47QFNA23Q0145 PM-PI (Special Forces) RFQ.pdf

Request for Quote (RFQ) Number: 47QFNA23Q0145

Title: Protection and Integration (formerly Special Forces) Combat Supplies and Equipment (Oakley)

Ordering Procedure: SAM

Category: Product Service Code (PSC) 8465 (Individual Equipment) and

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 315990

(Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing).

FAS GSA Region 1 intends to place a competitive open market order in accordance with (IAW) FAR 12 procedures in conjunction with FAR 13.5 policies and procedures. The brand name justification is Attachment 2 with a list of brand name specific equipment. No brand name substitutions are allowed.

Submit quote in accordance with the instructions on SAM by emailing submissions to the Contracting Officers listed below by the date and time stated in the chart below.

RFQ Issued Quote Due Date Time Due Submittal Requirements

7/5/2023 7/12/2023 4 pm EST Technical Quote

Price Quote

Contracting Officer: Laura Demanche – Laura.demanche@gsa.gov

Contracting Officer: Victoria Howland – Victoria.howland@gsa.gov

Project Manager: Randy Bonin –Randolph.bonin@gsa.gov mailto:Laura.demanche@gsa.gov mailto:Randolph.bonin@gsa.gov

GSA RFQ: 47QFNA23Q0145

1. Background

The United States Protection and Integration (formerly Special Forces) units are composed of the nation’s elite war fighters, specializing in counterterrorism, direct action, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, and unconventional warfare. Located in Natick, Massachusetts, the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center is responsible for research, development, and management of technologies and equipment used by Protection and Integration (formerly Special Forces) and other soldiers during their missions. This request for quote includes brand name items only for the Protection and Integration (formerly Special Forces) requirements and no substitutions are allowed, per Attachment 2 - Brand Name Justification.

2. Requirement

This requirement is for the specific equipment and/or supply list, as shown in Attachment 1 – Pricing Spreadsheet. Offeror shall ensure that it is authorized to sell all items from the list in Attachment 1. An Offeror must quote the brand name products listed. Substitutions shall not be accepted. An Offeror who submits a quote with items and it is determined the Offeror is not capable of providing them, the quote will be deemed nonresponsive.

This requirement is publicized in accordance with FAR 5.203(a)(2), following procedures at FAR

12.603. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

3. Quote Submission

Offerors are encouraged to offer pricing discounts based on estimated quantities for each requested item in Attachment 1. When discounts are offered, the quote must clearly identify both the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) or open market price and the discounted price for each item.

Offerors are encouraged to competitive delivery timeframes, but delivery dates must be realistic and confirmed with the manufacturer prior to submitting the delivery schedule for each item in Attachment 1 Pricing Spreadsheet.

The order resulting from this RFQ is subject to the terms and conditions of this RFQ letter at time of order award.

Electronic submission of the RFQ via SAM and email indicates the Offeror’s acceptance of the terms and conditions of the delivery order.

3.1 Technical Submission

Offeror’s technical quote shall include its GSA MAS Contract Number (if applicable) and address the following items in 3 pages or less.

● Offeror’s statement of capability to provide the brand name only equipment it is quoting from Attachment 1, and an authorized reseller’s agreement from the manufacturer (if applicable).

● Offeror’s plan to deliver the required items and quantities within a specified delivery schedule After Receipt of Order (ARO) for all items quoted. If partial deliveries are quoted, the Offeror shall provide a detailed delivery schedule specifying the CLIN(s) partial shipment quantities and proposed dates for each partial shipment.

● Warranty Information: Warranty information for each item quoted must be provided within 5 days after award.

● Offeror’s plan to ensure all tracking information is provided before and upon delivery.

● Offeror’s plan to resolve misplaced/undelivered shipments.

● Show proof from OEMs regarding delivery times quoted.

3.2 Pricing Submission

Offeror’s price quote shall be submitted in Microsoft Office Excel format on Attachment 1 provided with this RFQ. Offeror shall populate Columns H-M in Attachment 1. If the item is open market, please provide the pricing per item and write open market in Column M. If the offeror has a GSA MAS and the required items are on the MAS, offeror must bid in accordance with MAS pricing. The Government is requesting price discounts off the Offerors’ GSA MAS pricing.

