A10.3 FirstSource III Amendment 10 Q and A Contracting Questions.pdf

Questions and Answers FirstSource III Solicitation Number 70RTAC21R00000003 Amendment 000010

Contracting Questions

Q# Page Section Paragraph Question Answer 1 105 L.5 Proposal

Submission Requirements, Phase II:

Volume II- Technical

Proposal table Requirements, 3rd item

For Phase II do we need to submit all of the amendment standard forms or only the ones released since Phase II began?

Offerors only need to submit the amendments released since Phase

II began.

2 Amendment 9 General

The government made significant changes to the ITVAR specifications which materially impact our solution approach.

Offeror requires sufficient time to reconcile these changes for new configurations and pricing. We respectfully request three

(3) additional weeks after answers are received from the government's Q&A period to review the answers and complete a compliant response.

The government is providing an extension to November 21, 2022 at 10:00 am.

3 Amendment 0009;

Attachment 9

Please clarify that the Attachment 9 update of no page limit means that multiple pages of a single Attachment 9 will be accepted for each hardware item?

Correct. Multiple pages of a single Attachment 9 will be accepted for each hardware (or software, if applicable) item.

4 Attachment 1 Did the Government only change the instructions on the Pricing Excel Attachment 1? Or were there hardware/services updates as well?

For Amendment 0009, Attachment 1, ITVAR, only the instructions tab was changed.

Additional changes may occur when the technical questions are addressed.

5 Attachment 1 Was the ITVAR Attachment 1 updated or only the Software Attachment 1?

For Amendment 0009, Attachment 2, Software, the instructions tab was changed and the quantity for the Granicus software was changed.

Additional changes may occur when the technical questions are addressed.

6 Attachment 8 Please provide a track changes copy of Attachment 8 so offerors can ensure all salient characteristics that have been

Attachment 8 was updated in its entirety and replaces the previous version. The previous version amended in Amendment 0009 are captured across both pricing strategies and Attachment 9 Crosswalk.

associated with Amendment 0001 is still available in SAM for reference.

7 Attachment 8 Please clarify the text formatting requirements for Attachment

8.

There are no text formatting requirements for Attachment 9 as long as the response is legible and offerors use the Attachment as formatted. Arial 10 or larger is preferred. Offerors shall not reformat the Attachment 9 template.

8 SF1449 Please provide an SF1449 that can be included with the Phase II proposal submission.

You may use the original SF 1449 issued with the solicitation.

It is still available in SAM.

9 Phase I

Evaluation How will Phase I evaluations impact Phase II evaluations? Will the Government evaluate offerors who submit in Phase II that recived an unsuccessful down select notice in Phase I?

FirstSource III used a two phase advisory down select. The government will evaluate Phase II proposals from offerors who have also submitted a Phase I proposal.

10 Reps and Certs Please confirm there have been no changes to the solicitation

Representations and Certifications and that offerors do not need to resubmit Reps and Certs with Phase II.

Offerors do not need to resubmit Reps and Certs with Phase II if there are no changes.

11 106 L.5.2 Proposal

Format Instructions paragraph 2

Attachment 9, Pricing Schedule Crosswalk

As presented in the attachment, the crosswalk document technically contains a table. In light of this, can "Arial 10-point font or larger for the tables..." be used for the table in Attachment 9 per the Reference L.5.2 or is "Times New Roman 12-point font or larger" required?

Please see the response to question 7.

12 Solicitation While updating our SAM registration it became apparent that NAICS Code 513210 is not yet available for use in SAM.gov.

Will this impact the evaluation of Phase II?

No, the evaluation of Phase II will not be impacted. Since

SAM.gov is not updated for the new NAICS code yet, 511210 will be accepted. A check for the updated NAICS code will be conducted just prior to award to allow time for the SAM.gov update.

13 General In light of the significant changes to the ITVAR Salient Characteristics, we respectfully request the Govt. to provide at least three weeks from the Q&A amendment release date to review Q&A and put together compliant solutions.

