FEDLINK_-_IR_-_Solicitation_QA_-_2018_03_14final.pdf
PDF 163 KB Posted
- Attached to
- FEDLINK Information Retrieval Services Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- LCFDL18R7000
- Issued by
- Library of Congress
About this file
Q&A
View the file
Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| amend0006.pdf | ||
| Worksheet_in_V__CONTRACTS_Info_Retrieval_Services_RFP_FEDLINK_-_RFP_-_IR_-_2018_0312final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| amend0005.pdf | ||
| amend0004.pdf | ||
| FEDLINK_-_RFP_-_IR_-_2018_03_14Finalb.pdf | ||
| amend0003.pdf | ||
| amend0002.pdf | ||
| Worksheet_in_V__CONTRACTS_Info_Retrieval_Services_RFP_FEDLINK_-_RFP_-_IR_-_2018_01_30final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| FEDLINK_RFP_IR_2018_01_30final.pdf |
On GovTribe
Work with this file on GovTribe
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
FEDLINK Informational Retrieval Services
RFP LCFDL18RF7000
1. Q: Section B.1 Contract Period (page 4) – Section B.1 provides that the contract period shall be “for one base year period with four one-year options through 9/3/2023 [emphasis added]”. Would it be a correct understanding that this is a typographical error, and it should read “through 9/30/2023, consistent with Section F.2 (page 13)?
A: Yes, we will correct this date through an amendment to the solicitation.
2. Q: Section B.1 Contract Period (page 4) – Section B.1 provides that the contract period shall be “for one base year period with four one-year options”. For procurement efficiency, would FEDLINK consider the possibility of additional option years? We note that the comparable GSA Schedule 76 Federal Supply Schedule contract has a total contract period of 20 years (that is exercised in four 5-year blocks).
A: The Library is not considering adding additional option years at this time.
3. Q: Section C.4 (a) Fulfillment Time (page 12) – Section C.4(a) requires that all orders will either be filled or cancelled within 120 days. However, under the current contract, some subscriptions are fulfilled on an “as published” schedule, which may exceed the 120 days.
Further, some legal research and related software solutions are billed monthly, so the order will remain open until the final billing in early October. Please confirm that these current and longstanding practices are acceptable under the proposed terms.
A: Vendors are required to start providing services within 120 days. Vendors are not expected to provide all services within 120 days, and should provide services as indicated in the FEDLINK order. For example, if the order requires services for 12 months, the vendor is required to start providing the services within 120 days. The vendor should continue to provide the services for 12 months in accordance with the FEDLINK order.
4. Q: Section D Packaging and Marking (page 13) – Section D indicates that deliverables should follow standard commercial practices, and then requires items to be marked with the LC Contract number as well as the Delivery Order number. Considering that the RFP seeks commercial items (and this requirement begins by mandating standard commercial practices), we suggest that this requirement be simplified to simply require standard commercial practices. As we believe the purpose of this clause is to ensure the government receives items in an identifiable manner, the government is protected due to the vendor accepting an FOB-Destination clause (see Section F.1), the vendor’s obligation to perform, and the consequences of a poor customer service reflected in a past history report. Would a package with the delivery order number be sufficient, consistent with current practice?
A: No. We require the LC contract number and delivery order number, for identification purposes.
1 | P a g e
5. Q: Section D Packaging and Marking (page 13) – How do vendors who provide deliverables electronically comply with the marking requirements in Section D? Does adding the LC number and PO number on the invoice satisfy the Section D marking requirements, consistent with the current contract?
A: Adding this information to an invoice does not satisfy the Section D packaging and marking requirements. These requirements are satisfied in the notification to the customer as identified in Section G.3.1.b.
6. Q: Section G.2.1 (a) Transfer (page 15) – Section G.2.1(a) provides that “a Customer transfers both [emphasis added] the estimated annual amount they plan to spend”, but there is no further reference to what the second transfer is. Can you please clarify what the “both” refers to?
A: The word “both” is a typo and should be deleted.
7. Q: Section G.2.2 (b) Due Dates (page 15) – Section G.2.2(b) requires that the FEDLINK Funding Fee be remitted within 25 days. We note that the current contract allows for up to 45 days. This vendor respectfully requests that the requirement be amended to the current practice of 45 days. In the alternative, will FEDLINK modify the requirement such that fees are due 30 days after the end of each monthly reporting period, which is an industry standard for Federal and State Fee payments, as well as standard commercial practice?
A: The solicitation will be changed to say “within 30 days.”
