Attachment 0004 - NGT Section L (Draft).pdf

Attachment 0004

Section L

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

The United States Government (USG) is conducting a source selection for Next Generation Transponder (NGT)- II under FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Items in conjunction with the policies and procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The award will be made based on the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). This will be a small business set aside consistent with the size standard associated with North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 334111 - Electronic Computer Manufacturing.

The USG intends to award up to six Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. However, the USG reserves the right to award no contract(s), or any number of contracts between one and six contracts, dependent on whether a sufficient number of Offerors are found to be “Acceptable” in the non-price factors, or whether the Government can determine fair and reasonable price. The IDIQ will last five-years with five one-year ordering periods.

The USG reserves the right to cancel this Solicitation at any point before contract award. In the event this Solicitation is canceled, the USG has no obligation to reimburse Offerors for any costs incurred.

L.1.1 Proposal Submission Requirements:

Each Offeror shall submit one electronic proposal containing all three volumes: Volume 1 (Compliance Only Documents), Volume 2 (Technical Volume), and Volume 3 (Price Quote). All proposals shall address the Government requirements outlined in the Request for Proposal (RFP) and associated attachments.

The Offeror bears responsibility for submitting its offer by the specified date/time. The Offeror shall make a clear statement in its proposal cover letter that the proposal is valid for 180 days from the date proposals are due.

Proposal files shall be submitted electronically via the email to Contract Specialist (CS) courtesy copying (CC) the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO)

The email subject line should read: “Vendor Name_ W519TC-25-R-NGT2_RFP”

All proposal files should use the following naming convention:

Vendor Name_ W519TC-25-R-NGT2_RFP VOLUME_#__DATE.

Offerors that do not have an active registration in System for Award Management (SAM.gov), (referred to as "SAM" throughout this document), at https://sam.gov at the time proposals are due will not be considered for award.

L.1.2 Late Submissions:

Sam.gov automatically tracks the date and time of all submissions. Late proposals will be handled in accordance with (IAW) FAR 52.215-1(c)(3).

L.1.3 Official Transmissions

Offerors are advised to monitor SAM continuously for any new information regarding this solicitation.

L.1.4 Points of Contact:

The PCO and CS are the SOLE points of contact for this procurement.

Table 1- Contracting Points of Contact Procuring Contracting Officer Contract Specialist:

Leslie M. Dickson leslie.m.dickson2.civ@army.mil

Ryan T. Senneff ryan.t.senneff.civ@army.mil

L.1.5 Questions/Comments:

Any questions and/or comments submitted regarding this solicitation shall be submitted via e-mail with the following subject:

E-mail Subject: Solicitation No. W519TC-25-R-NGT2 Questions

All questions and comments shall be submitted as a Microsoft Excel file that is compatible with MS Excel 365. All questions and comments shall be submitted as an email attachment with the following naming convention: Vendor Name_QS_RFP. The file shall be formatted as indicated in Table 2 below.

Table 2-Questions and Comment Format Vendor Company Name:

Vendor POC Name, E-Mail, Phone #

RFP

Section

VOL # Attch # Page # Para # Question/Comments Rationale

L.1.5.1 Question/Comments and Answers: The Government will only accept written questions and comments to ensure that Offeror inquiries have been addressed in advance of the proposal suspense date/time. All questions should be submitted no later than (NLT) 4:00PM Central Time, 25 June 2025. The Government is not obligated to provide a response to all questions submitted by Offerors but will consider them and incorporate changes into the RFP as deemed necessary. If the Government responds to questions, the questions and their answers will be distributed via SAM as an amendment available to all Offerors. Therefore, questions/comments shall not be marked with a restrictive legend and shall not include proprietary information.

L.2. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

L.2.1: This section of the Proposal Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors provides general guidance for preparing a proposal, as well as specific instructions on the format of the proposal. To be considered for award, the Offeror’s proposal must include all data and information required by the RFP and shall be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The proposal shall be compliant with the requirements as stated herein

L.2.2: The Government reserves the right to reject any proposal that does not comply with proposal preparation instructions.