The Firm Fixed Price for each item shall include all shipping costs. The price quote is limited Attachment 1 Pricing Spreadsheet (formulas intact) depicting all values and logic employed to develop the price that is inclusive of all shipping costs. The estimated quantity is -/+ 20% of items showed Attachment 1. The Government reserves the right to increase or decrease line-item quantities shown in Attachment 1.

Offeror shall state their quote validity date in cell C10.

4. Delivery Date

The delivery date for all items in Attachment 1 should be detailed by the Offeror in Column L.

The intent of the Government is to receive all items timely upon award. The Offeror will be held accountable to the delivery dates as originally quoted.

The Government will consider partial deliveries up to and beyond the delivery schedule requirement. If partial deliveries are quoted, the Offeror shall include a delivery schedule for all partial deliveries in its quote for Government review and consideration before award.

5. Delivery Location

Articles to be furnished hereunder shall be delivered in accordance with the GSA contract terms and conditions to the following delivery: DODAAC: H92261, 5749 Briar Hill Road, Building 220 Door 4, Lexington, Kentucky, 40516. Changes to the delivery address(es) after award, if needed, will be negotiated via a bilateral modification.

6. Order Pricing

All line-item pricing in Attachment 1 shall be priced on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) basis, inclusive of shipping. The Government prefers FOB destination, however if origin is used, contractor must include shipping per item.

7. Order Electronic Invoicing Process (December 2014)

GSA employs Electronic Commerce in Contracting to the maximum extent practicable.

Contractors shall use the GSA Assisted Acquisition Service Business System (ASSIST), at https://assist.gsa.govto submit invoices. All invoice information, to include attached documents, shall be submitted to ASSIST via the Central Invoice Service (CIS). It is the responsibility of the contractor to gain access to ASSIST upon award.

(1) For each invoice, the contractor shall complete the required fields provided in ASSIST CIS and must attach a copy of the invoice. Assistance in using the GSA ASSIST CIS application and answers to related questions may be obtained via email at aasbs.helpdesk@gsa.gov or by calling (877) 472-4877.

(2) The Invoice Form will include all active items on the contract. The contractor shall enter the invoice amount in dollars and cents for each item.

(3) Additional instructions may be provided by the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative, or the Customer Account Manager, immediately following the award of the contract or during contract administration to further enhance the use of Electronic Commerce in Contracting or to ensure compliance with GSA or GSA Customer Agency requirements or policies.

(4) Invoices shall not be submitted until Government acceptance is complete.

(5) The invoice should be submitted after final receipt and acceptance of all items for the order.

Proof of tracking, delivery, and acceptance of all items, as signed by the Government personnel will be required before final payment. All documentation must be uploaded into ASSIST with the final invoice.

(6) In accordance with FAR 52.232-1 Payments (Apr 1984). The Government shall pay the Contractor, upon the submission of proper invoices or vouchers, the prices stipulated in this contract for supplies delivered and accepted, less any deductions provided in this contract.

Unless otherwise specified in this contract, payment shall be made on partial deliveries accepted by the Government if (a) The amount due on the deliveries warrants it; or (b) The Contractor requests it and the amount due on the deliveries is at least $1,000 or 50 percent of the total contract price.

8. Delivery Order Clauses and Provisions

The following contract clauses and provisions of this order are stated below.

8.1 FAR Clauses Incorporated by Reference:

52.232-18 Availability of Funds (Apr 1984)

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services

52.204–27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application

8.2 DFAR Clauses and Provisions Incorporated by Reference:

252.204-7000 Disclosure of Information. (OCT 2016)

8.3 If items are bid as open market, the following FAR clauses will apply:

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (November 2021)

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders (January 2022)

52.211-16 Variation in Quantity

52.232-1 Payments

52.222-20 Contracts for Materials, Supplies, Articles, and Equipment

52.246-16 Responsibility for Supplies

9. Certification for Trade Agreements

The contractor shall comply with the clause at FAR 52.225-5 Trade agreements. Contractor shall provide certification that all proposed equipment items are compliant with trade agreement laws.

