Commercial_e-Marketplace_Acquisition_-_Questions_and_Answers_-_16_October_2019.xlsx
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- Attached to
- Commercial e-Marketplace Acquisition
- Solicitation number
- 47QSCC20R0001
- Issued by
-
GSA Federal Acquisition Service
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Questions and Answers
| RFP Section Number | RFP Section Topic | RFP Page Number | Question | Response | |
| Attachment 4 | Prospective Offeror Requirements | Attachment 4 | Is it a requirement that the prospective offeror currently operate an e-commerce site or can it be developed as part of the performance of the grant? | Yes, prospective offerors must have a functioning e-marketplace platform with B2B capabilities that can meet the requirements identified in Attachment 3 and Attachment 4 of the solicitation package. GSA is not seeking development services to build a new platform as that is not permissible under the authority granted under the Section 846 legislation. | Note: This question was previously uploaded to FBO on 10/8/2019 |
| E.3.5.1. g. General Instructions | General Instructions | 22 | Could you outline the process for answering questions? What cadence will they be answered in, i.e. weekly during the period leading up to the deadline? Or will they be answered in aggregate after the questions are due on October 15th? | Questions between Oct 1 - Oct 4: |
Responses posted by Oct 8
Questions between Oct 7 - 11:
Responses posted by Oct 15
Questions between Oct 11-15 Responses posted by Oct 23rd*
| *Dependent on volume of questions | Note: This question was previously uploaded to FBO on 10/8/2019 | ||||
| E.3.5.2.1 | Volume 1 - Contract Data | 23-24 | Can Government please confirm their acceptance of the Table of Contents for each volume to additionally contain a List of Figures, List of Tables, and List of Acronyms & Abbreviations to ease navigation and evaluator understanding? And that all these items do not count against any page limitations. | The table of contents for each volume may include this information. The table of contents does not count against the volume page limitation. | |
| E.3.5.2.1 | Volume 1 - Contract Data | 23-24 | Will Government accept inclusion of a Transmittal Letter before Tab 1 of Volume 1 so bid validity period and other contractual affirmations can be made by Offerors? | Tab 1 of Volume 1 calls for a cover page to the proposal. This information may be included in the cover page. | |
| E.3.5.3.1 | Volume 3 - Phase II Technical Proposal | 26 | Can Government please confirm that the 13-page limit for the PWS be limited to only those sections identified in the RFP? Since a FAR 32.602-compliant PWS is intended to be a separable, stand-alone document, which will be incorporated into the contract, all other needed pages (e.g. Cover page, Revision History, Table of Contents, Part 1 - General, Part 2 - Definitions, Part 3 - Government & Contractor Furnished Items & Services), and other non-directed sections required for document completeness be excluded from the RFP's stated page limit. If not, will Government stipulate that these items may be added prior to inclusion into any resulting contract? | The PWS requirements for this solicitation are outlined as indicated in section 3.5.3.1 of the solicitation. Please see Amendment 1 for updated information on this section. | |
| E.3.5.3.1 | Volume 3 - Phase II Technical Proposal | 26 | Since PWS is expected to be included in any resulting contract, may Offerors submit it as a separate document that is an Attachment to Volume 3? | As mentioned above, the PWS requirements are outlined in section 3.5.3.1 of the solicitation. Offerors shall not submit a separate PWS as an attachment to Volume 3. | |
| E.3.5.3.1 | Volume 3 – Phase II Technical Proposal | 26 | Can the Government please clarify and/or provide additional information on how Offerors are to respond to SOO Sections 4.A and other SOO requirements not included in Table under heading Factor 3 - Performance Work Statement; so that "… the PWS demonstrates an overall understanding of the Government’s objectives..." can be achieved as required in Para. E.3.6.2. | In accordance with section 3.5.3.1 of the solicitation, the PWS shall specifically address and describe the offeror’s plan and approach for meeting the Government’s requirements in the focus areas, as outlined in the noted sections of the Statement of Objectives, within the page limitations specified in the chart. |
The offeror is not limited to the focus areas but they must be addressed, in addition to the quality assurance process as described below the chart. The overall page limitation for the PWS has been increased to 14 pages (see Amendment 1). However, the page limitation for the items in the chart has not changed.
