Attachment 2 - Instructions to Offerors (MECS2).pdf

FA2541-25-R-B005

RFP Attachment 2 – ITO

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS (ITO)

FOR THE

United States Marine Corps

(USMC) Enterprise Commercial

Satellite Services (MECS2)

Contract Vehicle

Solicitation # FA2541-25-R-B005

07 MAR 2025

Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1.1 Point of Contact (POC)

1.1.2 Debriefings

1.1.3 Discrepancies

1.1.4 Communications

1.2 ORGANIZATION/NUMBER OF COPIES/PAGE LIMITS

1.2.1 Page Limitations

1.2.2 Cost or Pricing Information

1.2.3 Classified Information

1.2.4 Contractor Facility Clearance

1.2.5 Cross Referencing

1.2.6 Indexing

1.2.7 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

1.2.8 Marking

1.2.9 Proposal Submission Requirements

2. VOLUME I - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.3 ASSOCIATE CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (ACA)

3. VOLUME II – TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH

3.1 GENERAL

3.2 FORMATS AND SPECIFIC CONTENT

3.2.1 Volume II: Organization

3.3 TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH

3.3.1 Technical/Management Approach ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Subfactor 1 -Transponded Space Segment Coverage ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Subfactor 2 - Managed Serivces

Subfactor 3 - Infrastructure Worldwide IP Reachback

Subfactor 4 - Bandwidth Manager

Subfactor 5 - Managed Services Manager

Subfactor 6 - Banwidth Management Reporting Tool

Subfactor 7 - Information Assurance

Subfactor 8 - Manged Service Equitpment

Page ii

Subfactor 9 – Transition Support

4. VOLUME III – COST/PRICE

4.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

4.1.1 Organization of Pricing Data

4.1.2 Non-Required Data

4.1.3 Price Electronic Files

4.2 STRUCTURE OF THE PRICE VOLUME

4.2.1 Section 1: General Information

4.2.2 Section 2: Proposal Instructions

4.2.3 Section 3: Completed Price/Offer Schedule

4.2.4 Section 4: Completed Representations and Certification

5. VOLUME IV - CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION

5.1 SECTION A: CONTRACT CLAUSES

5.2 SECTION B: OFFEROR INFORMATION

6. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS

7. GROUND RULES AND ASSUMPTIONS

8. OMBUDSMAN

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS (ITO)

AND

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION

1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Offerors are required to submit one proposal in accordance with (IAW) instructions in this

ITO with sufficient information concerning all factors to enable Government personnel to fully ascertain capabilities of the offeror to perform the requirements. The offeror’s proposal must include all data and information requested by the ITO and must be submitted IAW these instructions.

Offerors are required to meet all proposal request requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical/management requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors. Alternate proposals are not acceptable.

Non-conformance with the instructions provided in the ITO may result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation and may render the proposal unawardable. Alternate proposals are defined as either incomplete proposals that do not display conformity with the outlined requirements herein and/or secondary proposals from any offeror that has submitted either a compliant or a non-compliant proposal. The Government intends to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions. However, the Government reserves the right to establish a competitive range and conduct discussions offerors in the competitive range before requesting final proposal revisions. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. The response shall consist of four (4) separate uploaded Volume submissions:

• Volume I – Executive Summary

• Volume II – Technical and Management Approach

• Volume III – Cost/Price

• Volume IV - Contract Documentation

The proposal shall be clear, concise and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. The Government will base its evaluation solely on the information presented in the offeror’s proposal. The

Government shall not assume that an offeror possess any capability unless specified in the proposal. Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

Proposals are due 30 APR 2025, 03:00pm Eastern Time, via email. Ensure each document submission is clearly marked with the solicitation number and title of proposal. The offeror shall make a clear statement in the contract documentation volume that the proposal is valid for

120 calendar days after the date of the proposal submission.

In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one digital copy of all unsuccessful proposals. The Government will not return any proposals and will destroy any additional digital or printed copies of proposals.

1.1 GENERAL INFORMATION

This is a competitive acquisition with no set-asides. The Government will award a single award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract IAW FAR 15.3 Source Selection

Procedures to the responsible Offeror whose offer conforms to this RFP, who is deemed responsible IAW FAR 9.104-1, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements. Task orders shall be issued IAW FAR 16.5 and the Government ordering guide.

