COCESS_Consolidated_list_of_Questions_31_May_17.pdf

Joint Base Charleston COCESS

Consolidated List of Questions from Site Visit held 16 May 2017

1. Subject Solicitation lists the maximum value of $16,000,000.00. Is this the Max value for the base year or the base year and all option years?

Answer: This is the contract ceiling for the base year and all option years.

2. The statement of Work Appendix B list 2 contractor furnished Forklifts. There is currently only one contractor furnished forklift and one Government furnished forklift. Will the Government continue to furnish a forklift under the new contract?

Answer: See Appendix B of the SOW.

3. Is the COCESS Contractor expected to sell all NPI Items at cost without any form of compensation? Or will NPI be considered to be priced “Fair and Reasonable” based on the local retail price. If so, please explain how this process would work.

Answer: Per the Statement of Work, 1.5.3.3 (as incorporated by Amendment 0004) The Prices for NPI will be based on “Fair and Reasonable” market prices. The contractor will be responsible for providing the Government 2 to 3 quotes (based on the amount of the NPI). The contractor shall retain any discounts provided by the manufacturer or wholesaler provided to the contractor. Because the contractor is not providing the NPI at cost to the Government, but at a Fair and Reasonable market price, the contractor seeks no NPI fee.

4. Define “Appropriate Industry Sources”

Answer- Per the Statement of Work , 1.5.2, (as incorporated by Amendment 0004) Appropriate Industry Sources are manufacturer catalogs, other retail sources in the market known to stock or sell similar/exact parts (for comparison of prices), and businesses who operate predominantly for retail or wholesale of the same, similar, or exact parts/items.

5. Does the contract only have to show merchant or vendor invoices for NPI items that require Government Pre-Approved “Express-Transportation” Costs to be reimbursed by the Government and not any other NPI Purchase?

Answer- per the SOW, 1.5.3.3, (as incorporated by Amendment 0004) the contractor MUST show any invoice(s) for Express-Transportation in order to be reimbursed for Pre-approved transportation costs.

The Contractor is required to show quotes of 2-3 costs comparisons for NPI items exceeding certain amounts as outlined in the SOW 1.5.3.4.

6. Please confirm NPI items valued at $50K are excluded from this contract vs. $150K threshold in Section 2.

Answer: Per the SOW, (as revised by Amendment 0004) No single NPI order shall exceed $50,000.

Item shall not be broken down into separate orders to avoid the $50K threshold (split orders).

7. Contract Max and Min.

Answer: See question 1.

8. Is the contract minimum $5,000.00 correct for the solicitation?

Answer: The minimum guaranteed value has been established at page 3 of the RFP.

9. Can it be assumed on the Firm Fixed Price list will be purchased through COCESS and not Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and General Services Administration (GSA)?

Answer: Yes, items listed on the Firm Fixed Price list will be purchased through COCESS on an as-needed basis by authorized personnel.

10. The following items are identified as tools, tool boxes, hand tools, parts and accessories for tools, etc.…

Answer: The following items have been removed from the Fixed-Price items list per the SOW Section 4 Excluded Items, Section 4.11 Tools, Tool Boxes, Hand Tools, Parts and Accessories for tools, etc. per addendum 0004. The fixed priced items list is currently being revised.

AA263V, AB494L, AB557J, AA856B, AA839H, AB525I, AB645F, AA706G, AA099X, AA248S, AB458J, AB834U, AB425I,

11. Section 1.5.3.1 of the SOW- Non Recurring Items does this applies only to NPI?

Answer: Yes, Section 1.5.3.1, applies to NPI items only.

12. Will 628th CES use GPC as a method of payment?

Answer: No. All payment will be made via Electronic Funds Transfer, see DFARS Clause 252.232-7003 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports

13. Is the contractor required to have an employee with a specific skill set (authorized buyer) at each store location during normal duty hours?