Please see the response to question 2.

14 Annual Representations and Certifications

In October, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was updated changing the Software Publishers NAICS from 511210 to 513210. This change forces any Offeror who holds that NAICS code to update their SAM registration, however, that code is not yet available on SAM.gov. Will the government accept an offerors current SAM registration with the previous NAICS code until such time that their registration can be updated?

Yes, please also see the response to question 12.

15 Attachment 9 For attachment 9 - Proposed Item Salient Characteristics/Brand Name or Equal Specifications, is it acceptable to insert the salient characteristics on the left with the proposed hardware specifications on the right?

No, but multiple pages may be used. Please also see the response to question 7.

16 Section B.2

Solicitation Would the government allow contractors to use the previous NAICS 511210 instead of 513210 until the time that SAM.gov enables

Yes, please see the response to question 12.

17 Attachment 8 Can you please provide a TRACK CHANGES version of Salient Characteristics (attach 8)

Please also see the response to question 6.

18 Attachment 8 The ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient Characteristics document (Page 1) states "This is a sample list of products. Requirements and specifications will vary at the delivery order level." Will another product identification activity be required if/when requirements and specs vary or change at delivery?

Yes. This solicitation is to establish an IDIQ contract. Once awarded, Delivery Order Contracting Officers will provide fair opportunity to awardees for specific requirements. These opportunities will include delivery order specific requirements that may not be listed in the sample. In addition, in accordance with Section L.7.2.5.3, awardees will be required to refresh their awarded

Pricing Schedules for FirstSource III Optional Ordering Periods

One and Two.

19 Attachment 8 Multiple areas of the ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient

Characteristics document state, "Additional specifications may be required and identified at the delivery order level." Does DHS have any solid requirements on what industry should be designing, building and quoting? This level of ambiguity is drastically challenging to provide a best value solution to the government.

The scope of FirstSource III is to provide DHS with a full array of value-added reseller services and access to a wide and renewable variety of IT commodities and solutions (hardware and software) from multiple OEMs that will be available through Delivery Order competitions.

The purpose is not to establish a specific catalogue or define all possible requirements for the department. Once awarded, Delivery Order Contracting

Officers will provide fair opportunity to awardees for individual, more specific requirements. These opportunities will include delivery order specific requirements that may not be listed in the sample.

20 General In Amendment 0009, the government made significant changes to the ITVAR specifications which materially impact our solution approach. Offeror requires sufficient time to reconcile these changes for new configurations and pricing. We respectfully request three (3) additional weeks after answers are received from the government's Q&A period to review the answers and complete a compliant response.

Please see the response to question 2.

21 General The NAICS code 513210 referenced for software functional category is not available to be assigned via SAM.gov at the moment. How does the government anticipate to evaluate

Please see the response to question 12.

companies that do not have the new 513210 NAICS code assigned to them in the SAM.gov database?

22 General To allow for sufficient time with addressing any changes set forth in the answers to questions, we respectfully request the due date be extended to at least 2 weeks after the receipt of answers.

Please see the response to Question 2.

23 Attachment 8 Will the Government please define the difference between "On Site" and "Off Site" for purposes of providing labor rates? The cost to an offeror for labor depends considerably on whether the resource is required to be at the Government site full-time on a long-term basis (approx 12 months or more) would that be compliant?

Offerors shall price in accordance with the pricing instructions provided in the solicitation. The purpose is to establish ceiling rates for onsite

(at a government site) and offsite (at the contractor’s site) work.

Any specific pricing instructions with respect to duration would be provided at the order level.

24 ITVAR Pricing

Schedule Attachment 1 Conversely, if an offeror’s standard practice is to provides Off-

Site rates for short term deployments or installation services, is that compliant?

Offerors shall price in accordance with the pricing instructions provided in the solicitation.