L.2. PROPOSAL FORMAT

L.3.1 Proposal Organization:

The Offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in Table 3:

Table 3 - Proposal Layout Volume Section Page Limit Format

1. Compliance Only Documents

– Not Rated

1a. Cover Letter Adobe (.pdf)/MS Word

2. Factor 1: Technical 2a Technical Matrix Complete

Attachment 0002 2b Reseller Agreements (RAs) Adobe (.pdf)/MS

Word

3. Factor 2: Price 3a. Price Matrix Complete

Attachment 0003

L.3.2 The Offeror's proposal shall be written in the English language and priced in United States Dollars (USD). For the purposes of this solicitation, unless stated otherwise, days means calendar days.

L.3.3 Each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with no cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal.

L.3.4 Cost/Pricing information of any kind shall NOT be included in any volume except Volume III, Cost/Price Proposal. Failure to adhere to this requirement may render the submitted proposal non-compliant and it might not be considered further for award.

L.3.5 The Proposal shall be submitted in electronic (searchable) format via email to the CS and PCO. Self-extracting .exe files, hyperlinks, and ZIP files shall not be submitted.

The electronic copies of the proposal shall be submitted in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Office or searchable Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). Use separate files to allow evaluators to easily find specific portions of the proposal, including factors, exhibits, annexes, and attachments, if any.

L.3.5 Virus Check Prior to Submission: The Offeror’s proposal files shall be virus checked prior to submission. The Government may hold Offerors financially liable for damage caused to Government computer systems by any virus introduced during review of these submitted documents. Upon receipt of proposals, all files will be scanned for viruses with an anti-virus program. Proposals, or portions thereof, submitted with the presence of a virus or which are otherwise unreadable will be treated as unreadable and not evaluated further.

L.3.6 The proposal(s) submitted in response to this solicitation should contain the Offerors best terms for contract award. The USG reserves the right to contact an Offeror for clarification without opening discussions. The USG reserves the right to conduct discussions to permit Offerors to revise their proposal at the discretion of the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO).

L.3.7 During the evaluation process, the USG may, at its discretion, enter into clarifications or communications, as needed. The USG need not enter into communications or clarifications with all Offerors.

L.4 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL CONTENT

The Offeror shall submit a full proposal, all volumes, and attachments, by the date and time specified.

L.4.1 Volume 1: Compliance Only Documents:

This volume requires the following:

1. Signed RFP letter acknowledging vendor receipt

2. Cover letter (Volume 1a.)

L.4.1.1. Volume 1a: Cover Letter

The Offeror shall submit a Cover Letter that must contain the following:

a. RFP Identifier: Vendor Name_ W519TC-25-R-NGT2_RFP VOLUME_#__DATE.

b. Acknowledgement of all amendments to the RFP, if any.

c. Offeror’s Principal Points of Contact (POC’s) name, company title, address/location, telephone number, and e-mail address.

d. Offeror’s alternate POC name, company title, address/location, telephone number and e-mail address.

e. Title, address/location, telephone number, and e-mail address of persons with authority to negotiate and bind the Offeror, if different than the Principal POC.

f. CAGE Code and UEI Number

g. Date submitted and proposal expiration date.

h. A statement confirming that the proposal is valid for 180 days from the date proposals are due.

i. The cover letter shall be signed by an individual who has the authority to bind the Offeror’s firm.

j. The offeror will list the name and cage code of all subcontractors if used.

For purposes of the cover letter, a "subcontractor" is defined as any entity providing goods or services that are directly integrated into the fulfillment of contract requirements. This includes Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers who provide components or products essential to the delivery of the required items.

L.4.2 Volume 2: Factor 1 Technical:

The Technical Volume must include the following:

1. A completed Technical Matrix (Attachment 0002) (Volume 2a)

Based on the following items:

Table 4 – CLIN X001 Cellular Enabled Transponders SLIN Description X001AA Cellular Enabled Transponder X001AB Cellular Enabled Transponders 2yr ext warranty X001AC Cellular Transponder Charger Cord X001AD Cellular Transponder Mounting Kit

X001AE Cellular Data Plan (1 year)

Table 5 – CLIN X002 Satellite Enabled Transponders SLIN Description X002AA Satellite Enabled Transponder X002AB Satellite Enabled Transponders 2 yr ext warranty X002AC Satellite Transponder Charger Cord X002AD Satellite Transponder Mounting Kit X002AE Satellite Data Plan (1 year)

