ITO.Monitors.4QFF47116802 dd 11 10 2011 final.docx

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

4QFF47116802

For the Establishment of Multi-Agency Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) For Computer Monitors

GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Federal Supply Schedule 70 Holders

SIN 132-8

Issued by:

The National Information Technology Commodity Program Region 4 Southeast Sunbelt Region Federal Acquisition Services 401 West Peachtree Street NW, Suite 820 Atlanta, GA 30308

ISSUE DATE: November 16, 2011

CLOSING DATE/TIME: December 16, 2011 at 5:00 pm EST

1. SPECIAL ITEM NUMBER(S):

The GSA schedule for this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is the Information Technology (IT) Schedule 70, Special Industry Number (SIN) 132-8 (Purchase of New Equipment) and NAICS 334119. Quotes will only be accepted from contractors with an active contract for the above listed Schedule and SIN. The Government will review the offeror’s quote for scope compliance during quote evaluation.

2. TASK TYPE:

Blanket Purchase Agreements

3. ISSUING OFFICE:

Wanda Dixon Senior Contracting Officer GSA/FAS National IT Commodity Program 401 W. Peachtree St., NW, Suite 820 Atlanta, GA 30308 Office: (404) 987-7189

Any questions must be submitted in writing via email to wanda.dixon@gsa.gov and andrea.brzoska@gsa.gov , no later than, November 21, 2011 by 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

4. QUOTE:

All offerors must submit their quote via GSA IT Solution Shop (ITSS) web-based order processing system. Quotes will only be accepted via ITSS. The webpage link is http://web.itss.gsa.gov/Login and the ITSS Help Desk number is 877-243-2889. The contact’s name must be exactly as it appears in ITSS. Contractors will not be able to access this RFQ in ITSS without providing requested information to GSA in advance of the RFQ closing date. It is the interested parties’ responsibility to ensure contractor registration is in ITSS and provide notification of ITSS registration to the GSA point of contact (POC) for this solicitation and submission of the quote are completed before closing date and time. Extension of the RFQ closing date and time will not be granted due to late registration in ITSS. ITSS requires that information under the contract number in the ITSS be an exact match with the information in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), http://www.ccr.gov. An award cannot be made if the information in each system does not match.

· CCR Legal Business Name – Form 300, Blocks 7 and 12, Contractor/Company Name

· CCR Doing Business As (DBA) – Form 300, Blocks 7 and 12, Contractor/Company Name

· CCR Physical Address – Form 300, Block 7, Contractor Address

· CCR Remittance Address – Form 300, Block 12, Remittance Address

· Federal Tax ID (Employer’s Identification Number)

· DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System)

5. CONTRACTOR TEAMING ARRANGEMENTS (CTA) AND PRIME CONTRACTOR/SUBCONTRACTOR ARRANGEMENTS:

Offerors shall identify Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTA) and Prime Contractor or Subcontractor arrangements in their quote. If a CTA or prime contractor-subcontractor arrangement is to be used, the offeror must clearly explain the portion of effort to be performed by each contractor or team member. If a CTA is to be used, the offeror must provide a signed copy of the teaming agreement with their quote.

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-Sub Contractor 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 the website 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 contract?

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:

Also, if a Contractor Teaming Arrangement (CTA) or prime contractor/subcontractor arrangement is quoted, then the past performance evaluation factor for each Team member (or critical subcontractor) may be evaluated individually and then averaged together for an overall Team factor rating (taking into consideration the appropriate weight to give each Team member (or subcontractor) based on their planned performance as identified in the quote. For example, if the quote indicates Team member “A” will do approximately 30% of work, then 30% weight is given to Team member A’s past performance rating in assigning the overall Team past performance rating.

6. QUOTE FORMAT:

Quotes shall be submitted in an electronic 8-1/2” x 11” format with 12 point font and should be organized to correspond with the evaluation factors listed herein. The quotes shall be limited to twenty (20) pages, to include the technical quote; excess of twenty (20) pages will not be evaluated and removed. The technical quote should include an introduction and describe the offeror’s ability in meeting the RFQ requirements. This page limitation does not include the cover page, table of contents, price, Greenhouse Gas Pilot information, technical literature, Past Performance Questionnaires, teaming agreements and/or prime-subcontractor agreements (if applicable).

7. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION:

NITCP is following the acquisition procedures of FAR 8.4- Federal Supply Schedules, where by all interested GSA Schedule 70 contract holders are eligible to submit quotes for Computer Monitors as specified in the solicitation, under Schedule 70 SIN 132-8. No open market or non TAA compliant items will be accepted. Offered product(s) must be made available on GSA Schedule by the date and time of the quote submittal.

8. EVALUATION:

This procurement is being conducted under FAR Subpart 8.4. This is not a FAR Part 15, contracting by negotiation acquisition. The Government will place awards with the offerors that represents the overall best value to meet the Government’s need. Best value is defined as the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement, in accordance with FAR 2.101.

The best value will be determined by comparing differences in the value of non-price factors with differences in price to the Government. In making this comparison, the Government is more concerned with obtaining superior non-price factors than with making an award at the lowest overall price to the Government. However, the Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve slightly superior non-price features.

The Government intends to award approximately ten (10) BPAs without exchanges or communications based upon initial submissions, so the offeror should submit their best terms in the initial quote. The Government may in its discretion confer with an offeror to clear up quote details. The Government also reserves the right to make no award.

9. FACTORS OF EVALUATION:

The evaluation factors and sub-factors are listed in descending order of importance. Non-Priced Factors are more important than Price. Within the Non-Priced Factors, socioeconomic status is more important than all others when combined.

A. Socioeconomic Status

First Preference

For consideration under the socioeconomic factor, the greatest preference will be given to award to small business offerors.

Second Preference

The second preference will be to award to offerors who quote one the following three types of contractor arrangements (listed below in no particular order) that demonstrate past success on small business subcontracting goals under an approved GSA FSS 70 and include participation of one or more small businesses:

(a) Offerors composed of a CTA(s).

The Government will give consideration to the following:

i. Offerors that have successfully meet or exceeded the offeror’s small business subcontracting goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11. Consideration will be based on the degree to which an offeror has exceeded its goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11; for example, greater value will placed on an offeror that has significantly exceeded its goals over an offeror that has only met its goals or only slightly exceeded them. Also, each CTA Team member may be evaluated individually and then averaged together for an overall Team factor assessment (taking into consideration the appropriate weight to give each Team member based on their planned performance in fulfilling the orders placed under the resulting BPA as identified in the offeror quote). For example, if the quote indicates Team member “A” will perform approximately 30% of work, then 30% weight is given to Team member A’s achievement of FY10 and FY11 subcontracting goals in assigning the overall Team factor rating. A team member is “critical” if that entity’s planned performance is 10% or greater.

ii. Offerors whose quotes demonstrate a commitment to an aggressive utilization of small business to fulfill the orders placed under the resulting BPA. The offeror’s commitment to utilization of small business to fulfill the order placed under the resulting BPA shall be assessed based on the percentage of requirements placed under the resulting BPA that the offeror intends to have performed by small business; a higher percentage demonstrates a more aggressive commitment on the utilization of small business.

(b) Offerors composed of prime contractor – subcontractor relationships.

The Government will give consideration to the following:

i. Offerors that have successfully meet or exceeded the offeror’s small business subcontracting goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11. Consideration will be given based on the degree to which an offeror has exceeded its goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11; for example, greater value will placed on an offeror that has significantly exceeded its goals over an offeror that has only met its goals or only slightly exceeded them. Also, the prime contractor and each critical subcontractor may be evaluated individually and then averaged together for an overall Team factor assessment (taking into consideration the appropriate weight to give each prime or subcontractor based on their planned performance in fulfilling the orders placed under the resulting BPA as identified in the offeror quote). For example, if the quote indicates subcontractor“A” will perform approximately 30% of work, then 30% weight is given to subcontractor A’s achievement of FY10 and FY11 subcontracting goals in assigning the overall Team factor rating. A team member or subcontractor is “critical” if that entity’s planned performance is 10% or greater.

ii. Offerors whose quotes demonstrate a commitment to an aggressive utilization of small business to fulfill the orders placed under the resulting BPA. The offeror’s commitment to utilization of small business to fulfill the order placed under the resulting BPA shall be assessed based on the percentage of requirements placed under the resulting BPA that the offeror intends to have performed by small business; a higher percentage demonstrates a more aggressive commitment on the utilization of small business.

