | 4,5 / ALL / 1,2,3 | The Phase I submission is clearly entitled “Phase I - Volume I Oral Presentation” in RFP L-0013 and in the Factor 1-4 descriptions in RFP M-004. |
Question: Will the Government confirm that the oral presentation itself is ONLY to contain responses to Factor 2 (Technical/ Management Solution) and Factor 3 (Performance Management Strategy)?
| Question: Will the Government confirm that the Phase I responses to Factor 1 (Facility Security Clearance) and Factor 4 (Experience and Past Performance) are to be written submissions delivered as part of the Phase I written submission, and do not need to be covered in the oral presentation itself? | Your understanding of the request is correct. | |||||
| 52 | Solicitation | 78 | L-007, L-008, M-004 | 6 | RFP L-007 and L-008 clearly identify key personnel resumes as part of the Phase I Volume I submission, as “Part B”. Yet Section M makes no mention of Part B, only making a reference to key personnel qualification and experience at the very end of the Factor 2 description in RFP M-004 on RFP page 78. L-007 and L-008 clearly indicate that the Part B Key Personnel resumes are a separate part of the Volume submission outside of the oral presentation. Yet the Factor 2 description in M-004 seems to indicate that key personnel will be evaluated as part of Phase I Factor 2 (i.e. as part of the oral presentation). |
Question: Will the Government please indicate how the key personnel resumes are to be presented and evaluated?
| Key personnel resumes are to provided as part of the Phase 1 Oral Presentation Volume (refer to Section L-013) and discussed as part of the Oral Presentation for Factor 2 (M-004). | |||||||
| 53 | Solicitation | 78 | L-007, L-008, M-004 | 6 | Question: Will the Government confirm that key personnel resumes are part of the Phase I written submission and that they are not required to be provided as part of the oral presentation itself? | See Response to Question #52 | |
| 54 | Solicitation | 72 | L-009 | 3 | The RFP lays out the font/margin/pagination requirements for the Phase I submission, which includes the orals slide presentation. | ||
| Question: Will the Government confirm that margin restrictions only apply to proposal documents submitted in Word or PDF and not to PowerPoint? | Yes, the margin restrictions only apply to proposal documents submitted in Word or PDF and NOT to Powerpoint Slides. | ||||||
| 55 | Solicitation | 72 | L-009 | 3 | Question: May offerors select whichever aspect (Standard 4:3 or Widescreen 16:9) they desire in the generation of the PowerPoint slides? | Yes | |
| 56 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | 5 | Question: The Phase I submission deadline is on May 29, 2023, which is a Federal holiday. While we understand that this is an email submission, will the Government postpone submission of Phase One by at least on additional day to allow for the Federal holiday? | See Response to Question #37 | |
| 57 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | 5 | Question: Given that Monday, May 29th is a federal holiday, and the need to coordinate travel for delivering orals presentations, will the Government consider providing at least one week advance notice of the offeror's oral presentation date? This would allow offerors to coordinate logistics for their personnel, thereby giving offerors the opportunity to organize their resources. | See Response to Question #41 | |
| 58 | Solicitation | 72 | L-009 | 3 | No mention is made of file formats for submission, other than a reference to using Microsoft Excel for pricing detail in RFP L-009. |
Question: Will the Government accept Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, or PDF files for the email proposal submissions?
