OS3PurchasingChannelFinalRFPQ A28FEB2014.pdf

Q & A from Industry regarding OS3 Purchasing Channel Final RFP on FBO

Question Answer

1 I just wanted to verify in regards of past performance. Is it acceptable to use large orders that I received through GSA Advantage under my schedule 75 contract? I just want to be sure I using the correct data for my past performance questionnaire.

Yes; you may use previous orders from GSA Advantage.

Each purchase order is considered a contract. Be sure your references show variety, quantity, breadth or understanding of any special conditions.(For example, If you are proposing under the General Office Supplies CLINS, and invoices showed only Toner, you would need to provide additional details as to the products you can supply).

2 Could you please tell me how I can submit the proposal for the solicitation GSQ02-14-R-SA0001? I am on the GSA E-offer website but I do not see this solicitation.

The RFP was posted on FBO.gov on the FEDBIZOPS website; not the GSA E-offer system. Please submit your proposal as indicated in the instructions to OS3procurements@gsa.gov. You must also sign and acknowledge any amendments.

3 I've been reviewing the final RFP and I'm not understanding what is needed for the technical proposal response. Can you please provide some insight on how to format that portion of the proposal or guide me where that information is located?

As this procurement is proposed as a commercial items contract, you would need to describe your capabilities and capacity in order to meet the Government's requirements, resources, customer service, shipping issues, staffing organization, experience in your field to indicate your qualifications. Simply stated, what value does your company add to an office supplies order when placed?

What makes your company the best choice? There is no prescribed format, but your Technical approach should be clear and readily understandable, and demonstrate your compliance with the Go/No Go requirements. Please see evaluation criteria.

4 The following product was listed in the spreadsheet

C544X4CG COMPLIANT

LEXMARK C544X4CG CYAN OEM

TONER

That part number appears to be an OEM without the LEX prefix. The rest of that family is included as OEM in the list (this is cyan, the magenta, yellow and

It's not so much an error as it is an inconsistency in vendor reporting transactions adding the prefix. It is an OEM Lexmark as described in the product description.

Questions may continued to be directed to the CO, Nelson.Duncan@gsa.gov until RFP closing date.

mailto:OS3procurements@gsa.gov mailto:Nelson.Duncan@gsa.gov black appear as LEXC544X4MG, LEXC544X4YG, and LEXC544X4KG Please let me know if I can ask any questions on this. Should I submit it as a question through the system?

5 Will the FSSI OS3 BPA be set as mandatory use for all federal agencies?

OMB encourages strategic sourcing initiatives for taxpayer savings. Similar to OS2, each Agency Head determines the level of use. There is currently no mandate for Federal Agency use however GSA is hopeful OS3-Purchasing will be successful. Please see attachment 6 for participating agencies, representing current customers.

6 My GSA 75 Contract is due to expire in 2015. Will I have the opportunity to renew my contract if I am not on the FSSI OS3 Contract?

Your MAS 75 contract is contingent on your good standing and its terms and conditions and is an independent procurement action from OS3-Purchasing. Check with your cognizant Schedule 75 Contracting Officer for option renewal requirements. The Blanket Purchase Agreements under OS2 expire 5/31/2014, therefore a new acquisition has been issued.

We welcome your interest in applying and please review the solicitation listed in FBO.gov under GSQ02-14-R- SA0001, as amended on 1/31/2014 with closing date of 3/17/14, 5:00pm EDT.

7 We would like your approval to be added to Big Deal/ special pricing for HP, Lexmark and Xerox products so we could offer special pricing to GSA for FSSI OS3 Bid.

This is the office that issues the OS3-Purchasing RFP. We do not grant approvals for individual original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). You would need to contact each respective company and/or your suppliers and negotiate special pricing based on your intentions to submit a proposal for the OS3 acquisition. Those companies referenced may have "special" pricing structured for OS3 submissions based on volume purchases. Recommend contacting personnel in their Marketing or Government Sales departments to assist in receiving lower prices.

8 I received your email address from FBO Website and would like to introduce you to {our companyname}. We are a small business interested in providing technology services to the government.

Thank you for your e-mail. The RFP posted in FBO.gov is for Office Supplies Strategic Sourcing Solutions Third Generation (OS3). If you provide office products and supplies, please submit a proposal in accordance with the documentation posted. There are no technology services purchase opportunities as part of this OS3 solicitation.

We specialize in...

9 I have reviewed the three videos on your site relative to the RFP for OS3, but I still have a question.

I am not clear on how we would bid three or even four of the CLIN’s. I do want to bid on CLIN 1, the Full Catalog, which includes toner and paper, but what happens if I lost the Full Catalog opportunity, but could have won the paper portion, or the toner portion?

I would also want to bid on the toner and paper separately because that would be better than no award at all.

Do I need to bid each CLIN separately?

I look forward to receiving your reply as soon as possible so that I may complete my RFP.

