2GIT_DRAFT_RFQ_Version_2__dtd_19_Dec_2018.pdf

2GIT Draft Request for Quotations Version Two Issued December 19, 2018

DRAFT REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)

47QTCA-19-Q-0009

For the Establishment of Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement Information Technology Hardware, Ancillary Supplies and Services, and Associated Software.

Issued by:

The General Services Administration (GSA) The Federal Acquisition Service, Information Technology Category

77 Forsyth St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303

Draft RFQ Issuance Date: December 19, 2018

Draft RFQ Closing Date: January 11, 2018 at 4:00 pm EST

Table of Contents

1.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

2.0 BACKGROUND

3.0 OBJECTIVE

4.0 SCOPE

5.0 REQUIREMENTS

6.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

7.0 OBLIGATION OF FUNDS

8.0 INVOICES

9.0 VOLUME OF PURCHASES

10.0 BPA TERMS AND CONDITIONS

11.0. BPA ORDERING

12.0 PROGRAM REVIEW

13.0 GOVERNMENT POINT OF CONTACT

14.0 CLAUSES

15.0 EVALUATION AND BASIS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF BPAs:

APPENDIX 1 - RFQ DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX 2 - RFQ ACRONYM LISTING

1.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

1.1 General Instructions. This acquisition is being issued as a Request for Quotes (RFQ) under the GSA Schedules Program. A Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) will be established in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-3(b)(1)(ii)(B)(1) competitive procedures for establishing a BPA. This is not a FAR Part 15 negotiated competition. The Government intends to award seven to ten (7 to 10) Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA)s for a total solution against the GSA general purpose commercial information technology equipment, software, and ancillary services schedules in accordance with FAR 8.405-3 procedures without exchanges or communications based upon initial submissions.

This is a request for competitive quotes (including attachments) and the only solicitation for this requirement. This acquisition is not set aside for small business. This acquisition will encourage small business participation as specified in section 15.0 of the RFQ. Small business set-asides are allowed at the order level at the ordering offices discretion. All interested GSA Schedule 70 SINs 132-8, 132-12, 132-32, 132-33 and 132-34 contract holders are eligible to submit quotes.

NOTE: All quoted items must be made available on the GSA Schedule contract by the date and time of the quote submission OR a modification requesting the addition of the items must have been submitted to the Schedule Contracting Officer by the date and time of quote submittal. GSA will verify the date and time of modification submission with the Schedule Contracting Officer.

1.2 The acquisition will be conducted via GSA eBuy against all vendors under GSA Schedule 70 Special Item Number 132-8, 132-12, 132-32, 132-33 and 132-34.

1.3 Offerors are expected to examine this entire BPA solicitation document including their own GSA Schedule 70 Contracts. Failure to do so will be at the Offeror's own risk.

1.4 Offerors shall furnish the information required by this BPA solicitation.

1.5 The Government may make award based on initial offers received, without discussion of such offers. Accordingly, the Offeror’s initial quotation should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary.

1.6 This BPA does not commit the Government to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a quotation in response to this BPA. The GSA Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) and authorized Ordering Contracting Officers (OCOs) are the only individuals who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this procurement via Orders against the awarded BPA.

1.7 Offerors submitting restrictive data will mark any data they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall –

1.7.1 Mark the title page with the following legend:

"This quotation includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used or disclosed--in whole or in part--for any purpose other than to evaluate this quotation. If, however, an Agreement is awarded to this Offeror as a result of--or in connection with--the submission of this data, and the Government incorporates the quotation as part of the award, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data. Also, this restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to the restriction is contained in sheets (insert numbers or other identification of sheets)"; and

1.7.2 Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend:

"Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this quotation."

The Government assumes no liability for disclosure or use of unmarked data and may use or disclose the data for any purpose. Unless restricted, information submitted in response to this request may become subject to disclosure to the public pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 551).

1.8 Quotations shall set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by this BPA solicitation package (including Attachments). The penalty for making false statements in offers is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

1.11 PRE-QUOTATION CONFERENCE:

An Industry Day will be held on:

Date: TBD - Target Mar 2019 Time: 1:00 PM to approximately 3:00 PM Eastern Time.

Location: GSA’s Martin Luther King Jr Building, 77 Forsyth St SW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303.

Registration Link: TBD. After registering, you will receive an email confirmation for this event.

Attendance can be in person* or virtually (listen only mode). The goal of the Industry Day is to communicate with industry on the scope of the BPA, discuss the RFQ, reply to questions and provide an estimated timeline for the award of the BPAs.

It is strongly encouraged that questions be submitted in advance of the meeting to it70acquisitions@gsa.gov . Questions and answers will be posted after the meeting through various channels.

*Limit 2 representatives per company at the physical location.

1.11.1 Submission of Questions. Offerors are requested to submit their questions grouped by BPA solicitation section and make reference to the particular section/subsection number as soon as possible after posting of this RFQ.

mailto:it70acquisitions@gsa.gov

Questions or requests for extension submitted after the cut-off date (Jan 11, 2019) may not be addressed unless the Government determines that the answer to the question imparts information material to industry’s ability to respond to this solicitation.

