Question and Answers for Posting II.docx

Question and Answers Draft PWS Solicitation HTC711-12-R-C002

Question 1: Within the CENTCOM AOR, certain airfields require the Government or a Government representative to load and offload the aircraft, Paragraph 1.3.2 is in conflict with local procedures; example KATO is the Government agent at Kandahar Air Field. Will the PWS be modified.

Answer 1: PWS paragraph 1.3.2 is modified to read, “The contractor shall be responsible for aircraft load planning, weight and balance, loading/off loading, secure fastening, and any required special handling. Cargo may include hazardous material (HAZMAT) Classes 1 through 9 as defined in the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulation. At locations where the Government has operational responsibilities and representatives to load/unload the aircraft, the Government or its contracted agency will be responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft”.

Question 2: Would the government consider the following revision?

At point of pickup and delivery Consignor may load and Consignee may unload the carrier’s vehicle. Operational priorities often prevent the two parties being able to load/offload at the same time leading to inefficiencies and potential service delays. Allowing the Contractor to load/offload will improve service levels.

Answer 2: No. Consignor or consignee must be available to receipt for the pickup/delivery of the shipment.

Question 3: Please provide origin/destination locations for shipments.

Answer 3: Origins/destinations will be provided with the RFP.

Question 4: Section 1.14 Pre Alert Notification, Page 10, Paragraph 1.14.2. Is this a requirement for all CLINS Answer 4: Pre alert notifications applies to all CLINs

Question 5: $100,000 per shipment is the commercial maximum amount allowed to be declared for carriage in the commercial industry, would the Government accept this maximum?

Answer 5: No. Paragraph 1.21.1 states “The contractor shall be liable for loss, damaged, or misrouted shipments. Unless the shipper declares a higher value on the shipment documentation, the contractor’s liability shall be limited to their commercial limitation of liability terms and conditions in their service guide (latest edition). All damaged shipments remain the property of the US Government.”

Question 6: Please clarify if the ASC is paid on Sales or Revenues. For other Contracts the ASC is paid on the revenue the carrier receives. It is not fair to the Contractor to pay ASC for a shipment in which payment has not been received. If the ASC is paid on Revenues, then it is not appropriate for the Government to calculate this amount unless a central Government payor is paying all invoices.

Answer 6: ASC will be calculated using the total shipment costs semi-annually. The detail report is submitted to the Government no later than the 18th of the month, which includes shipments from the previous month. The Government submits the ASC amount within 30 days after the end of semi-annual period; therefore, the risk of the carrier paying on a shipment that has not been received, or paid for, is minimal.

Question 7: Restricting positional weight from being charged for single-piece shipment weighing less than 150 lbs scale weight and having a length greater than 125 inches and less than 176 inches is unreasonable. A Contractor will make every attempt to best utilize the space available to accommodate a long, thin shipment. On occasion, especially with antennas, it is not safe to place a shipment on top of other shipments. In addition, a Contractor may have all other cargo in containers which eliminates the option to top load such a shipment. Any shipment which totally or partially prevents other freight from being loaded on to same pallet should be eligible for positional weight without limitations.

Answer 7: From historical data, the Government does not anticipate shipments under 150 pounds where positional charges are assessed.

Question 8: Are any new users anticipated at this point and will USTRANSCOM have historical movement data to provide industry if they are added?

Answer 8: In comparison with the current CAT A, United States Army Medical Material Center, Europe (USAMMC-E) United States Army Medical Material Center, Southwest Asia (USAMMC-SWA) are new users to the CAT A re-compete requirement. USTRANSCOM does have historical movement data that will be provided with the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Question 9: Page 4. Para 1.1.1, last sentence reads and within the definitions, “CONUS: All states within the contiguous United States, including the District of Columbia (DC). For the purposes of this contract, this includes Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.” However, the GLOSSARY OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION ACRONYMS & TERMS and Joint Publication 1-02 defines CONUS as “CONUS Continental United States “ and “continental United States — United States territory, including the adjacent territorial waters, located within North America between Canada and Mexico, respectively.” Additionally, the DTR defines CONUS as “Continental United States” and OCONUS as “Outside the continental limits of the United States. Why is USTC deviating from the Established and accepted definition of the GLOSSARY OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION ACRONYMS & TERMS, Joint Publication 1-02 and the DTR? Please provide your justification.

