GSA__DOD_USAF_DTA_5__LSJ_10_16_19_.pdf

Limited Sources Justification

FAR 8.405-6

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This requirement is an assisted acquisition for the General Services Administration (GSA) to procure Travel Management Center services in support of the Department of Defense (DoD).

Contracting Activity: General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Travel Acquisition Support Branch (QMACB) 1800 F Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Hub 3400 Washington, D.C. 20405

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The purpose of this limited sources justification is to support award of a sole source bridge task order to Carlson Wagonlit Government Travel, Inc. (CWGT) for continued support in providing official Travel Management Center (TMC) services for Air Force Defense Travel Area 5 (DTA 5) Commercial Travel Office (CTO) services. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Program Support Center (PSC), awarded HHSP233201700010I Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Contract on March 30, 2017 to CWGT, to provide all personnel, equipment, material, supervision and other items or services necessary to perform the management and operation of Contracted Commercial Travel Offices (CTOs) for Air Force DTA 5. The current bridge contract period of performance is March 16, 2017 - March 15 2020 and is in Option Period 4.

This sole source contracting action is pursuing a waiver and provides justification for placing an order on a competitive basis pursuant to FAR 8.405-2 for the aforementioned requirement based on the application of FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(A), which states an urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays. The requirement exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold and the estimated value is $2,244,023.35 The period of performance for this effort will be a nine (9) month base period of performance, beginning November 1, 2019 - July 31, 2020.

The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) was officially notified by memorandum and email on June 14, 2019 by the HHS/PS that it will be terminating its assisted acquisition program for non-HHS agencies. It has been determined that HHS PSC is no longer in compliance with the defense procurement requirements for FY 2019 for assisted acquisitions as mandated by Section 801 of the Fiscal Year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Internal Controls for Procurements on Behalf of the Department of Defense by certain Non-Defense Agencies," requiring that the heads of all non-DoD agencies that provide acquisition support to DoD to certify that their respective non-Defense agencies will comply with defense procurement requirements for FY 2019 for assisted acquisitions.

Effective October 31, 2019, HHS PSC will be terminating contract HHSP233201700010I. In response to this notification, DTMO solicited the professional services of General Services Administration (GSA) to procure and provide contract administration support for the DTMO.

The acquisition strategy will be to execute a sole source award for a period of nine (9) months beginning November 1, 2019 – July 31, 2020 for the purpose of maintaining continuity and providing official travel management services for Air Force DTA 5.

This sole source action is pursuing a waiver/justification for placing an order on a competitive basis pursuant to FAR 8.405-2 for the aforementioned requirement based on the application of FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(i)(A) which states "an urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays;". There is no alternative source that can facilitate the need for immediate uninterrupted travel services and mission readiness.

3. A complete description of the supplies and/or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including an estimated value).

The required travel management company services are highly specialized and require familiarity with specific travel regulations and laws, including the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), the Defense Travel Regulation (DTR), and local Business Rules developed by each site, as well as interfacing with DoD’s travel management system for end-to-end travel. From the start of contract implementation, the TMC must have detailed knowledge of travel regulations and Business Rules to ensure traveler reservations are accurate, timely, and IAW with policies and regulations. As a result, this requirement does not lend itself to allow for time for a new contractor to get acclimated and to perform the required implementation. The implementation period for a new contractor is 60 days for CONUS and 90 days for OCONUS locations and with a contract expiration date of October 31, 2019, it would not allow sufficient time for the required implementation period. The requirement exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold and the estimated value is $2,244.023.35.

In addition, DoD travelers often use a centrally billed account (CBA) to pay for travel.

The Contractor provides assistance in reconciling these accounts monthly. The procedures for reconciling vary by service and also require intricate knowledge of the procedures in place by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). This is unique requirement to DOD that is not part of the travel requirements for the rest of the Federal Government. DOD travelers are mandated to use the Defense Travel System (DTS) to book all TDY travel, which also requires familiarity by the Contractor. Further, the Contractor must be prepared to ramp up and support DoD’s requirements immediately upon Government notification to support surge requirements. Surge support is somewhat specific to DoD and responds to contingencies including, but not limited to, national emergencies, accident investigations, aircraft recovery teams, evacuations, rescue operations, EXODUS travel, civil disturbances, disasters, military peacetime and wartime contingency operations, exercises, personal emergencies, holiday travel and mass casualties (human remains). The incumbent contractor has provided satisfactory support in this area with immediate response and the ability to continue consistent services to all activities under the contract. This further validates that they have the resources needed to maintain continuity of services to both the event at hand and normal day-to-day-operations at all sites on contracts. 2

At this time, it is imperative that these TMC services be continued with the incumbent contractor. Awarding to any source other than the incumbent contractor will: 1) significantly impact the continued provision of highly specialized services required to support DoD missions, and 2) potentially result in unacceptable delays and risk in fulfilling and meeting the agency’s travel requirements. Further, significant negative impact to critical agency operations are a concern should continuity of services be impacted by awarding to other than the incumbent. To ensure that TMC services for the Air Force DTA 5 locations are uninterrupted, TMC services must be procured with the incumbent contractor until such time as a future full and open competition can be completed for these services. The incumbent has successfully provided these services to date and is the only vendor that can meet the requirement without potential serious disruption to DoD travel.