The Government will publish questions and answers (without attribution to the company submitting the question) within a reasonable timeframe giving particular consideration to the quotation submission due date and time.

The Offeror shall provide contact information (person name, company, phone number, and email address) when submitting questions. The subject line of the email shall be: “Questions on 2GIT BPA Solicitation #47QTCA-19-Q-0009.” Questions can be sent via eBuy or through email to it70acquisitions@gsa.gov. Questions must be written in a way that enables clear understanding of the Offeror’s issues or concerns. Statements expressing opinions, sentiments, or conjectures are not considered valid inquiries and will not receive a response.

Further, Offerors are reminded that the Contracting Officer will not address hypothetical questions aimed at receiving a potential “evaluation decision.” Questions shall be submitted in the Excel table format specified below in Table 1. Submissions of questions in PDF, Word, etc.

format will not be considered.

● Due date for draft RFQ questions and recommendations is Jan 11, 2019 at 4:00 PM EST. Use the Table 1 example below in Excel format for 2GIT Requirements BPA Questions.

Table 1. Format for 2GIT Requirements BPA Questions

Question

BPA

Reference (section number)

Comment

Recommended

Answer/Solution and Rationale

1.

2.

1.12 Submission of Quotation. Quotes shall be submitted via GSA e-Buy. Failure for a quote to be received via GSA e-Buy by the closing date and time of the formal RFQ shall result in exclusion from consideration. Quote submissions must comply with all instructions, requirements, and applicable documents set forth in the RFQ.

mailto:it70acquisitions@gsa.gov

NOTE: Offerors are not required to submit a response to the draft RFQ. Failure to submit a response to the draft RFQ will not exclude the Offeror from responding to the formal RFQ or from award consideration.

All quotes must contain the necessary information to satisfy the criteria of evaluation in the identified format and shall be submitted via GSA eBuy at https://ebuy.gsa.gov. Quotes not submitted via GSA eBuy will not be evaluated. For assistance with eBuy, contact the vendor support desk at 877-495-4849 or email at vendor.support@gsa.gov. If the Offeror encounters any technical difficulties with GSA eBuy during the quote submission process please notify the support desk and the GSA contracting officer as soon as possible. Please note, Offeror shall thoroughly examine all solicitation documents and instructions; failure to do so will be at the Offerors’ own risk. Failure to provide any required attachment will result in exclusion from consideration of award.

All Offerors shall furnish a copy of their Authorized Federal Supply Price List with their quote submission for verification that the item quoted is on their GSA Schedule Contract.

Quote shall be valid for a minimum of 120 calendar days after submission.

The Offeror shall submit Attachment A entitled, “2GIT BPA Checklist”. No Other format will be considered.

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 The General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 intends to issue Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements for Information Technology (IT) hardware and software commodities, ancillary supplies and services as a follow on to the First Generation Information Technology (1GIT) BPAs. The First Generation BPAs were based on industry market research which suggested a segmented model with multiple sets of BPAs serving individual commodity groups. This approach was only moderately successful. Direct customer feedback was used to develop the 2GIT integrated approach as experience has indicated that customers are looking for a single source for all of their commodity needs to provide a total solution.

2.2 The Second Generation Information Technology (2GIT) BPAs will contain attributes not found in other IT commodity acquisition solutions within the Federal Government. Further, the 2GIT BPAs are based on direct customer feedback, a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Air Force, and include strategic sourcing attributes such as data collection and reporting. With this approach the U.S. Air Force has decided to make the 2GIT BPA a mandatory use contract vehicle for the replacement of the NETCENTS-2 Products IDIQ contract. The use of Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract BPAs eliminate contracting and open market costs such as: the search for sources; the development of technical documents and solicitations; and the evaluation of offers. This BPA will further decrease costs, reduce paperwork and save time by eliminating the need for repetitive, individual purchases from the GSA Schedule contract. The end result is a purchasing mechanism for the Government that works better and costs less.

https://ebuy.gsa.gov/ https://ebuy.gsa.gov/

3.0 OBJECTIVE

The overall goal is to provide the Government a fast and effective way to order IT hardware and software commodities, ancillary supplies and services at sharply discounted prices with prompt, cost-effective delivery and effective customer service, while capturing economies of scale, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, fostering markets for sustainable technologies and environmentally preferable products, while simplifying data collection.

4.0 SCOPE

GSA is preparing to establish a set of government-wide multiple award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) against the GSA Schedule 70 contract for IT commodity hardware and associated software in accordance with FAR 8.4 procedures herein referred to as 2GIT to include:

Products 132 - 8 - Purchase of New Equipment 132 - 12 - Maintenance of Equipment, Repair Services and/or Repair/Spare Parts

Software 132 - 32 - Term Software License 132 - 33 - Perpetual Software License 132 - 34 - Maintenance of Software as a Service

Other 70 - 500 - Order Level Material SIN

The fundamental scope of the 2GIT BPAs is to provide a total solution one-stop-shop in the Information Technology market to meet the needs of the Air Force, Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, and other federal, state, local, regional, and tribal governments.