(c) Offeror hybrids composed of CTA(s) and prime contractor-subcontractor relationships.

The Government will give consideration to the following:

i. Offerors that have successfully meet or exceeded the offeror’s small business subcontracting goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11. Consideration will be given based on the degree to which an offeror has exceeded its goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11; for example, greater value will placed on an offeror that has significantly exceeded its goals over an offeror that has only met its goals or only slightly exceeded them. Also, if a CTA and/or prime contractor/subcontractor arrangement is quoted, then for consideration, each Team member (or critical subcontractor) may be evaluated individually and then averaged together for an overall Team factor assessment (taking into consideration the appropriate weight to give each Team member (or subcontractor) based on their planned performance in fulfilling the orders placed under the resulting BPA as identified in the offeror quote). For example, if the quote indicates Team member “A” will perform approximately 30% of work, then 30% weight is given to Team member A’s achievement of FY10 and FY11 subcontracting goals in assigning the overall Team factor rating. A team member or subcontractor is “critical” if that entity’s planned performance is 10% or greater.

ii. Offerors whose quotes demonstrate a commitment to an aggressive utilization of small business to fulfill the orders placed under the resulting BPA. The offeror’s commitment to utilization of small business to fulfill the order placed under the resulting BPA shall be assessed based on the percentage of requirements placed under the resulting BPA that the offeror intends to have performed by small business; a higher percentage demonstrates a more aggressive commitment on the utilization of small business.

As concerns considerations (i) and (ii) above in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), considerations (i) and (ii) shall be equally weighted.

Offerors that do not have a history of subcontracting plans/goals under a GSA FSS contract for FY 10 or FY 11 (for example, newly or recently formed offerors) shall not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on that aspect of this factor.

Third Preference

The third preference will be to award to other than small business offerors. Other than small businesses shall not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the Socioeconomic Status factor (i.e., they shall receive a neutral rating).

General Information Regarding the Socioeconomic Status Factor:

All offerors in their quote must certify the size status for the NAICS code 334119 for each and every team member and/or prime contractor or subcontractor respectively. For order RFQs under any established BPAs, the ordering official may require offerors to recertify their status as part of the order RFQ.

The burden is exclusively on the offeror to supply the Government with adequate evidence in its quote to establish, expressed as a percentage, the degree to which the offeror intends to utilize small business to fulfill the orders placed under the resulting BPA.

The submission of a Small Business Subcontracting Plan by the offeror with their quote is neither required nor encouraged. The Government will not consider or evaluate Small Business Subcontracting Plans if submitted.

The burden is exclusively on the offeror to supply the Government with adequate evidence in its quote to establish the offeror’s small business subcontracting goals under that offeror’s approved GSA FSS contract for FY 10 and FY 11 and the specific level of achievement by the offeror on those goals for each FY.

If a CTA or prime contractor/subcontractor arrangement is quoted, the burden is exclusively on the offeror to clearly establish in its quote the specific nature of the relationships between the parties. I.e., identify which parties are utilizing a CTA, and which parties are utilizing a prime contractor/subcontractor arrangement.

If a CTA or prime contractor/subcontractor arrangement is quoted, the burden is exclusively on the offeror to supply the Government with adequate evidence in its quote to clearly establish, expressed as a percentage, the degree to which each CTA member or prime contractor/subcontractor, respectively, is intended to be utilized in the fulfillment of the orders placed under the resulting BPA.

B. Technical

(1) Conformance to minimum salient characteristics for monitors. Provide at a minimum the country of origin, manufacture’s name, part number and product description of the quoted product. It is the offeror’s responsibility to provide sufficient information for the government to make an informed decision if the quoted product conforms to the minimum salient characteristic. (Technical literature is acceptable as “supporting” evidence). The government describes the minimum salient characteristics in Attachment A of the ITO.