Consistent with FAR 8.404(d), a determination has been made that this order represents the best value to the government.

4. The authority and supporting rationale (see FAR 8.405-6(a) (1) (i) and (b) (1)) and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

• FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(i)(A) - An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays;

Under the authority for FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(A), CWGT, the incumbent contractor is able to provide immediate TMC support services; therefore, ensuring uninterrupted travel services to meet the needs of Air Force DTA 5 location requirements. The incumbent has the required skilled staff with detailed knowledge of the customer’s mission, JTR, DTR, and other travel related policies; established Defense Travel System Passenger Name Record (PNR) validation; established centrally billed accounts and reconciliation processes specific to the customer; and customer centric Global Distribution System (GDS) agreements and profiles for Air Force DTA 5 locations which can take up from 60-90 days to implement. The established profiles afford the incumbent contractor to support each individual customer’s needs based on travel preferences and contains business rule requirements unique to DTA 5. The incumbent’s unique qualifications and already established business processes, allows for immediate continuity of services and continued mission capability.

Due to the criticality of these services for DoD, it is imperative that these TMC services are continued with the incumbent contractor. Due to the circumstances noted above, it is not feasible to procure the services in a timely manner and ensure effective implementation prior to the end of the current contract put in place by HHS. Due to the unique DoD requirements and the implementation timelines, award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements, resulting in significant negative impact to critical agency operations are a concern should continuity of services be impacted by awarding to other than the incumbent. To ensure that TMC services for the Air Force DTA 5 locations are uninterrupted, TMC services must be obtained from the incumbent TMC contractor. 3

RaymondJMeraz Sticky Note Completed set by RaymondJMeraz

CWGT, the incumbent contractor, has successfully provided these services to date and is the only vendor that can meet the extension requirement without substantial disruption to DoD travel. Again, after conducting a full and open competition and performing the source selection process, the TMC vendor will require approximately 60-90 days to transition from the incumbent TMC to a new TMC provider for OCONUS locations. During this transition period, the following activities typically take place: request and receive a Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) and Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) number to issue tickets if required, which can take up to eight weeks; hire new personnel; organize and arrange telecommunication connectivity with the installation; request and receive a Pseudo City Code (PCC) if required, which can take up to six weeks to obtain; install a GDS; submit PNR validation worksheet with the active PCC to the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO)30 days prior to the contract start date; and obtain new Centrally Billed Account travel charge cards.

Therefore, in accordance with FAR 8.405.6 (a) (1) (i) (A), an urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays.

5. A determination by the ordering activity- Contracting Officer- that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

The CO has determined that the expected outcome of this acquisition, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement and therefore the best value to the Government consistent with FAR 8.404(d), based on all factors considered within this justification.

6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders, and the results of the research, or a statement why market research was not conducted.

CWGT is not the only company capable of providing TMC services under MAS Schedule 599-2 (Travel Services Solutions, Travel Agent Services). However, our market research confirms that they are the only source capable of providing continued provision of the entire scope of highly specialized services within the condensed time frames in order to ensure mission-critical quality levels are achieved. GSA has also conducted Requests for Information (RFI) in conjunction with the on-going full and open competition for these services and received very limited feedback from industry during the RFI and Request for Quotation process, with the exception of the incumbent contractor. Based upon the market research results, it is our determination that no other vendor would be able to start-up and perform the services required by the contract start date of November 1, 2019, without grossly impacting and hampering the Air Force DTA 5 location travel services.

This sole source bridge contract will provide the procurement activity lead time needed to complete the re-procurement process for these services as well as allow for the necessary transition periods while ensuring no detrimental loss of service to DOD caused by unacceptable delays and service disruptions.

(Reference Market Research Report for comprehensive details.)

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%208_4.html#wp1089505

7. Any other facts supporting the limited source justification.

All facts and circumstances have been presented; therefore, there are no additional facts.

8. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

On behalf of the DTMO, GSA is already conducting a re-compete of these services under a full and open completion under MAS Schedule 599-2, Travel Solution Services. The estimated award date for this procurement of services is during Fiscal Year 2020 with a five (5) year period of performance. It is important to note that industry will be provided a fair opportunity for award of the services as a result of the future procurement.

9. Certifications and Approvals

Requisitioner: (Contractor Employee or Federal Employee) I hereby certify and accept the responsibility that any and all supporting data provided above or used to justify the above requested limited source procurement (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs, schedule requirements, and/or other rationale for other than full and open competition) is accurate and complete to the best of my personal knowledge and belief.

Signature Date

Contracting Officer:

I certify and approve that the information contained in this Limited Source Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature Date

October 17, 2019

BENJAMIN.PHILI

P.G.1017635456

Digitally signed by

BENJAMIN.PHILIP.G.1017635456

Date: 2019.10.16 16:44:25 -04'00'

Additional Certifications and Approvals based on Dollar Value FAR 8.405-6(d)

For a proposed order or BPA with an estimated value exceeding $700,000, but not exceeding $13.5 Million:

Competition Advocate I certify and approve that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature Date