The 2GIT BPA will provide the following categories of products and associated services worldwide: networking equipment, servers/storage/peripherals/multimedia, identity management/biometric hardware, end user devices, and associated Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) software not included on other DoD or Federal Agency enterprise license agreements.

The 2GIT BPAs will provide a streamlined process for procuring IT Hardware and Software commodities, ancillary supplies and installation services. The types of IT products that will be available through the 2GIT BPAs include:

BPA Line Item One – Data Center (Compute/Store) BPA Line Item Two – End User BPA Line Item Three – Network (Connect) BPA Line Item Four – Radio Equipment BPA Line Item Five - Order Level Material (OLM)

BPA LIN-1

Data Center

(Compute/Store)

BPA LIN-2

End User

BPA LIN-3

Network (Connect)

BPA LIN-4

Radio Equipment

● Servers

● Storage

● Network Equipment

● Security Appliances

● Hyperconverged IS

● Keyboard Video

Monitor (KVM) Switches

● Software (COTS)

● Laptops

● Desktops

● Ruggedized Tablets

● Thin Clients

● Monitors

● Accessories

● Peripherals

● KVM Switches

● Software (COTS)

● Routers

● Switches

● Wireless

● Cables and Interfaces

● Audio Visual

● Video Tele-conferencing (VTC)

● Everything over IP

(EoIP)

● Displays

● Software (COTS)

● Handhelds

● Chargers

● Vehicle Units

● Base Stations

● Trunking System

● Repeaters

All hardware delivered under this contract shall include associated software and associated peripherals required for operations (such as controllers, connectors, cables, drivers, adapters, etc.) as provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). This is true only if the applicable OEM provides such items with the product itself. It is anticipated that software licenses and ancillary services (maintenance/simple installation) acquired through this BPA will fall under its related hardware BPA line item number. The products acquired on this BPA may be deployed for use in the full range of security domains, e.g., Unclassified through Top Secret classifications, Special Category (SPECAT) and compartments, such as, Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). The 2GIT BPAs will be available for use by federal (both civilian and military), and state, local, regional and tribal governments through the GSA Cooperative Purchasing Program.

Specific standards, guidance, and applicable documents within the BPAs are written with the broad intent of accomplishing GSA customer IT hardware and software commodities network centric strategies. Agency specific strategies may evolve over time and, when appropriate, those agencies will revise and replace their applicable standards accordingly. The Contractor shall conform to customer strategies and visions and adhere to associated standards provided by the customer. Agencies and departments may specify and substitute other standards, guidance, and applicable documents within their orders that are appropriate to provide solutions tailored to meet their requirement network centric strategies.

The BPA Holders full catalog of IT hardware, software, ancillary supplies and services and associated software from the vendors underlying GSA Schedule 70 contract will be included and available under the resulting BPAs. U.S. Air Force will continue to purchase their End User Device (EUD) requirements (i.e. desktop, laptop, ruggedized tablet) via their Client Computing Solutions 2 (CCS-2) BPA managed by the AF Information Technology Commodity Council

(ITCC). BPA Holders proposing solutions for End User Devices not covered either by GSA Government-Wide Strategic Solutions (GSS) or CCS2 standard configurations must meet hardware configurations as defined by the customer at the delivery order level.

5.0 REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall adhere to requirements in the following paragraphs when providing products. These paragraphs describe general product requirements, types of products that are considered to comprise each of the product categories, and guidelines for product support.

5.1 General Product Requirements. All products provided under these BPAs shall conform to the guidelines detailed in the following paragraphs.

5.1.1 Hardware and Associated Software and Peripherals. All hardware delivered under these BPAs shall include associated software and associated peripherals required for operations (such as controllers, connectors, cables, drivers, adapters, etc.) as provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). This is true only if the applicable OEM provides such items with the product itself.

5.1.2 Cybersecurity Technical Considerations. The Contractor shall ensure that all applicable Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) and enabled products comply with ordering agency Cybersecurity guidelines. Additionally, for DoD ordering agencies, these products must be Committee on National Security Systems Policy-11 (CNSSP-11) compliant, requiring the Contractor to be validated by accredited labs under the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme, or National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP), and/or Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Components List, if required.

5.1.3 Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). This BPA is subject to current Federal SCRM policies and regulations. When applicable, additional DoD clauses and regulations may be included by DoD ordering agencies at the RFQ stage. These requirements may include, but not be limited to, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.239-7017 Notice of Supply Chain Risk, DFARS 252.239-7018 Supply Chain Risk, and associated internal Government SCRM Processes and Procedures.

The SCRM plan, implementation, processes shall apply to the BPA Holder and their suppliers, partners, distributors, and any other entity that is responsible for handling or managing the supply chain of the products offered under this BPA.

