A0001.pdf

Vendor Questions & Responses

HSFE70-12-R-0042

1. Q. Under Task 1: Refresh., Line Items 1-7 are listed as X ounces per week. The quantities provided are for 1 week, based on the number of children. How many weeks? Or should quotes be based on the number of ounces?

Each kit should support a combination of ten (10) infant and toddlers for one (1) week.

2. Q. Under Task 1: Refresh, is the contractor replacing only the 10 perishable items or should we quote all 26 items listed in Attachment 3.

As stated, the vendor must “only procure the ten (10) perishable line item Infant/Toddler Kit components”.

3. Q. For the remaining Tasks 2 & 3: should the contractor prepare a quote for all 26 items listed in Attachment 3. Are all 26 items considered 1 full kit? If not, which items specifically are in the full kit?

Infant/Toddler Line Items 1-26 comprise a full kit.

4. Q. Are the vendors required to perform refresh activity on-site at each CONUS DC? If so, what facilities/GFE/support will the vendor receive at each site, e.g., material handling equipment, and how/who will vendors coordinate with for the refresh activity?

CONUS Vendor orchestrated Kit Refresh will occur at the DC where the identified kit(s) are located that need the refresh items. At this time, the only CONUS location is DC Frederick.

Each DC has its own material handling equipment and specific coordination with the DC will be determined at task order level.

5. Q. Since the vendors are only required to ship the refresh items to OCONUS DCs, will the government provide updated/refresh kit data to the vendor once OCONUS kits are refreshed by the government so that the vendor can update labels and spreadsheets and comply with the refresh requirements of Tasks 1, 2, and 3?

Yes, for OCONUS refresh the government will provide the updated refresh kit data to the vendor so that the labels and spreadsheets can be updated with the new products information.

6. Q. To assist vendors in developing work load and refresh plans, volume pricing figures, and logistics processes, can FEMA provide the following historic and anticipated planning data:

• Current number of I/T kits at each FEMA DC

CONUS: DC Frederick 80 Kits

OCONUS: DC Caribbean (Puerto Rico) 14 Kits; DC Pacific-Hawaii 10 Kits; DC Pacific Guam 5 Kits

• Monthly average number of I/T kits stored at each FEMA DC (historic)

This information is generally disaster dependent and the program is in its infancy so the requested data is not available.

• Yearly average of I/T kits distributed from DCs (historic)

This information is disaster dependent and the program is in its infancy so the requested data is not available.

• Yearly average of the number of I/T kits used for emergencies (i.e., not pre-positioned at FEMA DCs) (historic)

This information is disaster dependent and the program is in its infancy so the requested data is not available.

• Anticipated number of I/T kits to be positioned at EACH FEMA DC?

CONUS: DC Frederick 80 Kits

OCONUS: DC Caribbean (Puerto Rico) 14 Kits; DC Pacific-Hawaii 10 Kits; DC Pacific Guam 5 Kits

7. Q. Are the infant and toddler kits only done in Maryland?

Yes. Currently FEMA’s CONUS inventory of Infant & Toddler kits are pre-positioned at DC Frederick, located in Frederick, MD but may be expanded to other locations.

8. Q. What is the expected/required geographic area that vendors will be required to deliver I/T kits to for Task 3 -Emergency Response– is it CONUS only, or will delivery of I/T kits to OCONUS emergency sites be required as well? If OCONUS I/T kit deliveries are required for emergencies, is there a set geographic area that the vendor must be capable of delivering to, or will vendors be required to deliver kits world-wide?

A CONUS emergency response event may require the vendors deliver to any location in the 48 contiguous states. For an OCONUS emergency response event the delivery requirement would be to Hawaii, Alaska, and US Territories

9. Q. Are there any climate-control requirements on the perishable items that the vendor needs to adhere to – or be aware of?

No, during emergency response operations, climate control shipping requirements will be coordinated/leased by FEMA Logistics Management Directorate (LMD) and articulated in the task order.

10. Q. Are the kits going to be stored at multiple distribution sites?

Yes, currently the CONUS location is DC Frederick; OCONUS locations are DC Caribbean, DC Pacific-Hawaii, and DC Pacific-Guam.

11. Q. For emergency response (ER) deliveries what transportation information and assistance will be/can be provided by FEMA in support of contractor/carrier transportations decisions, i.e.

transportation routes, etc?

