TRAVEL_SOLICITATION__19KE5019Q0006_Pre-Proposal_Minutes.pdf

MINUTES OF TRAVEL PRE-PROPOSAL CONFRENCE HELD AT THE US EMBASSY

ON APRIL 30, 2019 AT 10.30A.M

Present

Lance Posey – GSO/Contracting Officer

Eric Kamau – Contracting Specialist

Mwanaidi Shaban- Travel Coordinator

Monica Mwangi – Travel Assistant

Ann Waruhia – Travel Assistant

14 representatives from 7 prospective bidder companies: Express Travel Group, Carlson

Wagonlit, BCD, FCM Charleston; Twiga Tours, Satguru Travels, ATS Travel.

Introduction

Sign in sheet was distributed to all the attendees.

Brief introduction was given by the Contracting Officer (CO) who requested the

Contracting Specialist to take over the process.

Review of the Solicitation Process

The Contracting Specialist (CS) mentioned that the purpose of the Conference is to enable prospective bidders to familiarize with the solicitation document, overview of the contract and areas that needed clarification.

The process began from a newspaper advertisement with a website link to follow with the solicitation instructions and documents, pre-proposal conference dates and submission dates.

Deadline for submission of the proposal is May 15, 2019 by noon at US Embassy –

Truck Transfer Area next to CAC 2. Only hard copies will be accepted – one original and 2 copies of the original. Submit a separate Pricing Proposal.

The Contracting Specialist noted that companies can bid even if they did not attend the Pre-Proposal conference.

The Contracting Specialist informed all the bidders that all contractual questions should be submitted via email to NairobiGSO-Contracts@state.gov by May 3rd

2019 at 12 noon.

The CS informed the bidders to check on the website for any amendments on the proposals.

Questions and answers will be posted on the website.

mailto:NairobiGSO-Contracts@state.gov

The following sections explained by the CS and reiterated by the CO;

Project Overview

The solicitation number must appear in all the communication.

All bidders should have SAM registration number (this number enables a bidder to do business with the US Government and payments can only be made if one is registered). Those who had not begun the registration process were encouraged to do so as the process is handled by a third party and Embassy has no control over the registration process.

Populating SF1449 – Bidders to insert the solicitation number under Block 5, pay attention to offer due date block 8, fill in any discounts under Block 12, provide contractor/offer details block 17a, fill in blocks 19-23, total amount of the proposal block 24, signature of the offeror block 30a, name and title of the offeror authorized representative, block30b and date signed block 30c.

Section 1 – Continuation of SF 1449 i.e. Blocks19-24.

Transaction Fees – These form the main component of the contract and should be pegged on the value anticipated on service fees.

Embassy is VAT exempt and a certificate is issued

Pricing Table – should be filled as is, do not change the description or submit a different tabulation.

Historical figures have guided the figures on the estimated business – ideal figures of what is expected as business.

Take note of the difference with services that would attract service fees.

The table only bears the travel services offered on official travel, Travel services will be provided to all US embassy employees who are also interested in personal and leisure bookings.

Bidders were encouraged to have equitable prices for official and non-official services but it is not a requirement e.g. transfer fees, car rental fees, etc.

Contract anticipated to award for a base year plus four option years.

Exercising the option years is subject to adequate performance of services.

Scope of Work

Describes the authorized services that will be offered.

Ensure any non-chargeable services are indicated.

Note that Embassy staff travel on economy tickets and any business class upgrades is charged to the client.

Mode of Payment – This is done through a Government Check or Credit Card.

Prospective bidders should have capacity to process payment through Credit

Card.

Government Travel Requests (GTRs) are transactions batched together weekly, reviewed by Travel office and sent to Finance Office for payment processing.

Prospective bidders should provide information pamphlets and fliers to the clients.

Business days (Page 29) are Monday to Thursday 0715 to 1630hrs and Friday 0715 to 1215hrs

There should be an emergency telephone number and email address that is operational 24hrs.

The contract is overseen by a Contracting Officers Representative who ensures the operations are as stipulated in the Contract.

The Contract awarding is on IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity) basis.

The prices for the services will be fixed, but the number of tickets to be sold can only be determined at the point of need.

For official travel, e2 (travel authorization that is fully approved) must be provided to the travel agent as the basis for the air ticket. If the air ticket prices differ from the amount on the e2, the traveler needs to amend the e2.

Travel agent Staff will be expected to be familiar with Federal travel Regulations and Fly America Act

Minimal staff turnover is expected due to the security clearance process and also time spent training to on rules and regulations.