Final documents were posted on FBO.gov on 1/31/2014, as amended on 2/21/2014. Pricing is to be provided in Attachment 1, spreadsheet for Market Basket Items. If you meet the qualifications, you may propose under each TAB. Your proposal would evaluated per CLIN that you provided pricing. If you provided successful proposals and selected for award under the 3 CLINS, General OS; Paper and Toner/Ink, it would be conceivable to be receiving 3 awards. In this event, GSA would likely consolidate your awards to a single contract in order to reduce administration costs.Given the amount of competition expected this may be unlikely and we recommend submission of your best prices at the onset.

In the event you are eliminated from consideration from one CLIN and meet the technical requirements of another CLIN, you would still be considered under those CLINS proposed.

Please provide all pricing in one proposal submission.

10 I have a few questions before I submit the proposal.

1. Can you please let me know what documents I need to submit to OS3procurements@gsa.gov?

2. Is the award based on first come first award or is it based on low prices being offered?

3. In the instruction, "Notes to Contractors #9" Can you please explain this question?

To be considered for award, qualified Contractors must submit a proposal under the posted OS3 RFP which was synopsized in FBO.Gov and announced via Interact.gsa.gov.

1. It is the responsibility of the contractor submitting the proposal to ensure all documents are submitted. A checklist has also been provided among the solicitation attachments, see Attachments 3 and 10.

2. The RFP closing date is 3/17/2014; awards are anticipated in late May/early June 2014 timeframe, based on the number of proposals received. You may submit early, prior to closing date. This is not a first-come; first-served award. Please see RFP and SOW documents.

As explained in the RFP, CLINS 0001 thru 0003 are best value award and CLIN 0004 will be lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA).

3.To clarify paragraph 9 in the SOW notes, your proposal needs to reference the solicitation GSQ02-14-R-SA0001 for OS3-purchasing. The information was posted on these websites and provides information concerning this acquisition. The RFP, SOW and 16 attachments which were posted on FBO.gov on 1/31/2014 provide submission instructions. You need to meet the requirements of the solicitation in order to be considered for award. Submit your proposal to the electronic address http://fbo.gov/ http://interact.gsa.gov/ cited in the RFP. Note there is a 25MB limit per email.

11 Could you please tell me how I can submit the proposal for the solicitation GSQ02-14-R-SA0001? I am on the GSA E-offer website but I do not see this solicitation.

The RFP was posted on FBO.gov on the FEDBIZOPS website; not the GSA E-offer system. Please submit your proposal as indicated in the instructions to OS3procurements@gsa.gov

Can you clarify sample part numbers?

Do we have to bid the identical item or match form and function? It sounds like Form and Function.

Sample Description, part numbers were listed not as a "brand name or equal" but as an indicator of the generic nomenclature of the commercial item. If you are proposing a remanufactured toner cartridge for example, it must meet or have the same or better page yield and quality. It is the contractor's responsibility to ensure that proposed items meet the specifications of the requirements.OEM where denoted should not be substituted.

As a minor point of clarification, this is a RFP, you would be submitting a proposal, not bidding as part of a sealed bid or IFB procurement.

12 According to page 15 of the SOW, para. 5.2.1 Ability One Certified Contractor, does the business have to be Ability One Certified to submit a proposal? Please clarify.

Yes, and as indicated in RFP, page 55:

AbilityOne Certified Contractor AbilityOne Certified Contractor shall remain an AbilityOne-certified contractor for the contract’s period of performance.

13 For ink and toners, previous solicitation required compatible and remanufactured products to be quoted alongside the OEM’s. I see no columns set up for these on this year’s quote sheet. Does that mean we only need to quote OEM’s or OEM and/or compatible, whichever is cheaper?

The previous OS2 solicitation and draft OS3 documents no longer apply. Please follow instructions under final documentation release posted in FedBizOpps (fbo.gov) on 1/31/2014. We do not have separate columns for remanufactured products in OS3.

Attachment 1 represents the core market basket items list.

For example, line 14 under the Toner TAB states:

TONER,C7115A,HP LJ1200/1220 -- REMANUFACTURED

TONER CARTRIDGE IS DESIGNED FOR USE WITH THE

HEWLETT-PACKARD LASERJET 1000, 1200, 1220, AND

3380 SERIES. YIELDS 2,500 PAGES. ELITE IMAGE IS

ISO CERTIFIED.

http://fbo.gov/

You would indicate pricing for that particular re-manufactured toner there. If you had the new OEM HP toner and not elsewhere listed in Attachment 1 and wanted to propose this item, you would add this to your Non-Market Basket as part of Attachment 16.

14 In regards to agents, as it stands now we use a third party order processor to manage all of our orders.

Currently they handle processing the orders,shipping the items to the end user and process credit card payments. My agent has accounts set up with HP, USSCO, SP Richards etc. On my GSA contract I list my agent as my supplier and I maintain a letter of supply from them and they maintain a letter of supply from USSCO, HP, Sp Richards etc. Can I use the same concept when applying for OS3?

Also, The website for our company is only for information and do not host any products. Will hosting a website that sells products to the government outside of GSA Advantage and DOD E-mall pose any type of advantage?

1. Yes, you would just need to explain the Agent relationship and responsibilities in your cover letter.

2. A separate vendor portal is not a requirement. Some vendors have commercial websites established. Each contractor can decide whether to establish a vendor portal as part of its own business decision for Federal customers. OS3 prices must be honored on all purchase channels a vendor maintains.

