03C23Q0061 QA No1_04282023.pdf

Questions and Answers #1 70B03C23Q00000061

Question # Question Text

Q1 In relation to the Master Item List, is the department able to provide manufacturer product codes for each item listed?

A1 DHS will not provide manufacturer product codes for the items listed.

Q2

With regard to the past performance questionnaires for solicitation 70B03C23Q00000061, are there any requirements for how recent the references need to be (i.e., within the last 3 to 5 years)?

A2 The RFQ will be edited to require that references be 5 years or less from the closing date of solicitation.

Q3 Can you provide either the manufacturer or Henry Schein item codes for this opportunity?

A3 DHS will not provide manufacturer product codes for the items listed.

Q4

Will our quote be evaluated for award if we include the following statement? The prices on the bid will be held firm through the end of the first contract year and will then be reviewed on a yearly basis. During the course of any year, if the cost of an item, due to economic or supply issues, is raised over x% to our company, we have the right to raise the price to the customer. If the pricing is reduced after a market condition is stabilized, we will reduce the price to the customer.

A4

Any terms and conditions stipulated in your response to the solicitation will be evaluated, may impact the best value analysis, and could impact whether your organization is issued a BPA.

Q5 Can we implement a minimum dollar order?

A5

Any terms and conditions stipulated in your response to the solicitation will be evaluated, may impact the best value analysis, and could impact whether your organization is issued a BPA.

Q6 I assume that shipping must be included in our pricing, is that correct?

A6 Per Block 11 of Page 1 of the solicitation and page 8 of the solicitation, shipment terms are FOB Destination for all items under the solicitation.

Question # Question Text

Q7 What are the estimated purchase amounts by: order, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually?

A7 Estimated usage date is contained in the Master Item List.

Q8 How will orders be placed? What do you prefer?

A8 Orders will be placed per FAR 52.216-18, Ordering, found on page 7 of the solicitation. In addition, reference FAR 52.216- 19 Order Limitations found on page 8 of the solicitation.

Q9

Many of the items listed in the provided product list, titled “03C23Q0061+Master+List+Med+Supplies_04202023” are not TAA or Buy American compliant. Do we quote the items listed, or are compliant alternatives available that you require us to source? If we are to quote the items as requested, how is TAA or Buy American compliance handled for quotes and ordering (e.g., does DHS review COOs on quotes and then order if acceptable)?

A9

Offerors must identify all Trade Agreement Act (TAA) or Buy American Act (BAA) non-compliant items as part of your representations and certifications.

See also sub-paragraph "f" of "Factor 3" in the "Evaluation" provision RFQ page 32.

Q10

The Statement of Work (SOW) (pg. 2) directs offerors to “submit their pricing in column "P" of the attached Master Item List spreadsheet.” The Master Item List Spreadsheet has several blank columns before the “P” column and does not have any column heading on “P”. Also, each tab in the spreadsheet has different columns. Please confirm prices should be listed in column “P” in all three tabs.

A10 Pricing Matrix worksheets have been added to the RFQ.

Please use these worksheets to provide your pricing.

Q11

The SOW directs offerors as follows: “[I]n the first blank or empty cell under column “P”, offeror shall enter a Grand Total, for each of the three categories.”

Do you mean a grand total of all three tabs, or a grand total for each individual tab?

Please confirm the Grand Total is simply a total of all the prices listed in column “P”.

A11 The individual Tab "Grand Total" is the sum of pricing for each for line on the same Tab.

Question # Question Text

Q12 There are several items without a listed quantity. How should those be handled?

A12 If there is no quantity for an item, please a price for one (1) each (roll, box, tube, etcetera as appropriate).

Q13 Is there a minimum or preferred discount requirement for the point-of-sale discount to be considered?

A14 At a minimum, the discount offered should be no less than that offered to any other customer of the contractor.

Q14

The SOW stipulates, “the contractor shall provide a current order status at any time as requested by DHS organizational components within 24 hours of receipt of request.” Is a response by the following business day acceptable, or do you require a response within 24 hours even if that is on a weekend or federal holiday?

A14 The SOW will be edited to state "one business day of receipt of request."

Q15 Would a CPARS report be an acceptable document to submit as a backup to the questionnaire since we have no control over if or when a Contracting Officer will respond?

A16 No CPARS report should be submitted by an offeror.

Q16

The Delivery Schedule in Section I.2 states scheduled delivery is to CBP at Pennsylvania Avenue NW; however the Scope of Work in Section II.28 states that delivery will be to various CONUS locations. Can the Government provide a list of all delivery locations?

