SOW_Final.docx

Statement of Work For Purchase of High Security Seals

Prepared by

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations – Cargo and Conveyance Security Manifest and Conveyance Security Division

1 BACKGROUND:

As the Nation's principal border agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the responsibility to ensure economic security through lawful international trade and travel. In performing this mission, CBP targets and intensively examines cargo deemed high-risk for terrorist-related activity, the presence of contraband, and trade law violations. In addition to examining high-risk cargo, CBP is also responsible for facilitating the release of low-risk cargo.

In order to preserve the integrity of containerized cargo leaving CBP’s possession, uniform procedures for sealing the container with High Security Seals (HSS) have been promulgated. These procedures are meant to avoid confusion within the trade community that may result in the refusal of delivery and/or unnecessary delay in legitimate cargo entering U.S. commerce.

2 SCOPE:

This Statement of Work (SOW) details the requirements and establishes tasks the vendor shall perform for the manufacturing of, shipping, and supporting CBP’s acquisition of cable HSS. The vendor shall supply up to a total of five (5) million cable HSS over a period of five years or until such time that the five (5) million of seals have been ordered, whichever comes first. The vendor shall produce a minimum of 250,000 cable HSS at delivery order award. Re-order thresholds and shipment lead time shall be determined by the National Distribution Center (NDC). The NDC shall contact the vendor and arrange for all future cable HSS shipments after future delivery orders are awarded against the BPA. The delivery timeframe will be negotiated in the final agreement.

APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Containerized Cargo Sealing Directive 3270-008A dated August 19, 2011.

3 PRODUCT INSPECTION:

Non-Conforming cable HSS will be rejected. Non-Conforming cable HSS will be replaced by the vendor at the vendor’s expense, to include re-delivery to the NDC.

4 REQUIREMENTS:

4.1 Kick-Off Meeting

No later than three (3) business days after the award of agreement, the vendor shall coordinate a teleconference with the CBP NDC facility, and the CBP Security Seal Division Director.

4.2 Shipment

On receipt of an order, the vendor shall ship all cable HSS directly from manufacturer to CBP’s NDC facility located at:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Distribution Center (NDC) 6482 Corporate Drive Indianapolis, IN 46278 Telephone number for NDC: 317-290-3149 x101.

POC Name or Division Name: Timothy Wilson, Warehouse Manager

The vendor shall be responsible for all shipping/handling and for the means and methods used for removing shipments from delivery conveyances and transporting shipments to the loading dock warehouse of the NDC, identified in section 2 of this document.

Boxes with cable HSS should be placed on plastic pallets maintaining 48” x 40” specifications with a 52” maximum height. However if wood pallets are used they will have to comply with Wood Packaging Materials regulations and International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures 15, maintain the same 48” x 40” specifications with a 52” maximum height requirement. Shipment(s) may be refused if the skid/pallet does not meet the outlined specifications (see Attachments 1-2). Vendor shall provide all required resources to unload and load all boxes from the conveyance to the provided pallets/skids within the CBP NDC facility. CBP will not be responsible for any required resources associated with shipping and handling to include, loading and unloading, when the cable HSS arrive at the NDC facility.

The contractor shall provide receiving, inspection, and inventory support to the NDC to ensure each shipment is correct and accounted for as part of the chain of custody transfer from the manufacturer to the Government.

The vendor shall coordinate with the NDC facility, to include all applicable requirements of outlined within this SOW, to ensure all shipments arrive at a mutually agreed upon date and time.

4.3 Manufacturing Requirements and Standards

The vendor shall manufacture cable HSS in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17712 (ISO 17712) for HSS. The vendor shall provide official verification of the annual certification and the test report conducted by an ISO/IEC 17025 Certified Lab to verify the cable HSS meets or exceeds ISO 17712 specifications. The test report shall, at a minimum, contain the following information:

a. Identification/description of the test specimen.

b. Reference to this Publicly Available Specification (ISO 17712).

c. Results of the test: (a)..., (b)...., as specified in the individual tests.

d. Temperature and the relative humidity in the test room throughout the test.

e. Details of the supply and monitoring equipment and the response criteria.

f. Details of any deviation from this Publicly Available Specification or from the International Standards to which reference is made and details of any operations regarded as optional.

4.4 Supply

The vendor shall produce a minimum of 250,000 cable HSS at the beginning of the agreement. The vendor will be responsible for shipping of all cable HSS directly from manufacturer to the NDC facility identified in section 4.2 of this document.

The vendor will insure that all subsequent orders are shipped to the NDC facility, unless otherwise specified by CBP.

4.5 High Security Seal Requirement

Cable HSS:

· Shall be strong and durable so as to prevent accidental breakage.

· Shall be designed and constructed to prevent undetectable tampering under normal usage.

· Design and construction shall prohibit removal or undoing without breaking or tampering without leaving clear visible evidence.

· Shall only be capable of being removed with bolt cutters.

· Shall be constructed using nonflammable, aluminum body to cover the metal locking mechanism and protect it against damage from harsh tools.

· Shall be protected against rust from harsh and humid weather either through individual sealed packaging, or surface coating.

· The cable HSS shall have a diameter of 3.2mm and a length of 14 inches; in some events CBP may request cable seals with 16 inch in length.

· The cable HSS shall have two independent locking mechanisms to guard the seal against ratcheting, picking, and freezing.

4.6 Identification Marks and Numbering

Each cable HSS shall be permanently marked with a serial number that is legible on the locking panel with a barcode. In addition to the serial number, each cable HSS shall be marked with the letters “CBP.” The barcode, Quick Response Code, or any emerging technology codes shall be capable of being scanned using a hand-held device with built-in scanning capabilities. The markings on the cable HSS shall be protected from physical tampering (i.e. scratching or hitting), or extreme heat, and shall not be capable of being modified by the use of chemical substances.

