Integrated PSA Questions and Answers - RFP 7200AA22R00011.pdf

Integrated PSA Q&A - RFP 7200AA22R00011

Item Reference Question Answer

General and Cover Page

1 General We are hoping to find out if there is (was) an incumbent contractor performing these services, or if this is a brand new contract? If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

Yes, please see Section C.1.2 of the RFP.

2 Cover Page

On the cover page of the RFP, USAID advises deadlines for the proposal. May USAID advise the time of day for each of these deadlines, or may it be assumed that the deadline is at 11:59pm EDT? (ex. Questions are due on March 28th, 2022, at 11:59pm EDT.)

This section has been revised to add the time of day in the cover letter in Amendment 0001.

3 Cover Page

USAID provided submission dates and times under the Solicitation, Offer and Award sheet (pg. 4); however, we request that USAID confirm the closing times and time zones on the cover page as well.

See response to Question 2.

4 General Can USAID clarify if QuTi will have to approve all sources of supply?

Yes.

5 General Will USAID please provide a Notice-to-Proceed (NTP) date to mark the official start of the contract? This will allow for more accurate pricing and provide an equal basis for bid comparisons.

No.

Section B - Supplies or Services and Price/Costs

6 B.4 B.4 / G.10(b) / G.10.4 In the CLIN structure and Base/Option Period details there is no breakout for TRANSITION-IN and TRANSITION-OUT. Will the RFP be revised to include those

No. Transition-In and Out costs are to be included in the non-commodities CLIN for the periods specified.

two additional Periods as discrete CLINs / Periods in the CLIN structure?

7 B.7(a) B.7(a) In the rate structure and breakout by Base/Option Period details there is no breakout for TRANSITION-IN and TRANSITION-OUT. Will the RFP be revised to include those two additional Periods as discrete Periods in the rate structure?

See response to Question 6.

8 B.7 RFP Section B.7 (a), (6) Locally Hired National Personnel or Other Non-U.S. Expatriate Rates, page 13: The factors noted for consideration in determining salaries for locally hired personnel and other non-U.S. expatriates under this Contract and any resulting subcontract note the inclusion of a recent relevant salary history as a determining factor. Since USAID officially changed its approach to establishing compensation, as of October 2019, to a market-based approach, can USAID clarify the appropriate combination of factors for determining salaries?

Section B.7 has been revised to remove the requirement for salary history in Amendment 0001.

9 B.7 Page 9, Section B.7(a) states that “CDRs do not apply … to fixed-price and/or T&M/labor rate type subcontracts.”

However, Note 2 on page 12 states that “The Unburdened Ceiling Daily Rates apply to all labor (the prime contractor, subcontractor (as specified in Section B.7(c))” and Section B.7(c)(2) seems to outline a process to evaluate CDR T&M/labor rates. Can USAID confirm that CDRs do not apply to subcontractors being proposed under fixed-price and/or T&M/labor rate type subcontracts?

Yes, that is correct.

10 B.7 B.7(c)(2) of the RFP indicates that subs who operate using burdened or commercial rates will still be subject to the CDRs.

Since CDRs are unburdened rates, would USAID please indicate that a sub’s burdened rates, excluding the prime’s application of indirect costs and profit, may exceed the CDR for the proposed labor category as long as the sub is able to support that the rate represents a commercial rate or is otherwise aligned with market rates for the same/similar services?

Yes, that is correct.

11 B.7 Will USAID please confirm all offerors are required to bid all the labor categories in the IDIQ rate matrix B.7 [excluding the required key personnel].

Yes, all offerors are required to bid all labor categories in the IDIQ rate matrix to include the required key personnel. Language in Section B.7(a)(4) has been updated for clarity in Amendment 0001.

12 B.7 Page 6 defines major subcontractors as “those expected to perform at least 15% of the estimated contract level of effort.”

However, fixed-price subcontractors may not necessarily have a budgeted level of effort presented in their cost estimates, due to the nature of the fixed-price mechanism. In those cases, can the definition of major subcontractors be based on the anticipation of the subcontractors who will have technically significant roles?

Section A and Section L have been revised in Amendment 0001 to amend the definition of “Major Subcontractor” as follows: “Major subcontractors are those expected to incur at least 15% of the total estimated cost of the contract (excluding the commodities plug figure).”

13 B7 Page 6 defines major subcontractors as “those expected to perform at least 15% of the estimated contract level of effort.”

Can USAID confirm that this definition applies to the aggregated level of effort combining both TO1 and TO2? Will this 15% be calculated on the total life of project budgeted level of effort?

Major subcontractors shall be determined at the Task Order level. Please see response to Question 12 for the definition of Major Subcontractors.

14 B.7 RFP Section B.7 Labor (i), page 8 states, “IDIQ management costs will be handled through the following method: The

Correct. The IDIQ management costs are not limited to key personnel positions.

Contractor can bill USAID directly for key personnel performing IDIQ management costs under task orders.”

Given that there are IDIQ management, administration, and support functions that are performed by positions other than key personnel, would USAID please clarify that direct charge IDIQ management costs are not limited to those in designated key personnel positions?

15 B.8 B.8 Labor (Unburdened CDR) Rate Changes. Can USAID clarify CDRs are priced at the same rate, each year, for the duration of the period of performance.