15 1. Regarding consortia, is there a letter that you have created that consortia members should sign, do we create our own, or list members who have held up their hand?

2. To confirm the top 10 MSAs, NY, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Boston. Is this correct. With DOD also in mind, these are not the largest Federal Employment headcount MSAs or general geographic areas.

3. In GSA On the Go, to confirm you are looking at Same Day Delivery, not Same Day Shipping?

4. For reporting, might you consider for green using the same categories as the GSA Standard Index. Also would

1. As consortia, partnerships and teams can vary, there is no prescribed template for submission. There should be a signed agreement to demonstrate mutual terms and responsibilities of consortia members.

2. For Office Supplies, the information from the US Census Bureau by population was utilized as Attachment 14.

3. Yes. In GSA On the Go, Same Day Delivery, refers to receipt of the item.

4. Please ensure items are accurately described in GSAAdvantage if selected.

5. Proposals will be evaluated on total evaluated price.

In addition to line-item pricing, contractors will receive credit of up to a maximum of 5% for providing automatic discounts at the specified delivery order size thresholds.

The credit is calculated as one-half of the offered discount times the number of tiers for which the discount is suggest the same for loading the SIP.

For example you separate 100% Recycled paper from the mandatory 30%. Both are CPG. There is no 100% category in the index or from EPA.

5. It is not clear to me how you will evaluate order size incentives in the total extension. Can you explain?

It is order size on a prescribed set of items so when you try to get the total cost of a supplier proposal how do you decrement for the order size incentive?

applicable (for example, a flat discount of 5% for all orders over $300 would yield a 2.5% reduction in the adjusted market basket proposal).

Attachment 1 facilitates this calculation and the above language provides a summary of how order size discounts will applied to a contractor’s adjusted market basket proposal. The proposal incentive is applied to a contractor’s proposed pricing. Order size discounts would be applied by the vendor as proposed based on the delivery size tiers stated.

16 While reading the FSSI OS3 request for proposal packet, I noticed that starting on or about page 58 it starts to ask questions that require a response. Would I submit the answers to these questions with the final proposal? In the attachment check list there is not a place that indicates that it needs to be submitted.

Current commercial price list, would that be our current GSA catalog?

Reference the RFP, FAR 52.203-2 is the Certificate of Independent Price Determination clause. This and other provisions are considered as part of the Representations and Certifications section. You would need to complete/respond answers in your proposal submission.

Subparagraph (b)(2)(i) required identification of persons responsible for price determination.

A commercial price list is your current prices set for items sold to the general marketplace (e.g. retail);a GSA catalog pricelist should represent a discounted price equal or better than your commercial pricing which is based on your Most Favored Customer (awarded under a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) type contract). In some companies, there is more than one price list. OS3 seeks your best pricing.

If you have already completed Reps + Certs clauses in ORCA from your SAM account registration and information is up-to-date, you may provide a link to where this information is located in your proposal.

Would it pose an issue if we do not submit any non-market basket items for the OS3 proposal. We are considering submitting core items only and the rest of our catalog at a later date if approved.

OS3 is to be a total office supplies solution for the Government. Submission of Market Basket items alone would not result in best value. Proposing zero items on your non market basket will render your proposal non-responsive as these items will be evaluated for price reasonableness. The CO must determine that any non-market basket items are fair and reasonable and you should describe some indication of the types of 'catalog' products that you customarily provide (e.g., office supplies). Please see changes addressed in Amendment A0001.

Question regarding the Proposal Submission format.

On page 38 OS3 SOW –

Proposals sought by this solicitation shall be organized into 3 sections with separate tabs:

Tab I – Technical Proposal Written technical proposals shall address the go/no-go factors (see subsection 7.1.2. Proposal Due Date and Time, and Attachment 5, Past Performance Questionnaire.

Tab II – Price Proposal Pricing information to include the Price Proposal spreadsheet as provided in Attachment 1, Office Supplies Market Basket Sheet. Vendors are to submit as an additional attachment their commercial items price list as well as an MS Excel spreadsheet of non-market basket items proposed for the OS3 contract at with commercial price and OS3 prices.

Tab III – Past Performance Completed Questionnaire forms are required in this section.

If we are required to submit this proposal via e-mail, in what format are we to use to show three TABS?

Please refer to Amendment A0001 as posted on FBO.gov on 2/21/2014.

As Past Performance is part of the Technical Evaluation, you may include Past Performance in TAB 1, Technical Proposal and delete TAB III.

TABS were typically used during physical paper submissions as placement dividers. As long as your filenames are recognizable as to the contents for segregation, organizational and evaluation purposes, this should meet the requirement.

Please indicate appropriate sections via filename when saving documents for submission.

19 Question regarding Attachment 1 – Price Proposal.

On line item #241 - IVR732026504 Toner for Panasonic UF 7 – Is there another printer model? I am not showing just a UF 7 model.

IVR732026504, The Innovera 732026504 is a Compatible, Remanufactured, Ug5510 Laser Toner, 9000 Yield, Black

This is addressed in Amendment A0001.

20 We are a SDVOSB and are trying to determine if we should bid on the OS3 solicitation. Could you please tell me if we need all 5 past performance questionnaires need to come from the prime contractor or some of them can come from the subcontractors as well?