25 ITVAR Pricing

Schedule Attachment 1 If an offerors standard practice is to charge on-site rates only when the resource is required to be at the Government site full-time on a long term basis (approximately 12 months or more), would that be compliant?

Offerors shall price in accordance with the pricing instructions provided in the solicitation.

26 Pricing Schedules 1 and 2

RFP

Amendment 9 Pricing Schedules 1 and 2, Amendment 9, both state: "The pricing schedule is a sample only" RFP Amendment 9 states: "Proposed unit prices shall be based on commercially available pricing to include contractor provided discounts. The FirstSource III contractor proposed unit prices shall become a part of the FirstSource III award, Section B, and will be binding for the period of time represented within the Pricing Schedule for the applicable supply and service. Therefore, Task Order level unit prices for these items shall be provided that are at or below those unit prices included within the awarded FirstSource III contractor’s Pricing Schedule response."

The prices will be binding for the 5 year base period for ITVAR supplies and 10 years for ITVAR services. The prices will be binding for the 5 year base period for Software. The ITVAR supply and Software prices will be refreshed when the options are exercised and will be binding for the option periods.

Please confirm that although quantities are sample only, proposed unit prices are binding for the contract period.

In accordance with Section L.7.2.5.3:

Proposed unit prices shall be based on commercially available pricing to include contractor provided discounts. The FirstSource III contractor proposed unit prices shall become part of the FirstSource III award, Section B, and will be binding for the period of time represented within the pricing schedule for the applicable supply or service.

In addition, in accordance with Section L.7.2.5.3, awardees will be required to refresh their awarded Pricing Schedules for

FirstSource III Optional Ordering Periods One and Two. Once these options are exercised, the prices for those options will be binding for each option period.

27 Attachment 8 The ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient Characteristics document (Page 1) states "This is a sample list of products. Requirements and specifications will vary at the delivery order level." Will another product identification activity be required if/when requirements and specs vary or change at delivery?

Please see the response to question 18.

28 1.1.3, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.4.1, Attachment 8 Multiple areas of the ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient Characteristics document state, "Additional specifications may be required and identified at the delivery order level." Does DHS have any solid requirements on what industry should be designing, building and quoting? This level of ambiguity is question 19.

4.4.2.1, 4.4.2.2, 4.4.3.1, 4.4.3.2, 4.5, 4.6 drastically challenging to provide a best value solution to the government.

29 General In Amendment 0009, the government made significant changes to the ITVAR specifications which materially impact our solution approach. Offeror requires sufficient time to reconcile these changes for new configurations and pricing. We respectfully request three (3) additional weeks after answers are received from the government's Q&A period to review the answers and complete a compliant response.

Please see the response to Question 2.

30 Attachment 8 The ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient Characteristics document (Page 1) states "This is a sample list of products. Requirements and specifications will vary at the delivery order level." Will another product identification activity be required if/when requirements and specs vary or change at delivery?

Please see the response to question 18.

31 1.1.3, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.4.1, 4.4.2.1, 4.4.2.2, 4.4.3.1, 4.4.3.2, 4.5, 4.6

Attachment 8 Multiple areas of the ITVAR Pricing Schedule Salient Characteristics document state, "Additional specifications may be required and identified at the delivery order level." Does DHS have any solid requirements on what industry should be designing, building and quoting? This level of ambiguity is drastically challenging to provide a best value solution to the government.

Please see the response to question 19.

32 L.5.2: Proposal Format

Instructions/RFP Page 106, Paragraph 5

Solicitation Can offerors set the Microsoft Excel file, required as Attachment 1, Pricing Schedule, under Volume III - Price Proposal, to print at a size other than 8 1/2" x 11," as we are not permitted to reformat the document?

The Excel file shall not be reformatted. The government will not be printing the documents.

33 ITVAR Pricing Schedule

Attachment 1 What is meant by proposed item number, VAR or OEM part number?

These are the same as the SKU.

