Attachment 3- Questions and Answers.pdf

CRP Solicitation 19GE5023R0013 – Amendment 0002

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Is there actual policy that defines the execution of this contract that needs to be adhered to (i.e., the Defense Transportation Regulation

(DTR))?

In accordance with the Solicitation, the contract will be awarded under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15.

2. Accomplish internally, subcontract out or have customer wash appropriately the vehicle prior to delivery to ELSO?

If an employee wants to wash their privately owned vehicle (POV) prior to shipment, it is their responsibility. The Department does not recommend washing vehicles prior to shipment, as it causes mold.

3. How does that management (ie., ordering, issuing, etc) of stocked supplies (pg. 8, para g) work to support the ELP?

The contractor shall provide the necessary space to support the storage of ELP stock or supplies as stated in Section C.4.1.2(g). The Department will be responsible for procuring ELP items, while the contractor will be responsible for handling, registering, counting, and storage of ELP items.

4. How (if required) does contractor handle weapons or valuables?

Weapons will not be handled under this contract award.

5. Do not see anything regarding In-transit visibility (ITV) of items for situational awareness or response to customer inquiries?

All communication with Department employees will be handled directly by the ELSO personnel. At ELSO discretion, the contractor may be responsible to communicate directly with the employee.

6. Do we know the incumbent contractor? How long have they had? Why was a new contract created are did the incumbent exhaust the option years? If not, was it not seen as profitable?

The current contract is about to expire. Therefore we are issuing a new solicitation.

7. What are the last five years of workload or forecasted workload summary for the next four years?

Year Total Shipments

2018 8,500 2019 8,500 2020 8,000 2021 8,000 2022 9,000

8. Will be fully funded at time of contract. Even though it crosses multiple Fiscal Years?

Task orders (TO) will be subject to the availability of funds. If the total amount for the TO is available upon award, total funding will be issued at award. If total funding is not available upon award, the TO will be incrementally funded.

9. Page 6, B.4., Value-Added Tax (VAT): Should this be validated, and if applicable, can this be identified as a separate line item?

Value Added Tax (VAT), if applicable, shall be provided separately (see relevant CLINs *008, e.g. CLIN 0008, in Exhibit H – Pricing Schedule). If you are unsure if VAT is applicable, you shall ascertain with local authorities in Belgium.

10. Page 8, C.3., Scope of Services: Can you provide more details on the following: The verbiage in the paragraph regarding, “The contractor shall advance funds to pay shipments arriving on a collect basis.”

The contractor shall be responsible for collecting shipments at the port and paying the costs of collection (including demurrage charges or Bill of Lading “freight collect”) up front. Through monthly invoicing process, ELSO pays the contractor in accordance with each work order issued.

11. Page 9, C.4.1.5., Warehouse Personnel: Can we leverage the hiring of employees from previous contract for continuity?

This depends on whether the incumbent chooses to re-assign current employees to other internal projects and whether employees working are willing to work for another company.

12. Page 11, C.4.2.5.3, Malfunction: Should contractor interpret “receipt” meaning from other carrier and not vehicle owner?

Yes, meaning the carrier that delivers the POV to the warehouse. The contractor will be responsible for inspection of the vehicle when it arrives at the warehouse and while in care of the vehicle prior to onward shipment.

13. Page 12, C.4.3., Local Collection & Delivery: Provides timeline for contractor collection of items ie., general cargo, containers, vehicles, & containers (how does this carry over in respect to weekends or holidays for the 48-hour time frame since workday/week is 8 hours a day M-F)?

The CRP operates during normal working hours and generally receives advance notification of collections. In the event a shipment arrives on a holiday, the responsibility remains with the carrier until the CRP is open to receive shipments.

14. Page 16-17, C.9., Definitions - The right-hand side of chart was cutoff so entire definition for each definition is not visible. Can the full document be provided, additional time for review if needed?