What I meant was if we only have 4 recent past performance, can we get one additional past performance from one of our subcontractors? Will the be acceptable or all 5 past performance questionnaires MUST COME from us (as a prime or sub)?

There is no restriction on the type of references provided in past performance. You would need to indicate your role as subcontractor if appropriate.

Second response:

As indicated in Attachment 5, Past Performance Questionnaire, your five (5) most recently completed Federal Government contracts (not to exceed three years since completion) for like or similar items required by this solicitation indicating highest Office Supplies sales. If you do not have 5 Federal Government contracts, then list state, local or commercial contracts, in that order, to complete this report. Submit as many copies of Attachment 5 as needed. You may submit more than 5 references if needed to depict the scope and variety of your performance however fewer than 5 references will result in a non-responsiveness determination.

In your scenario, if your sales transactions or references that demonstrate your ability from all 5 referring to the same contract, this would be considered a higher level of risk during evaluation process, as an indication that your company may not possess the resources, staffing and previous experience, scope and variety of office products and may be grounds for elimination and not being considered for award.

As this is for award consideration, references acting as a prime contractor would be preferred over sub-contracting participation.

21 Can we use our agent as the contact for contract administration?

In regulation 52.215-6 Place of performance; If we use USSCO would we list all of their warehouses or just any other administration office if we have more than one?

On the SF1449, Questions 19-24 ask for item number, schedule of supplies and services,quantity,unit, unit price and amount. Would we list the items on our price list in that section or

1.Yes, you may assign a 3rd party agent for contract administration; your company remains responsible as the prime contractor.

2. List USSCO warehouses or just any other administration office if those are your shipping points as applicable for Place of Performance.

3. On the SF1449, See Attachment 1. Market Basket Spreadsheet to identify the schedule and price location.

4. Reps and certs may be copied from RFP and submitted in your submission in letter form (MSword) would be acceptable. Please cite the FAR clause, date and any fill-in information provided, or any exceptions noted.

the total information for each CLIN?

Section 52.204-8 representations and certifications, If we are not able to complete that section electronically through ORCA, Would it be acceptable to submit the answers to those questions the form of a letter?

22 1. Our company would only be offering shredders and the corresponding accessories, is it necessary that all items on the product list be offered, such as toner, paper, etc.?

2. As I mentioned before we hold a Schedule 75 contract, currently our shredders and accessories are on that contract, if we submit a proposal for FSSI OS3 and it is awarded by GSA, do we have to remove the items accepted to FSSI from the Schedule 75 or can we keep duplicate items on both the 75 Contract and the FSSI OS3?

The OS3-Purchasing RFP is for a total acquisition solution. You would need to supply pricing on all market basket items listed in Attachment 1 for those categories:

General Office Supplies; Toner/Ink or GSA On-the-Go with expedited deliveries. If you only specialize in a single type of commodity or have limited sources of supply, recommend you consider subcontracting, or partnerships with other OS vendors in order to participate.

Your Schedule 75 contract is independent and not contingent upon any OS3 contract award. You would be able to duplicate items on both contracts however, OS3 pricing should be equal or lower, as the premier Office Supplies vehicle.

Please also see recent draft posting on Interact.gsa.gov for the Requisition channel requirements for the Global Transformation Supply Program.

23 To confirm, the CONUS delivery requirement is 3-4 business days, correct? Page 52 of the solicitation lists the delivery requirement as 3-4 calendar days.

The solicitation language of "business" days is correct.

See Amendment A0001 for clarification. Requirement is 3-4 business days for standard delivery.

We are in the process of working on the OS3 solicitation, and have just been notified that there has been an amendment that requires action to the Jan San FSSI that closed back in December, that we also submitted an offer on.

We need to shift our attention now to this Jan San amendment that is due in 2 weeks, which will hurt us in our efforts

The Jan/San requirements are independent of the OS3 acquisition. In the event of awardee selection of both awards, you would be required to maintain responsibilities, terms and conditions of both contracts. Commercial Item contracts typically have less than 30 days response time.

We have allowed above 45 days in order for ample response time for closing date of March 17, 2014. At this time we do not plan to extend the closing date of OS3- Purchasing solicitation.

on this OS3 solicitation.

With this said, I respectfully request that the OS3 deadline be extended at least 2 weeks from the scheduled close date of March 17, 2014.

25 To confirm, if a CONUS customer placed an order on Thursday, the order would need to be delivered on Monday?

An order placed on a Wednesday would also need to be delivered on Monday as well?

Or does the fact that business days are specified in the solicitation mean that a CONUS order placed on Thursday would need to be delivered by the following Wednesday? An order placed on a Wednesday would need to be delivered by the following Tuesday?

The information in SOW 5.9.1. Delivery, is from three (3) to four (4) business days. This has been noted in Amendment A0001. In a typical office environment when supplies are depleted, deliveries are needed as soon as possible without expense of expedited shipping. The 3-4 “business day” timeframe is considered reasonable. The delivery timeframe begins upon receipt of order.

26 As a certified Woman-Owned SB, we are in the process of assembling our proposal in accordance with the RFP guidelines.