Note: Offerors are advised that the costs of any response to or otherwise incurred as a result of responding to this proposal request are not chargeable to this proposal effort.

1.1.1 Point of Contact (POC)

Contracting Officer, Anar Wagner, anar.wagner@spaceforce.mil and Contracting

Specialist, Quentin Fields, quentin.fields.2@spaceforce.mil are the exclusive POCs for this acquisition. Written questions or requests for clarification may be sent via email to these individuals. All questions or requests must be submitted no later than 14 calendar days after the solicitation release date. Any questions or requests received after the 10 day period are not guaranteed a response from the Government. The subject line for such emails should read: Controlled Unclassified Information – Request for Proposal FA2541-25-R-B005, Competition Vendor Q&A. Answers to such questions and clarifications will be provided via email. In the event of conflict between the answer to questions and the RFP, the RFP shall take precedence.

1.1.2 Debriefings

The CO will promptly notify offerors of any decision in regards to contract award.

Offerors may request and receive a debriefing.

1.1.3 Discrepancies

If an offeror believes the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale, as well as, the remedies the offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error.

1.1.4 Communications

In the event that Exchange Notices (ENs) are conducted, information between the

Government and offerors will be controlled by the CO. SAM.gov and email may be used to transmit such information to offerors if the email can be encrypted. Emails must contain the following markings in the Subject Line: “CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION -

- See FAR 3.104 and 2.101 - FA2541-25-R-B005.”

mailto:anar.wagner@spaceforce.mil mailto:quentin.fields.2@spaceforce.mil

1.2 ORGANIZATION/NUMBER OF COPIES/PAGE LIMITS

The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as defined in this table, all of which shall be within the required page limits and with the number of copies as specified in the table.

Volume Title Page Limit

I Table of Contents No Page Limit

Executive Summary 3

II

Table of Contents No Page Limit

Technical/Management Approach 40 Pages

III

Table of Contents No Page Limit

Cost Proposal Instructions No Page Limit

Price / Offer Schedule No Page Limit

Representations and Certifications No Page Limit

IV Contract Documentation No Page Limit

1.2.1 Page Limitations

Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Each page shall be counted, except as indicated in the paragraphs below. Page limitations may be placed on responses to ENs. The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the INs to the offerors.

1.2.2 Cost or Pricing Information

All pricing information shall be addressed in the Cost/Price Offer Schedule. All dollar amounts provided in response to these instructions shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

1.2.3 Classified Information

No classified information is required or permitted in the offeror’s response.

1.2.4 Contractor Facility Clearance

The offeror shall ensure it has the requisite facility security clearance needed to support this contract and proceeding orders at the time of proposal submission which in this case is U.S.

SECRET level. Offerors shall provide a copy of the facility clearance letter as a mandatory compliance requirement..

1.2.5 Cross Referencing

To the greatest extent possible, each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information cross-referenced and required for proposal evaluation, which is not found in its designated volume, may be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity. In this case, the proposal must include a Cross-Referencing table.

1.2.6 Indexing

Each volume shall contain a detailed table of contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that volume. Tab indexing shall be used to identify sections and utilize clickable bookmarks. Table of contents and tab indexes do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

1.2.7 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation for each. Glossaries do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

1.2.8 Marking

All proposal pages shall include the following legend at the bottom of each page:

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

See FAR 3.104 and 2.101

FA2541-25-R-B005

1.2.9 Proposal Submission Requirements

Offerors shall submit only one electronic copy of their proposal, which will be retained by the Government as the proposal of record IAW FAR 4.803(a)(10), Contents of Contract

Files. Proposals shall be submitted electronically in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Word, Adobe Acrobat, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint, as applicable, to the email addresses above in

Section 1.1.1, Point of Contact, SAM.gov. All submissions shall reference the complete solicitation number in the subject line. The Government strongly recommends all Offerors confirm the receipt of submitted proposals via email to the appropriate Government POC.

Details for assembly of the proposal:

a. Table of Contents, Glossaries, Tabs, and List of Acronyms do not count against the page limit.

b. Pages shall be typed with at least single-line spacing and with no less than 1-inch margins on all four (4) sides.

c. The font shall be 10-point for general text, text in tables, charts, graphs, and figures.

Embedded files are not permitted nor is it acceptable to insert pictures of text.

d. Times New Roman font.

e. If page limits are exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal.

f. Any deviation from the RFP requirements and format may result in non-consideration of the proposal.