8. Q: Section G.2.3 (b) Report Delivery (page 16) – Section G.2.3(b) requires the vendor to deliver the report to FEDLINK 25 days following the completion of the reporting period. We note that the current contract allows for up to 45 days. This vendor respectfully requests that the requirement be amended to the current practice of 45 days. In the alternative, will FEDLINK modify the requirement such that the reports are due 30 days after the end of each monthly reporting period, which is an industry standard for Federal and State reporting, as well as standard commercial practice?
A: The solicitation will be changed to say “within 30 days.”
9. Q: Section G.3.1 (b) Order Acceptance and Notification (page 16) – Section G.3.1(b) requires the vendor to email the vendor services coordinator an account identification within 30 days upon receipt of a delivery order from the LC/FEDLINK contracts. Would it be acceptable for the vendor to email the vendor services coordinator our Transfer Pay monthly report, where the account numbers for those who have registered are present?
A: Yes, this is acceptable.
2 | P a g e
10. Q: Section G.3.4 (f) Electronic Invoicing (page 18) – Section G.3.4(f) indicates that FEDLINK is collaborating with the Department of the Treasury to implement the Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), and that it may be used in the future. It requires vendors to provide electronic invoicing consistent with the IPP, even though the specifics and expectations of this system are not detailed in the RFP. Do you have an ETA (estimated time of arrival) for when the IPP will roll out?
A: No, not at this time.
11. Q: Section G.3.6 Invoice Review and Payment (page 19) – Section G.3.6(d) invokes FAR 52.232-34 – Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) (May 1999).
a) Under the current Federal Acquisition Regulation, FAR 52.232-34 is Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Other Than System for Award Management (Jul 2013). Please clarify.
b) We note, however, that Section I.4 FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items (Nov 2017) invokes FAR 52.232- 33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer – System for Award Management (Jul 2013), and not FAR 52.232-34 (see page 31). Please clarify.
A: The solicitation will be amended to reflect FAR 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer – System for Award Management (Jul 2013).
12. Q: Section H.7.1 Monthly Sales Reports (page 23) – Section H.7.1 requires vendors to provide a monthly sales report. This appears to replace the current contract requirement of a quarterly sales report.
a) We note that the current contract allows for up to 45 days to provide this report. This vendor respectfully requests that the requirement be amended to the current practice of 45 days. In the alternative, will FEDLINK modify the requirement such that the report is due 30 days after the end of each monthly reporting period, which is an industry standard for Federal and State Fee payments, as well as standard commercial practice?
b) The last bulleted item reads “Current quarterly dollars invoiced for each customer [emphasis added]”. Since the report has been changed to a monthly sales report, should this item read “Current monthly dollars invoiced for each customer”?
A: a) This will be changed to “30 days” via an amendment to the solicitation.
b) Yes. This will be changed to monthly through an amendment to the solicitation.
13. Q: Section H.7.2 Category Management Report (pages 23-24) – Section H.7.2 requires vendors to provide an extensive amount of transactional data.
a) Is it a correct understanding that this report is only required for Transfer Pay customers?
b) As this vendor communicated to FEDLINK in April 2017, this vendor cannot report on several of these data elements, due to system limitations and/or other business issues. As such, will FEDLINK consider eliminating this new requirement? In the alternative, since these are
3 | P a g e commercial items, may a vendor simply provide the elements that they can report on, and that are consistent with their standard commercial practices?
A: a) This requirement is for all customers.
b) FEDLINK will not eliminate the new report requirement (see Answer to question no. 43). The report needs to include the required fields, which are marked in the updated report, Tab Usage Report Template in Section J.3., and also referenced in H.7.2.
14. Q: Sections H.9 Licenses and H.9.1 License Agreements (pages 24-25) – We understand Sections H.9 and H.9.1 to reflect that vendors may submit license agreements for incorporation in the contract, subject to the terms of the contract; and that any order needs to be consistent with the terms of the contract; and that any terms not included in the contract need to be agreed upon by the vendor and the FEDLINK customer. Please confirm that this is a correct understanding.
A: FEDLINK contracting officers may incorporate Vendor License Agreements into orders placed against this contract subject to the terms and conditions of this contract and the orders issued under this contract. FEDLINK customers shall not be required to sign or agree to Vendor License Agreements.
