Questions_and_Answers_FINAL.xlsx

Sheet1

HSBP1014R0046

Questions Answers

The subsection category of “DHS IFAK” currently lists “CAT Tourniquet” in the description on line 2 - Could this line be amended to read “CAT Tourniquet or SOF Tactical Tourniquet Wide”? The SOF Tactical Tourniquet is listed in other places throughout this solicitation but was not listed as an alternative here. (The SOF Tactical Tourniquet is TCCC (US Army Tactical Combat Casualty Care) approved and is currently being used by DHS) The SOF Tactical Tourniquet Wide is listed separately in other parts of the BPA and is approved for use by DHS but it is not part of the IFAK as agreed upon by DHS EMSTEAC comitttee. The IFAK contents, training and instructors are geared towards those items listed as part of the kit.

It will help us price out our offer if you can let us know who won the previous award for this BPA (if there was a prior award) and at what pricing was it awarded. This is the first DHS-wide BPA for medical supplies so there are no prior awards.

Is there a list of items to submit quotes from. Or do we send a spreadsheet to you with our pricing of General Supplies and Heart Monitors quote. Vendors are to complete the spreadsheets in Attachments 2 and 4

I am inquiring about the RFP listed below, may I have the link to provide a quote on the kits? The requirements for submitting a proposal are in the solicitation posted at: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/USCS/PDDC20229/HSBP1014R0046/listing.html

Re: Naloxone HCL Naloxone 4mg/mL 1mL Vial. Please advise if this should be 0.4mg/ml instead of 4mg/ml? Yes, you are correct - it should be 0.4mg/mL Vial.

Re: Sqwincher/Quick Stik Lites Electrolyte replacement powder. Please advise Flavor and Size requested of tubes. Single size for a variety of fruit flavors.

Re: Syring 1cc Luer Lock. Per Manufacture this product is not available 200/box, is 100 box acceptable? Yes, the 100 box is acceptable.

Standardized EMR Bag Refill Kit: How are the contents packaged… cardboard box, bag, etc? Plastic bag packaging.

There are four Medical Supply Kits in Category #3: On page 38, Sub-Factor 1.20 states “ Product Coverage of at least 80 percent of the items identified on the Master Item List for this category.” The IFAK kit makes up over 90% of this category; Is it possible to bid on any of the other Medical Supply Kits without bidding on the IFAK, and still be considered for an award? Yes, it is possible not to bid on the IFAK kit and still be considered for a Category 3 award. The entire kit is considered "one" item; each item within the kit is not considered an individual item therefore the 80% figure for Category 3 has been changed to 75%.

Shipping to CONUS and OCONUS: Is there any historical minimum quantities per order data for this category? No, there is typically not a large volume shipped OCONUS but we do need this as an option. For the Border Patrol specifically, this would typically be at most hundreds per year not thousands that get shipped OCONUS. But we can't always project future needs since it depends on the operational need.

MASTER and PRICING Matrix: Can you please provide product numbers/NDC’s so we can ensure accurate procurement? Please use the product description as your guide. Unfortunately, we don't have the product numbers.

MASTER and PRICING Matrix: Are substitutions allowed? We are not to touch UOM field but there are instances that we are unable to find the specific UOM stated. If substitutions are not allowed, again, we would request the part number to ensure accurate procurement. Yes, substitutions may be approved as some vendors only sell in specific units of measures. Depending on the context/specifics, it may or may not make a difference. We would need to approve any substitutions if they deviated from what is indicated in the UOM product description and brand preference column. Please indicate what the discrepancy is (UOM or otherwise) where you want to request any substitution.

MASTER and PRICING Matrix: Why are there more items on the Master than the Pricing Matrix? For instance Category 1 has 472 items on Master and only 82 on price list? Vendors are only being asked to price a portion of the items on the master list for the purpsoes of price evaluation. The items on the pricing matrix are the most commonly purchased items.

MASTER and PRICING Matrix: Do we need to reach 80% on both? The 80% figure applies to the master list.

PRICING Matrix: What do the quantities listed on the pricing matrix represent? One year’s worth of ordering? One entity? Strictly for price comparison? The quantities on the pricing matrix represent a best estimate of a year's worth of orders.

HSBP1014R0046 II.6 Mandatory Sources of Supply: There are items in Category 1 and 3 that are on our GSA schedule. GSA pricing is set and is a different % discount than this contract. How do we handle if all percentage discounts are supposed to be the same? Vendors are responsible for coming up with their own percentage discount for this BPA. It is not required to be the same discount offered under GSA as this is not being competed under GSA.

HSBP1014R0046 II.17 Ordering: Please confirm how many vendors you will be choosing for each category? And any order over $3,000 will go out to all small business set aside BPA holders for bid first? A reasonable number of awards will be made in each category as stated in Provision III.17 Basis of Award. Yes, any requirement over $3,000 will first be set aside for small business vendors and if there is a lack of competition or interest, it will be opened to all vendors in that category.

HSBP1014R0046 II.19 Contracting Officers Authority: This clause eludes to price increases but it is unclear what the process and timing is for any individual price increases? The pricing matrix is being used for evaluation purposes only to award a BPA. This clause is provided only to inform vendors that no other individual other than the contracting officer has the authority to make a change under the contract. There are no planned modifications under the contract; its intent is only to inform you of the authority to make a change.

HSBP1014R0046 PART 1 – Section 3 Percentage Discount: Please clarify there is one stated discount that applies to all items? As opposed to a discount per item. Vendors are asked to provide a percentage discount to apply to all their items.