NOTE: The vendor shall NOT use the following alphabetical letters as part of the serial numbering: "A", "B", "C", "K", “O”, “D” or ''R". The vendor shall track the alphabetical characters used and ensure they are used and referenced in the reports.

The serial number shall:

· Consist of an alpha and unique six (6) digit numerical character to form the serial number (These serial numbers shall not be re-used or duplicated).

· Shall contain the last number of the alpha character to be used ending in 999999, at which time the vendor shall begin with another alpha character (Example: CBP E999999, the next unique alpha numerical character will be CBP F000001).

The Vendor shall obtain the starting serial number from CBP Headquarters, Office of Field Operations, Cargo and Conveyance Security, no later than three (3) days after agreement award.

The Vendor shall insure that cable HSS are marked or stamped with the letter "H" in a legible and clearly visible manner to easily identify the classification as a high-security seal.

4.7 Color Requirements

Cable HSS color requirements:

· Each cable HSS shall be colored using PANTONE 2955 C (HEX: #003B6F; RGB: 0,59,111; CMYK: 100, 55, 10, 48).

· The permanent ink color, Pantone 2955 C, shall not fade and will be embedded in a type 3 barcode format.

4.8 Packaging

· The vendor shall provide lot size specifications for complete boxes and pallets to include dimensions and weight of lots.

· Individual boxes of cable HSS shall not exceed 50 pounds.

· All boxes shall be marked in large characters (not smaller than 1 inch in height) and indicate the range of cable HSS contained within a type 3 barcode.

· Provide sample barcode format that can be scanned using a hand-held device with built-in scanning capabilities.

· All boxes shall be marked to distinguish the top from the bottom and the cable HSS shall be packaged sequentially with higher numbers on the bottom and lower numbers on the top of the box.

· If individual packaging is used for each cable HSS, this packaging should allow for easy opening (by hand) without the need for sharp tools.

· Each box shall be labeled to show serial numbers of each cable HSS starting from lowest number to highest number.

· Each box will contain the same quantity of cable HSS in easy individual counts of either 5, 10, 15 or 20.

4.9 Shipment to CBP Ports

· There is no requirement for the vendor to ship seals to CBP port locations. NDC will store and ship all seals to the local CBP port locations.

5 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED EQUIPMENT AND INFORMATION:

No Government equipment or information will be provided.

6 QUALITY ASSURANCE:

Vendor and its manufacturing companies shall be ISO 9001 (or equivalent) certified and compliant through the term of this agreement. Prior to the award, the vendor shall provide CBP with proof of ISO certifications.

To insure that the vendor is ISO compliant through the term of this agreement. The vendor shall provide proof of current ISO certifications at the time of quote and randomly, as requested by the Government.

Vendor shall provide proof of current membership in CBP’s Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program. The manufacturing facility must maintain validation and compliance as required by CTPAT and/or the CBP Headquarters Security Seal Management team.

7 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

All work shall be performed at the vendor's facilities.

8 Term of Agreement:

The term of this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is for five (5) years or until such time that the five (5) million of cable HSS have been ordered and delivered, whichever occurs first.

9 INVENTORY CONTROL SYSTEM:

Vendor shall provide an application to CBP that can support the end-to-end procedures for logging events such as storage, installation, and removal of cable HSS. The inventory management control system shall be Cloud based and shall not require any computer software installation for use by CBP. CBP has hand-held devices (tablet) with built-in scanning capabilities to display bar codes. The system shall provide role based access capabilities (i.e. warehouse operators, CBP Officers, and options for customer that receive the cargo). Each assigned role shall require a unique ID and password for system access. The Vendor shall provide Help Desk access (minimum of Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) to provide system access to authorized users and troubleshooting. The system details shall be finalized upon completion of the final agreement.

10 SECURITY:

Vendor shall provide a point of contact, to include name, email address, and contact number, of the person or persons responsible for CBP’s cable HSS security and product integrity. The vendor shall ensure the following:

1. A responsible POC is available to respond to questions or issues regarding seal ISO requirements compliance, irregularities, duplicate serial numbered, etc.

2. CBP is provided with personnel data for all background checks conducted on all personnel requiring access to CBP’s cable HSS, as applicable.

3. Cable HSS are safeguarded and secured against tampering and other malicious, criminal or terrorist actions.

4. Promotion of cable HSS (accountable item) security awareness among all staff.

5. Risk assessments are conducted (location, secured), and countermeasures and/or policies are developed to minimize potential vulnerabilities or threats to CBP cable HSS.

11 POST AWARD CONFERENCE/PERIODIC PROGRESS MEETINGS:

The Vendor shall attend any post award conference (person or telephonic) convened by the contracting activity or agreement administration office to discuss the closure of the agreement.

12 CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE (COR):

The COR monitors all technical aspects of the agreement and assists in agreement administration. A letter of designation (LOD) shall be issued to the COR. A copy of the LOD shall be provided to the Vendor. The LOD shall outline the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, with regard to agreement changes, to include, cost estimates, pricing and delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order. The COR shall have oversight of the following:

· Assuring that the Vendor performs the technical requirements of the agreement

· Performing inspections in connection with agreement performance as deemed necessary

· Maintaining written and oral communications with the Vendor

· Issuing written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs and specifications

· Monitoring Vendor's performance, to include issuing deficiency notifications to the Contracting Officer and Vendor

· Coordination of availability of government furnished property, as applicable

· Coordination of site entry of Vendor personnel.

Attachment 1

Attachment 1

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