52.212-1 ADDENDUM– INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS (SEP 2023).pdf

52.212-1 ADDENDUM – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - - COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(SEP 2023)

Addendum to Paragraph (b). Paragraph (b) is changed to read as follows: The word "offeror" is synonymously used with the words "quoter" and "Vendor" in this RFQ. However, all submissions in response to this RFQ will be considered quotations in accordance with the definition listed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.004.

FAR 52.212-1(b) is supplemented as follows:

1. General Instructions

a. This section of the Information to Offerors provides general guidance for submitting a quote as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the quote. The Offeror’s quote must include all the data and information requested by the RFQ and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this Information to Offerors may result in removal of the quote from further evaluation.

By submission of a quote the offeror agrees to all the terms of the RFQ. The following instructions are for the preparation and submission of quotes. The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the format and content of quotes, so that quotes contain all the essential information and can be evaluated equitably. Offerors are instructed to read the entire solicitation, including all attachments, prior to submitting questions and preparing your offer. Submission of any information to the solicitation may result in rejection of the offer. All information within the page limitation of the quote is subject to evaluation.

The Government will evaluate quotes in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in 52.212-2 Addendum of this solicitation. Offerors are prohibited from modifying, in any way, shape, or form, and documents, printed or electronic, associated with this solicitation and any amendment(s) thereto.

The Government will not reimburse offerors for any cost incurred for the preparation and submission of a quote in response to this solicitation. All quoted information is subject to verification by the Government. Falsification of any quote submission, documents, or statements may subject the offeror to civil or criminal prosecution under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) under the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition. Registration can be completed at https://www.sam.gov.

b. The quote shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The quote should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Including statements such as "will comply," "noted and understood," and "in accordance with best industry practices/standards," etc. without providing supporting narrative are not sufficient.

https://www.sam.gov/

Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their capabilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s quote.

c. The Offeror shall make a clear statement on the cover page that the quote is valid for a minimum of 120 days from the quote due date.

d. Portions of the successful Offeror’s quote may be incorporated into the contract as an attachment in Section J of the award document.

e. Quotes may only be submitted electronically via email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist listed in the solicitation by the due date and time on the solicitation.

DoDEA’s file size limit per email is 10MB. Offeror’s whose quotes require the submission of more than one email shall use the subject line to identify the number of emails being sent. For example, “ABC Company Quote email 1 of 3”.

2. General Information

a. Point of Contact

The contracting officer (KO) and the contract specialist (CS) are the sole points of contact for this procurement. Written requests for clarification must be sent to the KO and CS at the email address located below.

Contracting Officer Name: Mr. John Myers Organization/Office Symbol: DoDEA Procurement (Field Support) E- Mail Address: john.o.myers@dodea.edu

Contract Specialist Name: Mr. Torrance Pullom Organization/Office Symbol: DoDEA Procurement (Field Support) E-Mail Address: torrance.pullom@dodea.edu

b. Questions

Questions from offeror in reference to this solicitation may be submitted via e-mail to Mr.

Torrance Pullom at Torrance.Pullom@dodea.edu and John O. Myers at John.O.Myers@dodea.edu no later than 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time July 22, 2025.

The subject line of the e-mail shall be “HE125425RE023 Questions (Company Name)”. A consolidated list of answers to any questions received will be incorporated into the solicitation via an amendment and distributed to prospective offerors.

c. Request for Quote (RFQ) Closing Date & Time

All quote submissions must be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Mr. Torrance Pullom at Torrance.Pullom@dodea.edu and the Contracting Officer, Mr. John O. Myers at John.O.Myers@dodea.edu, on or before the RFQ closing date and time, no later than 10:00 AM USA Eastern Time on 01 August 2025. The subject line of the e-mail shall be mailto:Torrance.Pullom@dodea.edu mailto:John.O.Myers@dodea.edu

“HE125425QE074 Quote (Company Name)”. Offerors are responsible for submitting quotes and any modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. Late submissions will not be accepted.

All Amendments MUST be acknowledged (SF-30 forms signed and submitted) with your quote.

If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged.

Failure to acknowledge amendments may affect your eligibility for award due to solicitation requirements not being met.

Offers submitted in response to this solicitation shall be in the English language. Offers received in other than English shall be rejected in accordance with FAR 52.212-34. Alternative quotes are not solicited, are not desired, and shall not be evaluated.