We have the following concerns and questions:

1) Under Clin 001, we plan to propose the entirety of our general line of Office Products; however, as per paragraph E-FSS-516, page 51 of the RFP, a complete listing of each item to be proposed is required. This is impractical for the ~30,000 items we supply. Did we miss some alternate specification regarding our proposed product listing and enumeration. We can supply an excel sheet with the products listed by SKU # and proposed pricing.

2) The SOW section 5.1.4 indicates the requirement for a printed bar code be on every item to be proposed. The

1) Under CLIN 0001, you need to propose items listed in Market Basket listed in Attachment 1. For your other office product lines, you may propose under Attachment 16, the non-market basket items. We recommend using the prescribed MSexcel spreadsheets. You should be able to cut and paste descriptive information into the appropriate blocks in order to indicate the scope and products.

Please see Amendment A0001, paragraph 6 for updated information on E-FSS-516.

2) Our market research indicates that 95% of office supplies items have UPC-A barcodes. You should describe in your proposal any area which you believe requires further explanation. If an item has no barcode, what measures would you take to locate? Is there a monitoring or verification system in place? Do you track/record the UPC-A code which is a product code identifier? What value does your company add to the product if shipped/packaged elsewhere?

items proposed are standard commercially available office products;

as such, they have the markings as per their manufacturer’s printing and packaging. These are out of our control and cannot be guaranteed under this proposal. Should we simply explain this on our proposal?

3) Shipping costs to be included in the per item pricing, as per SOQ section 4 and 5.9. However, this shipping costs will vary considerably depending on the purchasing agents location and destination. How can this be specified a priority and included in the per item pricing? Our default is to provide our pricing per item with a caveat that shipping will be a pass through with no mark-up. Please advise.

4) Pricing guarantee. Is it inherent that the pricing specified will be assumed to remain stagnant for the entirety of the contract? Is there a percentage increase allowed on the overall contract over a period of time?

Have we missed this clause?

5) Proposal preparation and format:

Aside from electronic submission and margin specification, the format and outline appears to be fairly openly defined. However, in several areas of the RFP, certain tables are specified for inclusion. Also, there are several areas requiring satisfaction of specified regulations and business practices. Is there a formal form that satisfies these requirements? Our concern is that we may miss addressing one or more minor requirements and therefore our entire proposal get rejected. Is there any mechanism for feedback and review in order to advise the contractor that their proposal is missing or not addressing a certain item?

3) F.O.B. Destination is the Government’s preferred method of shipment of commercial items where shipping costs to be included in the pricing and is required in OS3.

4) Pricing guarantee. There is requirement to maintain pricing for 180 days after award of contract in order to lock-in established prices. The base period is 1 year with 4 possible option periods. There is a tailored economic price adjustment clause which can be utilized for increases/decreases during the contractual life of the fixed price acquisition under market conditions. There is no set annual inflationary percentage and prices are expected to remain fair and reasonable throughout the OS3 Acquisition.

5) We recommend following proposal instructions, especially Attachment 3 and 10 which outlines preparation, company data and submission checklist. You need to provide information from clauses under the Representation and Certifications clauses section or where links to where this information is available (ORCA).

Requirements include but not limited to past performance requirements as well as pricing, Level III data reporting, and AbilityOne certifications that you need to address.

It is the contractor’s responsibility to submit a complete proposal. Unsuccessful proposals will be notified as part of the evaluation process and contingent upon number of proposals received. As explained in the award evaluation criteria proposals that do not meet the technical Go/No-Go requirements will not be eligible for further consideration.

Please read the RFP, SOW and attachments in order to understand the requirements for submission.

Per 5.4.2 GSA Program Funding Fee.

If a supplier holds a MAS schedule, must he pay .75% IFF plus the GSA

The MAS IFF has its own contract fee. If item ordered under a resultant OS3 contract, the 2% contract access fee would apply and not the .75% IFF which does

Program Funding Fee?

not apply. The MAS contract and OS3 contract are two separate individual contracts with their own terms and conditions.

28 5.3.4 Customer Service Hours.

The customer service hours of 8:AM EST to 5:00 PM PST puts undue expenses on small businesses.

Please consider 8:30AM EST to 3:00

PM PST.

Please be aware that GSA has many customers, including DOD customers at military bases and preparing for deployment, in the PST time zone that need to be fully served.

29 5.3.1 DoD EMALL and GSA Advantage Paragraph F.

Identify clearly the manufactured status of the product (e.g., for each printer and facsimile replacement toner cartridge such as identifying whether the cartridge is new OEM, new non-OEM, or remanufactured/rebuilt/refilled, and if internal components, such as drum/photoreceptor, charger roller, mag roller, wiper blade, are new, and if the print head is new and unused);

If the criteria for naming (per Attachment 2, B toner definitions) is used, “, and if internal components, such as drum/photoreceptor, charger roller, mag roller, wiper blade, are new” is used in the DoD and Advantage descriptions, individual buyers will be over whelmed. Most users do not know what these components are.

Furthermore, the BSA standards do not call for all these parts to be replaced.