Answer: Per the SOW, Section 1.5.12, the contractor is required to have an employee at each store location that is authorized and trained to accept sales receipts, and place orders for normal business operations, emergency and urgent requirements during normal duty hours. (Per Addendum 0004)

14. As defined in Section 1.3 of the SOW, Use- Fixed Price items- These are recurring items that are stocked in the store and are available for immediate issue/purchase.

Answer: The next sentence states- High use items are annotated on the provided list of recurring items.

It may be presumed that items required to be in-stock are high-use items.

15. If the items required to be stocked are required be available 98% of the time, does this conflict with FAR Clause 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity. Should this be a requirements contract?

Answer: The items are high use items and required to be stocked and available for purchase. The government, however, is not required to purchase any item from the contractor once the minimum guarantee amount has been satisfied. The acquisition team made the determination per FAR 52.216-22 that an IDIQ type contract is appropriate for this requirement; therefore this is not a requirements type contract.

16. The following stock Items do not indicate if they are Y- In-Stock or N- Non-Stock and do not indicate a minimum quantity for In-Stock:

Answer: The following have been corrected; the fixed price items list is currently being revised.

AA012K- Circuit Breaker Pole; 30 AMP-

AA069N- Nail Common Flat, 6D-

AA651S- Strap Tie down, 7 ½”L-

AA074M- Tubing type, ¾” Hard drawn copper-

AA114W- Electrical Wire #10 Black, Copper 500’-

17. The following formulas for the line items on the pricing worksheet are incorrect?

Answer: The following formulas have been corrected; the fixed price items list is currently being revised.

Corrected: AA026N, AA617T, AA009U, AA014C, AB335I

18. Please explain the difference between Fixed priced items- Non-Stock and non-recurring Fixed Price Items.

Answer: See definition in Section 1.3 of the SOW (revised per Addendum 0004)

“Fixed-Price Items- Non-Stock- these materials, supplies are parts are used routinely, and should be readily available.” These items are used often and should be available within 24 hours when ordered, but are not required to be In-stock.

“Non-Recurring Fixed=Price Items- REMOVED

19. Will the awarded COCESS contractor of this solicitation be prohibited from selling items from their GSA Schedule as it provides a direct conflict of interest with the SOW?

Answer: FAR Clause 52.251-1 Government Supply Sources is not incorporated into this RFP; therefore ordering on or from GSA Schedules (for fulfilling COCESS requirements) is prohibited. The reference in the SOW under 4.3.1 is in relation to centrally managed items. The 628th CES personnel will not be ordering items from a GSA Schedule on the COCESS as this is prohibited in the SOW. The new Air Force Blanket Purchase Agreement for tools and supplies does not apply to this COCESS contract.

20. Please explain Required Delivery Dates and Alternate Delivery Dates.

Answer: Please see the SOW Section 1.3 Definitions.

21. Please clarify who the list of items to be added/deleted is to be turned into, the material command, COR, or CO.

Answer: Per Section 1.5.1 (as revised by Amendment 0004) the list shall be turned into the COR for review. The Contracting Officer shall have the final approval of all items to be added to/removed from the fixed price items list.

22. Please clarify NPI items ordered below and above $3,500? Sole Source and Brand Name items?

Answer: See Section 1.5.3.3 and 1.5.3.4 (as revised by Amendment 0004)

23. Sales Slips- Signatures not authorized in accordance with paragraph 1.5.3 “Authorized Sales by the Vendor” may result in nonpayment.” Please clarify.

Answer: Section 1.5.6.2 has been revised to read 1.5.2 per Addendum 0004.

24. Section 1.5.9 Planning and Work Scheduling Process states deliveries will not be accepted more than 5 days prior to the ADD. This could be an economic burden on small businesses to hold the material until the ADD is within 5 days.

Answer: Section 1.5.9 has been revised per Addendum 0004.

25. Section 2.2 Material picked up by Contract: please state the radius required to pick-up material rather than wait for delivery.

Answer: There is no specific radius the contractor is required to pick-up parts or materials for delivery and is at the contractor’s discretion. However, the required delivery date/time, such as an emergency or urgent request, should be considered.