In accordance with the Buy American Act and the Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 2533a) the following DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clauses apply:

● DFARS 252.225-7000 Buy American – Balance of Payments Program Certificate (Contract must complete fill-ins contained in this clause and submit as part of their quote)

● DFARS 252.225-7001 Buy American and Balance of Payments Program (DEC 2017)

● DFARS 252.225-7012 Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities (DEC 2017)

10. Tracking, Delivery and Reporting.

All equipment to be delivered under this order is required to be tracked by the contractor for the Government upon shipment from the manufacturer or vendor to the Government delivery location, as specified in the order. The tracking information shall be provided for all items and referenced by the awarded delivery order number. The tracking information shall include the part number, description, quantity, and estimated arrival date. Upon confirmed tracking delivery receipt, the vendor shall email the Government's contracting officer and project manager (name provided upon award) with the confirmation of delivery as proof of receipt. This confirmation shall be provided before submission of the invoice and must be received before an invoice will be paid. Contractor shall submit a monthly report to the Government that includes all tracking and delivery information, Government will provide a template for the Contractor to use post award.

11. Consideration for late deliveries

Due to ongoing extenuating circumstances, i.e., extended supply chain lead times and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government understands the Offeror may not be able deliver all items within the specified delivery schedule after award. The Government expects notification for all deliveries on-going (daily, weekly) until the delivery schedule has been completed.

Late deliveries are not anticipated, however, if circumstances arrive, the contractor shall immediately address any issues with late deliveries with the Contracting Officer for immediate resolution. The Contracting Officer must be notified, in writing, immediately upon any changes to the awarded delivery date for all items. In all cases, the Contracting Officer must be notified before the established delivery date has passed.

Late deliveries are not consistent with Special Forces operations. As such, the Government reserves the right to seek consideration from the contractor, in the amounts up to and including 10% of the order’s value in either additional equipment or a deduction at final invoice, for all deliveries made between one (1) and thirty (30) days (inclusive) after the contract’s delivery date.

Delivery delinquency of more than thirty (30) days may result in compensation and/or termination of the order for default.

Additionally, delivery delinquency will be considered in the award evaluation as past performance for future RFQs for the same or similar requirements and may result in the Offeror being determined technically unacceptable. It is the intention of the Government to receive all items timely for delivery with a capable vendor.

In the event delivery dates cannot be met, vendor shall promptly notify Contracting Officer at least 30 days in advance of current delivery date with proposed mitigation plan for review and/or approval by Contracting Officer. The Government reserves the right to terminate the order.

12. Packaging and Labeling Requirements

Only properly packaged and labeled items will be accepted by the Government. Improperly labeled and / or packaged items must be returned to the contractor for proper labeling and / or packaging at the contractor’s expense before the Government will accept and issue payment.

The contractor shall comply with the following packaging and labeling guidelines to ensure acceptance of delivered items:

A. Shipments must arrive with one of the following forms of paperwork:

1. DD Form 1149

2. DD Form 1348

3. DD Form 250

4. WAWF Receiving Report

5. Packing Slip

B. The paperwork must have the following information:

1. Contract Number

2. Delivery order and/or Shipment Number

3. Full NSN and/or Manufacturer’s Part Number (must be able to cross reference to NSN in FedLog matching the physical label on the item

4. Quantity Shipped

C. Containers should be labeled per the following:

1. All containers (bag, box, etc.) need to have the entire item’s information labeled on the outside of each container. Required information: full NSN or manufacturer’s part number, nomenclature, quantity inside container

2. Any material placed in vendor sealed containers (boxes with vendor tape or heat-sealed bags) will not require inspection if the container is labeled with information detailed above. All material that is not vendor sealed must be opened and inspected 100% and any of that material that does not have an identifying NSN, but is identifiable by part number, will require individual NSN labeling by SOFSA at cost to the vendor.

