Questions and Answers.pdf

RFP Section Number RFP Page Number

RFP

Section Topic

Questions Response

E.3.5.2.2 Volume 2 – Phase I Technical Proposal

Factor 1 - Commercial Online Platform with Business-to-Business capabilities

Is it a mandate to have a B2B platform with capability to charge credit cards? My local PTAC states otherwise. We are a small Business HUB Zone and would rather defer any unnecessary costs.

Yes, the ability to accept and process a government purchase card transaction is a requirement.

Amendment 0001 NAICS Code Change 2

Referencing Amendment 0001 and the government's direction to change NAICS codes, can you please explain the government's need to affect a NAICS code change for this program? Also, please advise if this needs to be an Offeror's primary NAICS with their SAM.gov entity registration

Unfortunately, the previously used NAICS code (425110) is no longer a valid NAICS code in the 2022 updates made by the Census Bureau. The recommended alternative was 425120 per: https://www.census.gov/naics/?

input=42&year=2022&details=425120. The offeror must have this NAICS listed in SAM.gov to participate in this contract.

E.3.5.1(b) General Instructions 27 Referencing RFP Para. E.3.5.1(b), pp. 27, states Phase I proposal volumes due NLT 1/27/2023, while SF-1449, Block 8 states 1/26/2023. Please verify Due Date for Phase I proposal submission.

The proposal due date is 1/27/2023. Please see amendment number 0002 with correct updates to the SF 1449

C.13 and E.3.5.2.2 SCRM Basic Safeguarding (Attachment 5) 32

Referencing RFP Para.C.13, pp. 21, and Para. E.3.5.2.2 (Factor 1),

pp. 32, we read a requirement for Offerors to submit a completed SCRM Basic Safeguarding Questionnaire (Attachment 5). Please confirm that this completed Questionnaire should be submitted with the Phase I proposal and that it will not count against the 8-page limit for Factor 1.

The completed SCRM questionaire will not count against the 8-page limit for Factor 1.

C.15 ORDER-LEVEL

REQUIREMENTS page 21

Relative to this statement - "Each individual order placed by an agency through the platform will create a contract between the agency and the vendor of the ordered product(s)", our question is: Is this a single payee platform, meaning similar to an Amazon process where the buyer pays Amazon and Amazon pays the participating seller (the vendor)?

Per Attachment 1, the platform provider must:

"Conduct the check-out process within the platform (and not as a punch-out, or other mechanism, to other sites or third party payment processors)." With respect to how vendors or sellers are paid, GSA accepts the commercial practice.

Attachment 1 Topic I. Overarching Platform Attachment 1, Page 1

In Attachment 1, Page 1: Topic I. Overarching Platform, Box 4 states, “Accept and process credit card transactions.” Beyond processing the order during the cart check-out transaction, is payment card information required to be stored in an online wallet or saved cards folder?

The payment information is not required to be stored, though anecdotally agency buyers have felt that saving payment information has saved them time.

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic II. Market Research

Attachment 1, Page 2

In Attachment 1, Page 2: Topic II. Market Research, Box 1 states, “Detailed product information to include in-depth product descriptions, product photos, and/or customer product reviews to help buyers make an informed decision.” Are customer product reviews required to be open to the public/non-contract shoppers, or can product reviews be limited to specific registered users/catalogs/contracts based on taxonomy?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the display of product reviews.

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic II. Market Research

Attachment 1, Page 2

In Attachment 1, Page 2: Topic II. Market Research, Box 3 states, “Display of product availability information and expected delivery timeframes.” Can this contract or parts of this contract be managed through drop-shipping?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the use of drop-shippers, so long as the platform manages the customer's delivery timeframe expectations.

Section Topic

Questions Response

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic IV. Post Purchase

Attachment 1, Page 2

In Attachment 1, Page 2: Topic IV. Post Purchase, Box 3 states, “Ability for purchasers to run detailed order history reports for Government purchase card reconciliation purposes.” What is meant by "detailed" in the context of this requirement?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the display of order history on a user's account.