Travel Management Center is the implant at post – this is the office where the travel agent office will be located.

City Pair Programs – Tickets given to awarded contracts to certain airlines for reduced air fares between numerous city/airport pairs. These fares are awarded annually. Work closely with travel office to ensure tickets are issued within given regulations

Visa Schedule – Plan for at least one daily drop off of visas to Embassy so as to ensure that visas are timely issued.

Seminars and Meetings- These are handled internally, but there is a possibility of an agency requesting these services. For events arranged by the US

Government, the travel implant office may be requested to provide travel assistance to participants on location.

Special Fares/Packages – These can be published in the weekly magazine, the advertisement board outside the Implant Office and during the annual travel

Fair.

Emergency Contacts Numbers – Are essential and the numbers should be reachable during the contract period.

Ticket Deliveries – We do not have hard copy deliveries as most clients use e-tickets.

Management Reports & Deliverables

This tracks the performance of the implant on a weekly/ monthly /quarterly/bi-annually and annually.

Sample report designs are given e.g. tracking reports for travelers, reconciliation reports.

Centralized Reservations System – Is referred to as E2 travel system. The traveler will submit an approved travel authorization (E2) to the travel implant office for ticketing.

Furnishing of Equipment/Property -This contains the list of the equipment that the US

Government hands over to the Implant when they become operational. The vendor should provide a computer and supporting equipment for each staff member to access non- US Government travel applications.

The vendor is required to provide stand-alone computers for the travel ticketing software system i.e. Amadeus or Galileo since the state provided computers have a limitation on software that can be installed.

Personnel Requirements –Ensure the standard number of persons meant to be assigned to the implant are available and their names populated onto the given spreadsheet.

They will need to be conversant with the US travel regulations and undergo a security clearance for access into the building.

Contractors Quality Control Plan Pages 25, 26

This outlines the expectations and deliverables for the implant. The awardee is to set up a Quality Survey Questionnaire and feedback on the questionnaire can be a basis to recommend change.

Deliverables Page 27

There is a given timeline and deadline for documentation of the reports.

After reviewing the documents, the awardee will receive “Notice to proceed” – this will detail the transit process from the incumbent to a new service provider.

Billing Payment Procedures – Payment is done through EFT or credit card. All unofficial/personal travel is paid directly by the requester.

Key Personnel – Indicate the name of the substitute or reliever to cover operations in case of emergency or planned leave.

Workers Liability – The awardee should ensure that they have this cover for workers and property damage. DBA Insurance is recommended see link page 36 for details.

Special Attention- Take note of;

Attachments 1-5 page 41-49

Attachment 2 – Quarterly Sales Reports

Attachment 3 -Government Furnished Property- Will be updated at the time of the contract award.

Attachment 4 – Monthly Sales Activity Report

Quality Assurance Plan page 39.

Performance Objective and performance threshold page 40.

Appendix 7 of the Master Contract – is being updated in Washington

Section 2 – Contract Clauses page 44

Review the clauses

Continual unresolved problems will result the awardee being issued with a Cure

Notice (number of days given to rectify a problem that has not been fixed within a given period of time).

Always aim for good service delivery.

Order Limitation

Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity. Take note of the minimum quantities in the event that travel services are curtailed due to circumstances beyond the US

Government’s control.

Option to Extend Term of Contract

After the base year, there are 4 optional 12 month extensions subject to the performance and service delivery. After 5 years there is the final 6 months that is awarded to close out and bring in a new contractor where necessary.

The outgoing Contractor if any, is expected to have continuity of service and hand over to the incoming Contractor seamlessly.

Section 3 – Summary of Instructions page 52-53

Bidders were requested to follow the link for more instructions as this document also acts as a checklist.

List 5 clients who the bidders have worked within the past 5 years.

Submittal requirements

Deadline for submission is May15, 2019 by noon

Only hard copies will be received. One original and 2 copies. Submit Pricing

Proposals and technical proposals separately. Delivery point is Truck Transfer next to CAC 2 Embassy entrance.

Questions and Answers

Question - On the pricing list, what is the difference between 1, 2 and 3?

Answer: 1 – Transaction Fee for Domestic Official flights

2 – Transaction Fee for International Official flights

3 – Transaction Fee for any other services Personal Domestic or International flights, lodging, car rentals, rail bookings, etc.

Questions that were submitted in writing.

All answers for questions received on or before May 3, 2019 12noon will be posted to the embassy website on May 7, 2019.

Implant Visit

Walk through was conducted and the bidders were shown the current implant office that is set aside for the travel operations.

The meeting and walk through ended at 12 p.m.