Section B.8 has been edited in Amendment 0001. The labor rates established in B.7(a) are fixed for the years specified.

Section C - Statement of Work

16 C.1.1 Under C.1.1 the various responsible GH offices are listed.

Would the Contractor be expected to perform PSA activities also from drugs for opportunistic infections such as co-trimoxazole? If so, would the Contractor be expected to perform quality oversight in case products would be sourced close to the point of consumption?

The Contractor will procure a range of products.

Quality assurance is the responsibility of QuTI. PSA is required to procure quality assured products.

17 C.4.1 In Section C.4.1 and Section L.7 C4 Market Dynamics and Strategic Sourcing are combined and presented together whereas under M3.1 Subfactor 2.1, market dynamics and strategic sourcing seems to be separated: “This includes demonstrated capability in market dynamics, strategic sourcing, global forecasting, transactional procurement, and logistics and inventory management, and ability to leverage their existing digital technologies.” May USAID please confirm if we need to respond to Market Dynamics and Strategic Sourcing as a single scope component or two separate scope components?

Section M.3.1 has been revised in Amendment 0001.

Market Dynamics and Strategic sourcing shall be responded to as a single scope component.

18 C.4.4 Page 24, C.4.4 Logistics and Inventory Management- In reference to the emergency stockpiles, would USAID please

The location of the current GSCs (currently referred to as Regional Distribution Centers (RDCs)) and the pallet indicate what historical data provided in Attachment J.8 should be used for the RFP response, or what the annual projected volumes for emergency stockpiles would be?

positions can be found in Attachment J.8 (RDC volumes folder). Data on specific commodities delivered to the RDCs is found in Attachment J.8 in the Historical Global Supply Chain folder.

19 C.4.4 Under C.4.4 the contractor is expected to identify and leverage the appropriate inventory management. Would this apply only for TO 1, products needed under PMI, malaria products, or would this apply also for products in the other TO? In case the Contractor would enter into the management of stock, would the contractor also be responsible for all aspects of stock management, including stock write off and destruction in case products cannot be used prior to expiry?

It is up to the Offeror to propose, as part of their technical proposal, the appropriate inventory management approach to meet the objectives of each

TO.

20 C.4.5 C.4.5 Quality Assurance. For those health commodities that have not been pre-approved, contractors must seek approval from USAID or other USAID designees prior to purchase.

Will USAID please provide a list of all USAID designees who may provide approval to purchase items that have not been pre-approved?

USAID will provide the list of designees post award.

Additionally, Section C has been revised to delete the component C.4.5. Section C.4.5 has been embedded in Sections C.4.3 and C.4.4. The approval requirement can be found now in C.4.3.

21 C.5 Page 25, C.5 Preparedness for Rapid Response - Would USAID provide an estimate of the volume of orders and number of order lines that the contractor will have to process annually for infectious disease outbreaks for budgeting purposes or indicate what historical data provided in Attachment J.8 can be used for this purpose?

Given that the nature of the infectious disease outbreaks is uncertain, USAID is unable to provide that information. Please see J.2.6 “TASK ORDER OPERATING CONSTRAINTS” of TO1. Please also see section L.8.3.5(f)(1). All available historical data is in J.8.

22 C.7 C.7 Operational Planning. Will USAID please specify what the "effective date" will be for this contract. Specifically, please provide the anticipated date on which a Notice to Proceed (along with associated funding) will be issued in order to allow the contractor to begin taking over the activities.

See response to Question 5.

23 C.7 Regarding award sequencing impacting the transition period, how much of a time gap should the Integrated PSA contractor expect between the start-up of the Integrated PSA and an operational Control Tower?

Offerors’ proposals should be based on the expectation that there will be no gap between the start-up of Integrated PSA and an operational Control Tower.

24 C.9 Pg 29. Is the collaboration between the Next Gen PSAs specifically for the purpose of leveraging redundancy across PSAs when requesting the Integrated PSA to procure and deliver commodities for other USAID health elements? If USAID envisions other purposes for collaboration between the PSAs, may USAID please specify?

Please refer to Sections C.8 and C.9 of the solicitation for information on collaboration across awards.

25 C.9 Page 29. "TA will provide supply plans and orders to the NextGen Control Tower." In order to assist us with validating our PaaS approach to support the NextGen Program, will USAID please provide sample forecast/demand and supply plans for offeror use?

No. USAID will not be providing this information.

Section F - Deliveries or Performance

26 F.6.2 F.6.2 refers to performance indicators being generated by Control Tower. Does USAID expect to receive indicators prior to Control Tower being operational? If so, may USAID advise through what mechanism?

Please see response to Question 23.

27 F.6.4 F.6.4, Annual Performance Report, under Climate Change-Related Reporting (pg. 51), states, “Each annual report must include the GHG emissions generated from performance of the contract during the reporting period and significant emissions sources (e.g., air travel, shipping, energy consumption). The contractor’s calculation of GHG emissions must be based on a recognized methodology that provides a reasonable estimate of emissions.”

a. The report should include direct emissions from the project (prime and subcontractors). It should also include indirect emissions to the extent such emissions are reasonably available. The contractor is not required to report emissions generated by commodity manufacturers, but is encouraged to do so if such information is available. Direct and indirect emissions should be identified in the report.

b. At this time, USAID does not have a preferred

a. Will USAID confirm that GHG emissions reporting of the above-mentioned emissions sources will need to include direct emissions by the project only and not indirect emissions from subcontractors and other partners?

b. Will USAID provide contractors with their preferred reporting and disclosure standards and methodology?

c. For annual environmental compliance reporting, USAID provides contractors with the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Report (EMMR) template. Will USAID provide at the proposal stage the annual performance report template for climate change?

reporting/disclosure methodology. USAID will notify contractors/offerors if this changes.

c. USAID does not have a template for climate-related reporting. NextGen contractors will be required to develop, to the extent feasible, a common reporting format that satisfies the annual reporting requirement.