Table 6 – CLIN X003 Hybrid Enabled Transponders

X003AA Hybrid Enabled Transponder X003AB Hybrid Enabled Transponders 2 yr ext warranty X003AC Hybrid Transponder Charger Cord X003AD Hybrid Transponder Mounting Kit X003AE Hybrid Data Plan (1 year)

Table 7 – CLIN X004 Expedited Product Delivery

X004AA Expedited delivery CONUS X004AB Expedited delivery OCONUS

Offerors may bid on any combination of product groups in CLINs X001 through X003, subject to these conditions:

1. When bidding on a CLIN, offerors must propose the complete product group for that CLIN. Partial proposals for individual CLIN groups will be rejected. For example, if proposing CLIN X001, providing only SLINs X001AA-X001AC will result in disqualification, as the proposal did not include each SubCLIN (X001AA-

X001AE).

2. Each CLIN (X001-X003) will be evaluated separately, with awards going to the two lowest-priced, technically acceptable offerors per CLIN.

3. All offerors must include CLIN X004 in their proposal, applicable only to the product groups on which they have chosen to bid.

The USG will evaluate the acceptability of the products proposed using the Technical Matrix for the CLINs/SLINs specified in Tables 4 through 6.

L.4.2.1. Volume 2a: Subfactor 1a: Technical Matrix

Offerors shall complete the blue cells in the Technical Matrix (Attachment 0002), Excel workbook for all CLINs vendors are intending to propose:

Each offeror will provide:

• Full entity name

• UEI

• CAGE Code

Only complete the blue cells for the CLINs/Product groups on which the offeror is proposing. Only completed entries will be evaluated for PWS compliance.

L.4.2.2. Volume 2b: Subfactor 1b: Reseller Agreements

For each CLIN/SLIN proposed (Tables 4-6), offerors must submit written proof on company letterhead, signed by an authorized officer, documenting either:

1. The offeror's OEM status, or

2. The offeror's formal business partnership/agreement with the OEM

This documentation must:

• Describe the relationship between the offeror and the OEM

• Detail the OEM's commitment to technical support, warranty services, and product updates

• Include the OEM's NAICS code (or explain its absence)

Qualifying OEM Status (any one of the following):

• Direct Manufacturer: The offeror designs, develops, and manufactures the product in their facilities

• Original Design Manufacturer: The offeror designs the product but outsources manufacturing while controlling design specifications

• White-Label Manufacturer: The offeror brands products made by others but maintains customization and quality control

• Exclusive Manufacturing Rights: The offeror holds exclusive rights to manufacture another entity's design

• Full Product Responsibility: The offeror assumes complete responsibility for product performance, warranty, and support

• Reseller with OEM Agreement: The offeror has a formal agreement transferring full product responsibility from the OEM to the offeror

L4.3. Volume 3: Factor 2: Price Proposal Instructions

Offerors MUST provide binding unit prices for each CLIN/SLIN they propose.

• Offerors may bid on any combination of product groups within CLINs X001-X003.

• Each CLIN (X001-X003) will be evaluated separately, and awards will be made to the two lowest-priced, technically acceptable offerors per CLIN.

• Offers for CLINs X001-X003 must include the complete product group (i.e. all

SLINs within each CLIN group proposed); partial proposals will be rejected.

• All offerors MUST include CLIN X004, applicable to the product groups they bid on.

• Ordering activities may negotiate lower unit prices.

• Unit price increases are prohibited except under limited circumstances (e.g., extraordinary contractual relief per FAR Part 50 or approved Contract Change Proposals as outlined in Attachment 0001, PWS NGT 2, Section 6).

• Price notes or written price explanations are not permitted.

L.4.4.1 Price Matrix Instructions

Pricing instructions are in Attachment 0003 (Price Matrix). Offerors must complete Attachment 0003 with hard-coded, FOB Destination prices, limited to two decimal places (e.g., $200.16). Proposals exceeding two decimal places will be rejected. All CLINs/SLINs must be priced for each ordering period, and these unit prices are binding unless an exception in L.4.3 applies.

L.1.5 Questions/Comments: