RFP_Questions_and_Answers_20_July.pdf

Question # Reference Question Answer

Service Description:

Bahrain Certificate of Origin Fee

Can the verbiage be changed to read: TSP’s will be entitled to a surcharge of 50 BD? Due to currency fluctuation, the ship date will be used to determine the actual accessorial amount to be applied.This would be consistent with commercial practice.

The business rule must have a US Dollar amount in order to price shipments. The carrier can enter the US Dollar amount that equates to 50 BD using the exchange rate on shipment date when they invoice in Syncada.

Service Description: DJ documentation fee

Can the verbiage be changed to read: TSP’s will be entitled to a surcharge of 8,000 DJF? Due to potential currency fluctuation, the ship date will be used to determine the actual accessorial amount to be applied. This would be consistent with commercial practice.

The business rule must have a US Dollar amount in order to price shipments. The carrier can enter the US Dollar amount that equates to 8000 DJF using the exchange rate on shipment date when they invoice in Syncada.

Service Description:

Oversized Freight

If an extra aircraft position is required due to oversize freight, can carriers use the minimum positional weight of 4,100 pounds to calculate charges? This would be consistent with CAT-A-III contract and would conform to commercial practice. Reference CLIN X004AB from CAT-A below. Charging oversize as a percentage of the transportation charge is not commercial practice.

No, the business rule for oversize freight included in the solicitation allows the offeror to recoup the cost of oversize freight. An offeror also has the option to not offer this service.

If we upload rates by July 30th using the spreadsheet, do we have the option to add or change rates from August 6-12th, or can we only make changes to the original rates we upload?

Once GFM uploads the spreadsheet to the system, yes, from 6-12 August 2018 an offeror will be able to make changes to rates and add rates. However, please note from 6-12 August 2018, no rate changes or additions will be accomplished through a spreadsheet. All changes made 6-12 August will be through a manual process using the GFM user interface.

PWS ‐ 3.0 Cost Recovery Rate (CRR)

The government is requesting a rate valid for 30 months with a pre determine escalation factor however paragraph 3.1 states the CRR is subject to change annually. This CRR needs to be locked in or industry needs to be given the flexibility to adjust the escalation factor to cover any CRR increases.

The government is asking for a rate valid for 18 months, from 1 April 2019-30 Sept 2020. IAW PWS Paragraph 2.5.1, contract rate adjustments will be accomplished on 1 October 2020 and 1 October 2021, based on awarded escalation rates. Any change in the cost recovery rate (CRR) is accounted for in the rate adjustment calculation as described in PWS Paragraph 2.5.1.1. and 2.5.1.2.

The government identified multiple lanes that were restricted in the draft solicitation and are restricted in the current IHAT in their top 50 destination pairs.

In addition, the solicitation did not include a restricted lane memo in the RFP documents and the restricted routes language was removed from the scope;

however, the pricing template in GFM does not contain restricted lanes. Please clarify the government’s intent.

The Government distinguishes international air restricted routes where DoD shippers should utilize Air Mobility Command channel airlift. These restricted routes are not priced in the GHS solicitation. If a carrier receives a request to provide transportation across the internaiontal air restricted routes; these are not considered GHS shipments and should not be included in monthly shipment detail submissions.The current International Air Restricted Route list was posted to FedBizOpps.gov on 20 July 2018.

27 2.1.1 and 2.1.1.1

Can the government provide clarification as Paragraph 2.1.1 and Paragraph 2.1.1.1 conflict? Paragraph 2.1.1 specifically states “Contractor is required to maintain a safety and audit oversight program on all subcontracted contractor air carriers that operate into or out of a military controlled Forward Operating Base (FOB)/Forward Operating Location (FOL) airfields”. Paragraph 2.1.1 states “CRAF contractors who will utilize a subcontracted contractor to perform any portion of the airlift requirement within the CENTCOM AOR must assess the level of safety of the subcontracted contractor. This assessment will be based upon a safety audit performed by the CRAF contractor or an independent International Air Transport Association (IATA) accredited third-party audit organization.” The need for the audits should be restricted to airlines operating on military controlled airfields within the AOR and not in any portion of the AOR. Almost 100% of IHAT operations in the past have been commercial service type of service to and from commercial airports.

The government will revise PWS Paragraph 2.1.1.1. to reflect the audit is only reqired if operating into/out of a military controlled Forward Operating Base (FOB)/Forward Operating Location (FOL) airfields.

28 PWS 2.2

Can the government please revisit customs delays? Paragraph 2.2 “The rates and the contractor’s commitment to meet the required delivery date shall be inclusive of all requirements to provide customs clearance for international shipments under this contract.” This is a global contract providing service to many countries that do not have consistent customs time lines especially for military cargo. Recommend adding a stipulation If the contractor is presented extended delays that cannot be resolved using its best efforts, the matter be turned over to the Contracting Officer for resolution. On Time performance should not be negatively impacted when a delay falls outside of a carriers hands such as customs delays.

PWS Appendix 1.4 includes the Exclusable Delay Code "CUS" when shipment delivery is delayed due to customs clearance issues beyond the contractor's control.

29 Can the business rules for oversized freight be defined by TSPs and entered on the business rule change column of the accessorial tab? No.