HSBP1014R0046 CATEGORY 1 – TAB 4- Delivery: - With unknown qty’s on category 1 items from the MASTER list, there are some items that may be difficult to confirm 5/10 day delivery. Would this be addressed in clause SOW 6.0 FILL-RATE where contractor has 24 hours to notify the CO for approval if we are unable to make the delivery date? Please indicate which items this would be the case for where procurment would be difficult for you wtihin the 5-10 day timeframe. The clause is built in as a exception, meaning that over 90% of the time we would need smaller purchases (under $3000) delivered within that 5-10 day timeframe.

HSBP1014R0046 CATEGORY 1 – TAB 4- Delivery: Are drop shipments accepted to ensure the 5/10 day delivery commitment? Yes, drop shipments are acceptable.

HSBP1014R0046 Category 1 – TAB 7 – Online Ordering: We would prefer to create a DHS specific web portal on our web site for ordering. It would meet all criteria but would not be available to the general public. Is this allowable? Yes, but it would have to be at no additional charge to the government. Please be aware that we can only rate companies on this website requirement relative to the evaluation criteria specifically indicated in the language of this solicitaion.

HSBP1014R0046 Category 3 – No TAB for Delivery: - Are we to presume there will always be a PO for category 3 items that will have its own agreed upon Delivery Time and NOT the 5/10 day delivery times in Category 1? This would be preferred, for instance, we cannot deliver 16,000 of the IFAK Kitted in 5 days. Yes, for items that fall within the PO threshold, the timeframe would typically be 30-60 days.

Attachment 2 section “Brand Preference” (preference only, not required) The only item shown with a preference is a Conterra bag. Can this items be substituted? Can other items on the list be substituted? No substitute is allowed on the Conterra Bag. For the other items, please indicate any specifics in the product description; most of the items listed in this worksheet are considered commodities, so brand is not as prominent a factor as it is in other categories of the solicitation.

Statement of Work 2.0 General Requirements Online Catalogue: Does the existing website constitute a catalog? [vendor website redacted] The vendor's website should contain all of the products relevant to this BPA along with their descriptions and pricing.

Statement of Work 2.0 General Requirements Product coverage: What are the “certain supplies” referenced in this section? If you mean "certain procurements", this refers to the kitted supplies as referenced in the Category 3 worksheet. Other kits could also be procured - we have listed the ones we know we currently procure.

Additional Information: Proposal Submission: Under additional information it says the proposal shall be submitted electronically. Section III-12 states submit by hard copy AND CD ROM format. Can you please clarify in what manner(s) the proposal should be submitted. Please submit one (1) hard copy of the proposal and two (2) CD-ROM copies.

Please confirm that Category II is exempt from both clauses listed below as no items in Category II are highlighted in Blue or applicable: (RFP) Last sentence of Clause II.6 (a) states “Contractor shall obtain mandatory supplies or services to be provided for Government use under this contract from the specific sources indicated in the contract schedule.” (SOW) Product Coverage (Category #1, #2, #3): The Contractor shall provide at least 80 percent of the items identified on the Master Item List for the given category. NOTE: In accordance with FAR 52.208- 9, items highlighted in blue on the Master Item List are required to be obtained from a source participating in the AbilityOne program. If none of the items in a certain cateogry are highlighted, those items are not included in the list of mandatory suppies and this guidance does not apply.

RFP p. 9, Clause II.6 (c ) : “Price and delivery information for the mandatory supplies is available from the Contracting Officer for the supplies obtained through the DLA/GSA/VA distribution facilities” Can you please provide this information as noted? This information can be obtained via the AbilityOne website which has a list of authorized distributors for the items which are highlighted on our master list. The information can be found here: http://www.abilityone.gov/distributors/independent.html

SOW p.2, Section 2.0 General Requirements: List of subcategories for Category 1 includes “Training Materials”; however, there are no additional references to training materials in any of the remaining documents. Please provide clarification. Training materials are a requirement for the Medical Program and although we would like to be able to purchase EMS training materials if offered by companies that receive a BPA award, this is not one of the primary requirements for this particular medical supplies BPA. Training materials could be treated separately as part of another BPA.

If multiple vendors partner to create a team can a Large Business be Prime and respond to Category 3 if as part of the contract terms and conditions the Large Business commits to allocating all Category 3 to a Small Business Team Member? No, the prime for Category 3 must be classified within one of the small business categories.

Attachment 4, Price Matrix, Category 2: Items listed in Category 2 are only a subset of those listed in Category 2 of Attachment 2, Master Item List. Is this intentional that the Government is only asking vendors to price a subset of the items on the master item list? Yes, vendors are only being asked to price a subset of items on the master list.

Justification & Approval, p. 1, Attachment 3, Attachment 4: The reference documents listed have different quantities and products listed. Please confirm the following products should be included and the applicable quantities: • Philips Heartstart FRx AED; • Philips Heartstart FRx3 AED; • Philips Heartstart FRx3 w/ECG; • Philips Heartstart MRx Monitor/Defib There's an FRx and an FR3, there is no FRx3 AED. Just as a clarification, we are not placing orders directly now as part of this zero dollar BPA. The J&A is for future use as we know the items indicated are those we need for their salient characteristics; therefore the J&A can be used against future purchase orders for these items.

Is it acceptable to email our response by 5:00 PM EST on 11/25/2014 and then follow up with the hard copy and CDs the next morning first AM? All proposals must be received by the 11/25/2014 5:00 EST deadline.

The SF 1449 states “pdf” is an acceptable format to submit the proposal, but Section III.12 states only Microsoft Word. Please confirm the acceptable formats to submit the response. Please submit in Microsoft Word format.

Will the government include Alt 1 to 52.219-7 so that products from large manufacturers can be included in the medical kits, as specified by the item listing? Yes, Alternate 1 for 52.219-7 is now included.