A16

Per page 27 of the RFQ:

All shipments are F.O.B. destination. All confirmed orders must be directly delivered to CONUS locations. CONUS is comprised of the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. OCONUS deliveries are allowed, but not required.

Deliveries will be specified on the individual delivery orders issued in accordance with a BPA.

Question # Question Text

Q17

Will some of the final destinations be outside the U.S.

Territories and U.S. jurisdiction? For context, even if a vendor is not shipping directly to an OCONUS location, if a customer ships a CONUS delivery to an OCONUS location it can affect supplier agreements and may affect the proposed approach.

A17

Per page 27 of the RFQ:

All shipments are F.O.B. destination. All confirmed orders must be directly delivered to CONUS locations. CONUS is comprised of the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. OCONUS deliveries are allowed, but not required.

Q18

Please confirm that (i) contract number and BPA number and

(ii) delivery/task order number and BPA call number are used interchangeably. For context, the placement of 4 rather than 2 numbers on the outer wrapping may change the proposed approach.

A18

A Blanket Purchasing Agreement (BPA) will be established with a successful offeror as a result of this solicitation.

Delivery Orders (DO) will be issued in accordance with the established BPA, specifying deliveries.

The term "Contract" is used interchangeably with BPA in this solicitation.

The terms "task order" and "BPA call" are used interchangeably with DO in this solicitation.

Q19 Please define point of sale discounts. Does this refer to additional discounts offered when a call order is placed?

A19 Point of sale discounts are additional discounts offered when a delivery order is placed. Yes.

Q20

Please clarify the subset of items that will provide the common basis for comparing the relative costs of the quotes. It appears the subset consists of items designated as mandatory. If this is accurate, please identify which items in the Master Item List are mandatory items.

A20

Potentially all items will be used for pricing quotations.

The RFQ has been edited to delete the phrase "Mandatory" in relation to product coverage. See the Category Coverage requirements in the SOW.

Question # Question Text

Q21 Please confirm that quotes must be submitted to MedSuppliesRFQ2023@cbp.dhs.gov.

A21 All quotations and other solicitation correspondence must be submitted to MedSuppliesRFQ2023@cbp.dhs.gov.

Q22

Please confirm that pricing information requested for the items in the Master Item List is from Year One to Year Five. The SF 1449, Additional Information Section includes Annual Pricing Schedules, which do not appear to be incorporated into the spreadsheet. If Year One to Year Five pricing must be provided in the spreadsheet, please clarify if there are any requirements for how the pricing should be inputted.

A22 Pricing Matrix worksheets have been added to the RFQ.

Please use these worksheets to provide your pricing.

Q23

For Master Item List, line 50:

Item USAR LS (pack only), the USAR is a pack and the LS is an additional pack attachment with the item. Do you want both? Or just the USAR

A23 This item is a one-piece backpack.

Q24 For Master Item List, line 48:

For this item we want to verify what is the requested color of the bag?

A24 The item color is Black.

Q25 Is there an annual price adjustment factor we can include with the items bid to compensate for price inflation?

A25 DHS does not have a specified price adjustment factor. Using or setting an annual price adjustment factor is a matter of business judgment on the part of offeror.

Q26 Can we bid an item with a slightly different quantity per package (i.e., Bid lists a 10/pk, but we sell them as 5/pk) and make note of the packaging size difference

A26 Different quantity packaging can be quoted.

Q27 When do you anticipate the answers to these questions coming out and will there be an extension of the due date?

A27 DHS will work to respond to these questions as promptly as possible. DHS does not intend to extend the due date at this time.

Q28 Will subcontractor past performance be considered for past performance evaluations?

A28 Unless a partnering agreement is provided with your quotation, subcontractor past performance will not be considered.

Question # Question Text

Q29

III.7, Online Catalog and Ordering Process beginning page 32

Does the online catalog need to be complete and live at submittal of bid or will templates and examples suffice for bid evaluation?

A29 It is highly desired that Offerors provide an active website that demonstrates the features and capabilities described in the SOW (Online Catalog and Ordering Process).

Q30

Pg 23 General Requirements, c) website

Can the website be attached to an existing portal or does it require it's own URL?

A30 It is highly desired that Offerors provide a unique website

URL.

Q31 Are Product substitutions permitted with prior approval?

A31 Product substitutions require a bilateral modification to the established BPA.

Q32

How will the Government judge and reconcile the clinical equivalency of required products offered with the motivation to provide a US made product? In other words, to what degree does a US made product need to be clinically equivalent versus a TAA compliant product?

A32

All items on this solicitation are considered "Brand Name or Equal" and should be technically equivalent in terms of quality and features.

See also <https://www.acquisition.gov/far/25.202> for the contractor Waiver process in regards to Buy American Act.