30 2.5.1.2

Will the government consider having consistency for CRR from contract to contract as the calculation for GHS is different than CAT A and NGDS?

Paragraph 2.5.1.2. Escalation states contract rates will be adjusted based on application of the awarded escalation percentage identified in Attachment 2, Pricing Matrix. Escalation adjustments will be applied to all transportation and accessorial rates. Upon notification to the government, the contractor may choose to forgo the application of the escalation percentage. To determine the new rate, the current CRR will be removed, then escalation applied, and then the new CRR applied. Each calculation will be rounded to the ten thousandths. The final result will be rounded to hundredths.

A recommendation from an industry carrier sparked internal Government discussion and the resultant different CRR calculation language in GHS compared to other programs.

Will the government please provide clarity as paragraph 2.16.3 (24 hour requirement) conflicts with the 12 hour requirement in paragraph 2.1.1.5.

The 12 hour requirement in para 2.1.1.5. is a CENTCOM requirement and refers to the time frame to notify the CO and PM of an incident. The 24 hr requirement in para

2.16.3 is to notify the shipper of an incident.

Safety & Audit Oversight

Is it the government’s intent for industry to conduct an audit for every subcontracted carrier used in this contract globally? This contract is essentially commercial service and operations could consist of hundreds of foreign flag carriers globally. The number of commercial carriers for IHAT will be comparable to NGDS and operations will be to commercial airfields unlike previous contracts with Safety & Audit language such as Theater Express and Multi Modal which were a limited number of carriers that were operating largely into military airfields. We recommend language in this attachment be revised to remain consistent with paragraph II of the PWS.

The government will revise Appendix 1.2 to reflect the audit is only reqired if operating into/out of a military controlled Forward Operating Base (FOB)/Forward Operating Location (FOL) airfields.

It was noted in the Q and A during the pre-solicitation that the MFTURP would govern domestic shipments. The MFTURP’s standards for Oversize Cargo is different from TSPs’ standards for Oversize Cargo as noted on the Pricing Matrix. Would the “Business Rules” on the Pricing Matrix apply The business rules on the pricing matrix are only for international shipments.

What will the starting weight be for Domestic Heavyweight Shipments? It is anticipated the starting weight for domestic shipments will be packages > 150 lbs. for CONUS and > 300 lbs. for Alaska and Hawaii.

35 PWS 2.3.3

For all foreign air carriers that fall within the scope of the reporting requirement of subcontractor suitability, contractors must provide a copy of the foreign carrier’s Air Operating Certificate. Can the requirement to provide Air Operating Certificates be limited to foreign carriers that are not IATA approved?

No, the foreign carrier's Air Operating Certificate is required even if they are IATA approved.

36 PWS 2.13.2

The PWS states that the contractor shall participate in the government's development and testing of automated shipper systems. Can the government define the scope or limitations of the testing?

It is anticipated the time committment would be two weeks at most, twice per year for a couple hours each day. In the past, the Government has asked for volunteers and have had ample carriers volunteer to do the testing. An example would be if the Government would change the rate entry process in GFM.

37 PWS 1.1.2

Currently, the GHS PWS reads, 1.1.2. International Heavyweight Size/Weight Limitations. For international heavyweight service, no single package shall be less than 301 lbs. in either actual or dimensional weight, whichever is greater. This is confusing as based on this language there would be overlap between GHS and NGDS. The change in this language allows a shipment of multiple pieces to have lighter weight boxes making up the overall shipment as long as at least one piece is over 301 pounds eliminating any overlap with NGDS. May we suggest a revision to read:

1.1.2. International Heavyweight Size/Weight Limitations. International heavyweight service can be made up of one or more packages. However at least one package / piece in the shipment needs to exceed 301 pounds in actual or dimensional weight, whichever is greater.

The language will remain as written. A GHS shipment can consist of multiple packages, however, each package must weigh over 300 lbs.

38 Attachment 7

Please clarify how a Contractor with an approved Commercial Subcontracting Plan, that only includes summarized subcontracting details and no specific small business names, should complete the table under (c) of Attachment 7.

The Commercial Subcontracting Plan and the Small Business Participation Commitment Document (Attachment 7) are two separate documents. The information you provide in Attachment 7 will be used for evaluation purposes under the Source Selection process. Your Commercial Subcontracting Plan fulfills the statutory requirement of section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

637(d)(4)(B)) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19.702(a)(1).

39 Attachment 7

Please confirm that (d) of Attachment 7 is only applicable to Individual Subcontracting Plans and not required for companies submitting Commercial Subcontracting Plans.

Attachment 7 is applicable to both large and small business concerns who submit an offer under this solicitation. It is applicable to the Source Selection process. It is a separate document from the Commercial and Individual Subcontracting Plans submitted by large business concerns only. There is no bearing to Attachment 7 whether you submit an Individual Subcontracting Plan or Commercial Subcontracting Plan.

40 Attachment 7

Please define the term subcontractor as it relates to the completion of (b) and (c) of Attachment 7. When reporting subcontractor spend under our Commercial Subcontracting Plan we include thousands of suppliers who provide indirect services to the contractor.

Pertaining to (b) and (c) of Attachment 7, a subcontractor is a small business concern providing supplies or services for performance of this contract through any agreement (other than an employer-employee relationship) between the Federal Government Prime contractor and the subcontractor.