Answer 9: Provides flexibility; originally retrograde shipments stated individual depots. When the Government expanded the retrograde shipments to additional depots within the United States, the Government determined to add AK, HI, and PR as part of CONUS to prevent an overabundance of contract modifications.

Question 10: Page 5. Para 1.3.2., reads The contractor shall be responsible for aircraft load planning, weight and balance, loading/off loading, secure fastening, and any required special handling.

This would be the case on a full plane-load charter, but with less than pallet load, it is the air carrier responsible for this. What is the foundation for USTC thinking that a CRAF carrier would be responsible for another carrier’s aircraft weight and balance?

Answer 10: Paragraph states that the contractor is responsible for aircraft load planning, weight and balance, loading/off loading, secure fastening, and any required special handling. USTC does not consider that CRAF carriers are responsible for another carrier’s aircraft weight and balance as USTC places all contractual responsibility with the prime contractor.

Question 11: Is WWX participation a requirement for receiving an award under CAT A?

Answer 11: No.

Question 12: Page 25, Appendix 6.3, Para 1.1.1., Last sentence should read “Approved/validated users are identified in Appendix 6.2.”

Answer 12: PWS Appendix 6.3, Para 1.1.1. changed to read Appendix 6.2.

Question 13: Why is industry expected to re-compete for the business on shipments over $3,000 when the pricing that was originally submitted was deemed to be in a competitive range? What is the purpose of having submitted rates for lanes/projected volumes on routes when it appears that the Government may only want “One Day Quotes” on everything over $3,000? This practice is not a ‘Commercial Best Practice” and should be removed.

Answer 13: Seeking additional discounts before placing an order is suggestive and not mandatory. If a potential order is over $3,000 and an ordering officer seeks additional discounts, the ordering officer shall ensure each awardee is provided a fair opportunity.

Question 14: A carrier when handling a particular route establishes prime carrier routings, ground drayage both in CONUS and OCONUS and relies on partnerships to achieve the high on-time performance the Government expects. If the Government is only looking for the lowest cost for each shipment, it could backfire and cause unpredictable service by making multiple changes. Recommend removal of 1.1.6.

Answer 14: Through market research, the Government determined that spot bids are a good commercial practice for oversized/outsized cargo.

Question 15: Page 26, Appendix 6.4, Introduction fails to state this SAFETY AND AUDIT OVERSIGHT only applies to those operations into/out of military controlled airfields.

Answer 15: PWS paragraph 1.2.1 identifies the need for Appendix 6.4 for “air carriers that operate into or out of a military-controlled FOB/FOL airfields. Paragraph 1.2.1continues to state “This section does not apply to operations into or out of civilian-controlled airfields without a joint-use military presence where air carrier operations are governed by the applicable country Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) requirements.” No change necessary.

Question 16: Will the current CAT A contract be extended?

Answer 16: Yes. The Government intends to extend the current CAT A contract to 1 December 2012.

Question 17: Will there be a pre-proposal conference?

Answer 17: The Government’s intent is to solicit carrier feedback by releasing the draft PWS with the pre-solicitation notice. The Government will determine the need of a pre-proposal conference from the questions received.

Question 18: Will CAT A be awarded to five carriers plus a small business CRAF carrier or including the small business CRAF carrier?

Answer 18: The Government intends to award approximately five awards. One of the approximately five is reserved for a small business if the small business participates in CRAF, is responsible, and awarded rates are at a fair market prices.

Question 19: If a shipper has a low number of shipments, their on-time performance percentage rating is significantly affected by only one or two late shipments. Would you consider evaluating shippers with low shipment volumes differently than on-time percentage similar to the methodology used for Cat-B?

Answer 19: We do not intend to modify the current language.