15. Q: Section I.10 Purchases on Behalf of Department of Defense Customers (page 35) – Section I.10 incorporates several DFARS:
a) Section I.10 incorporates by reference DFAR 252.225-7001 Buy American and Balance of
Payments Program (Dec 2016). Under the current Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation, DFAR 252.225-7001 has been updated (Dec 2017).
b) Section I.10 incorporates a DFAR for Trade Agreements Certificate (Nov 2014). The RFP provides the DFAR 252.225-7021. This appears to be a typographical error, as the DFAR for Trade Agreement Certificate (Nov 2014) is 252.225-7020. Should the RFP be modified to read
DFAR 252.225-7020?
c) Section I.10 incorporates by reference DFAR 252.225-7021 Trade Agreements - Basic (Dec 2016). Under the current Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation, DFAR 252.225-7021 has been updated (Dec 2017).
d) Section I.10 incorporates by reference DFAR 252.225-7012 Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities (Dec 2016). Under the current Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation, DFAR 252.225- 7012 has been updated (Dec 2017).
A. The solicitation will be amended to reflect the correct clause number for the Trade Agreements Certification clause and the updated dates for the referenced clauses.
16. Q: Sections L.1 Proposal Instructions (page 53), L.2.2 Electronic Access to Prices (page 53), and Section L.6.1 Instructions and Security (page 56) – There appears to be a discrepancy in the email addresses provided in the RFP. More specifically, Sections L.1 and L.2.2 instructs vendors to submit pricing electronically to flicc-cl@loc.gov. In contrast, Section L.6.1 instructs vendors to submit an electronic copy of the proposal to fedlinkcontracts@loc.gov.
4 | P a g e mailto:flicc-cl@loc.gov
A: The solicitation will be amended to reflect fedlinkcontracts@loc.gov.
17. Q: Sections L.1 Proposal Instructions (page 53) – The RFP does not indicate how (in what format) and where, within proposals, vendors should provide any exceptions, assumptions, or conditions to the provisions of the RFP. For example, should vendors provide this information as an attachment within Volume I, Contract Format (Section L.2.1)?
A: Please submit your exceptions, assumptions, or conditions to the provisions in the RFP as a separate Appendix. This will not count against your page number requirement.
18 Q: Section L.3.1 Technical Description (page 66) – The solicitation imposes a 20-page limit on Volume II – Technical and Management Proposal.
a) Given the scope of the Statement of Work and the other required elements of Volume II, and to ensure that vendors are able to provide FEDLINK with enough information to adequately evaluate offers, we respectfully request that the page limit restrictions be removed entirely from the solicitation.
b) If the page limit cannot be removed, we respectfully request that FEDLINK please consider increasing the limit to 60 pages.
c) Also, would FEDLINK please clarify what counts against the page limit (e.g., proposal cover page, table of contents, attachments such as the required Sample Materials)? Please note that vendors with extensive product offerings will have difficulty describing their product offerings in sufficient detail with a 20-, or even 60-page, page restriction. Please advise.
A: a) Page limitation will not be removed. Historically, offerors responding to FEDLINK’s
Information Retrieval solicitations have adequately presented their proposals in sufficient detail within the 20-page limit.
b) Page limitation will remain unchanged.
c) Please see Library’s response to Q.17 and Q.36.
19. Q: Section L.6.1 Instructions and Security (page 57) – Section L.6.1 provides that the deadline for submitting proposals is Friday, March 2, by 4:30 pm., and requires vendors to submit hard copies of their proposals. To ensure that proposals make it to LC by the submission deadline, we will have to mail our proposal copies no later than Wednesday, February 28. Given the complexity and magnitude of the solicitation, the number of questions submitted for FEDLINK’s clarification, and the need to provide vendors with access to Attachment 3 (Category Management Report), we respectfully request an extension of fifteen (15) business days after all questions have been answered. This will give vendors 13 business days to review the answers, and prepare their most responsive and cost-effective proposals (allowing two business details to mail the proposals). Will FEDLINK provide for the requested extension to the submission deadline?
A: The Library is extending the proposal due date to Thursday, March 22, 2018; 4:30PM, ET.
5 | P a g e mailto:fedlinkcontracts@loc.gov
20. Q: Section L.7 Proposal Checklist (page 57) – Section L.7 provides a proposal checklist for vendors.
a) Section L.7 states that the Contract Administration Form (G.7) is to be inserted in Volume I
– Contract Data and Price Proposal. We note, however, that the instructions (page 55) specifically provide that the Contract Administration Form (G.7) should be included in Volume II – Technical and Management Proposal under L.3.3 Personnel. Please clarify where this form is to be included.
A: The contract administration form should be included in Volume I.
21. Q: Regarding the Category Management Report, how does FEDLINK prefer vendors fill this out for the “sample” that should be submitted with their proposal? Should this be populated with current data for the existing FEDLINK contract or with sample customer data as a method to confirm we can meet this reporting requirement?
