12XX questions and answers to solicitation 2 Aug.pdf

02 Aug 2021

Consolidated list of 12XX Weapons and Ammo Solicitation Questions and Answers

On page 23, paragraph B, Part II, Technical Volume, it reads as follows:

(v)Provide a detailed plan to achieve timely delivery upon delivery order execution. The plan shall address minimal critical components to the weapons and ammunition procurement process from delivery order award to equipment delivery. The plan shall be applied to and include a delivery schedule, with associated process steps from delivery order award to physical delivery, for Attachment 2‐Fair

Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR).

Please confirm if the government intends prospective contractors to use Attachment 2, which is the

Exhibit A list of items which can be ordered under the IDIQ, Attachments 3/4, which are the FOPR for DO

001, and associated list of products for DO 001, or some other document, to use in preparing the detailed delivery plan. Additionally, if you do intend for the bidder to utilize Attachment 2 – Exhibit A, can you provide additional detail on what the government is requesting us to include in this plan? For example does the government want us to provide an example delivery order of both weapons and ammunition from a manufacture/manufactures overseas and deliver them CONUS?

Answer‐ We do not require a sample delivery order

On page 23, Paragraph B.(i) – States “Technical volume shall not exceed 23 pages”

DO 11X17 foldout pages count as one page or two pages against the maximum page count in the

Technical Volume? If these count as two pages, will USSOCOM consider adding 5 pages to the maximum

Technical Volume page count?

Answer‐ A fold out will be considered two or more pages. We will not entertain adding length to any document.

The clause, Contract Minimum/Maximum Quantity and Contract Value beginning on page 5 indicates that the total value of all orders issued under the contract will not exceed $19,000,000. Is this limitation applicable to each individual IDIQ contractor, or is this maximum the program maximum order value across all IDIQ awardees?

Answer‐ The $19,000,000 is the program maximum order value across all IDIQ awardees.

The Solicitation refers to the awarded contract as an IDIQ contract. It also includes minimum dollar thresholds for orders if a contractor receives an award. FAR 16.504 (a)(1)(2) also requires IDIQ contracts to provide a minimum quantity or value that would be awarded to the contractor in order to ensure the contract is binding. The Solicitation does not appear to contain a minimum value for each IDIQ awardee.

However, Item 0001 on page 4 includes a place for pricing for the Contract “Kickoff/Contract Minimum”.

Is there a figure missing under Item 0001 which is intended to be the contract minimum for each awardee?

Answer‐ The contract minimum is $2000 for each awardee.

This Solicitation is a small business set‐aside and includes FAR 52.219‐14, Limitations on Subcontracting which requires the Contractor to perform at least 50 percent of the cost of manufacture of the supplies purchased. FAR 19.505(c)(1)(i) permits small business non‐manufacturers to perform small business set asides if they provide the goods of a U.S. small business manufacturer. However, most of the items for non‐standard ammunition and weapons cannot be produced by U.S. small businesses. They are by definition, foreign items manufactured by foreign large companies which may even be government‐ owned operations. Other items can only be purchased from U.S. large businesses. Has the government obtained a waiver of the non‐manufacturer rule under FAR 19.505(4) for this procurement?

Answer‐ Yes, the government has obtained a waiver.

Please clarify solicitation H9240321R0002 requirement for PART IV – PRICE under (I) QUOTE Offerors shall submit a price proposal for attachment 2 – FOPR using attachment 10 – Delivery Order 0001 which will be evaluated separately for award of the first delivery order.

Answer‐ Pricing is only required for Attachment 4 DO 0001.

Is this a correct understanding ‐ to meet solicitation requirements under Part IV – Price the offeror shall provide quotes for items listed under Attachment 4 DO 0001 only and do not quote Attachment 2 Exhibit A items?

Answer‐ Attachment 2 is for reference, and lists all of the items the US Gov’t may be interested in.

Attachment 4 is our first delivery order, and we will evaluate proposals accordingly for the first delivery order.

Please confirm that CLIN 0004 requires a supply of two tripods M3 and M192.

Answer‐ We need both the M3 and M192 tripods. (4) M3’s and (5) M192’s.