5.1.3.1 The Offeror shall submit a SCRM plan as part of its technical submission which identifies, if available, any relevant SCRM related (International Organization for Standardization) ISO certifications (e.g. ISO 20243:2018, 27001, 27036). The offeror shall also describe in sufficient detail how they will reduce and mitigate Supply Chain Risk through application of their defined program appropriate security controls outlined and described in the most current versions of CNSSI 1253, Appendix D, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-161, NIST

SP 800-171, and related industry standards. The SCRM plan shall address traditional NIST security controls associated with physical supply chain accessibility. However, offerors must also explicitly address cybersecurity concerns related to how hardware, software, firmware/embedded components, and system data/information will be protected from component substitution, functionality alteration, and malware insertion while in the supply chain (e.g. SA- 12). The supply chain shall span from the lowest sub-component producer or manufacturer to the delivery point of the BPA Holder, or its designated agent, such as a distributor. The SCRM plan, implementation, and risk assessment methodology processes shall follow NIST SP 800-161 guidelines and apply to the BPA Holder and their suppliers, partners, distributors, and any other entity that is responsible for handling or managing the supply chain of the products offered under this BPA.

5.1.3.2 Upon award, the BPA Holder shall conduct SCRM awareness training for key personnel addressing potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the supply chain as well as appropriate mitigation actions. Particular attention shall be applied to sole-source and/or foreign sourced acquisition of IT hardware, software/firmware, and logic-bearing components.

5.1.3.3 The BPA Holder shall provide an annual report to the 2GIT Program Manager on their SCRM activities related to this BPA due upon the anniversary of the BPA award and continuing until the end of the BPA period of performance. The report shall address the detection of all SCRM incidences associated with the performance under the BPA, mitigation actions taken, and any resultant impacts to hardware, software, firmware and data/information. The GSA reserves the right to verify/validate performance against SCRM plan requirements through assessment and inspection of the Contractor’s facilities and programs in accordance with proper notification procedures and contractual clauses. Successful incident identification and remediation will be viewed favorably with respect to overall strength of SCRM security program execution.

5.1.3.4 The BPA Holder shall provide a SCRM Plan Update to the Program Manager and the COR within five business days whenever there is a change that affects one or more CNSSI 1253 security controls. At a minimum the following events substantiate the need for an update:

changes in company ownership, changes in senior company leadership, supplier changes, subcontractor changes, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supply chain compromises.

5.1.4 Authorized Resellers. The Contractor may be an authorized reseller, as defined by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), of new equipment from OEMs proposed under these BPAs. Authorized Resellers must possess a valid Letter of Supply (LOS) for each of the OEMs products that they are offering. Any channel relationships the Authorized Resellers have with their OEM partners (platinum, gold, silver, etc.) will be represented in the best pricing offered.

The ordering agencies RFQ orders may restrict the use of specific OEMs or identify required OEMs. The Contractor shall ensure all products are genuine and eligible for any OEM warranties, maintenance agreements and licensing as offered. Genuine certified product designations must comply with all OEM defined policies.

5.1.5 Technical Refresh. In order to ensure new design enhancements and technological updates/advances, the Contractor shall offer the latest commercially available hardware and software technology components or products to the end user/customer. The Contractor shall support end user/customer issue resolution with the OEM in accordance with Section 5.2.5 requirements.

5.1.6 Products. The Contractor shall provide all products, peripherals, and associated peripheral equipment as required by each individual delivery order. The “products” are commercial items as defined by FAR 2.101. All documentation, software, and user guides that are commercially packaged with the product shall be provided to the Government. All proposed products must be compliant with the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA).

5.1.7 Quality Certification. The Contractor shall be certified to the latest version of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 for products related requirements, and maintain certification for the entire performance period of the contract, inclusive of options. This certification must be held by each CTA team member or Offeror supporting contract performance.

Verification requirements include a copy of the Offeror’s official certification from an approved ISO 9001 independent certification body. The Offeror shall provide the POC information that includes the name of the Certification body and name, address, phone number, and email of the representative who provided the ISO 9001 certification. The offer shall make reference to the page number and paragraph of the certification or letter that determined the approval of the ISO 9001 Certification.

5.1.8 Acquisition of EPEAT®- Registered Servers. Under this BPA, the Contractor shall deliver, furnish for Government use, or furnish for Contractor use at a federally controlled facility, servers that, at the time of submission of quote and at the time of award, were EPEAT® bronze registered or higher. For information about EPEAT®, see www.epa.gov/epeat.

5.1.9 TEMPEST Requirements. The Contractor shall provide commercially available NSA TEMPEST program compliant communications and information processing devices, when specifically required by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage. Visit the NSA Information Assurance site (https://www.iad.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/tempest.cfm) for more information. TEMPEST is the codename referring to investigations and studies of compromising emanations. Compromising Emanations are defined as unintentional intelligence-bearing signals which, if intercepted and analyzed, may disclose the information transmitted, received, handled, or otherwise processed by any information-processing equipment.

