Pre-proposal conference Minutes.docx

Pre-Proposal Conference Minutes

January 30, 2025 at 10:00am

Ref: RFQ#19MA1025Q0001 – Fuel Supplies Services

Subject: Minutes from virtual Pre-Proposal Conference of January 30, 2025

Introduction

The Procurement Supervisor, Ruth Rajaona welcomed all attendees, introduced herself, and introduced the following persons:

1) Patrick Wilcox/Contracting Officer

2) Nimrod Andriamiarandriana/Motorpool Supervisor (COR)

3) Manjaka-Zo Ivan Randrianarivelo/ Procurement Agent

The following potential bidders attended the meeting:

· JOVENA - represented by the following person:

· Rojovola RABENANDRASANA

· VIVO ENERGY - represented by the following persons:

· Valérie HAINGOALIMANANARIVO;

· Dinafitiavana ANDRIAMIHARIVELO

· TOTAL ENERGIES – represented by the following person:

· Onja Fy Ny Aina RAJARISON

· GALANA – represented by the following person:

· Anthonie RASOANANTENAINA

Welcome note – Patrick Wilcox/Contracting Officer

A)- The following contracting aspects of the solicitation were highlighted:

Discussion of the Solicitation Package – Ruth Rajaona

1) What is required: Diesel Fuel and Unleaded Gasoline 95

2) Bid due date is February 24, 2025 at 16:00pm (local time): Bidders will submit physical bids at the SCAC by the due date and time. Late bids will not be considered. Late bids will be opened only if after evaluation, no offer was acceptable from the bids that arrived on time.

3) Offers must be submitted in a sealed envelope. Technical Offer and Financial Offer must be in a separate envelope. Evaluation steps will be in 2 steps. Technical Offer will be evaluated by the Technical Office. They will review based on technical acceptability of the offers. Financial offer will be evaluated by the Contracting Office. The result will be combined, and selection will be made based on the lowest price technically acceptable offer.

4) The bidders must fill out and submit the following in order for proposal to be acceptable for evaluation:

· SF-1449

· Section 1, Cover page, Block 17a through Block 30c

· Section 1, Pricing Schedule. Table from the base period must be filled to 4th option year period. The annual total amount will be added to get the Grand Total for Base plus All Option Year.

· Section 5 Representations and Certifications. This section must be filled as it covers mainly to NDAA Compliance Certification as stated in FAR52.204-24 and FAR52.204-26 that all bidders must check and sign if they want to enter into a contract with US Embassy.

· Additional Information as required in Section 3 and section 4 “Evaluation factors” – page 34

Acceptability of offers will be determined by assessing the offeror's compliance with the terms of the solicitation. Responsibility will be determined by analyzing whether the apparent successful offeror complies with the requirements of FAR 9.1, including:

1) Adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain them: Does the contractor appears to have adequate financial resources to perform the contract, or the ability to obtain them. A bank attestation should be provided

2) Ability to comply with the required performance period, taking into consideration all existing commercial and governmental business commitments: Does the contractor appears to be able to meet the required performance schedule.

3) Satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics.

4) Necessary organization, experience, and skills or the ability to obtain them. Does the contractor appear to have the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills (or the ability to obtain them) to perform this contract.

5) Necessary equipment and facilities or the ability to obtain them; and be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and regulations.

The bidders were briefed about the importance of this section. These are all required documents for a bid to be considered for evaluation. Better not be selected based on your technical evaluation rather than not selected due to uncomplete offer.

5) Bidders must be registered in SAM https://www.sam.gov prior to offer submission per FAR 4.1102. Vendor SAM registration help will be shared. Registration in SAM might take time as there are 11 steps to go through, therefore bidders are encouraged to begin the process as soon as possible. Should the bidders have any issue registering in SAM, they are invited to reach out to procurement teams.

6) Base year plus 4 option year contract – FAR52.217-9. It is a base year plus four option options. Exercise of option is a unilateral right of the US Government. Exercise of option is based on satisfactory completion of the preceeding year.

7) Type of contract is: Fixed price with Economic Price Adjustment. Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery under which maybe place a fixed-price delivery orders at demand.

