Final - Questions and Answers- 08-17-26.docx

Section M – Financial Capability subfactor (evidence of access to at least $1,500,000):

1. Would a conditional or contingent commitment letter from a factoring or accounts-receivable finance company satisfy this subfactor, or is evidence limited to a traditional bank line of credit?

Answer: Technical Subfactor 1 for Financial Capability requiring offerors to provide written evidence from a reputable institution or entity for access to $1.5M has been removed from Addendum 52.212-1 and 52.212-2. Addendum 52.212-1, paragraph (g) (Responsibility Determination & Supporting Documentation will be updated to address written evidence from a reputable financial institution or financial entity demonstrating that the offeror has access to at least $1.5M.

a. Are the purchase cards/spending accounts referenced in PWS paragraphs 6.3 and 6.4 government-furnished (e.g., a Government Purchase Card) or contractor-obtained commercial credit instruments requiring independent financial backing? This bears directly on what form of financial capability evidence would be responsive.

Answer: The reference to PWS paragraphs 6.3 and 6.4 appears to be in error. Per Section 3.6 of the PWS contractor is to use all varieties of payment methods to pay for credentialing exams approved in AFAEMS, for example: credit card, money order, check, PayPal, electronic payment, and cash, and other various credentialing exam payments, as requested by the Government. All purchase cards will be provided by the contractor who is responsible for ensuring that each credit card maintains the required monthly spending limit as stated in Section 3.6 of the PWS.

b. If the purchasing agent spending accounts currently require contractor-obtained commercial credit, would the Government consider issuing a Government Purchase Card (GPC) to perform this function instead of requiring offeror-obtained financial capability evidence under Section M?

Answer: No. Contractor will be responsible for all financial obligations.

2. At what point in the process must the $1,500,000 financial capability evidence be valid — at proposal submission, at time of award, or continuously throughout performance?

Answer: The $1,500,000 financial capability evidence must be provided at proposal submission.

Section M – Past Performance factor; Attachment 2 (Past Performance Information); Attachment 4 (Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Letter):

3. If an offeror's Past Performance is supported through a teaming partner's or subcontractor's contract history via the Attachment 4 consent letter, is that past performance evaluated equivalently to the offeror's own, or does it carry a relevancy discount?

Answer: Past performance of a teaming partner or subcontractor that is proposed to perform major or critical aspects of the requirement (i.e., 25% or more of the work) will be evaluated equivalent to the offeror’s own when such information is relevant to this acquisition. Addendum 52.212-2, Evaluation Basis for Award, Table 2, Past Performance Relevancy Ratings define the levels of relevant (i.e., Very Relevant, Relevant, Somewhat Relevant and Not Relevant).

Section B – Supplies/Services & Prices:

4. Is an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) or historical award value from the current AFCOOL Purchase Agents contract available to help inform pricing once the official solicitation is released?

Answer: Yes. Please reference Section 6.1 of the PWS for the estimated annual workload.

PWS paragraph 6.3 (Purchasing Agent) and paragraph 6.4 (Purchasing Agent Manager):

5. How many purchasing agent positions does the Government anticipate at contract start, in addition to the Purchasing Agent Manager?

Answer: This is determined by the offeror. Please see Section 6.1 of the PWS for historical program data. The government does not dictate the number of personnel. However, this contract has historically had 4-5 FTEs.

PWS – Place of Performance:

6. Does performance of purchasing agent duties require on-site presence at Maxwell AFB, or is remote/telework performance acceptable for some or all functions?

Answer: Yes. The place of performance is on-site at Maxwell. Situational telework is authorized on a case-by-case basis as approved by the government.

Reference PWS paragraph 8.0 (Place of Performance)

7. What is the typical Common Access Card (CAC) and installation access approval timeline for new contractor personnel, and is there flexibility on the requirement that no labor category gap exceed 10 working days during initial staffing or personnel transitions?

Answer: Once the program manager receives the necessary employee information and if they already are vetted at Tier 1 (minimum), the CAC card application processing and approval is typically the same day that it is received from the contractor’s HR. If the prospective employees do not have the necessary Tier 1, they will have to go through the approval process which can extend the time required to issue the CAC card. The 10-day gap pertains to turnover throughout the contract period.

8. PWS 3.4 (SS 02)

Service Summary SS 02 (PWS paragraph 3.4) sets a payment error rate threshold of no more than 1% per month. Please define "payment error" for this metric (e.g., over/underpayment only, or does it also include late or duplicate payments), and the consequence of exceeding the threshold.

ANSWER: Wrong payment made with incorrect amounts, wrong student, wrong vendor, wrong product are examples. Per 52.214-4(b) Inspection/Acceptance, the Contractor shall only tender for acceptance those items that conform to the requirements of this contract. The Government reserves the right to inspect or test any supplies or services that have been tendered for acceptance. The Government may require repair or replacement of nonconforming supplies or reperformance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. If repair/replacement or reperformance will not correct the defects or is not possible, the Government may seek an equitable price reduction or adequate consideration for acceptance of nonconforming supplies or services.

9. PWS 3.7

PWS paragraph 3.7 requires identifying cost-saving opportunities targeting a 5% reduction in Government cost "from the previous year." Please clarify the baseline year against which the 5% target will be measured for the initial 2027 performance period.

ANSWER: Year- 2026. Cost saving opportunities are now referenced in Section 3.8 of the PWS.

10. PWS 4.1

Since AFAEMS, AFVEC, and the AI Portal are accessed from non-government networks, will the Government furnish a VPN, secure portal, or other connectivity tool for contractor personnel?

ANSWER: VPN is not required for AFAEMS or AI Portal. CAC-card access only is required.

11. PWS 6.1

PWS paragraph 6.1 provides historical workload data (enrollments, calls, emails) but does not state a minimum or maximum staffing level. Will the Government specify an expected staffing level, or is workforce sizing left entirely to offeror judgment based on the historical data provided?

ANSWER: This will be left to the offeror’s judgement. The government will not dictate FTE requirements to fulfill this requirement. However, this effort has had historically 4-5 FTE supporting the AFCOOL program.

12. PWS 3.5, 6.4

PWS paragraph 6.4 lists "Purchasing Manager" as a labor category, but the accompanying job description refers to a "Task Lead" who reports to a "Program Manager," while PWS paragraph 3.5 separately refers to a "Purchasing Agent Manager (Program Lead)." Please confirm whether "Purchasing Manager," "Task Lead," "Program Manager," and "Purchasing Agent Manager (Program Lead)" refer to the same position, or whether these are distinct roles, so offerors can align resumes and staffing plans to the correct title(s).

ANSWER: PWS will be updated to change Purchasing Manager, Task Lead, Program Manager, and Purchasing Agent Manager to read “Purchasing Agent Manager” for consistency.

13. Attachment 2 (PPI) Attachment 2 (Past Performance Information) requests a "DUNS Number," which was discontinued government-wide in April 2022 in favor of the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued through SAM.gov. Please confirm offerors should provide their UEI in lieu of a DUNS number on the PPI form.

ANSWER: Attachment 2 has been updated to reflect Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued through SAM.gov.