Questions and Responses 16 Oct 08.pdf

Surface Small Package (SSP) Questions/Responses

16 October 2008

1. Reference: Section: SF 1449, Page 1, Block 8, Paragraph NA

QUESTION: Due to the comprehensive and extensive nature of this SSP solicitation, will the Government consider a 30 day extension to complete a thorough review of USTC’s SSP 2009 solicitation and respond accordingly.

RESPONSE: Amendment 0001 extended the offer due date to 29 October 2008.

2. Reference: Section SF 1449, Page 12, Paragraph FAR Clause 52.222-42 and Wage Determinations

QUESTION: Can the Government clarify as to inclusion of attachment of Wage Determination statement 52.222-42 and specifically the Wage Determination Worksheets for origin points of all SSP depots. Is the Wage Determination information provided via FedBizOps under 2009 SSP mandatory or informational only?

RESPONSE: In accordance with FAR paragraph 22.1006(b), FAR Clause 52.222-42 is required in this contract. All wage determinations attached to this solicitation are applicable and mandatory for each origin point in PWS Attachment 1 Appendix C.

3. Reference: SF 1449, Page 17, Addendum 52.212-1 Paragraph (b)(13), Financial Information Questionnaire and Attachment 4

QUESTION: Should the Financial Information Questionnaire and letter be included in the Price Proposal section?

RESPONSE: The Financial Questionnaire and letter should be submitted as a stand-alone document and will not be included in any page count.

4. Reference: SF 1449, Page 17, Addendum 52.212-1 Paragraph (b)(14), HAZMAT Certification

QUESTION: Should the HAZMAT certificate be included in the Price Proposal section?

RESPONSE: The HAZMAT Certification should be submitted as a stand-alone document and will not be included in any page count.

5. Reference: SF 1449, Page 18, Addendum 52.212-1 Paragraph (b)(17), Subcontracting Plan

QUESTION: Where in the proposal should the Subcontracting Plan be included?

RESPONSE: The Subcontracting Plan should be submitted as a stand-alone document and will not be included in any page count.

6. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 4, Paragraph C.2.7, Size and Weight

a. QUESTION: Will the Government migrate from oversize package rating to industry standard dimensional rating as dimensional rating for all modes of small parcel shipping (ground, domestic air, international) is now the norm within the industry?

RESPONSE: The Government will not migrate from oversize package rating to industry standard dimensional rating. The Distribution Standard System (DSS) cannot support dimensional weight for ground shipments, at this time.

b. QUESTION: The transportation industry moved away from oversize to dimensional weight nearly two years ago. Commercial practice is dimensional weight; it is unreasonable to expect a carrier to maintain a legacy process for a new contract. If the carrier offers their commercial practice relative to dimensional weight, will the carrier be disqualified?

RESPONSE: The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

7. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 4, Paragraph C.2.8, Aggregate Weight

a. QUESTION: Will DSS present the qualifying parcels for aggregate weight pricing as a shipment via EDI coding as per commercial standards for aggregate weight pricing for EDI shipments?

RESPONSE: The Distribution Standard System (DSS) will offer each shipment individually.

The offeror shall aggregate the weight of all shipments as identified in paragraph C.2.8 of the Performance Work Statement.

b. QUESTION: Commercial practice is to offer aggregate weight to aggregate all shipments from one account number at the shipping location. Should the carrier note their commercial practice in their RFP response?

RESPONSE: The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

8. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 4, Paragraph C.2.9, Location(s) of Performance

a. QUESTION: Will the Government consider using small parcel industry standard zone charts to define zones vs the mileage to zone conversion chart defined within the SSP solicitation?

RESPONSE: The Government will not consider using small parcel industry standard zone charts. The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

b. QUESTION: The Mileage to Zone Conversion is not commercial practice. Should the carrier clarify their commercial mileage to zone conversion in their proposal?

RESPONSE: The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

9. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 4, Paragraph C.2.10, Guaranteed Service Refund

QUESTION: Can USTRANSCOM confirm or deny that this means if a package is delivered late, then the payor may not request a refund?

RESPONSE: The Government confirms that a guaranteed service refund will not be requested if a package is delivered late.

10. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 6, Paragraph C.2.16, Payment Report

QUESTION: Payment activity is visible in PowerTrack and should be the source of the query.

However, if the carrier is still required to submit monthly reports, will USTRANSCOM consider a later due date since the data will not be reconciled until the 7th business day?

RESPONSE: This paragraph will be deleted and titled Reserved. This report is described in PWS paragraph C.2.42 Monthly Revenue Report.

11. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 6, Paragraph C.2.18, Transit Times

QUESTION: Will the Government consider using carrier standard transit times as posted on their website or provided in various data tables?

RESPONSE: The Government will not consider using the carrier’s standard transit times. The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

12. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 11, Paragraph C.2.33.2, Address Corrections

a. QUESTION: Will the Government consider delivery address notification updates from the DLA’s two largest shipping points vs all shipping points?

RESPONSE: Delivery address notification updates are required from all shipping points.

b. QUESTION: Notification of an incorrect address will be made on the invoice. A requirement of a 7 day notification would require a new system to be developed which is an undue burden on the carrier. Will USTRANSCOM consider incorporating industry standards relative to address corrections?

RESPONSE: The Government will not consider incorporating industry standards relative to address corrections The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

13. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 11, Paragraph C.2.38, Rate Reductions

QUESTION: Does the rate reduction per zone-weight rate mean that the carrier could submit a new attachment 1 and various rates at various weights and zones could be adjusted?

RESPONSE: The carrier may not submit a new Attachment 1 unless the Contracting Officer requests this data.

14. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 12, Paragraph C.2.42, Monthly Revenue Report

QUESTION: Reports submitted prior to the 25th of the month will result in inaccurate data.

Will USTRANSCOM consider changing the due date from the 20th of the month to the 25th to ensure receipt of accurate data?

RESPONSE: The due date for the Monthly Revenue Report will remain at the 20th of the month.

15. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 14, Paragraph C.4.1.5, Performance Objective – Delivery Performance Report

QUESTION: Will the Government consider receipt of delivery and performance reports on the 18th day of the following month?

RESPONSE: The Government will change the due date of the Delivery Performance Report to the 20th of each month.

16. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Page 15, Paragraph C.4.1.5.1, Performance Objective- Delivery/Performance Report

QUESTION: If the POD is not provided on the invoice, is it correct that the shipper may only request a POD for 10% of the shipments for the month?

RESPONSE: Yes, that is correct.

17. Reference: PWS Attachment 1, Appendix I, Page 31

a. QUESTION: Will the Government consider including ALL small parcel industry standard accessorials on an SSP accessorial page?

RESPONSE: The Government will not consider all small parcel industry standard accessorials.

The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria. The Performance Work Statement requirement remains unchanged.

b. QUESTION: Will the Government consider request that Appendix I become part of the competitive bid process?

RESPONSE: The Government will not consider incorporating Appendix I as part of the competitive bid process. The Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the Government requirements and the evaluation criteria.

c. QUESTION: It is unreasonable for the Government to mandate charges for accessorials.

This puts undue expectations onto a carrier. Will USTRANSCOM reconsider and allow carrier to assess their surcharges for term of the contract?

RESPONSE: The Government will not allow the carrier to assess their surcharges.

18. Reference: SF 1449, Page 18, Paragraph (b)(17), Subcontracting Plan

QUESTION: Will the Government consider acceptance of the master GSA SubK contracting and reporting process including the GSA SubK goals?

RESPONSE: The Government will accept a current and signed Commercial Subcontracting Plan. The offeror should provide additional information on how they will work towards achieving the USTRANSCOM target goals. The eSRS reporting process is mandatory and established in FAR Clause 52.219-9(d)(10) and (l).

19. Reference: SF 1449, Page 15, Paragraph (b)(12)(1)(c), Proposal Format

QUESTION: Should the technical capability and past performance be on the same CD-ROM?

RESPONSE: The Government agrees to the technical capability and past performance information on the same disk. If the offeror chooses to separate this information, the Government agrees to the technical capability and past performance information on separate disks. The price proposal shall be provided on a separate disk from the technical and past performance information.