5.1.10 Facility Clearance Level (FCL). When required and defined by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage, the Offerors shall provide FCL information (e.g. DD441). See section 5.2.3. of the RFQ.

Offerors with Secret or Top Secret FCL will be rated more favorably. Verification of the FCL will be accomplished by GSA contacting the Defense Security Service (DSS). FCL is not required at the BPA level.

http://www.epa.gov/epeat http://www.epa.gov/epeat http://www.epa.gov/epeat https://www.iad.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/tempest.cfm https://www.iad.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/tempest.cfm https://www.iad.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/tempest.cfm https://www.iad.gov/iad/programs/iad-initiatives/tempest.cfm

5.2 Product Support Requirements. The Contractor shall adhere to the following requirements when providing products under this contract.

5.2.1 Product Delivery Capability. The Contractor shall deliver the quantities of 2GIT products to meet ordinary as well as fluctuating (war-time, Terrorist Tempo, Ops Tempo) government requirements in accordance with prescribed delivery schedules stipulated in individual delivery orders. “Applicable for Air Force orders” For Area of Responsibility (AOR)’s and/or remote sites that do not permit commercial deliveries, the vendor’s delivery capabilities must be in accordance with AFI 24-203, Preparation and Movement of Air Force Cargo, 13 April 2007.

Delivery of products will be to CONUS, OCONUS, and remote locations as identified below.

Additional delivery terms or schedules, such as ship-in-place, expedited shipping or shipping to Army Post Office (APO)/Fleet Post Office (FPO) addresses, shall be negotiated between the Contractor and the Ordering Contracting Officer (OCO) at the Delivery Order level. The Contractors shall have the capability to simultaneously deliver large volumes of products to multiple locations worldwide.

1. CONUS: The 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.

2. Named OCONUS, for example, but not limited to: Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Turkey, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

3. Remote OCONUS: those locations that are not listed under CONUS or Named

OCONUS.

The following figure sets forth the maximum performance parameters for deliveries:

Timeframe CONUS OCONUS Remote OCONUS

Routine NLT 30 calendar days NLT 45 calendar days NLT 45 calendar days

Critical NLT 3 calendar days NLT 5 calendar days NLT 10 calendar days

Emergency/War Tempo Within 24 hrs Within 48 hrs Within 72 hrs

5.2.1.1 Delivery Delays. The Contractor is required to meet the timeframes stated in section

5.2.1 unless Department of Commerce approval and/or review activities prevent the Contractor from meeting these timeframes. In the event that the Contractor determines they are unable to achieve the stated timeframes, the Contractor shall notify the ordering Contracting Officer within two (2) business days of such determination, or immediately upon such determination if operating under the Emergency/War Tempo timelines.

5.2.1.2 Items on Backorder. In their response to a Request for Quote (RFQ), the Contractor shall provide notification, if applicable, that a particular item is on backorder, the expected lead-time to fulfill the order, etc. It shall be implicit that a response to an RFQ with no items identified on backorder, is a declaration that the items are available at the time of quote submission.

5.2.1.3 Material Tracking Processes. The Contractor shall establish and provide a qualified workforce capable of performing the required tasks. The workforce may include a project/delivery order manager who will oversee all aspects of the delivery order. The Contractor shall use key performance parameters to monitor work performance, measure results, ensure delivery of contracted product deliverables and solutions, support management and decision-making and facilitate communications. The Contractor shall identify risks, resolve problems and verify effectiveness of corrective actions. The Contractor shall institute and maintain a process that ensures problems and action items discussed with the Government are tracked through resolution and shall provide timely status reporting. Results of Contractor actions taken to improve performance shall be tracked, and lessons learned incorporated into applicable processes. The Contractor shall establish and maintain a documented set of disciplined, mature, and continuously improving processes for administering all BPAs and delivery order efforts with an emphasis on cost-efficiency, schedule, performance, responsiveness, and consistently high-quality delivery. Delivery orders may prescribe definition of qualified workforce such as US citizens or personnel with required clearances.

5.2.2 Order Tracking (Property Accountability/Asset Management). The Contractor shall maintain an order tracking system that permits ordering agencies to track the location of an order at any time, from the moment the order is shipped, to the point of delivery and acceptance. The Offeror must also demonstrate understanding of orders bound for an international end-point delivery by providing a sample electronic version of a label appropriately marked in accordance with the FED-STD-123 and MIL-STD-129 edition in effect as of the date of solicitation issuance. An offer for OCONUS delivery will not be accepted if the offer does not demonstrate a proper tracking system and provide a sample packaging label for international delivery.

The Contractor must submit a Category Management Report (CMR) (Reference Appendix 3).

For Department of Defense ordering agencies, this requirement will provide additional reporting information to meet Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS) and DoDI 5000.64 requirements. The frequency of reporting, and required data elements, will be defined by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage. The Government POC to receive the CMR for order tracking will be defined in the order.