28 F.6.8 F.6.7 Will the product catalog need to include routinely ordered Malaria, FP, MCHN commodities, as well as the annual list of GHS commodities? The RFP is requiring both hard copy and electronic formats. On what frequency is the electronic catalog to be updated? On what frequency should the hard copy catalog be printed and how many copies are required?

Section F.6.8 has been revised in Amendment 0001. The catalog should be updated whenever new product information is available.

29 F.6.8 Under F.6.8 The contractor must submit a product catalog.

Will USAID provide a full list of products to be included in such list as a starting point, based on supplies performed under the relevant offices as mentioned under C.1.1?

In case of Malaria, where eradication in a defined number of countries is a target during the contract period, would the Contractor be responsible for the expansion of the product catalog and would this mean that the Contractor is expected to suggest concrete product additions, such as primaquine under PMI? If so, would such addition mean to include all available products strengths, or only those which are available as I.

WHO PQ product and/or II. which are listed in the standard treatment guidelines in relevant countries? Please specify

Product additions to the catalog will be done in consultation with the COR.

whether one of these two (I. or II>) or both options to follow.

30 F.9.2 RFP Section F.9.2 Task Order Limitations/Performance Based/Award Types (b), page 62, Maximum order says $5 billion but IDIQ ceiling is lower than that at $4.1 billion. Can USAID please clarify what the task order award limitation is?

Section F.9.2 has been revised in Amendment 001 to reflect a maximum order amount of $4 billion.

31 F.9.2.2 RFP Section F.9.2.2 Award Types (b), page 64 states;

“Cost/price proposal must include, as a minimum, a complete Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which coincides with the detailed technical approach; and provides proposed labor categories, hours, wage rates, direct/indirect rates, ODCs and fee.” Will USAID please confirm that Attachment J.13e LOE Table is the format for the WBS?

No. Attachment J.13e is not the format for the WBS.

The WBS is not required at this time. It may be required for future Task Orders.

32 F.9.2.2 RFP Section F.9.2.2, page 62 states “(c) For task orders in excess of $700,000, the TOCO will require certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 52.215-20. Per FAR 15.403-4, the contracting officer shall obtain certified cost or pricing data only if the contracting officer concludes that none of the exceptions in 15.401-1(b) applies. This clause also specifies that the threshold for obtaining certified cost or pricing data is $750,000 for prime contracts awarded before July 1, 2018, and $2 million for prime contracts awarded on or after July 1, 2018. Consistent with this guidance, we respectfully request USAID to clarify that for task orders in excess of $2 million, and when an exception in 15.401-1(b) doesn’t apply, the TOCO will require certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 52-215-20

Section F.9.2.2(c) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to reflect the $750,000 threshold. USAID will follow FAR 52.215-20 regarding certified cost or pricing data.

33 F.10 RFP Section F.10 TASK ORDER ADMINISTRATION (a), page 66, says task orders cannot exceed 8 years but the IDIQ is a 10-year contract. Task orders #1 and #2 appear to be 10 years in duration. Can USAID please clarify the maximum task order period of performance?

The reference in F.10(a) relates to TOCOR’s authority to extend Task Orders.

34 F.6.14 F.6.14 Mobilization and Transition Plan 5. Transfer of stock holdings from GHSC-PSM’s Regional Distribution Centers (RDCs). Request USAID quantify the anticipated amounts of transferred stock holdings from the GHSC-PSM's RDC. Can the offerors assume that the incumbent GHSC-PSM will inventory, pack, and ship all stock holding that are to be transferred?

A detailed, full mobilization and transition plan with deliverables developed in collaboration with the relevant partners (as available) will be finalized post-award. If it is determined that the new contractor would be responsible for transfer cost, it will be included under the Commodities plug figure.

35 F.6.14 Section F.6.14 Mobilization and Transition Plan: Will the data migrated and transitioned from the incumbent be standardized with the Control Tower data standards or will it be responsibility of the Integrated PSA contractor to transform it to stipulated standards?

Integrated PSA is not expected to be responsible for transforming any of the historical data (GHSC PSM) to the CT standards.

36 F.6.14 Please confirm that by migration USAID is specifically referring to data from GHSCM-PSM to the Integrated PSA, and that integration refers to functionality between NextGen Control Tower and the Integrated PSA.

By migration USAID refers to data migration from GHSC PSM to NextGen CT with input from Integrated PSA. Integration refers to system integration between NextGen CT and Integrated PSA that enables regular automatic exchange of data between systems.

Section H - Special Contract Requirements

37 H.3 H.3. Defense Base Act (DBA) Insurance. If an offeror carries its own DBA insurance, should the offeror use their specific DBA rates, or do the rates in Section H.3 override offeror's coverage and the RFP rates should be utilized instead?

