S06 36C10A21Q0060 A0002.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

TAC-Austin

1 6

9/14/2021

104-21-4-8225-0009

Department of Veterans Affairs

Technology Acquisition Center - Austin

1701 Directors Blvd, Suite 600

Austin TX 78744

Y

Department of Veterans Affairs

Technology Acquisition Center - Austin

1701 Directors Blvd, Suite 600

Austin TX 78744

To all Offerors/Bidders 36C10A21Q0060

8/13/2021 X

X X

The Purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to questions received.

See continuation pages.

Kari L. Cozzens

36C10A21Q0060 A00001

RFQ 36C10A21Q0060

Electronic Invoicing Solution

Reference Question / Answer

RFP Section E

Question: How is VA evaluating the proposal (what evaluation criteria is weighted from highest to lowest)?

Answer: See RFP section E. “II. FAR 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL ITEMS” The Virtual Pre-Recorded Demonstration is more important than the Technical Factor, which is more important than the Past Performance Factor, which is more important than the Vets Involvement Factor, which is more important than the Price Factor. When combined, the non-price factors are significantly more important than price. Offerors are cautioned that any resulting award may not necessarily be made to the lowest price offered or the most highly rated Technical proposal. The Government intends to award a single contract as a result of this solicitation. Offerors not considered the most highly rated will be eliminated from the competition.

RFP Section E

Question: What is the timeline expectation to be live?

Answer: The timeline shall be outlined in your company’s technical factor response.

SO2+RFQ

document, section E.1.(a)

Section E.1.(a), which states “Offerors shall include a publicly accessible link that requires no log in (for example, YouTube) to the virtual demonstration of the proposed solution.”

Question: Does the VA want this link “searchable and available” to anyone across the globe with internet access?

(If this is the case – there is a conflict with this requirement because competitors would have access to proprietary technology through this demo).

Question: Would the VA consider more of a secure site that we submit a dedicated URL to - that it is accessible to the VA general population for the purpose of watching and grading the video demo?

(We have pertinent and specific VA information that we would like to include in our demo – but are concerned that this hinders our ability to show the true power and relationship that we currently have as the incumbent).

Answer: The link must be accessible from any standard internet browser with no log in requirement

Page 43 Question: The instructions ask for Offerors to provide a link to a demonstration video. How does the government wish the URL for the demonstration video to be submitted? As part of the Technical Volume? Or in a separate file? Will there be a procedure for the government to provide confirmation that the link works on the government computers/network and is accessible before the final submission date/time?

Answer: The video demonstration shall be a Link to video submitted as part of the offeror’s proposal email; VA will confirm the link works via reply email back to the offeror prior to the closing time. Offeror are advised to submit offerors in sufficient time to allow VA to confirm link works.

Page 44 Question: The instructions ask offerors to address PWS 6.0: “The technical approach shall include a description of how the solution meets all security requirements identified in Section 6 of the PWS”. Does the government want bidders to address all 13 subsections of PWS 6.0 or only certain ones related primarily to security, and if so, please confirm which ones?

Answer: Offerors shall confirm how the requirements of PWS 6.0 will be adhered to.

Page 44 Question: The instructions ask that “Offerors shall also include a hard copy of all licensing terms proposed. Any proposed licensing terms shall conform to the proposed prices identified in section B of the RFQ solicitation, e.g. transaction based, user based, enterprise, etc.” Please provide instructions for the physical delivery of hard copy, including address, mailing/delivery

Reference Question / Answer procedures. Alternatively, would the government consider delivery electronically (PDF) via a separate file?

Answer: Delivery is not necessary, a pdf included in the Technical Factor volume will suffice.

Amended RFQ will correct.

Page 22 Question: Reference FAR 52.212-4, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS ALTERNATVE I (JAN 2017) (APPLICABLE TO CLIN 10002). RFQ states this clause is only applicable to Optional Task, CLIN 10002, for Hypercare Support Services. What FAR Clause applies to the rest of the CLINs set forth in Schedule B.1, Price Schedule?