5.2.2.1 Special Asset Tagging. When required and defined by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage, the Contractor shall provide special asset tags. For Department of Defense customers Special Asset tagging shall be IAW DFARS 252.211-7003 and MIL-STD-130 requirements to enable property accountability and management. The current list of accepted unique item identifier types is maintained at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/uii_types.html. All DoD recognized unique identification equivalents are listed at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/iuid_equivalents.html For non-DoD Customers Contractor shall provide Unique Identification (UID) tagging when requested and defined by the customer.

5.2.2.2 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). When required and defined by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage, the Contractor shall provide RFID tagging. For Department of Defense customer RFID tagging shall be IAW DFARS 252.211-7006 and the most current version of DoD Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Policy. The Contractor shall encode an http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/iuid_equivalents.html http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/iuid_equivalents.html http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/iuid_equivalents.html http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/iuid_equivalents.html approved RFID tag using instructions provided in the EPC™ Tag Data Standards in effect at the time of award. Additional information can also be found at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (OASD) for Logistics and Materiel Readiness website.

5.2.2.3 Software Tagging. When required and defined by the ordering activity at the RFQ stage, commercial off-the-shelf software items shall support International Standard for Software Tagging and Identification, ISO/IEC 19770-2, Software Tags when designated as mandatory by the standard.

5.2.3 Installation. In instances where installation services are required, the Contractor shall provide installation support related to the applicable product(s) as defined in the delivery order.

In those instances, the requirements will be addressed in the individual delivery order and identify the applicable security level necessary for Contractor to perform required installation services. If installation is required in secure customer operating environment, the DD Form 254

(DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

SPECIFICATION) requirements will be addressed in the individual RFQ by the ordering activity the appropriate security level.

5.2.4 Warranty/Maintenance Agreements. The Contractor shall provide standard commercial warranties in accordance with Section 10.9 requirements. Any additional, extended warranties, and trade-in or maintenance agreements may be purchased, as defined by the ordering agency at the RFQ stage, for maintenance or sustainment of procured products.

5.2.5 Customer Support. The Contractor shall provide live technical support, as required by the ordering activities’ RFQ, during the warranty period to assist in isolating, identifying, and repairing software and hardware failures, or to act as liaison with the manufacturer in the event that the customer requires assistance in contacting or dealing with the manufacturer for contractually covered maintenance/sustainment requirements (e.g. Product updates/upgrades, patches, spares, on-site support).

5.2.6 Remanufactured/Refurbished Products. No gray market, remanufactured, or refurbished products shall be listed or offered under these Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements.

Agencies that require Remanufactured /Refurbished Products should purchase via GSA Schedule 70 or via open market channels.

6.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The BPA period of performance will consist of one (1) base period of twelve (12) months and four (4) option periods of twelve (12) months.

Deliveries on orders may extend beyond the effective period of this BPA. However, no new Delivery Orders may be issued once the five year period has expired. Additionally, should a Schedule contract expire during the period of performance, the BPA expires on the same date as the GSA Schedule contract and no new delivery orders may be issued after that date. Note that if option periods remain on the GSA Schedule contract, the end of a Schedule contract option period is not considered “expiration” for purposes of this BPA or Delivery Orders hereunder and deliveries may continue (See FAR 8.405-3(d)(3)c) for details). The BPA Contracting Officer shall perform yearly reviews of the BPAs in accordance with FAR 8.404(d) prior to exercising an option.

The Contractor shall notify the BPA Contracting Officer no less than sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the Contractor's Multiple Award Schedule contract that its contract is about to expire. The BPA will not extend beyond the final expiration of the Contractor’s GSA Schedule 70 contract.

BPA reviews will be completed annually before exercising the option periods to determine if exercising the option is in the best interest of the Government.

7.0 OBLIGATION OF FUNDS

The Blanket Purchase Agreements do not obligate any funds. Funding will be identified on individual delivery orders. The Government is obligated only to the extent of orders placed under the established BPAs.

8.0 INVOICES

Invoicing shall be identified on individual delivery orders in accordance with customer agency policies. Payments shall be made upon receipt of invoice and acceptance of materials and services. Final payment will be made upon receipt of final invoice and acceptance of materials and a Contractor's Release of Claims. Details regarding payment will be identified in each Order and will be made in the case where a CTA exists within the terms of that CTA (e.g. directly to the Team Lead or separately to each Team Member). This should be clearly described in the submittal.

9.0 VOLUME OF PURCHASES

The Government estimates, but does not guarantee, that the volume of purchases through this agreement will be $850,000,000.00 to $1,100,000,000.00 Annually and $5,500,000,000.00 over 5 year BPA lifecycle. This is not a ceiling amount and the accumulated value of delivery orders issued under this BPA may exceed this amount without modification to the BPA.