(2) Describe your capability to submit Level III transaction data at the line item level. Provide evidence of the offers ability to submit Level III transaction data at the line item level as specified in section 17.1.2 Usage Reports of the RFQ. Provide supporting documentation from the offeror’s order processor (e.g., merchant bank). Evidence of successful experience in submitting this information on other contracts/orders/projects is considered of value to the government in assessing this factor.

(3) Describe your approach in providing the point of sale discount for all BPA orders. Provide the process and plan to provide point of sale discounts for all BPA orders.

(4) Complete Attachment C of ITO, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Pilot. Respond to Greenhouse Gas survey questions, 100% completion.

C. Past Performance

Offerors must submit documentation of three (3) past performance examples of current (completed within the past 36 months) contracts, BPAs, purchase orders and task/delivery orders with comparable requirements to the solicitation. Past performance information must include a point of contact (offeror’s name, company name, company address, phone number, fax number, email address, contract number, dollar value, product description and date of award.)

Offerors shall provide Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment B) to the offeror’s past performance reference points of contact for the above-referenced projects. The offeror’s past performance reference point of contact is to submit on behalf of the offeror a completed Past Performance Questionnaire for each referenced contract, BPAs, purchase orders and task/delivery orders being utilized as a Past Performance Reference project. Submission of the completed Past Performance Questionnaire shall be submitted directly to the GSA Contracting Officer at wanda.dixon@gsa.gov . Questionnaires are due no later than December 16, 2011by 5:00 pm and will only be accepted via email.

Past performance will be evaluated as a measure of the Government’s confidence in and risk associated with the offeror’s ability to successfully perform this project based on demonstrated relevant and recent performance. In conducting the past performance evaluation, the Government may use data provided by the offeror and data obtained from other sources (such as Past Performance Information Retrieval Systems (PPIRS) that it considers current, accurate and relevant.

Offerors without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance and as a result, will receive a “neutral/unknown confidence” rating. A strong past performance record may be considered more advantageous to the Government than a neutral/unknown confidence past performance rating.

Unless restricted, information and data 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). Offerors submitting any proprietary or restricted information or data shall mark it as such. The Government assumes no liability for disclosure or use of unmarked information or data and may use or disclose the unmarked information or data for any purpose.

D. Price

Price will be evaluated for fairness and reasonableness. The price quote shall include the offeror’s product pricing information including applicable discounts from GSA Schedule prices. Discounts will remain fixed for the life of the BPA, unless otherwise negotiated by the Contracting Officer. Product unit prices may fluctuate and will be based on the discount from the effective GSA Schedule prices for the corresponding computer monitors, commensurate with price changes to the GSA Schedule prices.

Offeror shall indicate the following information on Attachment “A” of the ITO:

· BPA Pricing (Base Year and Option Year Pricing)

· Current GSA Schedule Unit Price

· Proposed BPA Unit Price

· Discount Percentage

· Tier Volume Discounts

The Discount Percentage offered for the BPA will be used as the overall discount for the remainder of the offeror’s BPA product catalog under the GSA Schedule for ALL monitors under the awarded BPA.

Tier Volume Discounts – In the "Tier Volume Discount" tab in Attachment A, enter the proposed additional tiered volume discounts based on the Government’s estimated cumulative dollar spend thresholds. These thresholds will be based on BPA government spend and the full catalog of monitors for each vendor.

BPA Spend Thresholds ($)

Volume Discount Offered (%):

Volume discount tier thresholds are as follows: $250,000.00, $500,000.00, and $1,000,000.00. The BPA tier discount will be effective immediately when the volume discount threshold is reached.

Offerors shall provide an electronic copy of their most recent, approved GSA Schedule 70 SIN 132-8 price list with their quote.

The Government will evaluate base and option-year pricing.

10. QUOTE SUBMISSION:

A. All quotes must contain the necessary information to satisfy the criteria of evaluation in the indentified format and be submitted in GSA’s web-based procurement system, IT-Solutions (ITSS) [http:// itss.gsa.gov]. Offerors shall thoroughly examine all solicitation documents and instructions; failure to do so will be at the Offeror’s own risk. Failure to provide any of the information described above may result in exclusion from consideration of an award.