| Yes, all of those formats are acceptable. | ||||||
| 59 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | 4 | The Government intends to use the oral presentation as a “down-select method to determine which offerors will be invited to Phase 2” proposal submission. | |
| Question: To develop the full Phase II proposal is an extensive and costly endeavor for small business offerors. Since Phase II proposals are due on 27 June 2023, which is a short window from the Phase I submission and potential orals dates, it does not leave offerors with sufficient time to develop a Phase II proposal. Would the Government consider giving 30 days from the notice of down-select to the submission of Phase II proposals? | Counting the time from when the solicitation was released (28 Apr 2023), the offeror will have 60 days to complete its phase 2 volume (27 June 2023) which is ample time. No additional time will be given. | |||||
| 60 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | N/A | There is no information provided as to logistics arrangements for the oral presentations. |
Question: Will the Government please indicate the following:
| • | Location of the oral presentations – physical/in-person or virtual? | |||||
| • | If physical, what is the address where the presentation will take place? | |||||
| • | If virtual, which video-conferencing platform will be used (e.g., Teams, Zoom, Webex) | |||||
| • | Are there any constrains associated with government-provided facilities and/or equipment | |||||
| • | Security constraints (e.g., for building entry, internet access) | |||||
| • | Availability of power, WiFi, and other equipment / supplies required of the offerors (e.g., laptops, screens, hot spots) | |||||
| Oral presentations will be held at SA - 15 located 1800 North Kent Street, Arlington VA 22209. We will need basic information sent to us on 30 May 2023, so we can input visitor access request. For each visitor, complete first name, middle name, last name, name of company representing, and role all must have official ID on hand, ID such as state's drivers license. send information to Earl Brown (brownea1@state.gov) and JoAnn B Carroll (carrolljb@state.gov) | ||||||
| 61 | Solicitation | 73 | L-012 | 6 | L-012 states: “Oral presentations may continue beyond the estimated time….” |
Question: Does this mean that offerors may take more than the 5/20/20 minutes allocated for their presentations?
| Time is as stated one hour ten minutes total time per presentation. | |||||
| 62 | Solicitation | 74 | L-013 | 3 | Instructions for Volume I, Part C Experience and Past Performance seem to indicate a separate requirement for Experience and for Past Performance. For Experience, “offerors shall clearly demonstrate a history of performance…..” and for Past Performance, “the offeror must provide past performance record…..” Yet, there appears only to be page count for the 3-5 individual references – 3 pages each. In M-004, there appears to be the same distinction between experience and past performance, with no separate page count for experience. |
Question: Will the Government confirm that offerors are to address both experience and past performance requirements within the same 3-page write-up per cited contract?
| Yes, the offerors are to address both experience and past performance requirements within the same 3-page write-up. | |||
| 63 | Solicitation | N/A | Phase I Factor 4 and Phase II Factor 3 – Experience and Past Performance; |
All Phase I and II Factors N/A In our understanding of the solicitation, there seems to be considerable overlap in the evaluation criteria between Phase I and Phase II. The experience and past performance evaluations in Phases I and II appear to be identical (and there are similarities in the technical/management and performance management factors, too).
| Question: If an offeror is down-selected after Phase I based on a Government evaluation of their facility clearance, technical/management approach, performance management approach, experience and past performance, how will the Phase II evaluation differ from the Phase I evaluation? | Evaluation of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be performed in accordance with M-004 and M-005. | ||||||
| 64 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Question: Can the Government please fully disclose the status of any unionization efforts by the current workforce, including any recent votes to unionize? | See response to question #12 | |
| 65 | Solicitation | 74 | Section L | L-013, Volume I, Part C Experience and Past Performance (Phase 1 Factor 4) | Within the Past Performance portion of this section, the government requires a past performance record which describes areas of evaluation found in CPARS. Will the government provide an alternative to meeting this requirement if a CPAR is not available for the contract the offeror wishes to present? | Yes | |