10.0 BPA TERMS AND CONDITIONS

10.1 All terms and conditions of the Contractor’s awarded GSA Schedule 70 contract shall apply to the BPAs. Cooperative purchasing orders for approved state and local government entities, shall follow all state and local procurement laws. The terms and conditions of the contractor’s GSA Schedule 70 contract shall prevail over the BPA and all orders, except to the extent that lower prices and delivery terms in the established BPA shall take precedence over higher prices in the Contractor’s GSA Schedule 70 contract. Ordering activities delivery terms may extend beyond the BPA delivery terms if included in the ordering activities terms and conditions.

10.2 Within approximately 5 business days of BPA establishment, Contractor shall provide the BPA Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist with its entire catalog of products available on its GSA Schedule 70; SIN(s) 132-8, 132-12, 132-32, 132-33 and 132-34 contract(s) which falls within scope of the 2GIT BPA.

10.3 The awarded BPA Holders shall ensure that the products on its GSA Schedule contract reflect the part number assigned by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Awarded BPA Holders are required to ensure that its products are sourced directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or an OEM authorized channel partner.

10.4 At no time shall BPA prices exceed awarded prices on the Contractor’s GSA Schedule MAS contract. The discount pricing relationship established on the BPA for each team member shall be maintained throughout the life of the BPA unless modified by the BPA Contracting Officer. At the time each order is placed, pricing will be based on the current Schedule contract pricing adjusted for the BPA discount.

10.5 Point of sale, at the effective date of the BPA award, the Contractor shall provide the BPA price or lower against all orders when orders are placed via GSA eTools, GSA Advantage, or eBuy. All orders placed using the government purchase card shall automatically charge a price no higher than the BPA price. The point-of-sale discount shall apply to all purchases for items covered by the BPA via GSA Advantage, DoD Emall, Phone or Fax. BPA pricing shall be honored through all GSA and customer purchase channels. In order to ensure customers are getting the BPA discount or lower, Contractors will be required to apply a temporary sale price on its GSA Schedule GSA Advantage catalog price to ensure customers only see one product listing. By applying a temporary sale price this does not trigger the price reduction clause as GSA Advantage will still display the Schedule price.

10.6 Participating Dealer and Reseller quotes on delivery order RFQs will be permissible from the BPA holder’s participating dealers/resellers where the BPA contract holder's Schedule contract recognizes/authorizes the particular dealers / resellers; delivery order RFQs under the BPA shall specify eligibility terms and conditions for submission of quotes for such delivery order RFQs.

10.7 Awarded BPA Holders are required to ensure that its products are sourced directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or an OEM authorized channel partner; no gray market, remanufactured, or refurbished products shall be listed or offered under these Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements. The Contractor shall require their subcontractors and suppliers to purchase from the OEM or authorized distributor/reseller/agent.

10.8 Counterfeit Material Reporting. The Contractor shall report all suspected counterfeit material/items to the Government through the Government Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP) database and to the program office via e- mail to the 2GIT Contracting Officer within 5 working days of discovery. The Contractor shall prominently label all suspected counterfeit material/items and physically separate from all other supplies. The Contractor shall not return or dispose suspected or confirmed counterfeit material/items to the supplier but hold such items for Government analysis and investigation. The Contractor shall aid the Government investigation including providing all documents associated with the purchase, shipping, and other relevant data on the counterfeit materials/items. The 2GIT Program Office will provide final disposition instructions for confirmed counterfeit material/items to include turnover to the Government.

Any equipment supplied to a federal government buyer that is found to be gray market, refurbished, tampered with shall be recovered and replaced with compliant product(s) at no cost to the government within 30 days of government notification of the deficiency. Repeated occurrences may be considered cause for termination or off-ramping at the government’s discretion.

10.9 Warranty. The Contractor shall provide standard original equipment manufacturers product warranty in accordance with the GSA Schedule 70 contract terms and conditions unless specified otherwise based on federal strategic sourcing or other government-wide initiatives.

10.10 Contractor Teaming Arrangements. Contractor Teaming Arrangements will be permitted at the establishment of the Blanket Purchase Agreement. In the event a Contractor Teaming Arrangement is being quoted, the quotation shall include a signed and dated copy (by authorized representatives of each Team Member), of the Contracting Teaming Agreement(s) (CTA). The CTA(s) can be in whatever form and/or format the team collectively decides is most appropriate.

Note that Subcontractors are not Team Members for purposes of a CTA. If you are only intending to subcontract, you do not need to submit a Teaming Agreement with your quotation.