34 L.5, Proposal Submission

Requirements

During Phase I, offerors were required to submit Representations and Certifications per the requirements from L.5 on RFP page 104. Since the Phase I submittal, offerors may have changed socioeconomic statuses (e.g., no longer a HUBZone), which would change some of the fill-ins in the

If an offeror has had a change that would impact their representations and certifications, please update SAM.gov and indicate in the cover letter that

Representations and Certifications. If an offeror's socioeconomic status changed, should they provide new Representations and Certifications or would updating the Representations and Certifications in Sam.gov suffice? If offerors must provide new Representations and Certifications, can they only update the sections related to the socioeconomic status change or should they resubmit all of the Representations and Certifications required with Phase I.

the reps and certs have been updated.

35 General Extension Request - Will the government please extend the solicitation due date by the number of days required to provide responses to offeror questions?

Please see the response to question 2.

36 Section L.8 Solicitation Will the Government provide an additional 4 week extension to the Phase II Proposal submission date following the release of the Amendment with Question and Answers, to allow time for new configuartions and Changes to our technical submission?

Please see the response to question 2.

37 Amendment 00009

Amendment 0009 updated the Software NAICS Code from 511210 footnote 20 to 513210 footnote 15 throughout the RFP document. When searching for NAICS code 513210 in sam.gov, the resulting search states “no results found for 513210.” The Offeror is unable to add the new NAICS code to the list of supported NAICS codes. Will DHS continue to accept NAICS code 511210 until the list is updated in sam.gov?

Yes. Please also see the response to question 12.

38 ITVAR Pricing Schedule

Attachment 1 On the tab labeled “ITVAR - Sample Pricing Total” the View is set to “Page Layout” where previously it was set to “Normal”.

This change makes seeing periods beyond the first column difficult. We recommend DHS change the View back to “Normal”.

This will be addressed in the next amendment.

39 Software Pricing Schedule

Attachment 2 On the tab labeled “Software Packages” the equation has been overwritten in cell H4, which is a cell that is not highlighted in yellow and should not be changed by the Offerors. The cell contains a hardcoded “0” value so that no matter what Commercial Unit Price and/or Offeror Discount (%) (Fixed) values are entered in cells F4 and G4 for Year 1, the Discounted Unit Price will always show as $0.00. We recommend DHS

This will be addressed in the next amendment.

change cell H4 to remove the hardcoded 0 and replace it with the correct equation.

40 Software Pricing Schedule

Attachment 2 On the tab labeled “Software Packages” cell E12 contains a Quantity of 1, but the cells for years 2 through 5 on the same row (12) have quantities of 1000 for cells K12, Q12, W12 and AC12. Was it DHS’ intention for these cells to contain a Quantity of 1 or 1000? We recommend DHS change the Quantity to 1.

This will be addressed in the next amendment.

41 Software Pricing Schedule

Attachment 2 On the tab labeled “Software Packages” white cells that were protected in previous versions of Attachment 2 are not protected in the Amendment 0009 version. Was it DHS’ intention to unprotect cells in Amendment 0009?

This will be addressed in the next amendment.

42 Attachment 9 Can the instructions at the top of the page be deleted to allow more space for responses on p.1 of the Crosswalk?

No, the instructions shall not be deleted, but multiple pages may be used. Please also see the response to Question 3.

43 Attachment 8 Please consider using an Excel format for the crosswalk to clearly identify how the proposed solution aligns with the desired salient characteristics.

Thank you. If there are any changes, it will be reflected in the next amendment.

44 Attachment 9 Attachment 9 - the crosswalk, was provided as a pdf. When converted into Word for editing, the font in the document and for the table, headers and blue text example font that offerors must remove is all Times New Roman 12 pt. Technically this is Table but no separate instructions are provided. However the solicitation says we cannot make any changes to the crosswalk document other than to enter in the information to replace the blue sample text.

What is the correct font for the Crosswalk? Is this considered a table and should we convert the text to Arial 10pt or larger? Or should we not make any changes to the document and does the government then not consider this a table?