26. Section 2.2.1 Material Picked up by Contractor- Craftsman goes to the vendor to pick-up material and the craftsman determines he needs additional item…. This is only in the case of the item being available in the COCESS store and availability is recorded in the government system.

Answer: Section 2.2.1 has been revised per Addendum 0004.

27. Will the contractor be able to renovate, paint, erect shelves, signage, alter interior, at the contractors expense, but with approval from the contracting officer?

Answer: Approval must be requested from the 628th CES prior to any work being accomplished. All renovations or changes will be at the contractor’s expense and must be accomplished without damaging the facility. 28. Section 5.8 Stated Quality control states, the contractor shall implement a quality control program and provide quality services and products… after contract award, if the contractor needs to furnish items from other manufacturers the CO must approve of those items. Section 5.8.1 states the quality of items furnished will be determined by visual inspection…. The item shall be accepted if it meets the part number and description of it the craftsman approves the substitute.

Answer: These are separate Issues. SOW section 5.8 covers Quality Control which is the contractor’s responsibility to provide a Quality Control method/plan to provide quality products and service to the government. Section 5.8 refers to items on the Fixed-Price items list. Section 5.8.1 is Quality Assurance under which the government inspects products and services provided by the contractor to ensure the government receives quality products and services for the prices paid. Section 5.8.1 refers to items received from the supplier.

29. How much government shelving and type is provided at each location?

Only the rolling shelves are Government-owned and provided at each location.

30. There is not a clear distinction between Government property and contractor property. What methods are in place to ensure there is a clear distinction between government and contractor property?

There are locked spaces between the contract and government facilities in the warehouse.

31. Excluded items- Ability One Products:

Answer: See the revised Fixed Price Items List; the following have been removed from the fixed priced items list; the fixed price items list is currently being revised.

AA341X, AB147P, AB370W, AB390N, AA082W, AA082Y, AA083B, AA271P, AA911H, AA150H, AA169U, AB378G, AB507X, AB541W, AA471G, AA641S, AA644I, AA083F, AA929M, AA604D, AB299R, AB299T, AA610L, AB267L, AA082T.

32. Service Delivery Summary- Will the COCESS be considered Mission Essential for the duration of this contract?

Answer: Per the SOW Sections 1.5.13 and 1.5.14, the contrator is required to provide Emergency Support and Stand-by Support to Joint Base Charleston. This is a supply type contract; therefore it does not meet the definition of “Essential Contractor Services” IAW DFARS Clause 252.237-7023.

33. Section 52.212-2 Evaluation –Commercial Items pages 50-54 of SF1449, please describe what methods will be used to determine if option or unit prices are significantly unbalanced. Will the government use techniques defined in FAR 15.404 to ensure fair and reasonable pricing and not significantly unbalanced?

Answer: Generally, proposed prices will be analyzed using some or all of the techniques described in FAR 15.404-1 to establish whether the final price is fair and reasonable. The methods identified in FAR 15.404-1(g) will be used to analyze option and unit prices for balance.

34. Section 52.212-2 Evaluation –Commercial Items page 53 and 54 of SF1449 Section (h) Based upon the evaluation factor in section (g) of the SF1449 … The Source Selection Authority shall then make an integrated assessment best value award decision….. The lowest price offeror with “Substantial Confidence” rating will be awarded the COCESS contract with no further discussion as “Past Performance is significantly more important than Price with consideration of Small Business Participation.” This would be an equally important decision if proposal was significantly unbalanced, had a less than substantial Confidence Rating, and was still awarded.

Answer: The evaluation procedures outlined in The Addendum to FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation Factors for Award will be used during source selection.

35. Respectfully request an offer due date of an additional 2 weeks (June 29th, 2017) in order for all questions to be answered, reviewed and assimilated into proposal.

Answer: At this time, the evaluation team does not see any significant changes to the Fixed Price items list which would affect an extension of the current due date of 15 June 2017.