Amendment 1 - Questions and Answers.docx

030ADV25R0030

Braille Mailing Containers Questions and Answers Document

Question 1. Are you establishing a 5-year IDIQ?

Answer 1. No, we are not establishing a 5-year IDIQ. This is a single year stand-along contract to purchase 1 large order of braille mailing containers. There will be no outyears or options.

Question 2. Warranty Repairs Timeframe Section C.10 states: “Warranty repairs or replacements must be completed within sixty (6) days.” Could you please confirm whether the intended timeframe is six (6) days or sixty (60) days?

Question 2. This is confirmed to be sixty (60) days. Please see amendment 1 to see this officially changed in the solicitation.

Question 3. For the pre-award sample submission requirement, should we provide 10 samples per each size dimensions, or 10 total samples in the standard dimensions?

Answer 3. Offerors shall submit a total of ten (10) samples pre-award samples before an award is made. Five (5) samples shall be in the standard dimensions and the other five (5) shall be in the longer dimensions. The price of the pre-award samples is not reimbursed. Please see amendment 1 to see this officially changed in the solicitation.

Question 4. Are the submitted proposal samples required to include the screen-printed information as specified in the solicitation, or would plain (non-printed) mailers be acceptable for the evaluation phase?

Answer 4. Submitted samples shall include the screen-printed information as specified in the solicitation. Please see amendment 1 to see this officially changed in the solicitation.

Question 5. Given that developing official schematic drawings incurs a cost, would NLS consider allowing a separate line item in Section B.2 (Price/Cost Schedule) to account for this expense? The solicitation states: “Contractor shall send the containers’ schematic drawings in PDF format with all dimensions for NLS approval prior to mass production.”

Answer 5. Schematics are required. We have added a payment CLIN in Section B and a section in the Pricing Sheet. Please see amendment 1 to see this officially changed in the solicitation.

Question 6. Could you confirm whether the estimated lot quantities referenced in the solicitation correspond to the totals listed in Section B.2 (Price/Cost Schedule)? Is NLS able to provide estimated lot quantities per delivery destination?

Answer 6. The estimated lot quantities are indeed the ones outlined in Section B.2. This might also depend on the costs of the unit prices (if prices are too high, the Library may negotiate for a revised pricing proposal before award, for example). While we cannot yet guarantee how many specific items shall be shipped to each location at this time (and it is subject to change), but our percentage estimate for the moment is as follows:

However, the percentages listed above are currently estimates. Final numbers of specific shipments to the specific locations shall be determined by the COR after award.

Question 7. Production and Delivery Timeline Section C.13 states: “Upon approval of the samples, the contractor shall produce the reusable braille mailing container of each size and deliver these units to one of the three delivery locations (to be specified by the COR) within sixty days from receipt of the approved purchase order.” Will consideration of producer capacity be taken into consideration when determining order quantities and delivery timelines.

Answer 8. All items must be delivered within the 12-month period of performance. Please see amendment 1 to see this officially changed in the solicitation.

Question 8. Pre-Production Sample Costs Regarding the 10 pre-production samples, if they meet the requirements and receive approval, will they be counted toward the final order quantity?

Answer 8. The cost for the 20 pre-production samples is not directly priced, but the cost of them can be built into the unit prices for the overall production prices for the full lot. Please note, for pre-production samples the SOW states 20 sample are needed, 10 of each size. These are different than the pre-award samples needed for proposal evaluation.