On page 3 under Special Contract Requirements, in the second paragraph under Delivery Order

Procedures with regard to award of delivery orders, it states: "Award will be made to the responsible offeror with the lowest price technically acceptable offer." However, under Ordering

Procedure (also on page 3), the 5th paragraph states: "A best value tradeoff, where performance is somewhat more significant than price, will be used to make the award decision for delivery orders."

This paragraph also goes on to discuss technical proposals that are "rated" and discusses making a responsibility determination. Please clarify how delivery orders will be evaluated and awarded.

ANSWER‐ At the Governments discretion, we may elect to determine that factors for award may be more important than price. In that case, the provided performance specifications will be more significant than price and used to determine an award decision.

On page 26, paragraph (d)(1) states that this procurement is a tradeoff best value source selection in which competing offerors' combined past performance information will be significantly more important than price. Please clarify what price will be evaluated since the instructions for Part IV, Price, state: "The

Initial delivery order will not be used to evaluate for contract award."

ANSWER‐ The verbiage was written to ensure vendors of the order of importance for evaluation. A vendor must me technically acceptable, have been rated as having "Substantial Confidence" which is significantly more important than price, which will not be rated for award.

On page 29, Factor 3, the Price Proposal, is listed in the evaluation criteria but then states that cost comparison will take place at the delivery order level. If that is the case and if the initial delivery order will not be used to evaluate for contract award, shouldn't Factor 3 be removed completely?

Please clarify.

ANSWER‐ As the norm, the Government evaluates prices as part of the proposal for award. This is not happening with this effort, and this paragraph was included to explain the Government’s position.

(v) Subfactor 3 – Timely Delivery Execution

Provide a detailed plan to achieve timely delivery upon delivery execution. The plan shall address minimal critical components to the weapons and ammunition procurement process from delivery order award to equipment delivery. The plan shall be applied to and include a delivery schedule, with associated process steps from delivery order award to physical delivery, for Attachment 2 – Fair

Opportunity Proposal Request.

The paragraph is confusing because it requests both a plan, and a delivery schedule for Attachment 2 –

Fair Opportunity Proposal Request. As indicated in the Government’s response to a prior question, Attachment 2 is not the Fair Opportunity Proposal request. It is the list of all of the items that could be awarded under a Delivery Order, and it would be impossible to provide an actual delivery schedule at this stage for every single item.

Did the Government intend to refer to Attachment 3 or 4 which are each part of the Fair Opportunity

Proposal Request?

Is the Government requesting just a plan of how the Contractor would achieve timely delivery through each stage of the procurement and delivery process, or is it requesting an actual proposed plan and delivery schedule for specific items?

If the Government is requesting a plan and proposed delivery schedule for specific items, is that for all items in Attachment 2, the items listed in Attachment 4, or something else?

ANSWER‐ The plan shall be applied to and include a delivery schedule, with associated process steps from delivery order award to physical delivery, for Attachment 2 – Fair Opportunity Proposal Request.

You will apply that plan and include a delivery schedule, with associated process steps from delivery order award to physical delivery, for (what should read ) Attachment 3 – Fair Opportunity Proposal

Request.

The government specified a Russian manufacturer for CLIN AA15, B‐50 PKM Handguard Zenitco, however the government also specified that the country of manufacture cannot be Russia. Can the government please clarify.

ANSWER‐ The Government can accept an alternate manufacturer

In the Government’s Q&A dated 21 July 2021, a question was asked regarding CLIN 0004. The government replied that “We need both the M3 and M192 tripods. (4) M3’s and (5) M192’s.”

Attachment 4‐Schedule B only lists one CLIN for these two tripods, with a quantity specified at 4. Should these two tripods be broken out into separate CLINs for pricing purposes?

ANSWER‐ The Government does not believe it is necessary as long as we can describe the need.

I had a question about CLIN AA01 the M4 rifles with rail systems. Are these to be select fire or semi automatic?

ANSWER‐

The weapons should be select fire

According to the proposal Instructions we understand that electronic submission is required, due to the size of the proposal will the Government be providing a DOD safe link for proposal submission?