Answer: FAR 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS applies to all other CLINs.

PWS,

Section 5.0, Question: Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure. Will the Government please describe the types and quantities of PHI and EPHI anticipated?

Answer: This network is intended for commercial invoices only. No Personal Health Information or Electronic PHI should be sent over it.

SF1449,

Block 8

Question: Would the government consider an extension in the due date to enable offerors to work carefully with product vendors to ensure pricing is accurate and presents the best value to the government?

Answer: See Amendment A00001, which extended the due date to September 17.

SF1449,

Block 14

Question: The government has marked the method of acquisition as “RFQ”; however, the RFQ does not state the award will be issued under the Contractor’s GSA Schedule using Part 8 procedures. Will the government please clarify?

Answer: This solicitation is open market and not a GSA RFQ.

PWS 5.2.1,

Exhibit A, Cost Proposal

Question: In PWS 5.2.1, it states “The Contractor shall provide access to an e-Invoicing network and collaborate with VA FSC Financial Operations and IT Services to properly configure and implement the Electronic Invoicing solution so that it meets the business area requirements. The Contractor shall conduct a business requirements development phase in order to identify all business areas’ needs as new Government agencies and other VA organizations transition to use the contractor’s e-Invoicing solution. Implementation shall require multiple system integrations within each Government agency for which one or more initial set up efforts may be required.”

Under the Schedule and Supplier Services tab, Item 0002 requests costs for the eInvoicing solution. In the CLIN 0002 tab, there is a request for "per transaction" pricing.

Further, in the Limited Sources Justification (TAC Control Number TAC-20-57243), it states “VA estimates that recreating over 450 automated interfaces to a new e-invoicing solution would require a transition period in excess of 2 years for successful completion. This estimated transition period is based on previous experience with the initial Tungsten implementation and time required to migrate all vendor data to their portal. Other potential offerors have confirmed this transition period would be 11-14 months from date of new contract award”

While the government allows under PWS 5.2.1 for the offeror to perform the integration work necessary to implement a new solution, it does not appear to offer a CLIN to price the initial development and integration work described in 5.2.1 in the pricing book provided in Exhibit A.

e-Invoicing Solution and Vendor

Expansion IAW PWS paragraph

5.2 and associated sub paragraphs

1 LOT

Basis:

Training Materials:

System Status Deliverable:

Reference Question / Answer

This omission appears to be an oversight since the government is competing this requirement instead of single sourcing it to the incumbent. Can the government please clarify its intent?

Answer: The reference to the Limited Sources Justification is not applicable to this solicitation.

The price for implementation shall be included in the offeror’s pricing. The basis in Exhibit A can describe the amounts included for initial development and integration.

PWS 3.0,

5.2.1

Question: In PWS Section 3.0, it states “The scope of this contract shall include to processing of e-invoicing up to 20,500,000 transactions”. In PWS 5.2.1 “The contractor shall ensure the e- Invoicing solutions processes 830,400 up to 1,000,000 annual transactions with five percent growth expected each year throughout the PoP. The Government requires a tiered solution that includes options in order for VA to process and additional 1,000,000 transactions per option period.” In PWS 5.2.1 (k) it states as a requirement that the solution must have the “Ability to process a minimum of three (3) million invoices per year initially with the ability to scale up to approximately 35 million invoices per year.” Can the VA provide clarifications on the actual expected transaction volume?

Answer: . VA’s “as is” state is the 834K to 1M transactions per year. Based on the historical data, , the “to be” state is the expected 5 percent growth each year. Our “could be” state is the 3M to 35M surge. If VA experiences the surge, not all transactions will be occur at once;

therefore, tiered pricing (per 1M transactions) is required.

PWS The RFQ references the need for both internal and external users for the eInvoicing solution. Could you please provide expected user counts for both the internal and external users?

