GSA_47QMCA22R0013_MHWC_Questions_and_Answers_0003.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

2023 MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES /

WRECKER AND CARRIER PROGRAM

SOLICITATION 47QMCA22R0013

QUESTION: In the MHWC solicitation, Attachment 11– Monthly Report, the format changed for the current report as the column for “revised shipment date” is removed. Was this was accidentally left off?

ANSWER: The format for Attachment 11 has not changed since the 2019 MHWC solicitation.

Question: A.1 Solicitation NAICS code – My company’s NAICS code does not match the NAICS code for the solicitation. I am reading this as no problem and they should not. How this is written in solicitation will simplify our inclusion in “small business” status for this acquisition. Can you confirm this?

ANSWER: Offerors will need to update their SAM.gov registration to include the appropriate NAICS code(s) to be eligible for award.

QUESTION: C.3 Wheels off ground delivery – It feels like this is a carryover from a light duty vehicle contract, there is no intention or history to provide this service. It would be prohibitively expensive as well as impractical with some tractors or bodied trucks being over-height and requiring special permits and escort vehicles.

ANSWER: Section C.3 has been removed from the most current version of the solicitation.

Question: D.13 On time shipment and C.6 Shipment delays – 250 days is a good target and I expect that we can hold that number most of the time. However, I do expect that CY2023 will have some of the same pitfalls as 2021 and 2022 with delivery delays for various reasons. The concession penalties or potential termination of the MVDO due to factors beyond my control but short of the force majeure list in C.6 make this challenging to accept as written.

ANSWER: The 250 day limit is per the direction of GSA Automotive’s Purchasing Director and we intend to keep that limit as much as possible.

QUESTION: B.5 Pricing definitions – These definitions seem to reflect light duty vehicle business practices and I do not totally understand the intent. Examples include mention of the Monroney label and “MSRP” neither of which is used in heavy trucks. We do not have an MSRP on the chassis and the bodies are even further from that concept. I am also unclear how these boxes would be filled out for a direct sale vs. a dealer. Is that the intent here, for GSA to have total transparency into gross margin?

ANSWER: Monroney labels and MSRP were referenced in both the 2016 and 2019 solicitations and are correctly referenced in the current solicitation. Please provide the information as applicable.

QUESTION: 1(g) Important Notices – Offeror pricing must remain firm for 120 days; does this mean that we would have opportunity to revise the pricing up or down within the duration of the contract? I am not sure I am reading this correctly as my belief was that the pricing was firm for the calendar year of the acquisition 1/23 - 12/31. This could give offerors the opportunity to go to GSA with a lower price if there was an ability to reprice based on raw materials surcharges.

ANSWER: Your proposed pricing must remain firm for 120 days after proposed until accepted by the Government and awarded in the contract. Once awarded and established as firm in the contract, you will not be able to change it until an "open season."

QUESTION: Parts and service manuals – I am typically hesitant to ship things loose in the cab during transport, unfortunately experience tells me there’s opportunity to get lost before the final destination. Can you talk about GSA’s suggested best practice on this?

ANSWER: The parts and service manuals ordered as optional equipment typically follow behind the actual delivery of the vehicles. Typically, the vehicles show up first and manuals are usually delivered a few months later. The vendors normally box up the manuals once they have constructed them and send to the “Mailing Address” identified in the order.

For the operator’s and installed equipment manuals, those are typically shipped with the truck in the passenger seat. Since these manuals need to be read prior to the truck being put into service it is important they arrive with the truck or within a few days of delivery to the “Consignee Delivery Address.”

QUESTION: In Section D – Solicitation Clauses, some are marked with “X” vs. some not- Why?

ANSWER: It is the required format from the FAR. If there is a check/”X” by sections of the clause, those sections do apply. If some sections of the clause are not checked, they do not apply.

QUESTION: How can one see if they have a CPARS file?

ANSWER: Please refer to https://cpars.gov/ for more information.

QUESTION: While downloading the PowerPoint file of Monday’s meeting from SAM.gov, I noticed that there was a second Solicitation file. It appears that it is a duplicate of the file that was uploaded on 7/18/22 since the only difference in the file names is the ‘_0001.pdf’ at the end of the second file uploaded/updated on 7/20/22. Are there specific changes in the latest solicitation file or is it just a duplicate?

https://cpars.gov/

ANSWER: It is a duplicate. We have had some issues with the system that we use to post to SAM.gov; we used to post to SAM.gov directly but now have to use another system to do it.

QUESTION: On the inspection sites spreadsheet- We will have a primary but there is also some where we envision a “plan B.” The sheet seems to look for one site per SIN should we just use the location we believe will primary? Or should we add a second line for that SIN with a secondary location?

ANSWER: You should note any and all inspection points on the attachment. If you need to add more than one per line item on the sheet, that is fine and you should do so. Of course, by inspection point we just mean the place of final assembly, where a GSA inspector would (if traveling physically) actually inspect the completed vehicle.

QUESTION: Regarding tables that need to be completed for Trade Agreement Act (TAA) compliance and similar requirements included in Attachment 4 Offeror Response Document, would you prefer those as an embedded table in the submission, or, given the number of SINs is it cleaner to have a separate excel document?

ANSWER: Offerors can submit the TAA and similar tabled information in a separate excel file as a complement to the Volume 1 Administrative Requirements submission.

QUESTION: Regarding the previous question, do those submissions towards the 20-page limitation for bid submissions.

ANSWER: There is no page limit for Volume 1. The page limits of 20 and 15 pages, respectively, only apply to Factors 1 and 2, respectively, of the Volume 2 Technical Proposal.