LCFDL16R0002_SF30_Amend__0001-RFP_Questions_and_Answers.rtf

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

PAGE OF PAGES

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable) -0001 7/26/2016

6. ISSUED BY

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)

CODE

The Library of Congress Office of Contracts & Grants Management FEDLINK Contracts Section 101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20540-9414

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No. Street, county, State and ZIP: Code)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

LCFDL16R0002

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

X 06/29/2016

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE

FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning one (1) copy of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATA SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and data specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS, IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

X

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

FAR 52.212 Changes.

D. OTHER Specify type of modification and authority

See attached final Q&A document.

The purpose of this moExcept at provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Janice A. Aiken Contract Specialist

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

15C. DATE SIGNED

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

BY _____________________________________________

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

OMB Approval 2700-0042

SF1449

Q1. On the SF1449, should Blocks 23 and 24 be completed with a dollar amount derived from Section B, or, just a note referring to prices and discounts listed in Section B?

A1. Block 20 of the SF1449 states: DO NOT COMPLETE BLOCKS 19 THROUGH 24. SEE SCHEDULE OF SERVICES BEGINNING ON PAGE 4.

Section B – Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) Q2. Are Vendors to only indicate a Discount Percentage or Service Fee, or, should this be applied to the unit price provided with an extended amount under “Amount” (complete the Discount Percentage column only, or, complete the Discount Percentage and Amount columns)?

A2. Indicate a Discount Percentage or Service Fee and apply it to the unit price provided with an extended amount under “Amount” as shown in the example below. The extended amount will be used for evaluation purposes. The Discounts offered will be the firm-fixed discounts reflected in any resulting contracts.

FORMAT OR SOURCE SPECIALIZATIONS (C.3.1.2) Indicate a discount or service fee as a percent change from publisher's list price. For categories priced at net (i.e. simple pass-through of publisher list price) indicate 0% discount.

CLIN

Description Quantity Unit Price Discount % Amount Trade, Trade Paperback - %Discount (-) or %Service fee (+):

1201.1.

single copy $1 70% $0.30 1201.2.

2 - 10 copies $1 80% $0.40 [Unit Price $1 with 80% Discount = $0.20/each x 2 copies = $0.40]

Q3. Are vendors to apply each discount they offer to the $1.00 unit price and then give an extended amount based on the quantity given in the quantity column even if they do not offer different discounts based on quantity?

A3. Yes.

Q4. In section B.1, instructions here state that Vendors may subdivide categories to make pricing more precise.

a) Should Vendors repeat the CLIN group for each such section (ex. for 1209 NonEnglish Language, should Vendors repeat 1209.1 through 1209.8 for each language offered)?

b) Are these lines to be added to the spreadsheet / WORD document underneath the original section?

c) Would these added lines carry the same identifying CLIN, repeated (1209.1 to 1209.8 for French; 1209.1 to 1209.8 for German, etc.)

A4. Each language has to be identified with a CLIN; if the different languages have the same discount , they can be identified with the same CLINs. If the difference languages have different discounts, they require a separate CLIN like the example below:

Non-English Language - % Discount (-) or % Service fee (+):

1209.1 single copy – French, German, Russian $1 50% $0.50

Or Non-English Language - % Discount (-) or % Service fee (+):

1209.1a single copy – French $1 20% $0.80 1209.1b single copy – German $1 30% $0.70 1209.1c single copy – Russian $1 40% $0.60

Q5. Regarding “Binding” (CLIN 1201.6), “Library Binding”(CLIN 1201.7), and “Prebound” (CLIN 1201.8): please describe the information / pricing requested for these items.

A5. A pre-bound book is a book that was previously bound and has been re-bound with a library quality hardcover binding. In many cases, the book in question began as a paperback version. If you have different pricing information for pre-bound and other binding options, enter the price or discount. Provide the pricing mechanism your company uses for the different binding options your company offers. If one of the CLINs or sub-CLINs is not applicable to your pricing scheme, mark it N/A. However, your pricing must fit within the overall pricing format and CLIN structure in line with the Statement of Work sections referenced.

Q6. Different discounts based on the bind of the book that could be purchased within each category need to be addressed on the schedule. The schedule instruction states “Vendors may subdivide categories to make pricing more precise” however, it is not clear how this can be done if the columns for quantity/unit price/amount need to be completed. As long as an appropriate discount is offered for each subdivision of categories for the applicable quantity, can vendors disregard the quantity/unit price/amount columns? Or if all columns must be completed, are vendors permitted to add rows to the schedule to show each bind of book that could be purchased within the category?

A6. Vendors must add sub-CLINs to show each bind of book that could be purchased within the category similar to the example provided in A4 above.