| 66 | Solicitation | 6 | Section B | B-010 Type of Contract | “Contract is a hybrid firm-fixed price incentive fee type with minor elements of labor hour to address contingencies as directed by the contracting officer or the COR assigned to this contract. Total Contract Ceiling is $TBD.” Please provide details on whether this is a Fixed-Price Incentive (Firm Target) or a Fixed-Price Incentive (Successive Targets), including target profit, price ceiling; profit ceiling or floor, or profit adjustment formulae as applicable. | The final contract type will be based on the offeror's proposed incentive/disincentive plan | |
| 67 | Solicitation | 34 | Section H | H-008 - SECURITY REQUIREMENTS | The PM will be supporting SA-32 and SA-8. Will a TS clearance suffice or will a TS/SCI be necessary? | TS will suffice. | |
| 68 | Solicitation | 34 | Section H | H-008 - SECURITY REQUIREMENTS | The Site Manager supporting SA-8 will require a TS/SCI, and the Site Manager supporting SA-32 will require TS; however, might the SA-32 Site Manager have reason to support SA-8, in which case a TSTSCI clearance would be required? | Yes a TS/SCI would be useful. | |
| 69 | Solicitation | 34 | Section H | H-008 - SECURITY REQUIREMENTS | The Services Now Representative/Pouch Expeditor will be supporting SA-32, among other areas. Will a clearance beyond TS be required? | This position will require TS clearance. | |
| 70 | Solicitation | 2 | Section B - Line Items | Base and Option Years | The Government lists the type of contract pricing as: COM. Could the government please clarify what COM means? | COM means combination of two or more contract types. In this case, the following contract types to be used: FFP, LH and CR (Cost Reimbursable for ODCs) | |
| 71 | Solicitation | 9 | Section C | C.5.2 Period of Performance | Is a portion of the base year from July 28, 2023 - July 27, 2024 allocated for a transition in period? Could the government please provide whether they anticipate a 30 or 60 day transition in period? | The Government does anticipate a transition period. The offeror in its staffing plan as required in Section L-014 shall depict both how the Offeror will seamlessly transfer work tasks from the current incumbent contract to the Offerors proposed solution without interruption. Therefore, the Government is expecting offeror to discuss its transition plan which includes the planned length rather it be 30 or 60 days. | |
| 72 | Solicitation | 9 | Section C | C.5.4 Hours of Operations | Could the Government please confirm only one performance location has a 2nd shift and not both locations? | Only our Sterling VA, facility has a second shift. | |
| 73 | Solicitation | 9 | Section C | C.5.6 Safety Shoes | RFP states, "The contractor is required to provide safety shoes to its employees at the following locations Washington DC, Springfield VA, and Sterling VA" but below this statement is states, Mail room locations where the contractors must provide safety shoes to its employees are; 1. SA-32 44132 Mercure Circle, Sterling VA, 20166 2. SA-8 7000 Loisdale RD, Springfield VA, 22150." Washington DC is not mentioned. Could the Government please clarify. | Only employees working in our Sterling, and Springfield locations require safety shoes. | |
| 74 | Solicitation | 9 & 30 | Section C & Section G | C-006 Key Personnel & G-004 - Contractor's Program Manager | Key Personnel refers to a project manager whereas section G references a Program Manager. Could the Government please clarify if these are separate positions or intended to be the same position? | They are the same position. For consistency will change Project Manager to be Program Manager throughout the solicitation. | |
| 75 | Solicitation | 11 | Section C | C-010 Security | RFP states, "The unclassified pouch and mail operation requires a public trust background check, no clearance is required. Supervisors at the unclassified operations at SA-32 must possess TS clearance to deal with situations that may arise. A Top Secret or Secret personnel security clearance, for those employees who need it, must be issued by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) prior to contract performance." Based on this requirement, could the Government please specify which positions in Appendix A need a secret clearance? Or, if no Secret clearances are required, what level of public trust is required? | SA-32: Supervisors require a Top Secret clearance. SA-8: All employees must maintain a TS-SCI clearance. New employee candidates must have a TS Clearance with eligibility for TS-SCI. | |
| 76 | Solicitation | 30 | Section G | G-009 Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers | The Government has identified key personnel and letter of commitment requirements which must be submitted as part of the proposal. Could the Government please confirm that the non-displacement of qualified workers does not apply to key personnel? | Non-displacement of qualified workers apply to incumbent staff currently on contract and NOT Key Personnel. | |