| Attachment 1 | Click-Through Text | 1 | There can be multiple steps in completing a purchase. Please specify at what point GSA wants the click-through text to occur. What is the GSA's definition of 'the conclusion of a purchase'? Is it before an item is added to the cart, or before Government Purchase Card information is submitted, or is it before order placement/checkout? | Prior to order placement is requested. |
| Attachment 2 | Communication of e-Marketplace Acquisition Initiative | 1 | How is the e-Marketplace Acquisition initiative going to be published and communicated among participating government buyers, and how are buyers going to be notified/trained to use the awarded e-marketplaces? Please provide any specific GSA plans to drive agency adoption to ensure sufficient engagement for mutual evaluation of the pilot. | GSA is working with multiple agencies who have expressed interest in participating in the proof of concept. GSA intends to have agency buyers prepared to purchase from the platforms and outreach activities with interested agencies are currently underway. Beyond these structured interactions, GSA will also allow more ad-hoc buying from interested buyers. |
| Attachment 3, section 3 | Scope | 2-3 | With the initial proof of concept starting small, is there a way to quantify 'small' so we can determine an estimated value of the pilot? The 2018 FY spend is estimated at $260M, how long until that number is reached with the pilot? How long until the full $6B addressable market is reached? | Adoption is often gradual with new initiatives and the Government is unable to predict how quickly agencies may adopt use of the marketplaces and how much of their spend might go through them. |
| Attachment 3, section 4.C | Data Capabilities | 12 | Offeror accepts that Government owns the transactional data the Commercial E-Marketplace platform generates with each query and/or subsequent purpose. For the purpose of clarification, can the government please specify exactly what data it expects to own and its preferred method of transfer? Since all data on e-commerce sites is protected by law, platform providers are legally bound to not destroy or delete the data. We must therefore maintain all data for the requisite period but are open to providing agreed-upon data to government electronically, once all parties understand and agree. | Please see section 4.C.II of Attachment 3 for the specific extracts the Government seeks on a recurring basis. The ideal method of transfer is via API, however GSA is willing to working with the awardees on this process. |
| Attachment 3, Section 4.C.ii | Data Extracts | 12-13 | Please confirm that the “Vendor Data” items contained in the table is this section is the specific Seller/Vendor from which any item(s) was ordered through the E-Marketplace instance. | The "Vendor Data" is intended to be the supplier who fulfilled the order. This could be either the vendor's name as a 3rd party supplier or the portal provider's name in the case of a 1st party sale. |
| Attachment 3, Section 4.C.v | Data Security and Protections - Restrictions on Contractor's Use of Data | 14-15 | Please provide any Data Item Description (DID) or other written guidance needed to ensure Offerors provide a data restriction plan that meets government expectations. | The contractor shall provide their approach to complying with the data restrictions identified in Section 838 of the FY19 NDAA. |
| Attachment 4 | Business-to-business capabilities | 1 | Please clarify/define "preferred-pricing practices" and provide examples other than volume discounts? For example, is every day low pricing (discounted from B2C pricing) considered acceptable? | The Government seeks to understand what additional price-related benefits are available. Everyday low pricing (as discounted from the B2C pricing) is a valid example. |
| Attachment 4 | Conduct the check-out process within the platform | 1 | Please clarify if this refers to front-end only, or back-end too? For example, is using a 3rd party checkout service okay as long as user experience on the front-end is seamless? | This refers to the front-end only, e.g. the check-out process that is viewable to the buyer. |
| Section C.5 | Contract Award Date | 13 | Reference Para. C.5, pp. 13 of RFP, please provide estimated Contract Award date. This will assist commercial Offerors in understanding the lead time to launch this platform. Also, please provide your anticipated dates for LTD activities? | GSA cannot provide an estimated timeframe on the contract award date. GSA needs to allow time for the evaluation during Phase I before notices can be sent to offerors that they have moved to Phase II. For offerors that progress from Phase I to Phase II, it is anticipated that LTDs will be held in December. |
| Attachment 3, Section 4.B.iv | AbilityOne and 'Essentially the Same' Items | 9 | On the Mandatory Use language, is it the Government’s intent for this to be a “block and ship” capability? | The Government is seeking to understand the offeror's approach to complying with the Mandatory Sources in Section 4.B.iv, which may include capabilities such as 'block and subtitute'. |
| Attachment 3, Section 4.B.iv | AbilityOne and ‘Essentially the Same’ Items | 9 | Since AbilityOne requires an authorized distribution approval, is the ability to promote/offer or search and filter AbilityOne products on the E-Marketing site required upon Contract Award (i.e. first day of the Base period of performance) or is it a goal to achieve this capability within the base period? It is understood that Offeror’s must demonstrate the “blocking” and “Essentially the Same” capabilities at LTD. | The Government acknowledges that AbilityOne distributors need to participate on the platforms in order to display (and promote) them on the platform. Offerors should outline their strategy for bringing on AbilityOne distributors, as well as how they intend to comply with the requirements under section 4.B.iv. within 120 days of the start of the period of performance under this contract. |
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