Offerors are required to use the provider and rates provided in the solicitation.

38 H.7 Regarding RFP Section H.7 LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION

OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (APRIL 2018)

(DEVIATION NOs. M/OAA-DEV-FAR-20-3c and M/OAA-DEV-AIDAR-20-2c) (APRIL 2020), page 76., is the offeror’s existing digital technology considered to be information technology used by the Agency? Does the offeror’s existing digital technology require CO approval during the proposal process or after award?

Yes. Any information technology used for purposes of this contract is considered the offeror’s existing digital technology. The offeror’s existing digital technology requires CO approval prior to award.

39 H.11 Section H.11, Sharing of Operational Data with the NextGen Control Tower (pg. 78). Under H.11(C)(iii), will minimum requirements for security be uniform across all NextGen contractors? At what point would responsibility for security transfer from contractor(s) to Control Tower? Does security only apply to collection, collation, retention, and storage of operational data?

-There will be minimum common requirements for security across NextGen contractors. Those requirements will be defined in the data sharing and use agreements between the Control Tower contractor and other NextGen contractors.

-The PSA contractor will continue to be responsible for protecting the security of operational data even after data is transferred to the Control Tower as long as the PSA contractor still has data in its storage. At the same time, the Control Tower contractor is responsible for operational data stored in the Control Tower.

-This clause applies to the security of the GH supply chain operational data. At the same time, the contractors are expected to implement sufficient security controls to protect any information systems used to support the performance of this contract.

40 H.11 Under H.11(D), will USAID confirm that the Control Tower contractor is similarly contractually obligated to jointly execute data sharing and use agreements with the IPSA contractor on the same timeline as IPSA? Also, will USAID confirm whether it expects the data sharing and use agreements to be standardized across the multiple PSAs? Finally, from whom would the contractor seek USAID approval (i.e., contracting officer, contracting officer’s representative)?

-Confirmed. The Control Tower contractor is contractually obligated to jointly execute data sharing and use agreements with IPSA contractor on the same timeline as IPSA.

-USAID is not expecting the data sharing and use agreements to be exactly the same across multiple PSAs, however, they might be relatively similar

-Please refer to Section F.6 for each Task Order for approval requirements.

41 H.17-H.19 RFP Sections H.17-H.19, page 83, USAID addresses OCIs that cannot be mitigated in RFP paragraphs H.17-H.19 and incorporates AIDAR 752.209-71 to address post-award OCIs.

Would USAID consider incorporating FAR 9.505 General Rules into Section I to invite offerors’ attention to this subpart?

The RFP has no requirement for offerors to address actual or perceived pre-award organizational or consultant conflicts of interest related to FAR 9.5. Where in the proposal should offerors include an OCI Mitigation Plan (if applicable)?

USAID will take all steps necessary to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate organizational conflicts of interest.

Consistent with FAR 9.506, prospective contractors are invited to submit additional information with their proposal pertaining to actual or perceived OCIs. The RFP has been revised to include L.8.14 Part 13 OCI Mitigation Plan (as applicable). This optional information should be included as an annex. There is no page limit for this submission, and the submission will not be evaluated, except as necessary to confirm that any OCIs will be adequately mitigated. USAID reserves the right to require OCI mitigation plans as deemed necessary after receipt of proposals.

42 H.21 Page 85-86, H.21 This section discusses the establishment of salary ranges for professional staff under the contract. Could USAID clarify what relationship this section has with the establishment of the CDRs, if any? As the CDRs set ceiling maximum rates by position, they don’t necessarily relate to salary ranges, which also require salary minimums.

Salary Ranges are not required. Section H.21 has been revised in Amendment 0001.

43 H.21 Section H.21, paragraph (4) provides guidance relative to salary increases in accordance with a Contractor's established procedures. May offerors include an annual CDR rate escalation factor in their pricing?

Yes. Section H.21 has been revised in Amendment 0001.

44 H.21 Page 85-86, H.21 This section discusses the establishment of salary ranges by contractors, specifically for this contract. Will contractors with no established salary ranges in their personnel systems be allowed to submit project-specific salary ranges developed specifically for this contract?

See response to Question 42.

45 H.38 H.38 Safeguards and Insurance Against Product Loss. In order to accurately estimate the level of warehousing/storage insurance required for this program, will USAID please provide the maximum likely dollar value of products held/stored in one location (such as a Regional Distribution Center/Global Stock Center)?

See response to Question 19.

46 H.38 H.38 Safeguards and Insurance Against Product Loss. In order to accurately estimate the level of in-transit insurance required for this program, will USAID please provide the maximum likely dollar value of products sent via a single transport.

See response to Question 18.

Section I - Contract Clauses

47 I.1 RFP Section I - 52.211-11, page 103, the Liquidated Damages value is left as TBD. Do liquidated damages only apply to FFP orders or all orders? Could USAID please specify what the value for Liquidated Damages is?

Yes, Liquidated Damages only applies to FFP orders.

Amounts will be provided when applicable.

48 I.1 RFP Section I - 52.219-14 LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING, page 104. Since this is not a partial set-aside procurement, the clause is not applicable. Would USAID please delete this clause?

Section I has been updated in Amendment 0001. This clause has been removed.

