Minutes_of_Preproposal_Conference.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

PACIFIC AIR FORCES

06 Jun 17

MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Minutes of Pre-Proposal Conferences

Reference: Solicitation No. FA5209-17-R-0002, Transport of Overweight (OW)/Oversize (OS) Freight by Truck-tractor with Lowbed Semitrailer

1. In accordance with (IAW) the Notice of Offerors for the subject solicitation, the subject conference was conducted on 01 Jun 17 at Bldg 620, 374th Contracting Squadron, Yokota Air Base, at 10:00 AM local time. Participants are as listed below:

Government

374th Contracting Squadron/Specialized Flight (374 CONS/LGCZ)

Capt Peter G. Forde Flight Commander, Specialized Flight (Opening Statement) Ms. Maki Kodama Lead, Specialized Flight/Team B Ms. Sonomi Yoshihashi Contract Specialist

Movements Management Branch (MMB), Transportation Division (Trans Div), Logistics Readiness Center (LRC) Honshu, 403d Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) - Requiring Activity (RA)

Mr. Hisaki Nagai Supervisory Traffic Analyst/Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Mr. Kazuhiko Umezawa Traffic Analyst

Prospective Offerors

2. Introduction. Capt Forde made an opening statement. The Government representatives introduced themselves.

3. Additional information regarding attendance sheet, hands-out (solicitation package), and Optional Form (OF) 17 were provided to the offerors. All offerors confirmed that they received the complete solicitation package.

4. Supplemental explanations of the following in the solicitation package were provided in the following order:

a. Policies and Procedure for Doing Business with the U.S. Government / Notice to Offerors

b. Performance Work Statement (PWS) (Attachment 1 of Standard Form (SF) 1449)

c. Exhibits - Pricing Schedule

d. SF 1449

e. Present/Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 2 of SF 1449)

f. Present/Past Performance (PP) Reference List (Attachment 3 of SF 1449)

g. Optional Form (OF) 17

5. The supplementary explanations for each document provided by the Government are as follows:

a. Policies and Procedure for Doing Business with the U.S. Government / Notice to Offerors. The following paragraphs in the Notice to Offeror were emphasized as especially important matters.

(1) Para 1.a. The solicitation and resultant contract incorporates clauses and provisions by reference. The full text of the clauses and provisions are available electronically at the websites provided.

(2) Para 1.b. The Government contemplates a single award for an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Type contract as a result of this solicitation.

(3) Para 1.c. The successful offerors must be properly licensed and registered to perform the business in the country of Japan.

(4) Para 1.d. Mobilization and Phase-in Period. A period of 60 calendar days is deemed sufficient for the successful contractor other than the incumbent contractor to complete preparations prior to the start of contract performance. Mobilization and phase-in costs are not reimbursable under the resultant contract.

(5) Para f. thru h. Offerors were advised to obtain DUNS Number, CAGE Code and complete SAM registration before the award process. These are necessary in order to do business with the U.S. Government.

b. PWS: It was emphasized that it is the offeror’s responsibility to read and understand the PWS requirements. The following PWS paragraphs were emphasized/clarified:

(1) 1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES. Overweight/oversize freight shall include any single item in excess of the loading capacity/limitations of a 12-ton flatbed truck but not exceeding those of a 36-ton capacity lowbed semitrailer.

(2) 1.4. SECURITY GUARDS. The Contractor shall, if required by the TO, permit one

(1) security guard or escort to ride on any or all of the vehicles at no extra charge. In the event the security guard is used, the Contractor is not required to return them to the loading point.

(3) 1.5.1. under OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. It was emphasized that the Contractor shall perform services at any time during any calendar day (i.e., 365 days) to meet the

Government requirement when scheduled by the TO. Orders will be placed during weekdays except for U.S. legal holidays. Orders may be placed on Japanese legal holidays.

(4) 1.5.4. Cost of Operation. The escort vehicle services shall be borne by the Contractor, therefore, the offeror must consider costs for escort vehicle services and incorporate into proposal as necessary.