If the font we enter should meet the requirements of a table, should offerors also change the table headers for each sections

The offeror shall not change the font of the Attachment 9 template format. The template text and format shall remain as provided. Please also see the response to questions 3 and 7.

to be populated - i.e. Proposed Item Number, Salient Characteristics, etc. or should those remain in the font provided?

45 Attachment 9 What font size should be used in the crosswalks? Please see the response to question 7.

46 H.16 Solicitation Supply Chain Risk Management NIST 800-161 was withdrawn May, 6 2022 and replaced with NIST 800-161r1 Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations. Is the offeror to adress the new standard 800- 161r1 due to the ffact 800-161 is no longer a standard?

No, Supply Chain Risk Management Approach was a

Phase I evaluation factor. Phase II will only evaluate Prior

Experience, Past Performance, and Price.

47 General Does the government plan on providing an extension to the FirstSource III proposal? There are currently technical issues that have yet to be resolved. Although we have been diligently working on the response, adjusting to any corrections will take time.

Please see the response to question 2.

48 Attachment 8 Since the technical specifications for the ITVAR catalog are nearly a year and a half old, does DHS intend to update these prior to phase II being submitted? If not, will DHS please answer the attached questions to ensure offerors have the ability to produce a compliant response and, more importantly, that all offerors have a fair and equitable ability to propose acceptable products for DHS?

Attachment 8 was updated in Amendment 0009 and a Q&A period provided to solicit industry comments. Further updates will be provided in the next amendment as a result of the industry questions.

49 Attachment 8 The RFP references Government-wide Strategic Solutions

(GSS) Rev 5 and the Government is currently at GSS v8, does DHS intend to update the specifications to the current GSS v8 specifications?

The specification was updated to GSS v 8 in Amendment 0009.

50 Section 1.1.12 2 in 1 Notebook and

1.1.2 Standard

Notebook

Attachment 8 MobileMark is the battery life metric commonly used in the industry. The latest version is MobileMark 2018 which will typically post battery life ratings at 25-40% lower than the previous version of MobileMark 2014 because it aims to provide current real-world run times. In an effort to account for the latest battery benchmarks and to ensure a fair and open competition, we request that the battery life requirement be reduced from 11 hours to 9 hours.

This specification was updated in Amendment 0009.

51 Section 1.1.12 2 in 1 Notebook

Attachment 8 The maximum brightness on most business class laptops is 300 Nits, whereas laptops with 500 nits are far less common in this class. In an effort to promote fair and open competition, will DHS please reduce the Nits requirements from 500 to 300 or make the 300nits the minimum requirement?

This specification was updated in Amendment 0009.

52 Section 1.1.12 2 in 1 Notebook

Attachment 8 The industry commonly uses a standard AC adapter while a right angle AC Adapter is specific to a single OEM. In order to promote fair and open competition, will DHS please remove the right angle spec requirement?

This requirement was removed in Amendment 0009.

53 Section 1.1.12 2 in 1 Notebook

Attachment 8 For the laptop locking cable, one spec requires the cable to have a vinyl or rubber coating. Market research has indicated the two major OEMS for cable locks use a similar type of cut resistant plastic sheathing due to it's strength and durability qualities. In an effort to promote fair and open competition, will DHA relax the spec requirement to allow for a plastic sheathing?

This requirement was removed in Amendment 0009.

54 Section 1.1.2 Standard Notebook

Attachment 8 For the laptop locking cable, one spec requires the cable to have a vinyl or rubber coating. Market research has indicated the two major OEMS for cable locks use a similar type of cut resistant plastic sheathing due to it's strength and durability qualities. In an effort to provide the latest technology, will DHA modify the specification requirement to allow for a plastic sheathing?

This requirement was removed in Amendment 0009.

