12.28.10 - Q A Perishables.pdf

HTC711-11-R-W001

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Solicitation No. HTC711-11-R-W001

OVER-PACKING & AIR TRANSPORTATION OF PERISHABLES TO THE PACIFIC

U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Requirement

The following are responses to questions received regarding the presolicitation notice to Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov) for solicitation number HTC711-11-R-W001.

Q.1. What is the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and am I eligible to bid if I’m not in the

CRAF?

A.1. The CRAF is composed of U.S. flagged commercial aircraft committed to support the movement of military forces and material worldwide through augmentation of the military fleet.

To provide incentives for civil carriers to commit aircraft to the CRAF program, the Government makes Department of Defense (DoD) business available to airlines that participate. For more information on the CRAF, provided are the following links: Factsheets : Civil Reserve Air Fleet and Factsheets : How to Become a CRAF Carrier.

Offerors not included in the CRAF program or not in good standing are not eligible for award.

However, subcontracting opportunities may exist for non-CRAF providers. The National Airlift Policy, issued in June 1987, and 49 USC § 41106 provide that DoD requirements for passengers and/or cargo airlift shall be satisfied by the procurement of airlift from commercial air carriers participating in the CRAF program.

Q.2. Does the CRAF carrier have to use their own aircraft to support the mission or can the CRAF carrier subcontract the air portion by buying space on another aircraft/charter?

A.2. This contract will be a commercial contract based on Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) part 12 procedures, Acquisition of Commercial Items. Under FAR 12.101(c), prime contractors and subcontractors at all tiers are required to incorporate, to the maximum extent practicable, commercial items (service characteristics) as components of the items/services provided. Therefore, the awardee is permitted to use whatever resources they would normally use commercially to provide this service.

Additionally, this contract is a performance based acquisition whereby the offeror is permitted to provide its own solution for meeting the performance objectives in the service delivery summary in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) while also complying with the solicitation terms and conditions.

Q.3. Can cargo be co-loaded with the perishables?

A.3. Yes, since the contract will be a commercial, performance-based contract, the awardee is permitted to determine a suitable method for providing the service to meet the performance objectives and to provide a competitive, sound proposal.

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Q.4. The departure point listed is Los Angeles or San Francisco. Are other locations permissible?

A.4. The offeror must identify either Los Angeles or San Francisco as their receiving location.

The offeror is not permitted to identify one location for certain shipments while providing service to other destinations from the other receiving location. The offeror must be capable to service all locations included in the delivery schedule from their proposed receiving location.

The purpose of identifying a sole receiving location is to allow third party suppliers a single point to deliver Government procured subsistence.

The actual departure point is up to the offeror. After the Government subsistence is delivered to the receiving location, the chain of custody passes to the contractor under this contract. At this point, the contractor may transport it using whatever means they deem most suitable in order to meet the delivery schedule and comply with the performance objectives in the service delivery summary.

Q.5. Can the lanes be bid on separately? For example, is it permissible to bid on two of the four lane segments?

A.5. No. The Government intends to award a single Requirements contract; therefore, the successful offeror must be capable to provide service to all locations. The evaluation decision will use a best-value determination trading off past performance and technical with a total evaluated price for each offeror. The Government does not intend to make a split-award.

Q.6. The number of days allowed from Delivery for Over-Packing to Required Delivery Date for Japan is much greater than for Korea and Guam. Is it possible to add an extra day for Korea and Guam shipments?

A.6. We will consider revising the delivery timeframe. However, at this point, it is not projected to change. This delivery timeframe is established by the end customers ordering timelines, the third-party suppliers’ timelines, and the customers receiving staffing and support.

Q.7. What threshold must the contractor meet when the solicitation states, “The contractor shall maintain a Government approved facility for the receipt and preparation of Government acquired subsistence for air transport”?

A.7. Government will revise sentence to remove “Government approved”.

Q.8. What is the ASC in PWS paragraph 4.6?

A.8. The Administrative Service Charge (ASC) is the charge by USTRANSCOM to our customers, DeCA and DLA in this case. Potential offerors are advised that rates submitted in response to the solicitation should account for and include the ASC. The rate, inclusive of the ASC is billed to the customer, collected by the contractor, and then annually, the contractor submits the 1% (of contract revenues) ASC to USTRANSCOM.

Q.9. Can you provide information on the current contract(s) to include: incumbent contractor, contract #, expiration date, and approximate value?

A.9. This solicitation will combine two separate contracts. The two contracts being consolidated include the warehousing and over-packing contract with the air transportation contract. The contract information will be provided for each beginning with the current warehousing and over-packing contract.

Warehousing Contract Incumbent Contractor: Raymond Express International (REI) Contract #: SP0300-08-DP030 Expiration Date: Option Year Three expires on 30 September 2011* Approximate Value: $4,600,000*

*This contract was awarded with a base year and four one-year option periods. The approximate value is for the entire 5 years. Since this contract is being consolidated with the airlift and will be replaced by the resultant contract from this solicitation, the Government does not intend to exercise the fourth option year period on this contract.

Airlift Contract Incumbent Contractor: Federal Express (FedEx) Contract #: FA4428-06-D-0018 Expiration Date: Option Year Four expires on 30 September 2011 Approximate Value: $90,000,000