(5) 1.5.9.(d)(1) Winter Period/Charges (BL). In case of a service between Tohoku (e.g., Misawa Air Base) and Hokkaido Area during the period from 16 November through 15 April, an additional charge specified at Pricing Schedule, Exhibit Line Item Number (ELIN) A0FD, shall be applied.

(6) 1.5.9.(e)(2) Performance to/from Kyushu Area. Due to discontinuation of Kanmon Ferry services, the Contractor must inform TO of this movement condition before the service is performed.

(7) 1.5.10. Cancellation of Requirement. In case when the truck-tractor with lowbed semitrailer is held and cancelled after the expiration of the free time, the Contractor shall not be paid a demurrage charge in addition to the cancellation charge.

(8) 1.5.11. Calculation of Charges. If a 20% increase and 5% increase are applicable, transportation charges will be calculated by increasing the price by 25%. When shipment is accomplished with ferry services listed in the contract, ferry charges shall be excluded from the amount to which any increase percentages are applied.

(9) 1.6.5. Obtaining Exemption from Japanese Taxes and Submission of Vehicle’s Listing for Tax Exemption Certificate. This paragraph addresses documents that the Contractor is required to submit to request for exemptions from fuel taxes used for vehicles which performed the service under the resulting contract.

(10) 1.6.6. Security Safety Requirements. The Contractor shall be responsible for all passes issued to his/her own or his/her subcontractor’s employees under this contract. In order to obtain Vehicle Passes, the Contractor shall have insurance that must cover the automobile liability insurance in the minimum amounts for both Bodily Injury and Property Damage specified in this paragraph.

(11) 1.6.7.(d) Third Country Nationals (TCN). The TCN might be denied entry under certain circumstances. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to coordinate with Security Forces at each base when there is a question about a particular circumstance.

(12) 2. SERVICES SUMMARY. Ms Yoshihashi explained about the Services Summary that specifies major tasks associated with providing support services for this requirement. The performance objectives will be inspected by customer complaints conducted by the Contracting Officer Representative.

(13) APPENDIX B. HISTORICAL WORKLOAD DATA. (See also Para 6.d., Questions & Answers.)

c. Exhibits - Pricing Schedule: Ms Yoshihashi provided a brief explanation of ELINs one by one. It was emphasized that offerors should carefully ensure description, pay attention to estimated quantity and unit of issue, then insert proposed unit price for each ELIN.

(1) A010 through A0C0, Point-to-Point Items: In case of the route indicated “Between A and B or C or D”, it means that “A B, A C, or A D, and vice versa”.

(2) A040 and A0B0, Point-to-Point Items to/from Kyushu area using Kanmon Expressway (Kanmon Bridge) or Kanmon Tunnel: These items do not apply to the service under para 1.5.9.(e)(2). The Contractor must inform Transportation Officer (TO) of this movement before the service is performed IAW para 1.5.9.(b)(2) of the PWS.

(3) A0F0, Accessorial Services, Cancellation Charges, and Table Items: Carefully pay attention to each unit of issue/note/formula, and insert unit price (¥) or percentage (%) to prevent calculation mistakes. A0FA through A0FF, only premium rate (%) to be added to the basic unit price shall be inserted.

(4) A0FF, Additional Charges for Shipment of Freight to be Paid by Non-appropriated Funds: This ELIN is to propose additional charges when transporting freight of the Government entities that tax exemption is not applicable. Please note that updated information will be provided to the offerors regarding this line item.

(5) A0FT, Table 2 – Ferry Routes/Round Trip Ferry Charges per Truck-Tractor with Lowbed Semitrailer: The table is for round trip charges. Please refer to PWS 1.5.9.(e)(1).

(6) A0FU, Table 3 – Ferry Route/One-way or Round Trip Ferry Charges per Truck- Tractor with Lowbed Semitrailer: This table is for one-way or a round trip. Please refer to PWS 1.5.9.(e)(2).

(7) It was emphasized that unit prices shall include the costs for escort vehicles as necessary. There is no separate line item for escort vehicles charges.

(8) When an offered amount is the same for the base and option years, offerors may write down “Same as Base Year” clearly on applicable pages of the option years.

d. SF 1449, Solicitation: Mr Yoshihashi explained how to fill out the form with brief explanations of Clauses and Provisions.