(Typical reports might include: order number, order date, a listing of items purchased with descriptions, quantities ordered, item price, order total, payment used, ship date, tracking number, etc.)

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic V.

Administration

Attachment 1, Page 3

In Attachment 1, Page 3: Topic V. Administration, Box 3 states, “Ability to rollover existing platform accounts (e.g., move consumer accounts) under the program, if requested by a participating agency.” What is meant by rollover? What are the other kinds of existing accounts?

In GSA's market research, GSA had identified that it was not uncommon for B2B platforms to also offer a consumer platform. This capability was requested for this scenario where a Government buyer might want to migrate their consumer account where they were making purchases on behalf of their agency, to the B2B platform. If this scenario does not apply to your platform, please disregard.

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic VI: Data Attachment 1, Page 3

In Attachment 1, Page 3: Topic VI: Data, Box 1 states, “Data dashboards with visibility into buyer / account spending trends.”

What is the acceptable time frame for dashboards? i.e. On- Demand? Hourly, Daily? Weekly?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to refresh timeframe for dashboards.

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic VI: Data Attachment 1, Page 4

In Attachment 1, Page 4, Topic VI: Data, Box 3 states, “Level-3 transactional data transmission to the GSA SmartPay banks.” What is the exact data being requested?

GSA recommends working with the payment processors to understand the necessary data elements for transmitting Level 3 data, as this is an industry established process.

Attachment 1 Attachment 1, Topic VI: Data Attachment 1, Page 4

In Attachment 1, Page 4, Topic VI: Data, Box 3 states, “Level-3 transactional data transmission to the GSA SmartPay banks.” Will this be required on all transactions?

GSA is requesting that the platforms that participate in the program work to provide Level-3 data to the GSA SmartPay banks for purchases made through the program.

Attachment 5 Attachment 5 Attachment 5 Please confirm Attachment 5 is not included in the page count. The completed SCRM questionaire will not count against the 8-page limit for Factor 1.

Attachment 1 Overarching platform ownership and management requirements: page 1

As it relates to "at least one preferred pricing practice," does GSA consider the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) a preferred pricing practice?

Any discounts off commercial prices would consitute a preferred pricing practice.

Attachment 2, Section 3.

v 4.B.v 5

"The GSA SmartPay® Government Purchase Card (GPC) is the primary authorized method of payment for purchases placed on the commercial platforms. Government buyers are not allowed to use third-party payment processors or any other forms of payment (e.g., PayPal, Venmo, Google Wallet,WePay) or paymentsusing any form of cryptocurrency. The GPC shall be the only allowable method of payment and all GPCs must be used by an authorized purchase cardholder."

There appears to be a contradiction in Section 3.v of the Statement of Objectives. GSA SmartPay GPCs are first named the "primary authorized method of payment." Later, this section states that GPCs are the "only allowable method of payment." Can GSA please clarify? Is it the Government's intent for GPCs to be the primary source of payment for the majority of purchases, but is willing to allow the platforms to accept other types of payment from Government buyers? (e.g., Fleet cards, EFTs, etc.)

GPCs are intended to be the primary source of payment, with the SmartPay card being the preferred method of payment for micro-purchases (per FAR Part 13.201).

Other types of GPC payments may be allowable if an agency authorizes use of non-SmartPay cards.

Section Topic

Questions Response

All Small Business Credit 1 Will the government explain how agencies can claim small business credit via the program?

There is an existing process for agencies to report their micropurchase spend in FPDS, which is how SBA issues small business credit. GSA is committed to helping agencies understand this process.

Attachment 1 Section II, Market Research 2 As it relates to a filter for socioeconomic status, does GSA require supplier to provide socioeconomic status at the product level?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the display of socioeconomic status at the product level. Anecdotally, this has been an area of interest for agency buyers.

Attachment 1

Section II, Market Research Display of product availability information and expected delivery timeframes.