At a minimum, the CTA(s) shall clearly state the following in their quote submission cover letter:

• Company names of each CTA members

• GSA MAS contract numbers

• Schedule contract expiration dates

• Period of performance including options

• POC information of the proposed Team Lead

• BPA Line Item Number(s) each team member intends to primarily provide

The CTA(s) shall at a minimum indicate the business size of the Team Lead and Team Members (which must match the information provided under the socioeconomic evaluation factor), and also clearly delineate the roles and responsibilities (including Schedule/SINs, OEM and BPA Line Item Number each team participant is proposed to satisfy) of the 2GIT Team Lead and each Team Member. The CTA shall fully describe the manner in which your Team proposes to have any of its Team Members, particularly a Small Business Team Member, take a leadership role at the Order level (which includes being the named/awarded Contractor on a particular Order), if award through a team member (especially a Small Business) at the Order level is determined at any time to be in the best interests of the Government. This includes how the Order Team Lead would handle the consolidated invoicing/payment for that Order, while the BPA Holder Team Leader still retains overall BPA Program Management responsibilities. The CTA(s) shall also fully describe the manner in which the Contractor Team will decide upon the manner of adding or deleting Team Members during an open season. The CTA(s) shall describe how modifications to the BPA will be handled, specifically if all members must sign a BPA modification or only the Team Lead. There is no page limitation on this submittal. For more information on CTAs, your attention is directed to: http://www.gsa.gov/cta.

The CTAs must include and specifically identify those team members proposing to provide products under which BPA Line Item and or which OEMs they have LOSs. Core OEMs are listed in the top tier of the OEM spreadsheet. The CTA must specify the procedures the Team will follow in order to coordinate and establish additional CTA agreements to satisfy any new requirements during the life of the BPA.

GSA has developed a Contractor Teaming Arrangement Match Making Form for this acquisition for those companies looking for other companies to team with. The link to the form is shown below. Only complete this form if you are looking for potential CTA team members through this information sharing document. Completion of this form acknowledges that the information provided within this form will be made public. GSA will not be held liable for usage of this information within or outside of GSA. GSA will not assist with matchmaking for teaming beyond the posting of information to a public spreadsheet. Completion of this form does not guarantee that you will find teaming members.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdr4Ge8lf6qWd49uNGU3- 5vFByqFG65X2hQD_x2u0vvBb8ZcQ/viewform

The completed form information will be made public via an amendment to the RFQ on eBuy on the weekly basis.

Subcontracting and Teaming Relationships

Subcontracting and Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTAs – see http://www.gsa.gov/cta) by MAS Contractors are strongly encouraged to ensure the success of 2GIT. If an entity is identified as a team member (which means a Schedule Contractor working with another Schedule Contractor, and is distinguished from subcontracting), all effort quoted for delivery by that entity shall be priced based on the team member's GSA Schedule less any discount agreed to in the BPA or further discounts proposed on an individual Order. If an entity is identified as a subcontractor in the Contractor teaming arrangement, the product(s) quoted for delivery by that entity shall be located/included on the designated Prime Contractor's (CTA member’s) GSA Schedule price list(s). Subcontractors, whether they hold a Multiple Award Schedule Contract or not, are not part of the “Team” for BPA purposes and are not a party to the BPA Agreement. At the Order level, the BPA Team Lead may propose that a BPA Team Member take the lead and be directly named as the Order Team Lead under a resulting award. A team member receiving such a direct award may utilize other BPA team members on the BPA if allowed (specified) by the BPA Contractor Teaming Arrangement.

Subcontracting is permitted at the BPA level and task order level in accordance with the Contractor’s GSA Schedule Contract. If used, Offerors shall identify Prime Contractor/Subcontractor arrangements in their quote. If a prime Contractor-subcontractor arrangement is to be used, the Offeror must clearly explain the portion of effort to be performed by each Contractor. Prime Offerors may utilize Subcontracting arrangements as part of their http://www.gsa.gov/cta https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdr4Ge8lf6qWd49uNGU3-5vFByqFG65X2hQD_x2u0vvBb8ZcQ/viewform https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdr4Ge8lf6qWd49uNGU3-5vFByqFG65X2hQD_x2u0vvBb8ZcQ/viewform http://www.gsa.gov/cta total solution; however, all quoted products shall be from/on the Prime’s GSA Schedules contract.

Sometimes Contractors are not familiar with GSA’s definition of a “Contractor Teaming Arrangement” (CTA) and confuse the definitions of a CTA with a “Prime Contractor/Subcontractor” arrangement. For purposes of this RFQ, CTAs and Prime Contractor- Subcontractor Arrangements shall be defined as described at the gsa.gov website, GSA Schedules, “Frequently Asked Questions About GSA – Contractor Team Arrangements” (see in particular the CTA FAQ #1 and #3). The following chart from FAQ #3 is copied from that website here below for convenience for distinguishing CTAs from Prime/Subcontractor arrangements.

How do GSA Schedule Contractor Team Arrangements (CTAs) differ from Prime Contractor/Subcontractor Arrangements under Schedule contracts?

In prime/sub arrangements, the relationship is very tightly defined and controlled by the prime Contractor; whereas, in CTAs, the roles and responsibilities are defined by the team, as accepted by the government. The following chart summarizes key differences:

Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) Prime Contractor/Subcontractor Arrangement

Each team member must have a GSA Schedule contract.

Only the prime Contractor must have a GSA Schedule contract.

Each team member is responsible for duties addressed in the CTA document.

The prime Contractor cannot delegate responsibility for performance to subcontractors.

Each team member has privity of contract with the government and can interact directly with the government.

Only the prime Contractor has privity of contract with…