Section G Q7. This section states that for the Direct Pay method, the end customer sends orders directly to the Vendor. FEDLINK will forward a copy of the customer’s order to the Vendor concurrent with the FEDLINK Direct Pay Notification.

a) Will a Direct Pay Notification be received with each individual order, or, is this an annual blanket allocation notification?

b) Will the Vendor receive two copies of an order; one from the customer and another from FEDLINK, issued along with the associated Direct Pay Notification?

A7a. With the Direct Pay option the customer agency contracting staff will establish an interagency agreement with FEDLINK for authorization to use the FEDLINK contract. The customer agency Contracting Officer will issue their own delivery order and provide a copy to FEDLINK.

A7b. The Direct Pay notification is the authorization for the customer to use the FEDLINK contract, and a Direct Pay Notification must be received for every Direct Pay delivery order.

Section H Q8. Section H.7.2. Would we be disqualified from this RFP if we do not commit to submit weekly and monthly reports? We would prefer to continue our current practice of submitting quarterly reports.

A8. Yes. The weekly report to FEDLINK of customer firm orders is a new contract requirement for the Lot 1 Firm order offering. The Quarterly Summary report of all FEDLINK User Activity is a separate required report. The ability to fulfill all reporting requirements is a requirement of the solicitation.

Section I Q9. FAR Clause 52.216-18 Item a references an end date of 9/30/2018. Including all possible option years, would the end date of the agreement be 2021 or 2018?

A9. The end date of 9/30/2018 is an error. The end date of the resulting Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts will be 9/30/2021.

Section K Q.10. FAR Clause 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS. Please confirm that the offeror only has to complete paragraph (b) of this section if the annual representations and certifications have been completed electronically on the ORCA/SAM website (www.sam.gov) in the last 12 months.

A10. As stated in the clause, an offeror will complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via https://www.acquisition.gov. Note that the entire section K must be included in the Volume I proposal.

Section L Q11. Section L.2.1 asks for a “Copy of the Completed Solicitation in its Entirety”. L.2.2 asks for pricing, including Section B. Should Section B be repeated here, appearing in L.2.1 and again in L.2.2?

A11. Section L provides instructions on how proposals are to be prepared. The Volume I proposal is to be comprised of the contract data and price proposal. The solicitation is the basis for the contract data for the Volume 1 proposal. Section L.2.2 describes how the pricing is to be provided in Section B. The pricing provided in Section B of the contract data will become the contract pricing.

Q12. Section L.2.2. Item c requests that Section B be provided in an EXCEL format. Is this in addition to the printed pages 4-32 or in place of printed pages 4-32? Is there a spreadsheet available for this purpose, or, should the Vendor create such a spreadsheet?

A12. An additional copy of the pricing must be submitted electronically as an Excel spreadsheet using the same format provided in Section B. The Vendor will create the spreadsheet to accurately list the products offered with the appropriate CLINs. All pricing must be provided in this format. References to separate attachments, commercial pricing, or website links are unacceptable. Such information may be provided for reference in addition to but not in place of the required Section B format.

Q13. The Section L.6 Proposal checklist for Volume II references L.3.3. The checklist states Personnel, but L.3.3 is noted as Past Performance in the document. Please clarify the information to be included in this section.

A13. The proposal checklist is provided as a reminder of the items required in each proposal. The sections referenced for Volume II are incorrect. The correct section references are as follows:

Volume II—Technical and Management Proposal

Included/ Completed L.3.1.

Technical Description

Technical Approach

L.3.2.

Program Management and Corporate Experience Narrative

Personnel and Facilities

L.3.3.

Past Performance and References

L.3.4.

Sample Materials (ie. completed charts for Attachments J.2 - subject area, format or source specialization options and J.3. Performance indicators; samples of all required reports -- Customer Report and Quarterly Summary of Usage Report; weekly report of customer firm orders)

Q14. We are a vendor of front list children's library books with an average inventory of 1,200 titles in stock and new titles added monthly. Would it be appropriate for us to bid Lot 1, Firm Order Services, when we do not offer the same number of titles as a big jobber? Or would it be more appropriate to bid on Lot 2, Approval Plan Services (Selection Tool Approval Plan) if the definition of "Selection Tool Approval Plan" includes the customer selecting certain titles to order from our catalog on a one time order basis?

A14. Review the requirements of Sections C.3.1. and C.3.2. as well as the requirements of Section L.3. Your proposal must address the capabilities of your company, and how you will meet all requirements of the solicitation. As stated in Section M, proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 15.101-1 Best Value Tradeoff Source Selection process. Award will be made to those offerors whose combination of technical and price proposal represents the best value to the Government and is most advantageous, price and other factors considered.

Q15. We are in the process of obtaining certification as a Woman-Owned Small Business. If the process is not complete before submission of this proposal, may we indicate that we are a Woman-Owned Small Business under Business Type on page 2 of the solicitation, with a note that certification is in process, and will be submitted as soon as it is available?

A15. No. Your proposal as well as the required SAM.gov registration must accurately reflect your company’s status at the time the proposal is submitted.