DFTS II Request for Information 2.docx

Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) II

HTC711-23-R-R009

Request for Information #2

Company Name:

POC Name and Email:

A. SCOPE

The overall scope of this program is to provide transportation services to support the DoD, and DoD contractors supporting DoD missions, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and F-35 Programs. Services encompass support from receipt of the shipment request through final payment for services rendered. Support includes management of shipments to ensure required transportation is successfully completed. Transportation support is required for Freight All Kinds (FAK) shipments including, but not limited to, first destination transportation (vendor shipments), second destination, scheduled routes, DLA Disposition Services (formerly known as DRMS), unit moves, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support, humanitarian/contingency support, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and surge shipments. Services shall be provided between various locations within the Continental United States (CONUS), including but not limited to, vendor facilities, DoD warehouses, consolidation facilities, and US Armed Forces Bases/Camps/Posts. Pickup and delivery may occasionally be necessary in Alaska and Canada (Outside CONUS (OCONUS)). Routes may include multiple stops and split pickups.

The Government anticipates shipment of approximately 300,000 orders annually.

All attachments shared as part of this RFI are in draft.

B. GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. Please review the Draft PWS and Appendices. Provide any feedback or questions regarding the PWS language attached to this RFI.

2. Please identify all concerns, if any, your company has with the Government’s requirement, as currently written. If possible, please provide how the Government can resolve any identified concerns.

C. ECONMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT STRUCTURE

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages if the Government removes the EPA clause and opts to adjust only fuel rates based on a weekly fuel adjustment?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages if the Government continues to utilize the EPA clause with a modified approach to adjust only certain categories (e.g., labor and fuel)? The rest of the costs would remain static.

5. What are the most critical components of your cost structure broken out by percentage? For example:

6. We are contemplating a 7-year contract with a 2-year base and five 1-year options; how does the Government share in Contractor costs that decrease over the life of the contract?

D. TRANSIT TIMES

7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of calculating transit time as a standard 7-10 days for less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload (TL) instead of utilizing the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) tables?

8. How would this approach impact your pricing and how you manage your transportation suppliers?

9. Is there a cost benefit to the Government in utilizing a standard transit time of 10 days for LTL and TL shipments compared to 7 days, the current maximum days for an LTL shipment over 2500 miles?

10. Do the DTR tables align with commercial transit times? If no, what is the industry standard for LTL and TL shipments. Please be as detailed as possible in the response.

E. PRICING - STRUCTURE

We are contemplating a rate structure to include state-to-state, 3-zip, and 5-zip rates for LTL, TL, specialized transportation (e.g., flatbed, reefer), and time definite service level (TDSL), inclusive of rates by weight band (as appliable). For each lane described above, there are three tiers of service for response and pick up requirements (i.e., Tier One: 4-hour response, 8-hour pick up, Tier 2: 12-hour response, 24-hour pick up, Tier 3: 24-hour response, 48-hour pick up). This rate structure creates over 500,000 individually priced rates. Refer to Attachment 2A-2C for lane references.

11. Have you offered pricing structures for transportation services which varied from this pricing structure? If yes, please describe it. Please be as detailed as possible in the response.

a. What were the advantages and disadvantages to this approach?

b. How were the disadvantages mitigated?

c. How did this impact your pricing and how you managed your transportation suppliers?

12. Have you offered pricing structures similar to the pricing structure as defined above? If yes, what is your recommendation for reducing the amount of individually priced rates? Please be as detailed as possible in the response.

d. What were the advantages and disadvantages to this approach?

e. How were the disadvantages mitigated?

F. PRICING – SUBCONTRACTING

13. How is pricing managed between a prime contractor and a subcontractor for a requirement with a potential length of 7 years? For example, are rates negotiated on an annual basis as compared to a long-term arrangement?

G. PERFORMANCE METRICS

14. The current DFTS contract requires an on-time delivery of 98%. Is there a price advantage for the government to consider lower on-time delivery requirements? Would the Government experience lower prices for shipments if the on-time delivery requirement was 80% or 90%?

15. Is there an advantage to the Government to implement different on-time delivery metrics for LTL and TL shipments? Does one category of shipments require a different performance metric than others? Why or why not?

16. What is the commercial process for assigning and managing the use of exception codes for delays? What type of exception codes are typically authorized? Please be as detailed as possible in the response.

H. SHORT TERM WAREHOUSING

17. What capabilities can you provide for short term (0-12 months) warehouse services to include warehouse space and labor, transit in and out, and inventory management?

18. What is the commercial standard for pricing short term warehousing? As a fixed price accessorial fee (i.e., weight-based per CWT, per day)?

I. SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Response to this RFI and any questions should be received by Amy Burk, amy.g.burk.civ@mail.mil, Cassandra Range, cassandra.a.range.civ@mail.mil, and Christopher Frost, christopher.t.frost4.civ@mail.mil no later than 27 March 2023 at 0800 CDT. Any questions regarding this RFI may be directed to the points of contact above.