49 I.1 52.247-63 PREFERENCE FOR U.S.-FLAG AIR CARRIERS

and 52.247-64 PREFERENCE FOR PRIVATELY OWNED

U.S.-FLAG COMMERCIAL VESSELS - ALTERNATE I

(APR 2003). Will USAID please provide specific guidance on when an offeror is allowed to use a non-U.S. Flag carrier (air and sea) to conduct Integrated PSA shipping activities?

There is no additional guidance. Please refer to FAR 52.247-63.

50 I.14 RFP Section I.14 52.232-12 ADVANCE PAYMENTS (MAY 2001) Throughout this clause, there are many blank spaces. Would USAID please fill in the blank spaces? This clause includes text for the basic clause and for Alternates I-IV. Which one of the basic clauses or any of the alternates is applicable to this contract? Can USAID please confirm that the successful offeror will be able to set up a letter of credit to receive advance payments on commodity procurements and operational costs?

Advance Payments and letter of credit may be determined pre or post award.

Section K - Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements

51 K.1 RFP Section K.1, page 135, FAR 52.237.8 Restriction on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals (AUG 2003):

Consistent with the guidance in FAR 37.113-1 and that the anticipated contract will be performed overseas, we respectfully request that USAID include FAR 52.237-8 and FAR 52.237.9 Waiver of Limitation on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals to prevent conflict with applicable local employment laws in the cooperating country.

As the requirements in FAR 37.113-1 have not been satisfied, USAID cannot incorporate FAR 52.237-9.

Accordingly, certain severance costs may not be allowable, per FAR 52.237-8.

52 K.1 Under K.1, Notice Listing Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference, and consistent with the guidance in FAR 37.113-1, and considering the possibility of a future task order being performed overseas, we request that USAID remove FAR 52.237-8, Restrictions on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals, and replace it with FAR 52.237-9, Waiver of Limitation on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals, to prevent conflict with applicable local employment laws.

See response to Question 51.

Section L - Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors

53 L.5 Page 167, Section L.5 and others: The instructions indicate See response to Question 12. Offerors should not that “The Past Performance Information Forms and the Performance in Using Small Business (SB) Concerns (required for other than small business concerns only) are due on the date noted on the cover page. Prime offerors must submit the sub-volume for themselves and any proposed major subcontractors as one submission.” Can offerors provide Past Performance Information Forms for subcontractors that do not meet the 15% of the estimated contract level of effort threshold but are anticipated to provide significant technical expertise to the project?

provide Past Performance Information Forms for subcontractors that do not meet the definition of Major Subcontractor.

54 L.7.(a) L.7.(a) and L.7. L.7.(c) provides the guidance on how to organize the technical proposal section in complete detail. Will USAID please provide clarification about what is meant in section L.7.(a) to have the technical proposal organized also by Section M evaluation criteria?

Section L.7(a) has been revised in Amendment 0001.

55 L.7.(c) L.7.(c) Annex D. Draft Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) Task Order 1 (not to exceed 13 pages). Will USAID please confirm if the Surveillance Matrix found in the J.9 QASP template considered part of the draft QASP page count limit (13 pages)?

Yes, the matrix is part of the 13 pages.

56 L.7.(c) 6) (g)

RFP Section L.7.g Annex G, page 178 Annex G and Annex M requirements appear to be in conflict with one another. Annex G is focused on examples of experience leveraging digital technology for the “…scale and complexity of the volume of health commodities covered by this award” while Annex M past performance requirements are focused on experience in “…global procurement and delivery of goods (not necessarily health commodities).” Digital technologies support high volume global supply chain management, procurement, and analytics that are analogous to scale and complexity of Integrated PSA requirements; the commodity type is not relevant. For example, SAP ERP is a mature, digital technology that readily handles any commodity, including but

Section L.7(c) 6) (g) Annex G - Plan for leveraging Offeror’s existing Digital Technologies has been revised in Amendment 0001. Examples are not required to be specifically for health commodities.

not limited to health commodities. Can USAID please confirm whether client references for an offeror’s digital technologies can be for non-health commodity supply chains of comparable complexity and scale?

57 L.7 L.7, Annex L, Small Business Subcontracting Plan (pg. 179), states, “The Offeror must complete Attachment redacted without cost information (see Attachment J.15).” All substantive offeror input into Attachment. J.15 includes cost information. To ensure that technical proposals do not refer to pricing or cost data and per Section L.5, we request that USAID require a small business subcontracting plan as an annex to the cost volume only.

Annex L must be redacted without cost information.

58 L.7(c) 1) RFP Section L.7, (c), 1) Cover Page, page 171 states that the cover page must include DUNS Number. Starting April 4, 2022, the authoritative unique entity identifier used by federal government will be UEI. Could USAID kindly confirm that the offeror should use the new UEI instead of DUNS?

Section L.7(c) 1 has been updated in Amendment 0001 to UEI instead of DUNS.

59 L.7(c)6) (f)

Page 178, L.7.c.6.f, Annex F: Data Availability and Exchange Capability - Please be more specific about the “technical specifications for the existing capability to exchange data electronically with external systems” that USAID would like included in this annex.