The table at C.9 has been modified to reflect complete visibility. In case of any issues, please see the table at C.9 as follows:

24 or 48 hour period 24or 48 hour24 or 48 hours EXCLUDING weekends and holidays ACOR Alternate Contracting Officer's Representative AQL Acceptable Quality Level

Calendar Day The twenty-four hour period from midnight to midnight.

Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are considered calendar days

Cargo any items consigned to the contractor under this contract for inbound or outbound or transit shipment; whether consisting of personal household effects or of U.S. Government owned materials

Colli individual packages or items for a single addressee with the same markings representing a part of an intended complete single consignment, which when taken as a whole, constitutes one single shipment or consignment, one unit of cargo

COR Contracting Officer's Representative CWT Hundredweight = 100lbs

Cube the cubic measure of space occupied by a given article after it has been packaged for shipment

Domestic Shipment a shipment that originates or ends in the USA DoS Department of Statement

European Logistical Support Office (ELSO) File No(s) the individual ELSO file reference number attributed to consignments, which when taken as a whole constitutes one single shipment or consignment

Expedited Logistics Program (ELP) term used to designate freight that enters a stock program that will be maintained by the contractor

Goods any items consigned to the contractor under this contract for inbound or outbound or transit shipment; whether consisting of personal and household effects for employees of Agencies of U.S.

Government or of U.S. Government owned materials

Government or USG the Government of the United States of America unless specifically stated otherwise

Gross Weight the weight of the packed shipping container, including the articles packed therein and all materials used for wrapping, banding, waterproofing, packaging, blocking and bracing the container M/tons metric tons = 1000 kilograms

Net Weight gross weight of a shipment less its tare weight New New, never used, newly constructed

Ordering Officer

The Director or Deputy Director, ELSO, who is the COR and Alternative Contracting Officer’s Representative respectively (see Section G) responsible for issuing actual orders against this contract up to but not exceeding the funded amount, or anyone designated by the Contracting Officer's Representative to act as his/her representative

Services the services performed, workmanship, and material furnished or utilized in the performance of the services

Stock Program receiving shipments (often container loads) with multiple items, stocking the items for future draw down, maintaining an inventory to truck items, and shipping out items usually in small quantities selecting from the oldest items first. Term is generally used in conjunction with the Expedited Logistics program

WMS Warehouse Management System

15. Section L.7.2.2 (RFP pages 77-78/85) - Referencing Section B.3- Pricing:

Section B.3 refers to Pricing tables at Exhibit H, Pricing Schedule for Base and Option Years (RFP page 5 /85) -DBA Insurance Pricing. Section L.7.1.2.2. requires that all pricing is to be provided regarding each of the listed items in Section L.7.2.2 and inserted in Exhibit H. On 24 January 2023 Exhibit H was amended. In seeking to enter the required pricing for DBA Insurance in Item 0009 of the amended Exhibit H we found that the amended Exhibit at Item 0009 would not accept any price-entry. We believe that the required formula to enable this Item to receive price-entries needs to be installed or activated. Will RSPO take the steps required to allow entry of pricing on to the amended Exhibit and will we be informed accordingly?)

Price entry should be enabled. Please use revised Exhibit H – Pricing Schedule.

16. Section B.3 - Pricing (RFP page 5/85) together with Section L.7.2.2. ('page

78/85) - Insurance Costs. Section B.3 requires that the firm fixed unit prices being solicited shall include, among other things, all direct costs including "insurance costs." Section L.7.2.2 refers to all items which are to be separately priced in Exhibit H (Pricing Schedule), including "Liability insurance" (page 78/85). In the original Exhibit H included in the RFP solicitation package a price entry for "Liability Insurance" was required at Item 0008. However, in the amened Exhibit H there is no Item which provides for pricing for insurance costs, including liability insurance. Item 0008 in the amended Exhibit H lists Value Added Tax (VAT) at amended Item 0008 and no longer liability insurance.