ANSWER‐ I will update the solicitation to have all vendors submitting proposals to contact Ms. Powell and I to request a SAFE drop‐off.

I also noticed that you are looking for the Zenitco handguards but in Att 4 it says no weapons, parts, or accessories from China, Russia, and Belarus and since Zenitco is a Russian company are you looking for a substitute or is it fine to come from there in this case.

ANSWER‐ The Government will accept a substitute.

Reference 1 ‐ Amendment 1 confirmed Page 22 ‐ (vi) Submit copies of the following licenses: 1.

Directorate Defense Trade Control Brokering License (K license); 2. Federal Firearms Licenses Type 11

Importer of Destructive Devices, Ammunition for Destructive Devices, or Armor Piercing Ammunition ‐

NOTE: Licenses must be current at the time of proposal submission. Timelines to obtain or renew expired licenses shall not be considered.

Question 1 ‐ Based on Attachment 2 Exhibit A ‐ It is the Government's intension to purchase 40mm destructive devices and above, and Anti‐Tank Guided Missile: Konkurs, MILAN, METIS, Kornet. Per the

AFT requirements below, is it the Government's intention to require contractors to provide proof of an

“Active” Federal Explosive License at the time of submission? As a firm who buys and imports munitions currently for USSOCOM we were required to comply with the ATF and obtain the follow to which holds a

Type 11 Federal Firearms License (FFL), Federal Explosive License (FEL), Special Occupational Tax (SOT)

Permit, DDTC Brokers (K) License (ITAR), DDTC Export (M) License (ITAR). If it is the Government's intensions to ship OCONUS to CONUS a DDTC Export (M) License (ITAR) is required as well.

ANSWER‐ The Contractor shall hold all federal licenses required to ship explosives devices from OCONUS to CONUS or OCONUS to OCONUS.

According to the ATF ‐ "All persons who wish to transport, ship, cause to be transported, or receive explosive materials must first obtain a federal explosives license or permit."

https://www.atf.gov/explosives/qa/who‐needs‐federal‐explosives‐license‐or‐permit

Reference 2 – (v) Subfactor 3 – Timely Delivery Execution

Provide a detailed plan to achieve timely delivery upon delivery order execution. The plan shall address minimal critical components to the weapons and ammunition procurement process from delivery order award to equipment delivery. The plan shall be applied to and include a delivery schedule, with associated process steps from delivery order award to physical delivery, for Attachment 2‐Fair

Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR).

Question 2 – Is it the Government’s intention that we respond to Subfactor 3 for Delivery Order 0001 only or respond to all possible scenarios to include: OCONUS to OCONUS; OCONUS to CONUS; CONUS to

OCONUS?

ANSWER‐ OCONUS to CONUS or OCONUS to OCONUS only.

For each weapon in “Att 4 Delivery Order 001 RFP” (ELINs AA01, AA05, AA06, AA04, AA03, and AA07), what, if any, accessories must be included?

ANSWER‐ No accessories beyond what was listed in the requirement.

For ELIN 0004 (M3 and M192 Tripods) in “Att 4 Delivery Order 001 RFP,” given the Government’s answer in the 7/21/21 Q&A, will the Government be providing an updated Attachment 4 with a new line item or should offerors insert their own line to the spreadsheet to allow for separate pricing for the two tripods?

ANSWER‐ We will allow separate pricing for the two items.

Page 24, Section C. (i)(7) of the solicitation, mentions “Client Authorization Letters” under the Past

Performance Volume, but there are no instructions on what these letters should include. Please advise exactly what is required for an offeror’s proposal.

ANSWER‐ 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. If this is a first‐time joint effort, each party to the arrangement must provide a list of past contracts of relevance. Subcontractor Consent: Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Provide with the proposal a letter from each subcontractor that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of its past performance information to the prime contractor. If the subcontractor does not consent, include a statement to that effect.

Multiple U.S. OEMs have requested additional time to quote the Delivery Order 0001 items. Will the

Government grant a one week extension to the proposal deadline?

ANSWER‐ Yes, we will be announcing a one week extension