CFT_Initial_RFI_6_Dec_12.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Contract Field Teams Program

This Request for Information only is being utilized for market research in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e). This is not a Request for Proposal, and the government does not intend to make an award on the basis of this Request for Information or otherwise pay for the information solicited herein.

The Air Force Sustainment Center, Enterprise/Specialized Contracting Branch (PZIE), is seeking to identify sources that may be capable of providing services for the Contract Field Teams (CFT) program. The purpose of the CFT contract(s) is to provide supplemental on-site Organization, Intermediate, and Depot level maintenance support for modification, maintenance, inspections, and repair of various aircraft, missiles, ground support equipment and vehicles on-site at operational government locations worldwide. This effort also includes the modification, maintenance, inspection, and repair of associated support equipment for any Federal Agency or authorized Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer locations both in the Continental United States (CONUS), and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS). All weapon systems supported under this contract will be non-commercial and must have Government owned technical data. These requirements will not be personal services.

Currently, all CFT contractors provide all supplemental maintenance for all types of DoD weapons systems to include rotary wing, fixed wing, vehicles, support equipment and other equipment. All requirements for 50 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) or less that are CONUS are competed among the Small Business Multiple Awardees. All OCONUS requirements and requirements for more than 50 FTEs are competed among the Large Business Multiple Awardees.

The CFT contracts support all of DoD and multiple agencies in 13 countries at over 235 sites worldwide. The CFT contract also supports Theater Operations in Southwest Asia.

The current North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 336411 with a size standard of 1500 employees.

The Government is seeking industry input on the questions provided below. There is no Request for Proposal package available at this time.

When expressing interest, potential offerors are requested to provide the following information: company name, company address, CAGE code, size status (Large or Small Business), socio-economic status if a Small Business (Small Disadvantaged Busienss, Certified 8A, HubZone Small Business, Women Owned Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, etc) and the Company POC name, title address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address. Interested parties are encouraged to register to receive notifications through Federal Business Opportunities.

All interested parties are requested to send company and/or descriptive literature along with responses to the questions below and any comments to Mary Semyone via e-mail at mary.semyone@tinker.af.mil or Nicole Shinn via e-mail at nicole.shinn@tinker.af.mil. Responses are due no later than 4:00 PM CST on 6 Jan 13. No phone or FAX requests will be accepted. If you have additional questions or comments, they must be submitted in writing, (e-mail is preferred) and no telephone calls will be accepted. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this request, nor will the Government compensate any respondent for any costs incurred in developing the information provided to the Government.

Basic Acquisition Strategy – Continue business as usual for CFT requirements as described above.

1. Do you currently provide supplemental on-site Organization, Intermediate, and Depot level maintenance support for modification, maintenance, inspections, and repair of various aircraft, missiles, ground support equipment, vehicles or any other equipment on-site at operational government locations? If so, what types of weapon systems do you support? If so, how many locations have you supported?

2. Has your company had experience (in the last 5 years) providing these types of services?

3. What does your company specialize in?

4. The Government is contemplating a contract under NAICS Code 336411. Do you have any concerns regarding the use of NAICS Code 336411 for this acquisition?

5. The Government is contemplating the use of a Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract.

a. Do you have any experience with Multiple Award IDIQ type contracts?

b. If so, what are your perceived advantages/disadvantages of using a Multiple Award IDIQ contract for this acquisition?

c. Do you recommend a Multiple Award IDIQ contract for this acquisition?

d. If not, what contract type do you recommend for this acquisition?

6. The Government is contemplating a Period of Performance of 7 to 10 years. In this scenario, offerors would propose Not to Exceed Fixed Price (FP) labor rates and Time and Material (T&M) rates for each year of performance.

a. Can you accurately reflect your costs within Not to Exceed rates for this period of performance?

b. What are your concerns regarding this period of performance?

7. Being as specific as possible, what would you see as a justification to award a 10 year period of performance versus a 7 year period of performance for this contract?

a. Would the length of the period of performance impact whether you would participate in a future competition? If so, explain your response.

b. What do you believe is the optimal period of performance and why?

8. What experience does your company have with Government contracts?

9. Is your company familiar with the Government processes of contracting, billing, etc?

10. If you have previous contracts with the Government, what types of pricing arrangements were used [i.e. firm fixed price (FFP), time & material (T&M), cost plus fixed fee (CPFF), etc…]?

a. What type of pricing arrangement would you recommend for this contract?

11. Do you currently support any OCONUS sites on a continuous basis and if so, in what capacity?

12. In relation to question 11, if you have no OCONUS experience, do you foresee an issue with supporting the CFT program at OCONUS sites? For example, labor laws, TESA requirements, SOFA requirements, estimating costs, etc? Please be as detailed as possible.

13. What is the minimum information required for your organization to accurately bid Not to Exceed Fixed Price labor rates and T&M for OCONUS sites under a CFT contract?

14. The Government is contemplating ways to grow the use of Small Businesses for the CFT program. Currently, all CFT requirements for 50 FTEs or less which are also CONUS only are competed among the Small Business Multiple Awardees.

a. Could your company perform CFT requirements with a team complement of greater than 50 FTEs? If so, what is the number of FTEs your company could support for CONUS CFT requirements?

b. Could your company perform OCONUS CFT requirements at any site worldwide? If not, could you support OCONUS sites per region (For example, Europe, Pacific, etc)?

c. Could your company support CFT requirements with a team complement greater than 50 FTEs for any OCONUS site worldwide? If not, what is the optimal number of FTEs for a team complement at an OCONUS site?

d. In your opinion, is there any portion of CFT requirements that could be set aside exclusively for Small Businesses? If so, please identify the portion you believe is appropriate.

e. If the Government considered teaming arrangements, would this change any information provided?

f. Would your company also like the opportunity to compete for larger efforts in addition to the ones set aside from small business?

15. Would your company be interested in participating in this solicitation to award? Please explain your response.

16. Do you have any recommendations and/or concerns with this source selection?

17. Provide any other comments/concerns you have about this acquisition.

Alternate Acquisition Strategy – The Government is contemplating breaking the current CFT effort into separate maintenance categories. The purpose of the CFT contracts as stated above would remain the same, but the strategy would include awarding separate Multiple Award IDIQ contracts for maintenance categories such as:

--Rotary Wing Aircraft Maintenance --Fixed Wing Aircraft Maintenance --Vehicle Maintenance --Support Equipment Maintenance --“Other” Maintenance which could cover other weapons systems such as small arms, electrical equipment, etc.

1. Do you believe there are any potential cost savings or efficiencies to be gained by separating the CFT contracts into maintenance categories? Please explain your response.

2. What do you believe the challenges to this approach would be and what mitigation steps could the Government or the contractor take to ensure success?

3. Does the potential split into maintenance categories affect your company’s decision to participate in any competition for this effort? Please explain.

4. Would your company be interested in competing for more than one maintenance category? If so, please explain how your company would handle the capacity to provide CFT maintenance services for multiple maintenance categories.

5. Would any of your questions related to the way CFT currently does business above change as a result of splitting the CFT contracts into maintenance categories? If so, please explain and indicate how the response would change.

6. Do you believe the categories above represent the most advantageous breakout? If not, do you have any other categories to be considered?

7. Please identify any concern or thoughts you may have on this alternate strategy.