Q33 Will the Awardee Website Ordering Portal be used primarily for credit card purchases or will DHS acquisition place awards online up to the $250,000 threshold?

A33 It is expected that a significant majority of Website orders will be Government Purchase Card.

Q34 Will there be Economic Price Increases (EPI) be allowed and how often?

A34 Pricing for future years will be determined at BPA issuance.

Economic Price Increases are not included on this solicitation.

Question # Question Text

Q35 In the event of an emergency requirement, will the Government pay for the difference of the expedited freight cost?

A35 There is no provision for a change in BPA pricing due to an emergency.

Q36 Will Freight Costs also be included in the EPI?

A36

Per Block 11 of Page 1 of the solicitation and page 8 of the solicitation, shipment terms are FOB Destination for all items under the solicitation. Pricing for future years will be determined at BPA issuance. Economic Price Increases are not included on this solicitation.

Q37 Please provide any additional provisions regarding protections and insurance for Freight.

A37 Per Block 11 of Page 1 of the solicitation and page 8 of the solicitation, shipment terms are FOB Destination for all items under the solicitation.

Q38 Regarding shelf life, what is the Government’s flexibility for items made in US versus TAA and/or non-TAA complaint items.

A38

Per page 25 of the RFQ:

The Contractor shall only provide dated/shelf life products at least 12 months prior to their expiration date. For those products which have an initial expiration/shelf life of 12 months or less, the Contractor shall provide at least 75% of the dating, i.e. at least nine months remaining on a 12-month shelf life.

Q39

We are very familiar with Quality Control standards and employ them on all IDIQ/BPA contracts. Can you be more specific about the Quality Control requirements for the submission due 5 days following award?

A39

Per page 23 of the RFQ:

The Contractor must submit its quality control plan 5 days following award. The quality plan shall address all quality programs, processes, and policies; any third-party quality standards or certifications; and the Contractor’s warranty policies throughout the term of the BPA.

Question # Question Text

Q40 For trade-ins, is the Government expecting these terms with our RFP submission or just an acknowledgement of the policies?

A40

Per page 25 of the RFQ:

All trade-ins will be conducted at the order level and must comply with the requirements of FMR 102-39 (41 CFR part 102-39) and all agency and component supplemental regulations and policies governing trade-ins.

Q41 In the event that an order reaches a truckload level, will the vendor be able to include the cost of freight?

A41 Per Block 11 of Page 1 of the solicitation and page 8 of the solicitation, shipment terms are FOB Destination for all items under the solicitation.

Q42 What should be included with our invoice to validate payment amount. “Invoice Support Documents” is a little vague.

A42

See FAR 32.905(b), which defines proper invoice requirements.

"Invoice Support Documents" are those documents that are required to verify or document the invoice and products delivered.

Q43

Page 2, Instructions to offerors. Pricing in column “P”.

It states to enter a Grand Total for each of the three Categories, which can be unit price times (x) total quantity, however not all categories have a total quantity. Additionally, each Category has a separate header for quantity as follows, which makes it not clear:

Category 1 – Total (column M) Category 2 – Est. Quantities (column H) Category 3 – Use Frequency (column D) What does Grand Total mean, is there a formula? What should we do when there is no quantity?

A43 Pricing Matrix worksheets have been added to the RFQ.

Please use these worksheets to provide your pricing.

Q44 Page 6, I.1 Schedule of Supplies/Services Do we need to fill that portion?

A44 The RFQ will be edited to change these blocks to "To Be provided on Individual Delivery Orders."

Question # Question Text

Q45

Page 32, Factor 3: Price. Factor 1: Capabilities and Technical/Management Approach. b) Product Coverage:

Category #3.

It states The Quoter shall provide 100 percent of the items identified on the Master Item List for at least five of the subcategories listed. There are no subcategories listed. Will you update the Master Item list with subcategories for Category #3?

A45

Potentially all items will be used for pricing quotations.

The RFQ has been edited to delete the phrase "Mandatory" in relation to product coverage. See the Category Coverage requirements in the SOW (Category #1 is 80%, Category #2 is 80% and Category #3 is 100%). There are no subcategories of products.

Q46

Page 34, Factor 3: Price.

It states “the RFQ will require quoters to provide pricing for a subset of the items on the Master Item List” Is the excel spreadsheet named 70B03C23Q0061 – Master List Med Supplies the same as the Master Item List or is it the subset of the Master Item List?

A46 Pricing Matrix worksheets have been added to the RFQ.

Please use these worksheets to provide your pricing.

Q47 On Page 35, What does “exchanges” mean?

A47 In federal contracting, "exchanges" is essentially the same word as "discussions."