(1) Page 1, Block 8: The offer due date is 19 Jun 2017, 02:00 PM.

(2) Page 1, Block 12: The discount terms shall be inserted if applicable.

(3) Page 1, Block 17a: Offerors insert the offeror’s name, address, and phone number.

CAGE code and DUNS number can be inserted in this block if available.

(4) Page 1, Block 17b: If the remittance address is different from that in block 17a, check block 17b and specify the remittance address in page 6, Addenda to SF 1449.

(5) Page 1, Block 27a: <<Update on 5 Jun 17 >> This item needed to be checked and read “Solicitation incorporates by reference FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4, FAR 52.212-3, 52.212-5 are attached. Addenda X are attached.”

(6) Page 1, Blocks 30a through 30c: Signature of offeror, name and title of signer, and date signed.

(7) Pages 3 through 5, Item No. 0001 through Item No. 4001, and ESTIMATED GRAND TOTAL (CLINs 0001 ~ 4001): Offerors shall enter the amount in Item No. 0001, 1001, 2001, 3001, and 4001 respectively based on the ones calculated from Exhibits: Pricing Schedule.

Insert the total of all years in “ESTIMATED GRAND TOTAL (CLINs 0001 ~ 4001).”

(8) Page 5, Notes 1 through 5: Brief explanations were provided as indicated below.

(a) Features of a single Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) type contract with Minimum and Maximum Value as addressed therein.

(b) Submit offers in whole numbers only, no fractions less than one (1) yen.

Consider offering unit prices by rounding off, up, or down fractions less than 10 yen so that an amount to be invoiced would not be rounded off when additional charges by percentages are applied.

(c) Contract Period/Performance Period. The anticipated performance period for Base Year is from 01 Feb 2018 to 31 Jan 2019, subject to change. At the time of contract award, specific dates will be indicated.

(9) Page 6, Block 17b of SF 1449, Remittance Address: The payment would be basically made through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). In case that block 17b needs to be checked, the remittance address needs to be specified on page 6. Ms. Yoshihashi additionally stated that ¥735 of remittance fee would be deducted from the invoiced amount when the payment office, Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS), makes EFT thru the Bank of America (BoA). Some Japanese banks could charge the recipient an additional surcharge exceeding ¥2,000 for each remittance from the BoA as a non-residential financial institutions and it is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the amount in preparing proposals.

(10) Page 7 through 9, Addenda to FAR 52.212-4 (k) Taxes: The clause addresses that that the consumption tax and fuel tax such as diesel oil will be exempted. Therefore, offerors shall propose amount excluding such taxes.

(11) Page 15, FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitation: The Contractor is not obligated to honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations for a single/combination item(s) specified in this clause. It is requested that the Contractor provide ordered number of vehicles exceeding the amount as much as possible.

(12) Page 16, FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services and Page 16 through 17, FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.

(13) Page 19, FAR 52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters: Ensure to fill in para (b).

(14) Page 20 through 24, FAR 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors – Commercial Items:

(a) The offeror agrees to hold prices in its offer for 210 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.

(b) Part I – Summary and Miscellaneous Data.

(i) Submit original.

(ii) Acknowledgement is required when the solicitation amendment is issued.

(iii) If none proposed, submit an Affirmation of no Exceptions, Deviations, or Waivers. Offerors may specify the statement somewhere in SF1449 where clearly visible. (See Para 6.g., Questions & Answers.)

(c) Part III – Past Performance Proposal. Ms Yoshihashi explained that offerors provide any information currently available that demonstrates customer satisfaction, which is limited to no more than 10 pages excluding PPQ, per contract listed in the reference.

(i) It is the offeror’s responsibility to send out the PPQ with the Past Performance Evaluation Cover Letter, to each of their references. PPQ shall be submitted to 374th Contracting Squadron, directly from contracting activities or commercial activities specified on the PP Reference List, and WITHOUT SENDING BACK TO THE OFFEROR, no later than 19 Jun 2017, 02:00 PM by email or FAX.