Are there specific requirements on where product availability information and expected delivery timeframes needs to be displayed?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the display of product availability and exepected delivery timeframes. It's important for a buyer to know a.)

if the product is available at the time of market research and b.) when they might receive it if ordered.

Attachment 1

Section III, Purchase Process - Capability for a custom field at the time of checkout to support agency-unique requirements (such as entry of a Purchase Order number, or other order level information).

2 Can you provide additional examples of custom fields that may be required at checkout?

A purchase order number is the only example the program has seen used to date.

Attachment 1

Section V, Administration - Ability to rollover existing platform accounts (e.g., move consumer accounts) under the program, if requested by a participating agency.

In regards for rolling over existing platform accounts, is the GSA speaking to migrating an account to the program or moving contacts to different account under the program?

In GSA's market research, GSA had identified that it was not uncommon for B2B platforms to also offer a consumer platform. This capability was requested for this scenario where a Government buyer might want to migrate their consumer account where they were making purchases on behalf of their agency, to the B2B platform. If this scenario does not apply to your platform, please disregard.

Attachment 2

Section 4 Program Outcomes and Objectives, Part A User Experience

- Please describe your ability to assess and measure the user experience on an ongoing basis to ensure it is effectively meeting the needs of GPC holders -

Does GSA consider NPS or post-purchase survey valid tools for evaluating user satisfaction? Yes, those are acceptable tools.

Request for Proposal - Commercial Online Platform Acquisition

C.12 PARTICIPATION BY

MULTIPLE AWARD SCHEDULE

(MAS) SCHEDULE HOLDERS

20 As MAS Contract Holder, does GSA intend for the platform to offer both schedule items and open-market items?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the display of products, whether they are Schedule items or Open-Market items. This is at the dicretion of the platform provider.

Section Topic

Questions Response

Attachment 2

Section 4 Program Outcomes and Objectives, Part B Risk Management and Objectives - (ii) Small Business Identification The platform provider(s) shall outline their capabilities related to identifying the various U.S. Small Business Administration defined socioeconomic groups in the shopping experience (for those with 3rd party sellers), to include whether products can be filtered on certain designations or whether the items have been sourced by small businesses.

Is the socioeconomic status required for the supplier who owns the contract? Or is the requirement to provide socioeconomic status at the product level?

Buyers are looking for this information at the product level for whomever is fulfilling that product.

Attachment 1, Section VI Data Data Element - Order Status 3 In regards to "Order Status", what status is the GSA is looking for?

Open orders? Invoiced? Backorder?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the types of Order Status values that are displayed.

Attachment 2, B. RISK

MANAGEMENT AND

COMPLIANCE

The contractor(s) shall outline their capabilities related to identifying environmentally sustainable (e.g., “green”) products required by statute, FAR Part 23, and Executive Order on the platform. GSA will be tracking the sale of sustainable products as a key metric for the program.

5 In regards to marking green products, would the certification be defined by the supplier or GSA?

Green designations are generally assigned at the product level by the manufacturer or supplier. Additionally, EPA manages the criteria for a number of 'green' related certifications, which can be viewed here: https://sftool.

gov/learn/about/652/vendor-resources

Attachment 5 SCRM Basic Safeguarding Questionnaire, Question 9 5

In lieu of SCRM plan, if a supplier has a robust crisis management and business continuity program would this fulfill GSA requirements?

GSA is asking for vendors to complete the SCRM Questionaire, a full SCRM plan is not requested at this time.

Attachment 5 Question 10 5 In lieu of SCRM plan, if a supplier has a robust crisis management and business continuity program would this fulfill GSA requirements?

GSA is asking for vendors to complete the SCRM Questionaire, a full SCRM plan is not requested at this time.

Request for Proposal - Commercial Online Platform Acquisition

E.3.5.2.2 Volume 2 – Phase I Technical Proposal 31

Attachment 1 Commercial Online Platforms with Business-to- Business (B2B) Capabilities Prospective Offeror Requirements is not included in the page count. The section also refers to including Attachment 5 The SCRM Basic Safeguarding Questionnaire. Is Attachment 5 included in the page count?

