Company A - Q and A.pdf

1. Does VA have an estimated timeline for RFP release?

a. Is a standard 30-day response time expected?

The release of the formal RFP will follow a shortened synopsis posting.

How soon the formal RFP will be published will depend on the conversations had with participants during industry days, and whether the government considers updating our acquisition strategy.

2. How frequently does VA anticipate orders being placed?

Section B.15 Fair Opportunity Process states that the SDC intends to keep 30 days of stock on hand. This will more than likely correlate to a monthly order for most line CLINs.

Please note section B.17 Minimum Guarantee, (c) There is no expressed or implied guarantee that the quantities will be ordered regularly in the base period or option period. Quantities will be ordered on an as need basis to resupply stock level at the DLS, And (d) There will be no minimum or maximum quantities established at the delivery order level.

3. Is the primary method of order placement EDI or email?

EDI is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended.

4. Would the VA ever entertain a customized ordering platform for order placement?

The VA has an established ordering procedure through the Denver Logistics Center that is the standard until it is specified that it is not. No other ordering platform or procedures would be considered outside of contingency operations at this point.

5. CLINs 0004 and 0005 do not appear on the approved products listing – will VA be updating the list to include the approved products for those CLINs?

Only items currently on contract through the VA CSAS will be considered for the approved products list.

6. Is the VA open to kitting options?

a. These could bring discounts in pricing

Kitting options are not being considered due to the Clinicians need to order specific components for each veteran. Hence the invocation of 38 U.S.C § 8123.

7. The draft RFP is clear that “more than one award may be made for any particular PAP device and/or Facial Interface Make and Model selected in order to ensure demand is met.” Is the VA expecting more than one awardee for a given OEM SKU? What happens if an OEM’s strategy is to only work with one VAR? Is VA good with this?

Yes, the government’s intent is to award multiple awardees the same CLIN if possible, and if necessary.

The purpose of MAS IDIQS is threefold for this requirement. First, the government intends to mitigate supply chain risk by awarding like devices to more than one company. Secondly, is to mitigate a supply chain bottleneck at the manufacturer level.

Finally, the invocation of 38 U.S.C § 8123 specifies that clinicians have the ability to order what they deem necessary in a case by case basis. This requires a multitude of devices, potentially across multiple distributors and manufacturers.

However, the government will not work to change industry standards and will not specify to manufacturers how to allocate their end items. We only require that all items allocated from a manufacturer to a distributor for the purposes of this requirement be sold only to the VA though the awarded contract.