(ii) It was emphasized that the offerors must provide a PP Reference List of no more than three (3) most relevant contracts, and that the submission date of this list is 19 Jun 2017, 02:00 PM, which is earlier than the proposal due date, by either email or FAX.

(iii) The evaluation of past performance information will take into account past performance regarding (i) predecessor companies, and (ii) subcontractors that will perform major aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to this acquisition.

(iv) If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, provide complete information as to the arrangement, including any relevant and recent past performance information on previous teaming arrangements with same partner.

(v) Subcontractor Consent has to be provided because the past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without it.

(vi) If a Part in a proposal exceeds the specified page limit cited in the Part Content, the excessive pages will not be evaluated.

(d) Format for proposal Parts I, II, and III. In addition to the paper copies specified for each Part, one electronic copy of each Part of the entire offer must be submitted.

The electronic version shall be submitted on a compact disc (CD). USB flash drives, floppy disks, and zip disks are not acceptable. Be sure to indicate on each CD the part number and title.

(e) General Information. Hand carried or mailed proposals must be delivered to the address specified in SF 1449 no later than 19 Jun 2017, 02:00 PM. SOME DELAY SHOULD BE EXPECTED WHEN HAND-CARRYING PROPOSALS. Hand carried proposals must be deposited in the bid depository located at 374th Contracting Squadron (Bldg 620) by the offer due date and time, therefore, offerors should allow sufficient time and arrive at the depository prior to the time specified for receipt.

(15) Page 24 through 27, FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items:

(a) Para (a): Price and Past Performance will be used to evaluate offers. Past Performance is approximately equal to Price.

(b) Para (b) Options: The government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) Para (d) BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD is a competitive Subjective Tradeoff (STO) best value source selection. The government reserves the right to award a contract to other than the lowest Total Evaluated Price (TEP). In that event, the Source Selection Authority will make an integrated assessment best value award decision using TEP and the Past Performance Confidence Rating.

(d) Para (d)(1) Price Evaluation Factor: Offers will be ranked according to TEP, including option prices, if applicable. It was also addressed that the TEP will be computed as shown on SF1449, pages 25, using the formula for the Option to Extend Services amount for a maximum six-month extension.

(e) Para (d)(2) Past Performance Factor: The government will evaluate recent and relevant performance information on all offerors based on (1) the references provided by the offeror, and (2) any past performance information obtained from survey/questionnaires, and (3) any data independently obtained by the government. The Government will follow up with the reference’s POC in case he/she delays submission of a questionnaire, but will not be responsible for the failure of a reference POC to respond to the questionnaire

(i) The provided information must be for the performance of on-going or completed projects within the last three (3) years from the issuance date of the solicitation.

(ii) Relevant contracts performance effort involved similar scope, magnitude of effort, and complexities to that required by this solicitation.

(iii) Ms Yoshihashi explained about offeror’s overall past performance confidence assessment ratings as a result of the performance recency, relevancy, quality assessment and integrated past performance evaluation respectively.

(iv) Integrated Assessment. Ms Yoshihashi emphasized that the government reserves the right to award a contract to other than the lowest TEP.

(16) Page 27 through 35, FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items: Offerors must complete required fill-ins.

(17) Page 35, DFARS 252.247-7022 Representation of Extent of Transportation by Sea:

Offerors must complete required fill-ins.

e. PPQ and PP Reference List: Ms Yoshihashi emphasized the closing date and time respectively for PPQ and PP Reference List. The Government may clarify discrepancies in the past performance information between the reference list and questionnaires.

6. Questions and Answers:

a. Question: Are there any dangerous items to be transported in this contract?(PWS Para 1.2. Types of Freight)

Answer: No. Type of freight will be general freight such as vehicles and material handling equipment. Vehicles may hold some fuel (gasoline or diesel) in a fuel tank.

b. Question: How is each cargo packed at the time of loading other than vehicles?

(PWS Para 1.2. Types of Freight)

Answer: Some cargos are packed or containerized, but others are bare such as aviation/ship parts. The Contractor may be required to provide tarpaulins to cover such cargos including vehicles with no additional cost to the Government.

c. Question: Is cargo a single freight?