Per RFP, Annex F, the offeror should submit 1) technical specifications for the existing capability to exchange data electronically with external systems 2) and a description of the operational data currently available in the Offeror’s system. Section L.7(c)6(f) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to include that the technical specification shall include but is not limited to:

integration method, interface specification, supported data exchange and data format standards.

60 L.7(c)6)(f

When USAID requests references for clients who have worked on integration of systems (Annex F) or used digital tools (Annex G), what specific contact information is required and where/how should it be presented? Annex F: USAID asks that applicants provide at least 2 examples of existing integration

Please provide company name, PoC name, title, email and tel # of the contact listed. It should be presented as part of Annex F and G. Integration examples can be either from customer integration or current supply chain partners integration. There is no specific format to present this information.

(or electronic data exchange) with information systems of current clients with similar scope. Will USAID accept examples of integration with current supply chain partners (manufacturers, logistics providers) or is USAID asking for customer references? May USAID require a specific format for supplying these references?

61 L.7.(c) 6) (g)

The offeror shall provide at least three current examples on the scale and complexity of the volume of health commodities covered by this award, with contact information for each reference, who can be contacted by USAID. Annex G requires the submission of three references related to the use of digital technologies. Are the references required to be the same as the past performance references?

The references do not need to be the same. See response to Question 56.

62 L.7 Section L.7, Past Performance Sub-Volume on page 180 states, “List three (3) to five (5) of the most recent and relevant contracts/agreements for efforts similar to the work in the subject proposal…For all awards listed above that are not in CPARS, provide a list of contract names, job titles, mailing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, explanation of relevance to the proposed acquisition and a description of the performance…” Will USAID please allow Offerors to complete J.12 Contractor Past Performance Information for each of its past performance references, regardless of whether the contract is in CPARS? This will help Offerors more clearly describe the relevance of referenced contract as some CPARS do not contain sufficient detail about the scope of work for a given project.

Yes. Offerors may complete Attachment J.12 for all references regardless of whether they are in CPARS or not.

63 L.7 Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal on page 170 states, “Text in tables, graphics, charts, graphs, etc., may be smaller than 12 points in size, but must be legible.” Can USAID please confirm Offerors may use a font

Offerors may utilize a font other than Times New Roman for text in tables, graphics, charts, graphs;

however, they need to use a standard font.

other than Times New Roman for text in tables, graphics, charts, graphs, etc.?

64 L.7 Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal on page 171 states that the Table of Contents cannot exceed 1 page, however given there are 12 annexes to list and a font size requirement of 12pt font, would USAID consider allowing 2 pages for the Table of Contents?

Section L.7(c) has been revised in Amendment 0001.

Page limitation for Table of Contents has been removed.

Additionally, the requirement for a Table of Contents for the Cost volume has been added. See Section L.8.1(c) Part 2.

65 L.7 Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal on page 174 states, “Institutional capabilities statements must be highlighted in blue to distinguish from the proposed technical approach.” Can USAID confirm that they don’t expect Offerors to highlight the entire Institutional Capability section in blue, only the Institutional Capabilities woven throughout the Technical Approach?

Any institutional capabilities statements should be highlighted in blue. Examples of Institutional Capabilities can be woven throughout the Technical Approach section.

66 L.7 In the capability section (Section 1.2) USAID asks that institutional capability statements be highlighted in blue. Does USAID mean that they be presented in blue font or highlighted in blue (p. 232) to mark any sentences that refer to current capabilities so that those are clear and distinguished from proposed approaches, not just “capability statements.”? Our read of the RFP signifies that USAID would like capabilities to presented in its’ own section of the proposal. May it make the content more legible for these capabilities references to be denoted in blue font?

Section L.7(c) 4) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to include a highlight on the phrase highlighted in blue for demonstration purposes. See response to Question 65.

67 L.7 Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal on page 174-175 states, “Offerors must provide at least five examples of institutional capabilities, at least one per Scope Component,” but table only lists four scope areas. Can USAID please confirm that Offerors must include one example for each of the five scope components as listed in Section C.4.1

The RFP has been revised in Amendment 0001 to: 1) require at least four examples of institutional capabilities in Section L.7(c) 4); 2) revise examples under “Transactional health commodity procurement” in Section L.7(c) 6) (g), and; 3) define the list of components in Section C.4 to C.4.1 - C.4.4.

– C.4.5?

68 L.7 Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, Annex K – Organizational Chart starts, “One organizational chart, which reflects proposed roles and responsibilities and lines of authority and reporting within the IDIQ and two Task Orders (including any subcontractors) and the proposed physical location/duty station of key personnel and senior technical and management positions.” Given the complexity of the program will USAID please allow Offerors to use an 11”x17” sized paper for the Organizational Chart?

Yes. Section L.7(c) 6) (k) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to allow 11”x17” paper size for the Organizational Chart..

69 L.7 Annex K - Organizational Chart. Will USAID please define to what extent offerors should include any subcontractor employee roles? If a subcontractor is specifically tasked with a role, they are at liberty to fulfill that obligation within their own organizational structure as long as it meets project requirements.

The organizational chart should reflect proposed positions for the project, regardless of hiring organization.

70 L.8.1 RFP Section L.8.1(b) and J.13c Task Order 2 Budget Template, page 181: L.8.1(b) states that the total estimated cost is $800 million for task order 2. J.13c Task Order 2 Budget Template states $700 million. Can USAID please confirm Task Order 2 total estimated cost?