| 77 | Solicitation | 30 & 31 | Section G and Section H | G-009 Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers & H-001 Key Personnel | RFP in section H states "The Contractor agrees that a partial basis for award of this contract is the list of key personnel proposed. Accordingly, the Contractor agrees to assign to this contract those key persons whose resumes were submitted with the proposal necessary to fulfill the requirements of the contract." Could the Government please confirm that G-009 Nondisplacement of qualified workers does not apply given the requirement and company commitment to hire personnel selected as Key? | See Response to Question #76 | |
| 78 | Solicitation | 11 & 34 | Section C and Section H | C-010 Security & Section-008 | Section C RFP states, "The unclassified pouch and mail operation requires a public trust background check, no clearance is required. Supervisors at the unclassified operations at SA-32 must possess TS clearance to deal with situations that may arise. A Top Secret or Secret personnel security clearance, for those employees who need it, must be issued by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) prior to contract performance. Section H RFP States, "(b) Since it will be necessary for some Contractor personnel to have access to classified material and/or to enter into areas requiring a security clearance, each Contractor employee requiring such access must have an individual security clearance at either TOP SECRET or SECRET level of access prior to contract performance. Individual clearances shall be maintained for the duration of employment under this contract, or until access requirements change." Could the Government please clarify which positions require what mimulus clearance? | SA-32: Supervisors require a Top Secret clearance. SA-8: All employees must maintain a TS-SCI clearance. New employee candidates must have a TS Clearance with eligibility for TS-SCI. | |
| 79 | Solicitation | 71 | Section L | L-007 Organization of Volumes | Phase 1 - Oral Presentation Volume shall consist of one (1) volume, organized as follows: Volume I: Oral Presentation (Due May 29, 2023) - Part A: Oral Presentation Slides - Part B: Key Personnel Resumes w/ Signed Commitment Letters - Part C: Experience and Past Performance - Part D: Facility Clearance Statement. Can each part be submitted as a separate document or should all parts be submitted in one document? | These are sections within the Oral Presentation Volume. And yes all the parts should be submited in one document. | |
| 80 | Solicitation | 71 | Section L | L-008 General Requirements and Page Limitations | Each Volume shall include a signed and dated cover letter that includes the following: the RFP reference number; date the RFP was issued; the DoS issuing office, location, and contact person; the closing date and time of the RFP (for submission of proposals); and the name, address (street, city, state, zip) of the offeror submitting the proposal. For Phase 1 - where should the Cover letter be included or can it be submitted as a standalone document? | Place the cover letter after the table of contents in the Phase 1 Oral Presentation Volume | |
| 81 | Solicitation | 72 | Section L | L-009 General Format Requirements | RFP states, “1. Pages are to be standard 8 ½ x 11 size” and “2. 12-point size type shall be used.” Considering Volume I – Oral Presentation consists of both Oral Presentation Slides and Written Proposal Content (Resumes, Past Performance etc.), will the Government confirm the Oral Presentation Slides can be 8 ½ x 11 size Landscape and allow a font size larger than 12-point type? | See Response to Question #54 | |
| 82 | Solicitation | 72 | Section L | L-009 General Format Requirements | Table of Contents: Each volume shall contain a Table of Contents, which shall provide sufficient detail in order that all the important elements are easily located. The use of tables and dividers is encouraged. No content within these pages will be considered for evaluation. Please confirm that only word documents requirement a Table of contents and not the presentation slides as part of phase 1? | The Volumes do require a table of contents. However, the presentation slides having a table of contents/agenda slide is up to the offeror. | |
| 83 | Solicitation | 73 | Section L | L-012 - Oral Presentations | RFP states, The one hour and ten minutes will be broken out as follows: Introductions – 5 minutes Technical/Management Solutions – 20 minutes (Phase 1 Factor 2) Performance Management Strategy – 20 Minutes (Phase 1 Factor 3) Question & Answer Session – 25 Minute. Are offerors allowed to break up their 45 minutes to best meet their presentation or are Offerors held to the specified time limitations? | All must follow instructions as specified. | |
| 84 | Solicitation | 73 | Section L | L-012 - Oral Presentations | How long after the oral presentations will the Government take to notify Offerors of their selection to phase 2? | Estimated timeframe will be anywhere from three to five work days. | |