The completed SCRM questionaire will not count against the 8-page limit for Factor 1.

Request for Proposal - Commercial Online Platform Acquisition, Section C.15 ORDER-

LEVEL

REQUIREMENTS

Section C.15 states that each individual order placed by an agency through the platform will create a contract between the agency and the vendor of the ordered product that is separate from the commercial platforms contract resulting from the

RFP.

Please confirm that the vendor in this separate order/contract may also be platform contractor itself where, for example, the platform contractor stocks the item in question in its own inventory or includes that item in its MAS catalog

Correct, the platform provider may also be fulfilling vendor.

Section Topic

Questions Response

V of Attachment 1 User Management Capabilities 3

1.Attachment 1, page 3, section V: “Ability to mass invite large agency user lists or onboard through a bulk upload capability.”

What kind of technology are you looking for? Excel or something else?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to mass inviting large agency user lists, whether it's excel or otherwise.

Attachment 1, Section VI Data 3 How detailed do the data dashboards need to be? GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the information provided in the data dashboards.

Attachment 1, Section I Transactions 1

3.Attachment 1, page 1, section I: “Accept and process credit card transactions, in particular the GSA SmartPay Purchase card, on the platform.” We can process credit card transactions and SmartPay.

What credits cards in particular (Visa, Master, Discover, Amex, etc.) do we need to accept in order to meet requirements?

GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the acceptance and processing of purchase cards.

Guidance from the SmartPay program is provided here:

https://smartpay.gsa.gov/content/gsa-smartpay-purchase-account

Attachment 1, Section VI Vendor Data

Vendor Data section of the monthly extract data elements 4

If the platform provider is the exclusive seller of the products ordered on its commercial platform (i.e. there are no third-party sellers on the platform), is it correct that the platform provider as the exclusive vendor is considered the “Vendor” for purposes of providing Vendor Data as per Section VI of Attachment 1?

Yes, that's correct, the platform provider in this scenario would be listed as the vendor.

Attachment 1, Section VI Data

4 (Page 4 of Attachment

1)

Attachment 1, page 4, section VI: “Level-3 transactional data transmission to the GSA SmartPay banks.” What is meant by Level-3 transactional data?

GSA recommends working with the payment processors to understand the necessary data elements for transmitting Level 3 data, as this is an industry established process.

Attachment 5, page 1, #7 ICT Products

Page 1 of Attachment

Attachment 5, page 1, #7: “Does your organization confirm 100% of your suppliers of critical Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services are TAA/MIA compliant?”

Does this question only apply to ICT products?

This question applies to both critical Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services.

General Question GSA fees General There was no mention of additional fees for administration. Will GSA require any user or supplier fees? (Will we need to remit any fees to GSA?)

Per Section C.14, Fee Remitance, of the RFP, The platform(s) shall submit to GSA a remittance of .75% on the value of each order placed on the platform. The fee shall be included in the price of the item and not listed as a separate line item. GSA reserves the right to change the percentage at any time, but not more than once per fiscal year.

The process for fee remittance is as follows:

The platform(s) will submit their sales to the FAS Sales Reporting Portal (SRP) as part of the data extract process within 10 days of the prior month’s conclusion (e.g., May’s data is due no later than June 10th) GSA will calculate the fee that is owed (.75% multiplied by the total volume of sales, minus returns and/or cancellations) and invoice the platform accordingly Platform providers can either remit pay through SRP or By submitting an Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment to GSA.

The platform provider shall remit the fee in U.S. dollars within 30 calendar days after the date of the invoice

Section Topic

Questions Response

General Question Pricing updates General

How frequently can pricing be updated? Is there a limit on percent increases allowed? GSA accepts the platform's commercial practice is as it relates to the frequency of pricing updates.

E.3.5.1 General Instructions 29 Sub-section G

The instructions indicate that all Volumes have to be prepared as separate files. Can all Tabs (within a volume) be combined into a single document, or should they also be organized as separate files?