8) Invoicing:

“The contractor shall submit invoices to the office identified in Block 18a of the SF1449, beginning with the contract number, or electronically to the following address: Antanvendors@state.gov, with a copy to AntanProcInvoiceWatcher@state.gov” or via postal mail to the address below:

Contract# ______________________ American Embassy Antananarivo FMO (Direct Billing Office) LOT 207A PT Liberty Andranoro - Antehiroka- Th is reiterated in page 22 of the solicitation

All questions regarding financial or billing matter should be sent to Antanvendors@state.gov, CC procurement office and Contractor Officer.

9) COR (Contracting Officer Representative) of this is Motorpool Supervisor, Nimrod Andriamiarandriana.

10) All correspondences before the award must be going through Ruth Rajaona. But after the award is made, all correspondences will be sent to Nimrod Andriamiarandriana as he will be the COR of this contract. All technical correspondence after the contract is made must be sent to the COR. All correspondence that might lead to a contract change must be sent to the Contracting Officer and the Procurement team.

B) - The following technical aspects of the solicitation were highlighted:

Discussion for technical matters – SOW – Nimrod Andriamiarandriana/COR

· Discuss about SOW and technical advice. What is required?

The embassy needs Diesel fuel and Gasoline. The order is based on need. Minimum order is 10,000L of diesel and unleaded gasoline per year. Maximum is 200,000L of diesel and unleaded gasoline per year may be subject to change. The fuel must be delivered to the embassy. Delivery will be 48h after receipt of a Delivery Orders

Our Tank Capacity is:

Gasoline: 30,000liters Diesel: 34,000liters

Zadroga act: will be explained by the Contracting Officer, Mr. Patrick Wilcox

JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 VICTIMS HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT OF 2010 NOTICE: UNLESS A WAIVER OR EXCEPTION APPLIES, PAYMENTS SUBSEQUENT TO THIS PROCUREMENT ARE SUBJECT TO AN EXCISE TAX OF 2% PERSUANT TO 26 U.S.C. 5000C.

This is a US tax which is applied to foreign procurement exceeding a specific threshold. Generally, 2% of the value of the invoice will be withheld and sent to the US treasury.

Question and Answers:

Question 1: Is there a minimum quantity Answer: Minimum is 10,000L

Question 2: When is the deadline?

Answer: The due date of offer submission is February 24, 2025 at 16:00pm

Question 3: What if the contractor was already register in SAM in the past?

Answer: The contractor needs to renew registration every year. If registration was past due, then the contractor has to register again.

Question 4: regarding the evaluation, is there any Ratio between technical and financial offer?

Answer: Technical and financial offer are evaluated separately. Technical offers are evaluated by the technical evaluator while financial offers will be evaluated by the procurement team. The result will be combined and selection will be based on Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Method.

Question 5: Is fixed price only for the base year?

Answer: Fixed price with economic adjustments as for current contract is applied on a monthly basis.

Question 6: What are the payment terms?

Answer: The embassy does not make advanced payment. Payment term is made once delivery is completed, also 30 Days after receipt of the invoice via electronic funds transfer.

Question 7: What about the tax?

Answer: US Embassy is VAT exempted.

Question 8: Will the embassy provide all documentation needed to justify the 2% withholding?

Answer: The embassy will provide the needed document if requested.

Question 9: Does the embassy have its own pump and tank?

Answer: Yes

Question 10: What indicators are considered for the evaluation?

Answer: Annual evaluation is based on the quality of service provided. Is the delivery on time (Usually delivery is 48h after the receipt of order). How was the response time of any correspondences? Was the contractor proactive? How is the quality of the delivered product as the US Embassy has a contractor who provide testing and analysis if the fuel delivered.

Question 11: How long from the delivery do you send the Purchase Order.

Answer: Order is sent at least 48 hours before the delivery.

Question 12: Will the embassy share the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that we should respect in the contract?

Answer: Everything in the contract serve as requirements and evaluation factor.

Question 12: What is the minimum quantity for a delivery?

Answer: 7,000L to 10,000L for Diesel, and 3,000L for Gasoline