Please see following from BSA. “A remanufactured ink or remanufactured toner cartridge is defined as: an original OEM cartridge that has been previously used and the marking substance consumed, and then is subsequently collected, inspected, It is the responsibility of the contractor to properly identify and market office products as represented. Although an OEM replacement toner may be new, it serves as a non- OEM product and must be clearly descriptive to indicate that it is not an original product.

cleaned, had new or reconditioned parts installed, re-filled with ink or toner, and quality tested so that its capability to print has been restored.”

From http://www.businesssolutionsassociatio n.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&suba rticlenbr=169

Please remove the requirement for further descriptions beyond the requirements of

Attachment 2, B, Toner definitions.

30 5.6.2 Minimum Order states that contractor shall indicate processing fee on Attachment 1.

Where on attachment 1 are we to enter this fee? There is no line item for it.

See Amendment A0001; the spreadsheet has been revised.

31 SF1449 and Digital Signature.

Even though I have a digital certificate, I cannot digitally sign the SF1449 on my system. Will the GSA accept a manual signature?

Manual signature is acceptable. Please submit evidence of digital signatures which may be utilized during evaluation and post-award functions, if awarded.

32 Is there any plan at GSA to do an extension of the current FSSI, Generation II awards.

With the recent release date of the solicitation, and responses back on March 17 th , The Railroad Retirement

Board is concerned that after GSA awards, it would leave little time for our agency to perform Fair Opportunity to the GSA awardees for our office supply needs.

Please advise if any short-term

We anticipate awards on/before June 1, 2014 which would coincide with current OS2 expiration. In the event there are delays, an extension may be considered to ensure our customers have a contractual coverage but it is not planned or anticipated at this time.

For ordering customers:

You will have contract coverage and you can, if you desire, place orders now, even IDIQ delivery orders that extend beyond May 31 with the current OS2 BPA holders, as long as you place the orders or award the IDIQ delivery order before May 31.

extensions are planned.

33 Can we quote just the Toner piece of the RFQ.? Because that has been our specialty for 17 Years, I believe we would be competitive in that category only..

Yes, you would need to complete for CLIN 0003 if you are only interested in the Toner/Ink category in accordance with solicitation instructions.

34 In regards to the proposal cover letter, Is there a format? Is it the expectation of the cover letter to provide a brief description of the proposal in its entirety? Is there a page limit for the cover letter?

Which tab of the proposal includes the vital statistics cover letter, Abilityone authorization letter, letter of supply etc.?

There is no prescribed format for the cover letter.

Generally, most companies will use their letterhead as a first page however, there is no requirement. The cover letter should address any pertinent details or information in your proposal submission that may or not be elsewhere mentioned in subsequent enclosures.

You may submit your Attachment 3, as part of the Technical Proposal or it may be separately uploaded.

Same for other submission requirement documents, except for Pricing for Volume II.

35 Can you please describe an IDIQ contract order?

There is a requirement to provide Level III transaction data at a line-item level. Is that in reference to credit card processing or sales reporting?

IDIQ is a type of contract as prescribed by Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 16. It is used when exact quantities and delivery points are not known at time of acquisition requirements. The delivery (Purchase) orders as a result is where the actual ordering, delivery, payment and sales transaction occurs. (For services they are known as Task Orders.)

The referenced Level III transaction data at a line-item level pertains to both credit card processing and sales reporting information. Your reporting needs to capture those detailed elements for tracking and Agency reporting requirements.

36 The term (IDIQ) does that pertain to services contracts? If we do not offer any services does this apply? If so, can you elaborate on point of sale discount for all IDIQ contract orders?

IDIQ is a type of contract as prescribed by Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 16. It is used when exact quantities and delivery points are not known at time of acquisition requirements. An IDIQ can also apply to services when applicable. OS3-Purchasing is for Office supplies, although there may be some related incidental services, this is considered to be a supplies acquisition, therefore Delivery/Purchase Orders shall be used.

Generally, a Point of Sale (POS) occurs when there is a sales transaction completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or services. At the point of sale the retailer would calculate the amount owed by the customer and provide options for the customer to make payment. The merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction. In OS3, the purchase/delivery order would serve as the 'instant contract action'.

The modern point of sale is often referred to as the point of service because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. Data from such transactions are considered part of the Level III data required. Your proposal should indicate your ability, capacity and capability to readily perform these tasks as indicated in the SOW.

37 I saw the description of rubber stamps under the Miscellaneous office supplies subcategory, however, it was missing from the Excel spreadsheets for pricing estimates.

Is there a way our company can submit a pricing proposal for just ink stamps or would we need to provide all the other categories as well?

Rubber stamps are part of the scope of miscellaneous Office Supplies however due to paperless initiatives, the demands for purchase did not merit for inclusion in our market basket list. You may list these items as part of your non-market basket submission.

Part of the strategic sourcing concept is to provide a total office supplies solution with fewer high performing contracts. Submission for ink stamps only would not satisfy the total general office supplies requirement; paper;

toner/ink, or GSA On-the-Go requirements. Recommend partnering or finding other office supply vendors as suppliers to develop your resources to demonstrate you can provide a wide variety of products.

38 We can use letters of supply issued to our distributor United Stationers correct?

Just like our GSA 75 schedule letters of supply.