B. With respect to all evaluation factors, offerors are on notice that an offeror is solely responsible for furnishing in its quote adequate details to allow the government to evaluate the offer on the factor; an offeror’s failure to submit adequate detail may result in exclusion from consideration.

C. The minimum offer acceptance period is 120 days after the required date for receipt of quotes.

D. The only method by which any term of this RFQ may be modified is by a formal amendment to the RFQ generated by the issuing office listed at above Section 3. No other communications, whether oral or in writing, will modify or supersede the terms of this RFQ.

E. Each offeror for its quote shall submit a separate price quote and a non price quote volume.

F. A cover page that includes the Offeror’s Federal Tax ID Number (TIN), Dun and Bradstreet Number (DUNS), mailing and remittance addresses, GSA Schedule Number, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) number and name and phone number of quote of contact person.

ATTACHMENT A

BPA Price Template

The BPA Price Template is a separate EXCEL spreadsheet attachment for price evaluation purposes only.

ATTACHMENT B

OFFEROR’S PAST PERFORMANCE DATA

OFFEROR’S NAME:____________________________________________________________

OFFEROR’S PAST PERFORMANCE DATA: _______________________________________

COMPANY NAME: ____________________________________________________________

ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________________

CONTACT NAME: _____________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE: FAX: EMAIL:

This data will be used to evaluate your company’s past performance in meeting price, delivery and warranty elements for past performance.

List Performance Data on your three (3) most recently completed Federal Government contracts, BPA, Purchase Orders and Delivery/Task orders (not to exceed three years since completion) for like or similar items required by this solicitation. If you do not have 3 Federal Government contracts, then list state, local or commercial contracts, in that order, to complete this report.

CONTRACT NUMBER FOR REFERENCE: __________________________________________

A. Awarded By:___________________________________________________________

B. Address:_______________________________________________________________

C. City/State/Zip:__________________________________________________________

D. Contact Name:__________________________________________________________

E. Telephone/FAX:_________________________________________________________

F. Contract Type:__________________________________________________________

G. Overview of Product Description:___________________________________________

H. Annual Dollar Value:____________________________________________________

I. How well did the contractor meet schedule compliance (Deliverables, Reporting capabilities and Contract Requirements)? (Circle one)

Exceptional Very Good Satisfactory Marginal Unsatisfactory Not Observed

J. How well did the contractor provide quality customer relations (Responsiveness to Issues)? (Circle one)

Exceptional Very Good Satisfactory Marginal Unsatisfactory Not Observed

K. If there were warranty issues, describe how the contractor solved the problem(s). (Circle one)

Exceptional Very Good Satisfactory Marginal Unsatisfactory Not Observed

L. The contractor’s overall performance on this contract is/was: (Circle one)

Exceptional Very Good Satisfactory Marginal Unsatisfactory Not Observed

M. Would you award another contract action to this company? Yes No

Reason Why:

ATTACHMENT C – GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) PILOT:

This is for Government information purposes only and will not be a rated factor.

Offerors (prime contractors only or, in the case of teaming arrangements, all team members) shall provide a brief response to the following questions:

1. Has your company completed a comprehensive GHG emissions inventory (yes/no)?

If NO, skip question 3.

2. Has your company set GHG emissions reduction goals (yes/no)?

3. Which scope did your company’s most recent GHG emissions inventory include? (Check all that apply.)

Scope 1

Scope 2

Scope 3

4. Is verification of your most recent GHG emissions inventory in process or completed (yes/no)? If yes, please indicate to what level it has been verified.

1st Party (internal)

2nd Party (GHG scheme administrator/client)

3rd Party (Independent external)

The GHG Protocol defines direct and indirect emissions as follows:

· Direct GHG emissions are emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting entity.

· Indirect GHG emissions are emissions that are a consequence of the activities of the reporting entity, but occur at sources owned or controlled by another entity.

The GHG Protocol further categorizes these direct and indirect emissions into three broad scopes:

Scope 1: All direct GHG emissions

Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam.

Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, such as the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the report entity, electricity-related activities (e.g. T&D losses) not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc.

The resources for the GHG questions came from the following:

· GHG Protocol Corporate Standard: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/standards/corporate-standard

· Basics on GHG Protocol: http://ghgprotocol.org/about-ghgp

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