The offeror may submit the proposal in a single document with tabs.

Request for Proposal - Commercial Online Platform Acquisition

General Question No page number

For purposes of this RFP, is it acceptable that an offeror would be both the commercial platform provider and also the exclusive seller of goods available for purchase on its commercial platform (i.e.

there are no third-party sellers offering goods on its ecommerce platform)?

Yes, this is acceptable.

E.3.5.1 General Instuctions 29 Section K

Under Section 3.5.1, the General Instructions indicate the offeror needs to fill out the blanks in section E.3.5.1(k). Can this information be provided in another tab or section such as the cover letter or within Volume 1, Contract Data? If not, which Volume and Tab should the information be provided in?

The information requested in Section E. 3.5.1(k) in the solicitation may be provided in the offeror's cover letter.

E.3.5.2.1 Volume 1 - Contract Data 30 Tab 5

Phase I, Volume 1, Tab 5 requires a copy of the offeror’s Representation and Certifications. The instructions refer to “solicitation Attachment 4, FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Oct 2022).” As solicitation Attachment 4 is the Managing your Greenhouse Gas Emissions Slip Sheet, can GSA clarify where the Offeror should submit this information?

Please see Amendment Number 0002 with updated solicitation information

E.3.5.2.2

Volume 2 - Phase 1 Technical Proposal Factor 1 - Commercial Online Platform with Business-to- Business capabilities

It appears a completed copy of the SCRM Basic Safeguarding Questionnaire (Attachment 5) must be included in the Phase I, Volume 2, Tab 2 proposal submission. Can you confirm the SCRM Questionnaire does not count toward the 8-page limit for Tab 2?

The completed SCRM questionaire will not count against the 8-page limit for Factor 1.

E.3.5.3.2 Live Test Demonstration 34

Factor 4, Live Test Demonstration (LTD), states that during the LTD, the offeror should show that its B2B platform meets the Government’s objectives in Attachment 2, Statement Objectives.

Factor 4 further states offerors should “ensure each of the seven (7) user experience areas are addressed.” Can GSA clarify where within the RFP documents the seven user experiences are listed/provided?

Proposals which move on to the Phase II evaluations and the Live Test Demonstrations (LTDs) must successfully demonstrate the business-to-business (B2B) objectives listed in Attachment 2. For the LTD, the 7 user experience areas can be located in attachment 3, "LTD Questions".

Request for Proposal - Commercial Online Platform Acquisition, E.

3.5.1 General

Instructions

Phase I: Volume 1 (Contract Data) and Volume 2 (Phase I Technical Proposal) shall be submitted electronically via email to Dominic.

Lackey@gsa.gov and Sarah.

Duncan@gsa.gov no later than January 27, 2023 at 10:00 AM Eastern

27 Would GSA consider an extension on the due date of this RFP considering it was released during the holiday season?

GSA does not intend to extend the proposal due date of 1/27/2023.

Section Topic

Questions Response

C.3 North American Industry Classification System 15

"To be considered eligible for award, the contractor’s SAM account shall reflect..."NAICS 425110: Business to Business Electronic Markets)". As of 2022, NAICS 425110 is no longer a valid NAICS code and has been rolled into "425120 Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers". Will the RFP requirement be updated to reflect the change in NAICS code?

GSA updated the NAICS to 425120 under Amendment 0001. The offeror must have this NAICS listed in SAM.

gov to participate in this contract.

N/A Spend Thresholds N/A

In the initial proof of concept, per Section 846 of the NDAA, purchases were limited to the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT). Is it the Government's intent in this iteration to open up purchasing to GPC card limits? Or, to remain at the SAT?

The micro-purchase threshold (MPT) continues to be the primary focus of the program, with the average order size falling in the $250-300 range. For those agencies that have a need to purchase above the MPT, a warranted contracting officer would need to be involved and all applicable rules from FAR Part 12 would continue to apply. There are no exceptions or waivers for this program, either in the original authorizing legislation or otherwise.