The total ceiling for Task Order 2 is $800M. The $700M is only for commodities costs.

71 L.8.1 RFP Section L.8.1(b) and J.13b Task Order 1 Budget Template, page 181: L.8.1(b) states that the total estimated cost is $3.1 billion for task order 1. J.13b Task Order 1 Budget Template states $2.9 B. Can USAID please confirm Task Order 1 total estimated cost?

The total ceiling for Task Order 1 is $3.1B. $2.9B is only for commodities costs.

72 L.8.3 Page 182-195, Sections L.8.3.3, L.8.3.4, L.8.3.5, and L.8.9 Part 8: These Sections indicate that detailed budgets, budget narratives, NICRA/indirect cost information and Information to Support Consent to Subcontractors are only to be provided for major subcontractors. Can USAID detail what information is required for non-major subcontractors and whether that information would be sufficient to support consent for these non-major subcontractors?

As stated in the RFP, pre-award consent to subcontract is only required for major subcontractors identified in the Offeror’s proposal. Consent to subcontract for non-major subcontractors may be obtained post-award in accordance with FAR Subpart 44.2.

73 L.8.3 L.8.3 also states that, “The offeror must separately submit their IDIQ and task order pricing in MS Excel formatted files using attachments identified below.” Would USAID consider allowing offerors to combine the task order pricing templates below into a single excel file?

– Task Order 1 Budget (Attachment J.13b)

– Task Order 2 Budget (Attachment J.13c)

– IDIQ Combined Task Order Summary Budget (Attachment J.13d)

– LOE Table (Attachment J.13e)

No. Pricing templates must be separate.

74 L.8.3.2 Page 185, Section L.8.3.2 Task Order Budget Narrative (c) - Can USAID please confirm if the specification of how central management and operations costs will be charged and distributed can be a separate section in the task order budget narrative or if this should be a separate document in the cost proposal? If the latter, can USAID please clarify where this document should be included in the cost proposal?

This can be included in the budget narrative and task order budgets.

75 L.8.3.4(a) L.8.3.4(a) states that for task order 1, “the budget narrative should detail separately the corresponding total cost breakdown between the costs associated with malaria and infectious disease outbreaks, exclusive of plug figures.” Because the revised RFP does not require offerors to budget separate CLINs in the TO 1 budget template for malaria and for infectious disease, would USAID please remove this requirement and instead explain how USAID would like to see this information in narrative form?

Sections L.8.3.3 a) and L.8.3.4(a) have been revised in Amendment 0001. This requirement has been removed.

76 L.8.3.4 Page 184, Section L.8.3.4 states that “the budget narrative should detail separately the corresponding total cost breakdown between the costs associated with malaria and infectious disease outbreaks”. Could USAID clarify if bidders should only segregate out those costs (labor, travel, etc.) directly associated with disease outbreaks, or should bidders also allocate a percentage of all task order management and process costs?

Does this cost breakdown also need to be included in the budget template or only in the narrative?

See response to Question 75.

77 L.8.3.4(c) L.8.3.4(c) states that “Offerors must specify in a separate section of their cost proposal how central management and operations costs will be charged and distributed, inclusive of headquarters cost, across USAID Missions from which field support funds are received.” Would USAID please clarify if these management and operations costs refers to IDIQ management and operations, individual task order management operations costs, or both? May USAID provide more details on how offerors should determine how such costs will be charged and distributed across USAID missions, since the RFP does not indicate either at the IDIQ or TO level how mission buy-ins will occur during implementation?

Management and operations costs would be at the IDIQ and Task Order levels. It is up to the Offeror to propose how costs will be charged and distributed across USAID Missions. Refer to Section F.11 and Attachment J.8.

78 L.8.3.5(e) L.8.3.4(e) requires that offerors specify the manufacturer for equipment purchases. Since task order budgets will be illustrative for proposal purposes, would USAID please remove this requirement?

Section L.8.3.5(e) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to remove this requirement.

79 L.8.3.5(f) As it currently reads, the RFP requires supporting documentation surrounding subcontractor selection in two separate areas. L.8.3.5(f) of the RFP requires an analysis of subcontractor pricing not to exceed 10 pages per subcontractor, submitted as an annex to the budget narrative. Part 8 of the Cost Volume, on the other hand requires that offerors address FAR 44.202-2 “Considerations” to support consent to subcontract for proposed major subcontractors which, in part, requires contractors to confirm that subcontractor cost or price analysis was conducted. Since these two sections essentially are requesting the same information, would USAID please confirm that information to support consent only needs to be provided in Part 8, and would USAID please eliminate the requirement for separate subcontractor pricing analysis as an annex to the budget narrative? Would USAID also confirm that information to support consent is not required for non-major subcontractors?

Section L.8.3.5.(f) has been revised to remove the duplicative subcontractor pricing analysis in Amendment 0001.

80 L.8.3.5 Page 185, Section L.8.3.5: This section states: “The Offeror must propose all direct labor costs by Labor Category/experience/level and not by named person. USAID does not require a labor budget by person, but rather by position/category.” Should offerors include the names of Key Personnel and their salaries in the budget and budget narrative?

Yes, offerors may include the names of Key Personnel.