FEMA LMD can provide address and delivery attributes such as entry points, driver identification requirements and if possible status of roads and bridges. If conditions warrant assistance FEMA may at its discretion provide transportation from the kitting facility to the disaster location.

12. Q. Is the vendor responsible for providing I/T items 027-033? These items are identified on Attachment 3 as Additional Items – Not included in Kit. If the vendor is responsible for providing items 027-033, how does the government require these items to be packaged, stored, shipped, and accounted for since they are not part of the I/T kit?

Yes, but items 027-033 are not part of the 26-line item pre-packaged Infant and Toddler Kit.

Items 027 – 033 should be available to be ordered ala carte. Packaging and shipping are dependent on the item and quantity ordered and will be determined at task order level.

13. Q. How many refresh kits are stored at each location?

None, only complete Infant and Toddler Kits are stored at the DCs. When required, the perishable item refresh will be made against complete kits.

14. Q. There are several references to section C.8 of the solicitation for labeling requirements and instructions; there is no section C.8 that we could find.

Please refer to section C.2.7 of the solicitation in lieu of section C.8.

15. Q. Since delivered emergency kits are, most likely, to be used within a relatively short timeframe, can the 9 month shelf-life requirement be reduced (e.g. 6 months at delivery, 3 month for refresh) to ensure greater availability of product and speed of delivery for emergency scenarios? It is very likely that all kits stored and distributed from a FEMA DC will have less than 9 months of shelf-life (between 9 months and 5 months).

No, the requirement will not be reduced. The requirement for perishables is for a minimum 12 months shelf-life overall. Intermittent refresh is an option to meet this requirement and to /ensure the kits are ready to support disaster survivors year-round.

16. Q. Due to the criticality of the work, and the complexity of developing a best-practice response, would FEMA entertain a 2 week extension of the proposal response due date?

At this time there will be no extensions to the proposal due date.

17. Q. With our past experience kitting we designed an enclosed skid that is efficient for shipping, rugged, easily accessible, divides perishables at the top from the non perishables at no additional cost.

Would FEMA consider this alternative packaging?

Packaging must meet requirements as specified in Section C.2.7 Packaging and Marking in the Solicitation. FEMA Warehouses have been configured to standardize storage and stocking of commodities.

18. Q. Task 3 in SOW what is the time frame FEMA requires 1,160 kits to be complete in our inventory?

No, it is FEMA’s intent is to have multiple award contracts. Our expectation is for vendors to demonstrate and provide Just in Time maximum capabilities during emergency response operations as stated in the solicitation.

19. Q. For the Baby Formula RTF line items 3-5 are these items fluid ozs (no water required) or powder ozs. (add water)?

Line items 3-5 are identified as “Ready to Feed (already mixed with water)”. There is no powder option.

20. Q. On the pricing worksheet: the present quantities seem to double-count the number of kits.

Should the quantities be adjusted as follows:

50 - 100 kits/Qty. 50 101-150 kits/Qty. 50 251-500 kits/Qty. 250 501 - 1130 kits/Qty. 630

No adjustments are needed. The quantities are not intended to encompass the 1,130 kits as a total number, but to set price breaks at different quantities.

21. Q. Is the contract ceiling of $8.5 million for all 5 years? Or is the $8.5 million a one year cap.

The contract ceiling of $8.5 Million refers to the life of the contract.

22. Q. Will the vendor be responsible for the refresh task of all kits that it delivers, or will the refresh activity be separate task orders; i.e., will there be separate IDIQ task orders for initial kits delivered to DCs, and refresh of kits held at the DCs?

Each kit contains one (1) refresh in its work requirement. Any additional refresh of perishable items beyond the one required as a part of the initial requirement of a task order will be handled by a separately competed task order under Task 1: Refresh.

23. Q. Pertaining to Task 3 Emergency Response/Surge Operations, how do we price for the refresh of the product identified in Task 3 Emergency Response/Surge Operations for refreshing the surge kits?

Each vendor should price each item to fulfill the work requirement described. Under Task 3 vendors should note that there is the chance that a deployed kit may not be used and will be retrograded back to the DC for storage. If a kit is expended before the refresh period, then no refresh would be required.