In preparing our offer, is it correct that we should now only include insurance costs within our unit pricing as indicated in Section B.3, and not provide any separate pricing for insurance in the pricing schedule?

Insurance costs shall be included in the firm-fixed unit prices (see section B.3). DBA insurance (section B.5) and VAT (section B.4) must be provided separately.

17. Section C.8 -Transition Plan (page 16/85) and Exhibit H - Pricing Schedule, Item 0009 - Transitional Services.

The solicitation states in the event of an award to a non-incumbent offeror, the transition period "shall not exceed 90-calendar days." In the event of award to a non-incumbent offeror, Section C.8 provides that "the incumbent is required to provide the new contractor" with a list of all storage lots, all government inventory, and weights, among other things, with removal of items within the 90-day period "up to 5,000 lbs gross or 3,500 lbs net weight per day”.

The approximate inventory of items which would be required for removal by a non-incumbent contractor is estimated to have a total weight of 11,650,000 lbs.

Is a 90-day transition feasible? Is it correct to conclude that all costs of removal of government inventory currently at the incumbent' s facilities in the event of an award to a non-incumbent offeror will be the responsibility of the awardee and that the incumbent is not obligated to insert in the pricing schedule any price or prospective costs associated with removal of the government inventory from incumbent' s facilities?

The transition plan has been updated to reflect a 180-day transition period instead of 90 days. The cost associated with the phase-in transition will be borne by successor, and costs associated with the phase-out transition will be the responsibility of the incumbent.

Proposals will be technically evaluated on their detailed approach to successfully transitioning the contract based on the current ELSO inventory weight of 11,650,000 lbs. Offerors should include transition service costs in their proposal, but it will not be evaluated in the price evaluation.

The specified weight removal of inventory has been removed.

18. Section C.8 - Transition Plan (page 16/85) together with Exhibit H - Pricing Schedule – Item 0009, Transitional Services. In Section C-8, Transition Plan, the RFP requires that if award is made to the incumbent, the Preliminary Transition Plan to be set out in the Technical Proposal should address how the contractor will make the transition to the new contract, including any work requirements or terms and conditions that did not appear in the incumbent' s current contract. In Section C-8 the incumbent would be obligated to complete such transition work in a period not to exceed 90 days. However, in the corresponding pricing position in Exhibit H, Pricing Schedule, Item 0009, Transitional Services, the pricing unit is "months”, but the pricing quantity is given as 6 or presumably 6 months and not 90-days/3 months.

In pricing the incumbent's transition costs into the new contract, including any work requirements in the current RFP which did not appear in the current contract, is it correct that we should estimate those costs for performance within a maximum 90-day period, and should insert into the Pricing Schedule a per-month price on that basis?

If, as stated in Section C.8 - Transition Plan the pricing parameter shall not exceed 90 days, will the amended Exhibit H be changed at Item 0009 to reflect total quantity (number of months) as 3 rather than the 6 now reflected?

The solicitation has been updated to reflect a six-months (180 days) transition period. The price for transition services will not be evaluated.

19. Customs Clearance Charges/ Section C.4.1.6 Customs Requirements (page 9/85) and Section C.4.5., Customs Administration Charges (page 12/85).

In the prior ELSO solicitation, the pricing sheet included at CLIN 006 an amount inserted by the government of €250.000 per year; however, in the current RFP there is no amount inserted for CUN 006/Advance of Incidental Charge/Expense.

Will the awardee be allowed to continue the prior practice of directly charging Customs Clearance charges under CLIN 006 through proper documentation including third-party customs clearance services required to maintain a full-fledged Belgium Customs Bonded warehouse as required in Section C.4.1.6? Will the pricing sheet be amended to reflect an annual amount inserted by the government for CLIN 006 as in the prior solicitation and, if so, what amount will be inserted?

Yes, custom clearance charges can still be charged under CLIN 006. We have updated Exhibit H to reflect the not-to-exceed amount for those line items.

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