Offerors must ensure that the signed and dated attached proposal and all attachments are virus free, legible, and are received by email addresses above no later than the solicitation closing date and time. Emails over 10 MB will be rejected by DoDEA's network. If the electronic copy cannot be opened, the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer will notify the Offeror, and a replacement electronic copy shall be provided by the Offeror within one (1) working day after notification.

Documents shall be submitted in separate .pdf or Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, etc.)

format by e-mail on-or before the closing date and time stated above of the solicitation to Mr.

Torrance Pullom at Torrance.Pullom@dodea.edu and Mr. John Myers at john.o.myers@dodea.edu

d. Discrepancies

If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the KO in writing.

e. Communications

The Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist are the sole points of contact for this acquisition. Communications with other officials may compromise the integrity of this acquisition and result in cancellation of the requirement. Evaluation notices and responses will be transmitted as emails and will be treated as source selection information. Questions/comments are due no later than 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time July 22, 2025. Questions submitted after the deadline may not be answered.

No information concerning this solicitation or requests for clarification will be provided in response to Offeror initiated telephone calls. All such requests must be made in writing and submitted to the KO and CS as directed above. All questions/comments provided in a timely manner will be answered in writing and provided to all Offerors. Written inquiries will not be answered when requests are received by the Government points of contact after the original due date for receipt of questions as specified in this solicitation. The timeframe for submitting inquiries will not be extended as a result of an extension to the due date for the receipt of offers unless authorized by the KO.

f. Page Size and Format

Offeror shall ensure that the contents of the files print on US standard 8 1/2 by 11" or Europe standard "A4" paper. Offerors shall use Times New Roman 12-point font or larger text, and Times New Roman 8-point font or larger for graphics. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Submission is in accordance with the format and page limits listed in table 1.

The technical volume of the quote is to be submitted as a MSWord or PDF document. The price volume shall be submitted via MS Excel. The Government is not responsible for correcting formulas in the Offeror’s price volume.

g. Page Limitations

Page limitations shall be treated as maximum. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the quote. Page limitations shall not be circumvented by including inserted text boxes/pop-ups or internet links to additional information; such inclusions are not acceptable and will not be considered part of the quote. The Government reserves the right not to consider for award any quote that does not adhere to the administrative requirements of this solicitation. Cover pages, tables of contents, and glossaries shall not be counted as part of a quote’s page count. The following page limits have been established for all quotes in response to the solicitation:

Table 1 - Quote Organization

h. COVER LETTER The Cover Letter shall include:

VOLUME VOLUME TITLE PAGE

LIMIT

FILE

FORMAT

Cover Letter 1 page PDF Signed SF 30 (If applicable) Each SF

PDF

I Factor I: Technical Acceptability 25 II Factor II: Price No Limit EXCEL

(Attach.

4)

III Factor III: Representations and Certifications

15 pages PDF (Multi

Attach.)

• The solicitation number

• Complete Business Mailing Address

• Tax identification number (TIN)

• SAM Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

• (N) Cage Code

• NAICS Code

• Contact Name, Phone, Fax, and email address

• Clear statement that the quote is valid for a minimum of 120 days from the quote due date.

Volume I – Technical Capability (Factor I)

The Offeror’s technical volume shall be clear, concise and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims in the offeror’s quote. The Offeror’s responses will be evaluated against the Factors in FAR Clause 52.212-2 Addendum. Offerors are cautioned that “parroting” of the technical requirements of the PWS with a statement of intent to perform does not reflect an understanding of the requirements or the capability to perform.

Statements that the offeror understands, can, or will comply with the PWS and phrases such as, “standard procedures will be employed” or “well known techniques will be used” etc., will be considered unacceptable. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each quote. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their technical capabilities and past experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s quote. Offerors are advised not to individually address each PWS paragraph in their technical capability.

The Offeror shall submit a quote that clearly demonstrates the Offeror’s understanding of all the PWS objectives and evidence that their quote meets or exceeds objective requirements. DoDEA may require web-based access to the Offeror’s digital resources for the purpose of evaluation. Such access must be made available for pendency of the evaluation process. However, a video or screenshots of the product and its functionality is sufficed. DoDEA’s evaluation will address all aspects of the following subfactors:

• Subfactor 1, Technical Approach and Functional Capability—Does the Offeror’s proposal meet the requirements for the following:

Demonstrate ability to meet all functional requirements (e.g., multi-currency support, reporting, audit tools) Cloud-based, vendor-hosted architecture Currency handling for both USD and foreign currencies (Euro, Yen, Won, Pound) Support for electronic payments and receipts in multiple currencies Daily backup and data recovery capabilities Compliance with DoDEA’s geographic and operational scope as stated in PWS 1.