| 85 | Solicitation | 74 | Section L | L-013 - Phase 1 Volume 1… | RFP states, Volume I, Part B Key Personnel Resumes w/ Signed Commitment Letters (Part of Phase 1 Factor 2) The Offeror shall provide resumes of Key Personnel inclusive of training and experience along with Commitment Letters for proposed positions that will identified in Volume II Technical Proposal. Could the Government please clarify the reference to Volume II? | Meaning the individuals identified as Key Personnel in the Oral Presentation should also be the same individuals discussed in the offeror's Phase 2 Volume I Technical Proposal. Will make correction in L-013. | |
| 86 | Solicitation | 75 | Section L | L-015-Phase 2 - Volume II | For preparation purposes, if phase 2 proposals are due on June 27, 2023, and performance is anticipated to start on July 28, 2023, when does the government anticipate awarding the contract? | Prior to or on July 28, 2023 | |
| 87 | Solicitation | 75 | Section L | L-015-Phase 2 - Volume II | For proposal preparation purposes, the contractor shall assume a July 28, 2023 contract start-date. Is a transition phase built into the base year? What timeframe should Offerors anticipate for the transition in period? | Yes transition phase part of the base year, See response to Question #71 for timeframe of transition period. | |
| 88 | Solicitation | 4 | 52.252-1 | 52.252-1 | Could the Government please provide the wage determinations which correspond to the SCA labor categories? | See Respone to Question #1 | |
| 89 | Solicitation | 10 | Section C | C.5.9 Performance Incentive | Could the Government please clarify if this contract will be a Fixed-Price Incentive (Firm Target) or a Fixed-Price Incentive (Successive Targets) type contract? | See response to Question #66 | |
| 90 | Solicitation | 4 | 52.252-1 | 52.252-1 | Ref, 52.232-9 Limitation on Withholding of Payments (Apr 1984). Please confirm the % of Withholding | There is no % of withholding fill in for this clause. | |
| 91 | Solicitation | 8 | Section C | C.5.1 - Organizational Support Services | This section states, "DPM operations service approximately 260 overseas customer locations with additional DPO service to Iraq." Could the Government clarify and provide more details on services to Iraq? | The 2nd shift at SA-32 handles the processing and dispatch of mail that has originated in the U.S. Postal Service(USPS) system and is destined to our customers in Iraq that fall under Chief of Mission(COM). This mail is then sacked in USPS mail sacks and dispatched via DHL for transport to Iraq. | |
| 92 | Solicitation | 16 | Section C | C-014 - Appendix B, Performance Requirements | Requirement #16: Manage and control costs. From our understanding, Mail is not dispatched in ILMS. Could the Government please clarify how it will evaluate the units captured in ILMS in relation to determining/controlling costs or measuring productivity? | SA-32: Technically, unclassified mail pouches are dispatched in ILMS as this is how a Transportation Request is produced in order for an Air Waybill to be created at the pouch shipment level. Your inquiry regarding units captured in ILMS as it relates to determining/controlling costs or measuring productivity is in reference to manually inputting the daily staffing per section and hours worked in each area in order to determine the productivity levels associated with the mail volumes. | |
| 93 | Solicitation | 81` | Section M | M-005 - Phase 2 - Evaluation Factors | Section L-014 provides Proposal Requirements for Factor 1 (Technical/Management Solutions) and Factor 2 (Performance Management Strategy), but Section M-005 provides Evaluation Criteria for Factor 1 (Technical/Management Solutions), Factor 2 (Performance Management Strategy), and Factor 3 (Past Performance). In addition to that, Section L-014 provides instructions on Price, and any relation to Evaluation Criteria is provided in Section M-007 (Relative Order of Importance). Will the Government clarify which Phase 2 components are required for submission and which and how they will be evaluated? | See response to Question #63 | |
| 94 | Solicitation | 13 | Section C | C-013 - Appendix A Current Staffing Positions and Descriptions | Appendix A lists the Project Manager's location as Springfield. Could the Government please confirm that the Project Manager is not required to be on-site in Springfield daily but permitted to travel between sites as needed? | Yes, the PM should travel between sites as required/needed. | |
| 95 | Solicitation | 30 | G-009 - NONDISPLACEMENT OF QUALIFIED WORKERS | 1 | How will the non-displacement of qualified workers process work? | As stated in G-009, the offeror selected for award is to in good faith give the incumbent staff currently supporting the Government a right of first refusal of employment under the new contract in positions for which they are qualified. | |
| 96 | Solicitation | 10 | C-007 - VACANT SUPPORT POSITIONS | 1 | How many (total #) contractor personnel are required in SA-8 and SA-32? | The Government is looking for the offeror is to propose its own solution | |
| 97 | Solicitation | 6 | B-010 - TYPE OF CONTRACT | 1 | What was the incumbent contractor total contract amount paid out in 2022? | Will not be provided |
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