81 L.8.3.5 Page 186, L.8.3.5 Additional Task Order Pricing and Budget Narrative Details; (b) Personnel Salaries and Wages: Can USAID please confirm how offerors should categorize the labor for internationally-based professional staff who perform

Offerors should follow their internal company policy.

work for headquarters?

82 L.8.3.5 Page 187, L.8.3.5: As per this subsection, potential offerors seem to be required to submit at the pre-award stage their organization's travel policy; however, it is stated on L.8.1.

General (page 182) Part 4 -Policies and Procedures (to be submitted upon request from the Contracting Officer). Would USAID confirm that these types of policies are to be submitted at the post-award stage?

As stated in L.8.3.5, offerors can support the proposed cost by including policies, when appropriate.

83 L.8.3.5(b) L.8.3.5(b), page 186 states that offerors “must propose local labor by Labor Category and FSN Grade”. Since FSN scales are not publicly available, and each country has its’ own FSN scale based on local market conditions, would USAID please remove the requirement to tie TCN and CCN rates to FSN scales at the proposal phase, and instead base such salaries on market research, company salary scales, and/or historical data?

Would USAID similarly remove this requirement as it relates to consultant rates under L.8.3.5(f)(2) of the RFP? Or would USAID be amenable to providing a list of countries where they believe the FSN grading scale applies?

If the offeror’s approach includes country offices, then offerors are expected to adhere to their own policies and practices with respect to CCN and TCN compensation.

However, compensation for CCNs and TCNs cannot exceed the ceiling of the Local Compensation Plan (LCP) without a Mission Director waiver.

84 L.8.3.5(b) Section L.8.3.5.b (p.186) requires the offeror and major subcontractors to indicate workday work week information in the budget narrative. Please confirm this should be submitted as L.8.10 Part 9 instead.

Section L.8.3.5(b) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to remove the requirement.

85 L.8.3.5(d) L.8.3.5(d) – Would USAID please remove the requirement to travel details regarding purpose of trip and departure/arrival cities, since such details are difficult to identify at this phase given the global scale of the project?

No. This requirement will not be removed. The offeror should propose travel based on their approach.

86 L.8.3.5(d) Section L.8.3.5.d (p. 187) requires submission of supporting documentation such as travel policies. However, section L.8.5, Part 4 (p.194), states that policies and procedures will only be necessary upon request of the CO. Please confirm

See response to Question 82.

policies and procedures are not required at this time.

87 L.8.3.5(f)

Page 188, L.8.3.5 Additional Task Order Pricing and Budget Narrative Details; (f) Contractual (1): Can USAID please confirm if providing a per pallet/per location warehousing cost would address this requirement? If not, could USAID provide guidance on how contractors should represent these costs?

If the Offeror’s technical proposal includes the use of any warehousing that will incur costs, these costs must be detailed in the Offeror’s budget and budget narrative.

88 L.8.3.5(f) Page 188, Section L.8.3.5 (f) Contractual: This section states that offers “must include any subcontracts, other than construction, that the Offeror intends to award. This includes subcontracts that are within the commodity plug figure (see more information below about Commodities).” However, the “Commodities” section does not address subcontracts. Can USAID clarify if offerors should include potential commodity vendors, insurance subcontractors, or global logistics providers in the Contractual section of the budget and budget narrative?

If so, should the Commodities plug figure in the budget be reduced by the subcontractor amount included in the Contractual line item? Also, given the uncertainty of the actual value of the subcontracts and the lack of level of effort details in these subcontracts, whether these would be considered major subcontractors?

Section L.8.3.3 c) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to clarify allocation of participating subcontractors within the commodities plug figures .

-L.8.3.3 c)“Offeror may allocate the plug figure(s) to participating subcontractors without restriction so long as the allocated amounts sum to the original plug figure.” This must be listed under the “Commodities” section of the Budget Template.

-No. Offerors cannot change the commodities plug figure.

-Subcontractors performing work allocated to the commodities plug figure are not considered “major subcontractors.” See question 12 and Section B.7.

89 L.8.3.5(f)( 2)

L.8.3.5(f)(2) Consultants. Would USAID please remove the requirement for consultant rate history since that information is no longer required in the biodata?

Section L8.3.5(f)(2) has been revised in Amendment 0001 to remove this requirement.

90 L.8.3.5 (f) (1)

Will USAID please confirm the commodities plugs are to be treated as direct cost (as opposed to total price), which offerors are to mark-up with indirect rates (e.g. material handling costs, overhead, G&A, etc.) and Base Fee / Award Fee?

Yes. The commodities plug figures exclude contractor’s material handling/G&A indirect burdens.

91 L.8.3.5 Page 188, Section L.8.3.5 (f) Contractual: This section lists a number of requirements to document and justify the selection of subcontractors and that this analysis “must be contained as an annex to the Budget Narrative.”. Does this reference to the annex refer to the required L.8.9 Part 8 - Information to Support Consent to Subcontractors (Major Subcontractors), or is there an additional annex that needs to be included? Should offerors also include any non-major subcontractor information in order to seek consent to these non-major subcontractors?

See response to Question 79.

92 L.8.3.5(e) RFP Section L.8.3.5 Additional Task Order Pricing and Budget Narrative Details (e), page 187, includes text that requires offerors to specify all equipment with a unit cost of less than $5,000. Did USAID intend to state unit costs of $5,000 or above?

The RFP states that equipment above…