19BE1020Q5000 -Q&A - FINAL.pdf

19BE1020Q5000

Q&A

11/18/2019

1. The documents published at this moment are titled with ‘’draft’’. Are these documents the final documents, or will there be an official announcement?

Response: The documents under 19BE1020Q5000 are final. This is an active competitive solicitation available now at beta.sam.gov

2. What would be the final date to send in our offer for the RFQ welcome kits?

Response: The offer due date is specified in the solicitation.

3. Last time this was procured through GSA schedules. I do not see any clause or indication that this is a requirement this time. This type of requirement maintains a level of quality/country of origin compliancy/and price evaluation so I was under the assumption that this would be a critical element.

Response: This is NOT an acquisition under FAR part 8.4 Federal Supply

Schedules i.e. GSA The contracting officer decided based on a review of the previous acquisition and market research that a full and open competition would be the most advantageous acquisition strategy.

4. There aren't any brand standards listed on the contents list. With previous experience, we know that there are a few key components that were an ongoing issue, yet it appears as if they are no longer a requirement - i.e.

Corelle Dinnerware (which is not plastic or metal by the way and could be considered resilient but yet breakable - contrary to the Supplies section of the SOW), bed linen and terry quality are not listed with a minimum requirement and the terms Mid-grade are left open to interpretation therefore what we have historically provided may be compared to an inferior product.

Response: The intent of not using brand name standards is to allow maximum flexibility in proposing items to achieve increased quality at a competitive price. I’ve revised the SOW to remove references to plastic

(for selected items on the revised inventory) because historically that has not been acceptable. Most of the items are relatively inexpensive commercial products where many different brands could suffice. Bed linen and bath towels are where there will be more meaningful difference and our

11/18/2019 intent is to acquire higher quality products based on customer feedback. By specifying ‘mid-grade’ using thread count or other common commercial scale we hope to acquire higher quality products than historically provided under the contract.

If one product is clearly inferior to its competitors that will be noted and we will determine the ‘best’ offer as a whole.

5. The contract in effect has always listed 1000 kits as the threshold for negotiating an alternate delivery schedule with that quantity required in 30 days and this is a topic that we have discussed at great length via email and video conference. The new RFQ increases this number to 1200 and also indicates that max orders would be filled in that quantity in 30 day increments until complete. Please confirm that this number has in fact increased.

Response: Yes, the numbers on the solicitation are correct. We need a supplier that can produce up to 1200 kits per month up to the maximums specified in the solicitation. We don’t often order above 1000+ kits at a time but we have and we may need to do it in the future perhaps once every contract year or every other contract year. Historically, it’s 2-3 orders per year with most orders for 500-1000 kits at a time.

6. With regards to the aforementioned Solicitation, I’m trying to figure out where exactly the kits are to be delivered. Are we to consolidate and ship to a government distribution center (i.e. New Cumberland, PA) or are we to ship directly to site? If we are to deliver directly to site, can we have our

European affiliate ship directly or does it have to originate in the US?

Response: The Government will contract independently to position trucks or ocean containers at the offeror’s warehouse loading dock for a live load. The offeror’s responsibility is to fulfill the order and notify the Government of its availability within 30 calendar days. It is the offeror’s responsibility to load the order in a timely manner once Government transport is on site. See F-

001 Delivery Requirements.

11/18/2019

7. I was wondering if point of delivery/pickup can be in Europe and the goods can be EU origin or do they have to be US manufactured?

Response: Yes, the pickup point can be in Europe and the goods can be EU or US origin under this small business set aside solicitation.