2. VOLUME I - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the Executive Summary Volume, the offeror shall provide the following information.

2.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A master table of contents of the entire proposal is required. (Not included in Volume I maximum page count.)

2.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive Summary shall describe key elements and unique features of the offeror’s proposal, with salient features tying in with evaluation criteria. This section provides the offeror the opportunity to describe, explain, and substantiate the significant features of their offered program. The offeror shall describe the basic concepts to be analyzed, include key vendors that will participate and any teaming arrangements. Describe the offeror’s key milestones, if any.

Any summary material presented here shall not be considered as meeting requirements for any portions of the proposal. It shall address in summary form, the program objectives and approach. The executive summary should not exceed 3 pages.

2.3 ASSOCIATE CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (ACA)

The offeror shall provide Letters of Intent for any planned ACAs. (Not included in Vol I maximum page count.)

3. VOLUME II – TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME

3.1 GENERAL

All the requirements specified in the proposal request are mandatory. You are representing that your firm will perform all the requirements specified in the proposal request by your proposal submission. It is not necessary or desirable for you to tell us so in your proposal. Do not reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the proposal request. Merely reiterating or reformulating the requirements may not be eligible for award. Directly answer each detail requested herein of every measure of merit citing your sound approach.

Volume II shall be specific and complete. The Technical/Management portion of the quotation must be limited to 40 pages. Legibility, clarity, brevity, and coherence are important.

Your proposal will be evaluated against the Technical/Management Factors as defined in the

RFP Attachment 3, EFFA. Using the instructions provided below, provide as specifically as possible the actual methodology you would use for accomplishing/satisfying these factors/subfactors.

The following attachments shall be submitted separate from the offeror’s technical proposal and is excluded from page count:

1. Mitigation Plan: For any satellites proposed that will exceed 15 years of station kept life during the base year of this contract, offeror shall also include a mitigation plan to ensure continuity of services should the offered satellite be decommissioned and taken out of service.

2. CIAQ

3. Satellite Coverage Maps

4. Link Budgets

5. Letters of Supply (Subcontractor Agreements, Interconnect, subcontractor, or other contractual agreements)

a. Letters shall provide a contractual guarantee for all capacity offered, from the start of the contract period through the entirety of the base contract period.

“Space segment supplier” is not limited to the satellite owner, and may also include wholesalers and resellers, however any non-satellite owner shall also demonstrate their capability to deliver quoted services in support of this contract.

6. Satellite Availability Report

7. Detailed Layout Record (DLR)

8. Resumes of personnel proposed

9. Warranty: Description of logistics, maintenance, warranty and options clauses, and parts support in both CONUS and OCONUS locations for satellite leased terminals.

Standard and extended warranty shall be provided as an attachment. Description of maintenance, repair, replacement, and sparing that meets Government requirements.

Location of depot facilities for maintenance support and average turnaround time

(TAT) for equipment replacement

10. Transition Plan

11. CPARS

3.2 FORMATS AND SPECIFIC CONTENT

The Technical/Management Volume will be limited to no more than 40 pages. In this volume, address your proposed approach to meeting the requirements of each Technical and

Management subfactor.

3.2.1 Volume II: Organization

The Technical Volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Table of Contents (not included in the volume page limit)

2. List of Table and Drawings (not included in the volume page limit)

3. Glossary (not included in the volume page limit)

Factor 1: Technical/Management Approach

Subfactor 1: Transponded Space Segment Coverage, Performance Work

Statement (PWS) 2.1.1.

Subfactor 2: Managed Services, Performance Work Statement (PWS) 2.2

Subfactor 3: Infrastructure Worldwide Internet Protocol (IP) Reach-back Service, Performance Work Statement (PWS) 2.3

Subfactor 4: Bandwidth Manager, Performance Work Statement (PWS) 2.4.1

Subfactor 5: Managed Services Manager, Performance Work Statement (PWS) 2.4.2

Subfactor 6: Bandwidth Management Reporting Tool, Performance Work Statement

(PWS) 2.4.3.

Subfactor 7: Task 7: Information Assurance (IA), (PWS) Task 7

Subfactor 8: Task 8: Managed Service Equipment, (PWS) Task 8.