55 Section 3.1.1 Large Processor

Attachment 8 The Large Processor solution has an EPEAT Gold rating requirement. However, all major OEMs that offer HCI nodes built on a server hardware chassis are EPEAT Bronze tier compliant. In an effort to ensure EPEAT compliancy is measured fairly across all OEMs, we request that the Government change the EPEAT rating from Gold to Bronze.

The requirement was changed to EPEAT Bronze in Amendment

0009.

56 Section 3.1.2 Medium Processor

Attachment 8 The Medium Processor solution has an EPEAT Gold rating requirement. However, all major OEMs that offer HCI nodes built on a server hardware chassis are EPEAT Bronze tier compliant. In an effort to ensure EPEAT compliancy is measured fairly across all OEMs, we request that the Government change the EPEAT rating from Gold to Bronze.

The requirement was changed to EPEAT Bronze in Amendment

0009.

57 Section 3.1.3 Small Processor

Attachment 8 The Small Processor solution has an EPEAT Gold rating requirement. However, all major OEMs that offer HCI nodes built on a server hardware chassis are EPEAT Bronze tier

The requirement was changed to EPEAT Bronze in Amendment

0009.

compliant. In an effort to ensure EPEAT compliancy is measured fairly across all OEMs, we request that the Government change the EPEAT rating from Gold to Bronze.

58 Amendment 9 Please extend the due date by two weeks after the answers to questions are issued to allow time for bidders to adjust their proposals based on the answers.

Please see the response to question 2.

59 General We are trying to update our SAM registration to include 513210 but the SAM site does not appear to have the latest NAICS code published to select and add it. Do you have any suggestions for how to resolve this or another way to acceptably represent we qualify under this new NAICS?

Please see the response to question 12.

60 B.2 General Description, Second

Paragraph, B.4 Pricing, Third paragraph, C.3 Scope, Third paragraph

Solicitation The Functional Category for software has been updated from 511210 footnote 20 to 513210 footnote 15. NAICS code 513210 does not appear on SAM.gov as of 10/19/2022. If the NAICS code is not available at the time of submission, will the government accept the original NAICS code 511210 until NAICS code 513210 becomes available?

Please see the response to question 12.

61 6 B.2 Solicitation We know that the SBA final rule - dated 9/29/22 - changed the 6-digit code for the Software Publishers industry from 511210 to 513210, and the government states that this final rule did not change the definition of the industry, only the 6-digit code.

However, this change has not yet taken effect in SAM.gov, to allow offerors to update their company registration with the new codes.

Because of this, can you confirm that offerors who currently hold the old Software publishers code are still eligible for award, if the new 6-digit code is not yet available in SAM.gov at the time of proposal submission?

Please see the response to question 12.

62 L.7.1 Phase II Proposal Due Date and Submission

Solicitation The government has provided a general format for attachment naming conventions - SW_SB or Socioeconomic Category_Company Name_70RTAC21R00000003_Phase II_volume number_document name. Then the government has provided some examples. One of the examples is for the "CPARS Statement" which was eliminated in Amendment 0004

Either is acceptable.

and replaced by the requirement for PPQ's and a PPQ Statement to be incorporated in Factor 4 Past Performance of the RFP.

Can offerors conclude that the correct naming convention for the PPQ Statements to be submitted would be, for example, "SW_HUBZone_ABCCompany_70RTAC21R00000003_Phase II_Volume 2_Factor 4 PPQ Statement"? Or should the document be named "SW_HUBZone_ABCCompany_70RTAC21R00000003_Phase II_Volume 2_Factor 4 Past Performance"?

63 L.7.2.5.2 Factor 4 - Past Performance

Solicitation If PPQ's were already submitted ahead of the date the solicitation was due previously, can the government confirm offerors do not need to have the customers resubmit PPQ's?

Yes. If PPQs were already submitted ahead of the previous solicitation due date, offerors do not need to have their references resubmit the PPQs.

64 Solicitation For the change to NAICS code 513210 for the Software FC, is the offeror required to include that NAICS code in our SAM registration? It is currently showing up as invalid in the SAM system.

question 12.