United Stationers is a known supplier of Office Products.

As long as your letter of supply does not limit itself to Schedule 75 and provides the same form, and verification function, the template provided in the RFP or a similar format may be utilized, as this is not a schedules 75 award.

39 We are in process of putting together our response to the OS3 RFP and found several items in the Market Basket that are either discontinued or non TAA compliant. Can you tell us how we should address those items?

If you would provide a list of the items you have mentioned as being non-TAA compliant or difficult to obtain pricing it would be appreciated so that we may review and incorporate any additional information into the amendment if needed.

As a general reminder, Spreadsheet Part numbers provided are samples for descriptive purposes.

Please see Amendment A0001.

40 Do we have to bid on the all the products listed in the draft RFP, or would we just fill out the spreadsheet with our catalog of offerings that is currently on GSA Advantage?

After awarded, is there anyway to update pricing on the OS3 BPA, or is that the price you have to offer for the remainder of the contract? How long IS the contract?

Will large orders be placed through the FSSI, or does it have the same $3000 limit as Advantage!, so larger orders will still have to be put out as bid requests?

I see data tape on the list of office supplies defined under OS3, will video tape be included in that as well?

The final RFP was released and posted in FBO.gov on 1/31/2014. You should submit your proposal according to the final document instructions. Your catalog items which are not part of the market basket in Attachment 1 must be included as part of Attachment 16.

As stated in the solicitation, there is a requirement to maintain pricing for 180 days after OS3-Purchasing award. Pricing adjustments may be requested in accordance with the tailored Economic Price Adjustment Clause.

The initial contract period is for one year (12 months) with 4 1-year option periods for a total of 5 years possible.

Although GSA intends to utilize GSAAdvantage!, there will not be a $3,000 limit. Orders above $150,000.00 contractors are not obligated to honor and the contracting officer may request additional discounts for large purchases on a case by case basis.

Video Tape is not on the market basket item list. You may propose under the non-market basket list of items and the Contracting Officer will advise you if there are within scope issues, since this may be more appropriate under a Schedule 67 venue.

41 Do have to provide a price listed for EVERY item listed in the market basket proposal if we are to be considered for award?

You need to provide a price for every market basket item in the categories that you propose. There are TABS in the Attachment Spreadsheet which separate the Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINS). For example, if you are proposing paper only, you would only need to provide pricing under CLIN 0002. Toner/Ink are CLIN 0003. CLIN 1 is General Office Supplies. CLIN 4 has no socioeconomic preference and has special and same day delivery requirements. If you qualify, you may submit prices on 1 or all CLINs however you need to provide complete pricing in the CLINs that you are submitting prices.

Additional items you wish to sell that are not listed in the market basket spreadsheet Attachment 1 should be completed in Attachment 16, Non-Market Basket items.

42 This is my first attempt to respond to an FSSI RFP. In what format should it appear?

a. For instance, the Contractor’s vital statistics submission cover page

b. Should the answers be included on the attachment provided or in a word document

· Is the approved OS2 contract available for review?

· What is included in the monthly performance and metric measurement reports?

· Is each vendor required to have a catalog?

a. If so, what information should be listed in the catalog?

Microsoft Word documents are preferred for narrative;

MSExcel for spreadsheets. Filenames should be descriptive as to the nature of the document (e.g.

CompanyNameVitalStats-Attachment 3).

a. You may use template provided or customized with your letterhead.

b. Either is acceptable; ensure all requested information is completed.

The OS2 BPAs were awarded as a blanket purchase agreements and those individual contracts are not available for public review. OS3 will be a RFP. Please refer to Attachment 13 and SOW for reporting requirements.

As Office Supplies are considered commercial items, it is presumed that contractors carry/advertise/market their goods in a manner to encourage merchandising. We are not requesting a physical catalog if it does not exist, but your proposal would need to explain how you display/market/sell office products to customers. Inability to demonstrate how your technical business approach operates would be a serious cause of concern that you do not possess the capability or capacity to perform potential volume of orders. At a minimum, information listed in the columns found in Attachments 1 and 16, describing item, description, color, size dimensions, weight, price, etc.

43 Can a company bid on multiple CLIN's but obviously only be awarded one?

Do you need to have past performance in the products listed on the specific CLIN you are bidding on?

Yes; one or possibly more if qualified and selected for award.

They should be similar in scope items. (e.g. A recommendation for bulldozer sales would not be appropriate for Office Supplies and suspect that you do not possess current Office Supplies experience).

Here is another way of asking it:

Does past performance on a GSA Schedule for other products meet the criteria for past performance in a different CLIN?

Example. Company A has past performance in Paper but not in toner/ink but want to bid on toner/ink as they have the strategic partners in place to be able to do so. Can Company A use their past performance in delivery of paper to fulfill the past performance requirement on OS3 for their bid on CLIN 3 for toner/ink?

Paper is considered an Office Supply commodity. In this case, this scenario would be considered acceptable,as a related Office Supply product.

44 We are planning on participating in FSSI OS3 partnering with United for CLIN 1. We are small veteran owned status current Sch 75 contract holder.