D. Individual labeling:

1. At a minimum, all item labels products for the manufacturers (Oakley) must contain the following product information (as applicable):

a. NSN (if available)

b. Nomenclature

c. Contract Number

d. Name of Manufacturer

e. Date of Manufacture

f. Serial Number (if applicable)

g. Lot Number (if applicable)

h. Manufacturer’s Part Number

13. Best Value Basis for Award

The Government will award a single award GSA delivery order(s) resulting from this RFQ to the responsible Offeror whose offer conforms to the terms and conditions in this RFQ and is found to be the best value to the Government in accordance with FAR Part 13.106-1(a)(2); price and other factors considered. Evaluation factors (Technical – brand and part no, warranty and delivery) other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price.

Offerors should be aware that the Government shall perform a “best value analysis” and the selection for award shall be made to the Offeror(s) whose quote is most advantageous to the Government, taking into consideration the technical factors listed above and the total proposed price for items in Attachment 1.

In order to be determined technically acceptable the Offeror must:

1. Provide all the information required in Paragraph 3.1, Technical Submission.

2. Quote the line-item pricing for the RFQ required Brand Name products. Please label an item in the pricing sheet, column M, if an item is offered on open market or GSA Schedule.

3. Quote a delivery schedule for all items capable of being provided in Attachment

1. The Offeror providing the most items, with the best delivery timeframes will be considered technically higher than another Offeror providing less items within the same delivery timeframes. Delivery timeframes must be realistic, and the Government does not intend to extend delivery dates upon initial award.

4. Have a satisfactory record of timely deliveries for the same or similar items under previous GSA orders. If the Offeror has not previously been awarded orders for similar requirements, these criteria will be not applicable to that Offeror.

14. Price Evaluation:

Quoted prices will be evaluated for fairness and reasonableness. Discounts are requested. The quoted price shall include the cost of shipping in the quoted firm fixed price for each item offered.

If the Government does not receive multiple responsive quotes for all items listed in Attachment 1 to allow for a total bottom line price comparison among technically acceptable Offerors, the Government may evaluate quoted prices on an individual line-item basis and may award multiple orders to Offerors on a line-item basis to fulfill this requirement, in line with the best value analysis.

However, if quotes are received from multiple technically acceptable Offerors that can provide all items on Attachment 1, the Government reserves the right to limit its price evaluation to only these Offerors on a total bottom line price basis for all items combined even if other technically acceptable Offerors may have proposed a subset of individual item(s) at a lower price(s). This determination will be made by the Government to prevent the unnecessary issuance and administrative burden of numerous orders when adequate competition is received from multiple vendors capable of fulfilling the Government’s entire requirement.

15. Award on Initial Responses

The Government reserves the right to consider only those quotes submitted in accordance with all instructions set forth or referenced in this RFQ. Failure to comply with the requirements of laws and regulations set forth in the RFQ may also affect eligibility for award. The Government may reject any or all offers as nonresponsive if such action is determined to be in the Government’s best interest.

The Government anticipates selecting the best-value contractor from initial quotes, without engaging in exchanges with Offerors. Therefore, Offerors are strongly encouraged to submit their best pricing including discounts and their best technical quote in response to this delivery order request. However, the Government reserves the right to engage in exchanges.

16. Exchanges with Best-Suited Offeror(s)

Once the Government determines the Offeror to be the best value, the Government reserves the right to communicate with only that Offeror to address any remaining issues, if necessary, and finalize a delivery order with that Offeror. The communication may include non-price and price.

If the parties cannot successfully address any remaining issues, as determined pertinent at the sole discretion of the Government, the Government reserves the right to communicate with the next best-suited Offeror based on the original analysis and address any remaining issues. Once the Government has begun communications with the next best-value Offeror, no further communications with the previous Offeror will be entertained until after the delivery order has been awarded. This process shall continue until an agreement is successfully reached and a delivery order is awarded.

17. List of Attachments

Attachment Number

Title

1 Pricing Spreadsheet

2 Brand Name Justification