36C79124R0002 0003 1-9-2024.docx

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. NUMBER

3. 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)

None

Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Svc (003B6E) 555 Corporate Circle Golden CO 80401-5621

Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Svc (003B6E) 555 Corporate Circle Golden CO 80401-5621 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C79124R0002 01-09-2024

X

X

The purpose of this solicitation amendment is to answer additional vendor questions.

Sandra McAnany Contracting Officer

CONTINUATION PAGE

Solicitation Amendment 0003:

Questions and Answers:

Question 1: Should cell E45 on the pricing schedule be increased to 25 to conform with the other years of the contract?

Answer 1: No, we are estimating 15 if the extension is used.

Question 2: The Call Center Phone Tree offers the customer the option to request a callback. How are those callbacks handled, who performs these callbacks, and where are they included in the call center metrics?

Answer 2: The callbacks are collected by the Mitel/Shoretel phone system and then allocated out to customer service representatives along with the “live queue” calls. These calls are included with the call center metrics provided.

Question 3: The Q&A referenced 4 minutes as the average call duration. That time seems very low, given the nature of the expected type of calls. Are abandoned calls, or calls where the Veteran requests a callback included in the average call time?

a. Please describe exactly what call duration entails.

b. Does that include time gathering PII through the complete resolution of the call?

c. What percentage of calls are more than 10 minutes, more than 30 minutes, and more than 60 minutes in duration?

d. If 4 minutes is the mean duration, what are the mode and range of call durations?

Answer 3:

a. Call duration is the total time speaking with a Veteran/customer that begins when a Veteran/customer is connected with a customer service representative and ends when the call is disconnected.

b. Yes

c. This information is not available.

d. This information is not available.

Question 4: The provided metrics illustrate over 317,000 Cards received and over 1.2 million processed and unprocessed card transactions in the 13-month period shown.

a. What percentage of the 9 agents’ time was spent doing these transactions?

b. What is the average amount of time it takes to complete one card transaction?

c. What is the average amount of time to fully process one card/order form?

Answer 4:

a. This information is not available.

b. Estimate is 20-30 seconds.

c. This can vary, depending on how many items are ordered on one card. Each item ordered is one transaction.

Question 5: The Q&A stated that Individual agents are required to handle a minimum of 65 phone calls each day; agents are required to input a minimum of 225 transactions each day (a transaction is an order placed for a single item), and that there would be an expected Abandonment Rate of 0.

a. Are these SLA’s?

b. What is the penalty to the Contractor, as well as the individual agent if they do not meet these requirements?

c. How long do transactions take on average?

d. What percentage of the agent’s day is typically spent on calls versus transactions?

e. What is the breakdown of how each transaction originates (i.e., phone call, email, mail-in forms, etc.)?

Answer 5:

a. No

b. Contract requirements will be reviewed with the COR and Contractor and any follow-up will be in accordance with the contract.

c. Estimate is 20-30 seconds per transaction.

d. This can vary. Additional information is not available.

e. This information is not available.

Question 6: It is stated in the RFP that Leads/Trainers will be required to take calls as well. Do Leads have a required number of daily calls like VSST’s, or a required percentage of their time spent taking calls? Are Lead calls only escalations/more difficult calls, or are Leads expected to take first line calls along with the VSSTs?

Answer 6: There are specified requirement for Leads; they assist during periods of high call volume or fill in when required for VSST’s. Leads and Supervisors primarily take escalations/more difficult calls transferred to them from VSSTs, assist during periods of high call volume or fill in when required for VSST’s.

Question 7: It is requested that the Government provide the call scripts that are presently in use at this time.

Answer 7: This information is not available.

Question 8: It is requested that the Government define “processing time" as used in your call metrics. Is processing time included in “Call Duration.”

Answer 8: Processing time is the time it takes for complete transactions (orders) to be placed in the system. Yes.

Question 9: What are your metrics for call quality and customer satisfaction?

Answer 9: This information is not available.

Question 10: As this is a FFP contract, it is requested that the Government provide CDRLs or specific tasks that can be used for billing and contractor accountability.

Answer 10: Billing will be based on hours of services provided in accordance with the contract.

Question 11: The Government’s answer to Q&A question 11 in Amendment 0002 indicates that the Lead to VSST should be no more that 9 to 1. With 25 full time VSSTs should the minimum numbers of Leads be 3 vs 2?

Answer 11: Supervisors are included in the ratio.

Question 12: The answer to Question 19 in Solicitation Amendment 0002 indicates no overtime is authorized for this contract. Absentees & attrition may reduce the on board VSST strength to where short-term OT may be required. How will this be managed?

Question 12: Overtime is not a part of this contract.

Question 13: The answer to Solicitation Amendment 0002 Question 49-part b. indicates that the average talk/ [processing time is roughly 4 minutes. Our experience with call center call times is that at least 10 minutes are required per call. (defined as the total duration from the time the agents pick up the phone on a call until the agent is ready to pick up another call). Is talk/processing time” defined as the total duration of a call as defined above? If not, what is the estimated duration of a call (from call pick up until the agent ready for the next call?

Answer 13: No. The estimated duration of a call as defined by this question is 4 minutes 20 seconds (average of a 4-minute call duration plus 20 second agent refresh time automatically set by the phone system).

Question 14: The answer to Solicitation Amendment 0002, Question 49, part d. indicates an expected call abandonment rate of zero. The reported call abandonment rate is roughly twice as many as calls answered. Our experience is that some call abandonments will always occur (calling the wrong number etc.) Will the government allow for a more achievable call abandonment rate?

Answer 14: The “Call Abandonment Rate” as reported from our phone system captures all calls that the Veteran/customer placed to our customer service line and ended the call before being connected to a VSST. The VSSTs, and subsequently the vendor/contractor) are not penalized or faulted for these abandoned calls. The phone system depicts calls as “presented not answered” for both the live queue and the callback queue. The phone system allows for the VSST to change status’ such as “additional duty” or “email” and not miss any customer calls. The standard is 3 calls or less “presented not answered” per month per VSST.

Question 15: Will the government provide additional workspace/equipment if staffing increases past the current FTE/PTE counts provided in Attachment D.6? As the call center improves in quality, additional callers will use the call center, resulting in additional call volume. If no expansion in staffing is allowed, how does the Government intend to address the additional call volume? Can the winning contractor expect to enter discussions for added scope should the demand for DLC services expand?

Answer 15: The contract will include the range of the number of FTE per position as included in the solicitation.

Question 16: Are initial background checks done locally at the facility or in a separate VA location?

Answer 16: At a separate VA location.

Question 17: The answers to question 49 state that average wait time is 5 minutes. How are wait times of 5 minutes and processing times of 4 minutes calculated? Please describe the entire call process flow. We waited for over 60 minutes without an agent answering our call. How does an extended wait time impact on the current average 4 min process time to order medical devices?

Answer 17: Mitel/Shoretel. The wait time does not impact the current average process time.