Answer: Internal users ~300 External users ~65K.

PWS 5.2.1 Question: The PWS states that “the Contractor shall include in the CPMP all documentation and support required for maintenance of the existing Accreditation and Authorization (A&A) for the e- Invoicing solution.” If the government selects a new solution for award and implementation, the government and the awardee will need to work to obtain the A&A and keep it updated thereafter.

Therefore, the A&A will not be immediately available for inclusion in the CPMP. Can the government please clarify its intent with regard to entertaining a new solution rather than retaining the incumbent solution?

Answer: Paragraph 5.2.1.j. requires the awardee to provide an existing nationwide vendor/supplier e-Invoicing network. Any additional accreditation or other requirements needed for full implementation shall be included in the offeror’s technical factor volume, timeline, and price.

PWS 5.2.1 Question: In PWS 5.2.1, it states “The Contractor shall provide access to an e-Invoicing network and collaborate with VA FSC Financial Operations and IT Services to properly configure and implement the Electronic Invoicing solution so that it meets the business area requirements. The Contractor shall conduct a business requirements development phase in order to identify all business areas’ needs as new Government agencies and other VA organizations transition to use the contractor’s e-Invoicing solution. Implementation shall require multiple system integrations within each Government agency for which one or more initial set up efforts may be required.”

Will the government please provide architectural diagrams and any other system documentation of the existing integrations that the incumbent has access to?

Answer: Future integrations with other Government agencies will depend on their specific requirements. As an example, most of the agencies VA provides e-invoicing services to rely on Purchase Orders as one of their required elements. However, a recent agency uses Authorization Numbers instead of POs. The current contractor sends invoice data hourly, in an ANSI X-12810 format. The format is updated annually by the VA. The data file is transmitted to

Reference Question / Answer the VA over a secure AS2 connection. Below is an architectural diagram:

PWS 5.2.1 Question: The first paragraph in Section 5.2.1 states: “…..Implementation shall require multiple system integrations within each Government agency for which one or more initial set up efforts may be required...”

Will that initial setup of any custom implementation be covered under the Hyper Support CLIN?

Answer: VA may use the Hyper Care CLIN if it is necessary. This will depend on the nature/complexity/urgency of the implementation.

PWS 5.6.2 Question: PWS 5.6.2 – End of Term: Please provide the transition period of performance for this task including what the VA’s transition strategy (timing, phasing, vendors, etc.) will require.

The wording removed from the prior PWS (Draft) listed a gradual phase-out occurring over 18 months. The current PWS mentions 3-months in Section 4.1 – which causes confusion. Please clarify.

Answer: The POP for this task is 3 months.

PWS 4.1 Question: Section 4.1 of the PWS makes a reference to PWS Sections 5.5.1 and 5.5.2, however there are no PWS sections that match those references. Was this a typo that should have read PWS 5.6.1 (Beginning of Transition)? Please clarify.

Answer: Section 4.1 contained an error and should have read 5.6.1. and 5.6.2. The amended PWS corrects the reference in 4.1

PWS 4.1

5.6.1, 5.6.2

Question: Transition and Consulting Services are referenced in PWS Section 4.1 – however Consulting Services is not described in the PWS at all. Please provide details as to what the government requires for Consulting Services. How will these services be priced (under what

CLIN)?

Reference Question / Answer

Question: Section 4.1 is referring to task 5.6 Transition Services. The amended PWS corrects the title of the task in section 4.1.

Section E.1 Question: Section E.1.(a), which states “Offerors shall include a publicly accessible link that requires no log in (for example, YouTube) to the virtual demonstration of the proposed solution.”

Does the VA want this link “searchable and available” to anyone across the globe with internet access? Would the VA consider more of a secure site that we submit a dedicated URL to - that it is accessible to the VA general population for the purpose of watching and grading the video demo?

Answer: The link must be accessible from any standard internet browser with no log in requirement.