• Subfactor 2, Reporting & Audit Functionality—Does the Offeror’s proposal meet the requirements the following:

Ability to generate required reports (e.g., reconciliation, ledgers, audit reviews) Support for extended codes (e.g., donations, grants)

Tools for identifying missing receipts, duplicate checks, and year-end closing Historical data access and prior year account visibility

• Subfactor 3, User Experience & Accessibility—Does the Offeror’s proposal meet the requirements for the following:

User interface design and ease of use Accessibility features (508 compliance) Currency selection interface and calculation abilities.

Print/email functionality for receipts and reports

• Subfactor 4, Training & Professional Learning—Does the Offeror’s proposal and samples of product training and professional learning show that they meet DoDEA’s training requirements. These include the (1) quality and clarity of the proposed live professional learning sessions, (2) quality and accessibility of the proposed asynchronous training, and

(3) completeness of the related documentation (manuals, guides)?

• Subfactor 5, Transition and Data Migration Plan—Does the Offeror’s proposal meet

DoDEA’s requirements regarding (1) the data transition plan in the event of a 2030 vendor change to include the data migration & risk mitigation strategy and (2) the support for new vendor onboarding.

Volume II – Price (Factor II)

a. The offeror's prices shall be complete with an accurate reflection of all aspects of the requirement. Offerors shall submit pricing for the estimated quantities identified in each CLIN and/or SCLIN within the RFQ. Although these quantities are a rough estimate based on historical data, they will be used for evaluation purposes only and are subject to change.

b. The price volume shall be submitted using the Government provided Microsoft Excel workbook, (Attachment 4) labeled "25QE074_Attachment 4_Volume 2_Factor 2_Pricing Sheet". No other formats shall not be accepted. The “Total” column is locked in the workbook. The “Pricing Sheet” worksheet is designed to allow offerors the ability to input their “Unit Price” for each line-item description. The worksheet will automatically calculate the “Contract Total” price in the highlighted cell. Offerors may submit additional price information at their discretion. However, the Government provided MS Excel worksheet shall take precedence over any other pricing information provided by an offeror, unless the offeror informs the Government (Prior to the closing of the RFQ) of any mathematical discrepancies identified within the provided worksheet.

The Offeror’s prices shall be complete with an accurate reflection of all aspects of the requirement.

Offerors shall submit pricing for the estimated quantities identified in each Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) within the RFQ. The Offeror shall provide sufficient price information to allow the Contracting Officer to determine the completeness and reasonableness of the proposed prices.

No ambiguities of inclusion, exclusion, or content shall be extended and lack of content or clarity regarding pricing shall be considered as representing a “non-responsive” quote.

To account for the option period(s) possible under FAR 52.217-8 (maximum six months) Option to Extend Services, the Government has provided a table within Attachment 4, labeled "FAR

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services." The Offeror shall provide a Unit Price for each CLIN Description. If the Government decides to exercise the option under FAR 52.217-8 in an option period other than the fourth option year, then the rate proposed for last year’s performance will be used.

Volume III - Representations and Certifications (Factor III) Offerors must provide all applicable business representations and certifications required by the solicitation.

NOTE: An Offeror's SAM record must be accurate and active by the quote due date and time to be eligible for any contract award.

Addendum to Paragraph (c). Paragraph (c) is changed to read as follows:

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The Offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 120 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

Please provide the following:

• Completed copy of DoDEA Cloud Questionnaire. (Attachment 2 will be reviewed for compliance and must be acceptable by the government to be considered for the award).

• Completed Terms of Use (Attachment 3)

• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that federal agencies make their electronic and information technology (ICT) accessible to people with disabilities. The offer shall identify which supplies and services are section 508 compliant and show where to find full details of compliance (e.g., a contractor may provide a link to a vendor’s website identifying supplies or services that are fully compliant with ICT accessibility standards.

(End of 52.212-1 Addendum)