We anticipate providing a very competitive proposal. Though we are planning on participating in CLIN 1, we have a strong competitive history in the toner and ink industry. My question is.

Since you we are not (SDVOSB) only (SVOSB) and you will be reserving two awards for non SDVOSB contracts can I participate in both CLIN 1 and CLIN 3?

I know CLIN 1 will allow us to offer ink & toner, but if our pricing and proposal puts us in the running for CLIN 3 as well but we come up short in CLIN 1 could we be consider for CLIN 3 or is it all or nothing with CLIN 1 submissions?

Yes, if you qualify and propose under both CLINS, you would be evaluated separately under CLIN 0001 General Office Supplies and CLIN 0003 for Toner/Ink. In the event of 2 awards, the Government reserves the right to consolidate for administrative purposes. If your proposal did not meet the best value under one CLIN, it would still be considered for the other CLINS proposed.

45 As background, we are a holders of Schedule 81 and Schedule 73 contracts and are looking at submitting an offer on OS3.

Bathroom paper (toilet and tissue), Kitchen/Breakroom paper (paper towels

Yes; the OS3 purchasing is not a MAS (Schedules) type contract and does not use the Special Item Number (SINs). The scope of JAN/SAN is for janitorial sanitation supplies; therefore are considered incidental purchases for Office Supplies. Bathroom paper (toilet and tissue).

Kitchen/Breakroom paper (paper towels and napkins), and bathroom soap & dispensers may be offered as part of and napkins), and bathroom soap & dispensers are large areas of business for us. These items are included in Schedule 75 – SIN 75-85, but not on Schedule 73. They are included in the new JanSan FSSI but we couldn't bid on that because we didn't have our Schedule 73 awarded when the RFQ went out. We want to get these included in items that we can sell to the government.

Question – can these types of paper products be included as Non Market Basket items for OS3?

your non-market basket proposal.

46 Attachment 5 – Performance Data which states:

List Performance Data on your five (5) most recently completed Federal Government contracts...

Our past experience with the Federal Government is limited to our Schedule 81 and 73 Schedule contracts. To date, the vast majority of orders that we fill have been of GSAAdvantage and are below the micro–purchase level – there have been three purchase orders above the $10,000 level have been placed with us, filled and invoiced. Taking those three and our Schedule 73 and 81 contracts I can deliver exactly 5 .

Are those three Purchase Orders considered "contracts" and are our two Schedules "contracts"? If so, we can meet the five contract threshold.

Reference Past Performance: Individual Purchase Orders are considered contracts.

Bathroom paper (toilet and tissue), Kitchen/Breakroom paper (paper towels and napkins), and bathroom soap & dispenser are considered incidental items in OS3 and would need to be listed in your non-market basket list.

47 *Question 1, is this reference basically stating that you don’t want the same name brand items example if AbilityOne has Duracell batteries if we offer alkaline batteries would this be acceptable? Please provide an example of what question 9 relates to.

*Question 2, in the solicitation the

Your scenario described would be an example of an Essentially the Same (ETS) item being provided.

AbilityOne items must be provided and not substituted. If AbilityOne item specifies a "Skilcraft" pen, you may not switch and provide a "BIC" or "Papermate" pen commercial substitute in order to satisfy the order.

Please contact Mr. Eric Beale at ebeale@abilityone.gov for certification requirements. It is a known condition posting suggest that we need to be certified by AbilityOne, how do we acquire certification?

required for consideration in the RFP SOW, paragraph 7.1.8.

www.abilityone.gov.<http://www.abilityone.gov.> Abilityone.com is an e-commerce site operated by NIB on behalf of the AbilityOne Program. It contains the AbilityOne products, but also many commercial products as well.

48 Can we submit pricing from a different wholesaler for CLIN0001 and

CLIN0003?

Yes, you are not limited to a single source of supply as long as you identify.

49 If we currently do not have our items hosted on DOD Emall, If awarded OS3 will we be granted to sell on DOD Emall or will we have to go through the DOD approval process?

An existing DoDEmall account is not a pre-requisite in

OS3.

DoDEmall is an e-commerce site owned by the Department of Defense and maintained by the regional Supplier Account Manager (SAM) by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Information Service and if awarded OS3, your company would need to be "ready, willing and able" to use DoDEmall portal as a sales venue for e-commerce. GSA will coordinate processing any new contractors with our Chief of Information Office at such time after award notification. Your proposal should demonstrate that you have the capability, capacity and resources to perform as well as a general understanding of the process and implementation if you are not currently a participant.

For specific Agency requirements, please refer to DoD Electronic Data Access (EDA) website:

EDA is found at https://eda.ogden.disa.mil.

50 1. Statement of Work, Page 2, Notes to Contractors, 2. FSSI Office Supplies (OS3) – The contracts for CLINs 1 to 3 will be established based on a best-value basis… Question – Will you define, quantify and give details for what is meant by “best-value”?

2.Statement of Work, Page 3, Paragraph 6 – There is a strong preference for small business participation for CLINS one, two and

The evaluation is not based on lowest price as the determining factor. Other factors will be considered to justify a better solution or add value to compensate for additional price. See definitions FAR 2.101 for additional information.

A strong preference means that the socioeconomic factor “is significantly more important than…