Subfactor 9: Transition Support, Performance Work Statement (PWS) 2.4.4

Factor 2: Past Performance

3.3 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

These instructions are to assist you in submitting information for the price proposal.

Compliance with these instructions is mandatory and failure to comply may result in rejection of your proposal. Data or information submitted in the Price Volume should be information only essential to document or support the price position. No pricing data or information shall be included in any other volume, including cover letters, unless specifically requested in the respective volume. If price information is included elsewhere in the documentation, the offeror may be deemed unacceptable and the proposal may not be evaluated.

The offeror’s price proposal will be evaluated for completeness, reasonableness, and unbalanced pricing. Price realism analysis is not anticipated, but may be performed if the government deems necessary. For completeness, offerors must provide prices for all listed items for all required performance periods. Unreasonable proposal prices, initially or subsequently, may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition. Additionally, unbalanced pricing may pose an unacceptable risk to the Government and may be a reason to reject an offeror’s proposal. Offers should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate their reasonableness and balance.

The offeror is responsible for providing all necessary information and support of its offer.

3.3.1 Organization of Pricing Data

Data submitted in the proposal should be information essential to document or support the price position. It should be concise and well organized. The price proposal shall provide sufficient detail to demonstrate price credibility and to enable the price evaluators to verify data presented is reasonable, balanced and complete. Explain how and why your price was built, and why it is credible and correct. All information relating to the proposal price, including the Total

Evaluated Price (TEP), RFP Attachment 5, must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the Price Volume. This information and documentation shall not be included elsewhere in the proposal.

a. All prices are to be displayed by Contract Line Item Number (CLIN).

b. All labor rates shall be rounded to the nearest penny. All other dollar amounts provided shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

3.3.2 Non-Required Data

Data beyond what is required by this instruction shall not be submitted, unless you consider it essential to document or support your price position.

3.3.3 Price Electronic Files

Word documents and Excel spreadsheets must be editable and not password protected.

In addition, all pricing formulas shall be legible and not hidden. Do not send “Read Only”

Excel spreadsheets. Scanned documents and PDF files are not acceptable for the Price

Volume.

3.4 STRUCTURE OF THE PRICE VOLUME

3.4.1 Section 1: General Information

Table of Contents - The table of contents will identify the paragraph and page numbers of the contents of the volume. Include the file name and a short description of file contents for all the electronic files you submit.

Cover Letter – Offeror’s cover letter shall be on company letterhead and include:

• Solicitation Number

• Contractor Name

• Contractor Point of Contact, Address and Telephone Number

• DUNS Number

• Cage Code

• Acknowledgment of any Amendments

• Name, Address and Telephone Numbers of the cognizant DCAA and

DCMA offices

Summary - This is a summary of the basic pricing approach.

Changes in Estimating or Accounting Practices - When the proposal is submitted, any changes during the last three years in the offeror’s estimating or accounting practices that impact the proposal’s historical data or basic assumptions must be described and fully explained in writing. The offeror also shall submit any changes to their accounting system that are planned or are required to comply with requirements for the acquisition phase.

RFP Exceptions and/or Deviations - The offeror shall comply to the maximum extent with the intent of the pricing instructions in supplying information that is current, timely, and in full support of the proposal. Exceptions or deviations to the solicitation requirements must be fully documented and explained. The instructions for preparation of the content of the Price

Volume shall not take precedence over requirements of other clauses of the contract, Public

Law, or the FAR as supplemented.

3.4.2 Section 2: Proposal Instructions

A Pricing Template in Excel-based format shall be submitted with the Price Proposal.

Within the Pricing Template, the following worksheets (tabs) shall be included; Base Year, Options, Total Price and Labor Categories/Rates. All of which should also be summarized in the

TEP.

a. The Price by Base and Options tab shall detail the price of each CLIN by requirement period.

b. The Total Price tab contains formulas that capture the data provided in the Price by Base and Options tab by period of performance. CLIN prices in the Total

Price worksheet must match the CLIN prices in the Proposed CLIN Structure.

c. The Offeror is responsible for ensuring the pricing formats are complete, contain all the costs necessary to accomplish and meet the requirements, and reflect the offeror’s proposed price. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the calculations are correct and pulling information from the correct worksheet cells.

Please review and follow the instructions provided at the top of each pricing worksheet.

3.4.3 Section 3: Completed Price/Offer Schedule

This effort Contract Type will be Firm Fixed Price. Offerors shall submit prices for the base ordering period and the optional ordering period following the prescribed CLIN structure.