Answer: Yes, in general. For instance, some steel plates are bundled together as a single cargo.

d. Question: Could you provide frequency when escort vehicles are required?

Answer: We understand escort vehicles would be required for lowbed semitrailers of 26-ton and above. Please see Appendix B for Historical Workload Data, especially the records for 26-ton ~ 36-ton Capacity Lowbed Semitrailer(s).

e. Question: Does the cancellation charge apply to orders cancelled on the preceding day before the services is scheduled?

(PWS 1.5.10 Cancellation of Requirement)

Answer: No. Please refer to PWS 1.5.10.

f. Question: Is it required to communicate Transportation Officers (TO) in English?

(PWS 1.6.4. Transportation officers)

Answer: Yes. However, local national employees at Transportation Offices may place orders by contacting the Contractor while TOs who sign Bills of Lading are native English speakers. Further, there may be occasions when only native English speakers are available at loading/unloading points. TO List will be distributed to the awarded contractor.

g. Question: Can we submit a proposal by proposing terms and conditions other than specified in this solicitation?

(SF 1449, FAR 52.212-1 para (m).B.1.(e))

Answer: Yes. In that event, please clearly specify such exception, deviation, or waivers from the terms and conditions. However, please be advised that such offers may not be considered for award. << Update on 5 Jun 17 >> Update on 5 Jun 17: Please refer to Addendum to FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items (d) BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD, the 2nd sentence “By submission of its offer, the offeror accedes to all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being determined unacceptable.”

h. Question: If the awarded contractor's performance fails, will the Government award to the secondly ranked offeror at the time of award?

Answer: No. In the event, the Government may resolicit the requirement again.

i. Question: Can we modify submitted offered prices?

Answer: Offerors may modify offered prices as long as such modifications are received by the solicitation closing date and time.

<< Update on 5 Jun 17 >> Please also refer to Addendum to FAR 52.212-1(a), which refers to 52.212-1(c)(3), “Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals” incorporated by reference.

j. Question: If any drastic change in the economy or diasters by Acts of God occur and it becomes difficult for the Contractor to hold the same prices, can the option prices be changed?

Answer: There are no such terms in the solicitation or resulting contract. If in the event such situations occur, it would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that it is the offerors’ discretion to propose escalations over option years considering such as expected increase in labor costs.

k. Question: Can we request an excel version of Exhibits: Pricing Schedule?

Answer: Yes, we’ll provide upon request.

7. Lastly, the following were advised to the offerors:

a. Any questions should be submitted in writing in English via e-mail to the Government.

Questions regarding ranking of offers being evaluated will not be answered. Additional questions and answers will be provided to all offerors and will be posted on the FBO website.

b. Full attention should be given not to make calculation mistakes in the proposals.

Depending on how many mistakes are made, the evaluation process may take extensive time.

c. Acknowledgement is required when a solicitation amendment is issued.

d. Offerors need to submit proposals to the 374th Contracting Squadron building by the closing date and time specified in the solicitation. Hand carried and mailed solicitations are acceptable.

e. PP Reference List and PPQ can be submitted by FAX, offerors should allow sufficient time to avoid late submittals.

8. The conference was concluded at 12:00 PM local time.

9. The foregoing is a brief summary of the discussions held during subject conference. Those present should advise the undersigned of any additional information, clarifications, or corrections that they feel should be made to the minutes within three (3) calendar days from distribution date. Failing notification to the contrary, these minutes will stand for the record.

SONOMI YOSHIHASHI MAKI KODAMA

Contract Specialist Contracting Officer cc:

MMB, Trans Div, LRC Honshu, 403d AFSB

Distribution:

All prospective offerors

KODAMA.MAK

I.1264923839

Digitally signed by

KODAMA.MAKI.1264923839

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=OSD, cn=KODAMA.MAKI.1264923839 Date: 2017.06.07 15:33:25 +09'00'

YOSHIHASHI.S

ONOMI.126599

Digitally signed by

YOSHIHASHI.SONOMI.1265994322

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USAF, cn=YOSHIHASHI.SONOMI.126599432 Date: 2017.06.08 12:56:37 +09'00'