It is anticipated that adequate price competition may be used in this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the CO will review this determination and if, in the CO’s opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested. In accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b) and 15.403-3(a), information other than cost or pricing data may be required to support price reasonableness and balance. Information shall be provided

IAW FAR 15.403-5.

Proposal price increases greater than normal escalation per period shall be verified and addressed for balanced pricing in this section. Unexplained unit price variances between sequential performance period years could suggest unbalanced pricing. It is in the offeror’s best interest to provide explanation of any significant annual CLIN price variances. The Government may not perform a price realism analysis, but reserves the right to do so if deemed necessary.

3.4.4 Section 4: Completed Representations and Certification

In addition to completion of Section K, offerors are required to complete the On-Line

Representations & Certification Application (ORCA) at https://www.sam.gov by the proposal due date.

4. VOLUME IV - CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION

The purpose of this volume is to provide information to the Government for preparing the contract document and supporting file. The Contract Documentation Volume shall address the following information.

4.1 SECTION A: CONTRACT CLAUSES

All applicable FAR and DFAR clauses will be incorporated into the resulting contract and subsequent task order(s).

4.2 SECTION B: OFFEROR INFORMATION

a) Authorized Offeror Personnel: Provide the name, title, email, and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government as well as http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/af_afmc/far/FAR15.DOC#b154031 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/af_afmc/far/FAR15.DOC#b154033 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/af_afmc/far/FAR15.DOC#b154035 the name, title, email, and telephone number of the CEO, Division President, and/or Vice President.

b) Government Offices: Provide the name, email, and telephone number for the

Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO).

c) Identifying Information: Offerors shall provide company/division’s street address, county and facility code; CAGE code; Data Universal Numbering

System (DUNS) code; size of business (large or small); and labor surplus area designation. The same information is required for any subcontractor(s).

d) Affirmative Statement: Offerors shall provide an affirmative statement that their company fully understands the requirements specified in the PWS and will meet the performance standards and requirements therein.

e) Exceptions to Terms and Conditions: Exceptions taken to terms and conditions of the RFP, to any of its attachments, or to other parts of the solicitation shall be identified. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost, and specific requirements of the solicitation. This information shall be provided in the format and content according to the Exceptions to Terms and

Conditions Template (below). The Government does not, by this paragraph or elsewhere, represent that any exception(s) will ultimately be accepted; exceptions to the terms and conditions of this solicitation may render a proposal unacceptable and therefore unawardable. Should the Government award without discussions, failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation, i.e., any exceptions taken, may result in the Offeror being removed from consideration for award.

Exceptions to Terms and Conditions Template

Solicitation

Document

Paragraph/

Page

Requirement/

Portion Rationale

PWS, ITO, etc. Applicable page and paragraph numbers

Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken

Justify why the requirement will not be met

f) Intent to Incorporate Contractor’s Technical/Management Proposal: All or part of the successful Offeror’s proposal may be incorporated in the contract resulting from this solicitation. The successful Offeror’s proposal may be incorporated by reference. Nothing contained in the successful Offeror’s proposal shall constitute a waiver to any other requirements of the contract. In the event of any conflict between the successful Offeror’s proposal and any other requirements of the contract, the words in the contract shall take precedence.

5. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS

Offerors who determine that the technical requirement of this RFP require clarification(s) in order to permit submittal of a responsive proposal shall submit all questions in writing no later than fourteen (14) calendar days from the release of this RFP. These questions shall be directed to the Contracting Officer, Anar Wagner, anar.wagner@spaceforce.mil and

Contracting Specialist, Quentin Fields, quentin.fields.2@spaceforce.mil.

Offerors are cautioned to immediately reply, in writing, if any conflict of interest issues exists. Specifically, the identified conflict of in detail in a mitigation plan that details the strategy to mitigate the risk of the conflict of interest. If a conflict of interest exists, the OCI

Mitigation Plan must be submitted with the proposal.

6. GROUND RULES AND ASSUMPTIONS

Anticipated award date is September 17, 2025.

Period of Performance with all options is September 17, 2025– September 16, 2032, which includes the base year, all option years, and the 6-month Extension of Services (EoS).

mailto:anar.wagner@spaceforce.mil mailto:quentin.fields.2@spaceforce.mil