A: The form can be populated using either type of data, as long as it demonstrates that it meets the requirements, as specified in the solicitation.
22. Q: Regarding the Category Management Report, can you please clarify how often this report should be delivered? We read through the documents but do not see if this will be sent monthly or quarterly.
A: This report shall be submitted monthly. The language has been updated through the amendment to the solicitation.
23. Q: Regarding the Category Management Report, can you please clarify if the data is required to be accumulative or just for orders placed during that reporting period?
A: The data should be completed on a cumulative basis for the Federal Government fiscal year.
24. Q: Regarding the date that the new contract for this RFP begins: Our current contract expires September 30, 2018, according to renewal modification 11, dated 10/1/2017; however, on page 13 of the RFP (F.2. Period of Performance), the Base Period is shown as “Date of award- September 30, 2019.” Which date is correct – our current expiration date of September 30, 2018, or the “date of award” of the new contract, which is unknown at this time?
A: The current Information Retrieval contracts expire 9/30/2018; the base period of performance for the new Information Retrieval contracts will be from October 1, 2018 (or the Date of Award if awarded after 10/1/2018) – 9/30/2019.
25. Q: Is the Category Management Report only for Transfer Pay sales for all sales?
A: All Sales.
26. Q: In regards to C.3.1.1. Lot 1 Section D & E (Electronic Serials and Electronic Books) It mentions you are interested in E Journals and E Books. Our data that we provide is only patent data from around the world. Is this something that would fall under the criteria in order to respond to Lot 1?
6 | P a g e
A: We do not have enough information about your product to answer your question. Please refer to Section C.3.1.1 which addresses Support Requirements and Section C.3.1 which defines
(d) Electronic Serials and (e) Electronic Books.
27. Q: In regards to C.3.2. Lot 2- Document Delivery Services -Can you give me more information about the volume of orders? We want to know how quickly we could fulfill them.
A: FEDLINK Information Retrieval vendors have different ranges of volume depending on their products and services.
28. Q: In regards to C.3.4. Lot 4-Specialized Access/Product Integration: Can you please give me more information about the volume of orders? We want to see if we are able to apply for this section or not. Also, what is the turnaround time for these for both regular or rush orders?
A: Under all Lots, some FEDLINK Information Retrieval vendors may have less than 10 orders per year, while others may have 60 or more orders per year. It depends on the products and services provided, as well as on the needs of the customers.
29. Q: Under section K.2 Offeror representations and certifications, is mentions annual representations and certification electronically via acquisition.gov, and then also the ORCA website. Is this supposed to be the SAM.gov site which consolidated these a few years ago?
A: K.2. 52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items (Nov2017) has been updated and references the SAM.gov site.
30. Q: Do we need to be to vendor of FEDLINK in order to bid for this?
A: No. The purpose of this solicitation is to solicit potential FEDLINK vendors.
31. Q: Can we bid only for lot 1 on this bid?
A: Yes. Please refer to Section C.2. Scope.
32. Q: If we bid only for lot 1 do we need to fill anything else inside bid?
A: Yes. The solicitation provides instructions to offerors under Section L. Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors.
33. Q: We do not offer discounts on our product? Does that disqualify us for the bid?
A: No. If you are not offering a discount you must provide your commercial rate, and in this instance your proposed FEDLINK rate will be the same as your commercial rate.
34. Q: Is the lack of experience with government contracting a disqualifier?
A: Offerors will be evaluated in accordance with the solicitation, the FAR, and Federal Law.
7 | P a g e
35. Q: L.2.1. in the proposal checklist indicates that vendors submit a copy of the completed solicitation in its entirety within Volume I. To be sure that our team compiles and assembles our proposal correctly with all of the required documentation, can you please clarify which documents should be included in the copy of the completed solicitation? Does this only refer to the actual solicitation document pg. 1-60 with all of the forms completed? Or should this also include vendor responses to Section C – Statement of Work?
A: Sections L.1-3 explain in detail what needs to be included in both Volumes I and II. Volume I should include a copy of the solicitation with the completed fill-ins and forms. Volume II should include the technical response in accordance with Section L.
36. Q: Can you please confirm whether or not the 20-page limit for Volume II applies to any applicable attachments or standard commercial materials?
A: The 20-page limit for Volume II includes commercial materials; however, it excludes materials provided in the Appendix and sample materials (refer to Sections L.1. and L.3.1.).
37. Q: Does the contract have to be submitted in both print and electronically? It looks like you want an original and a copy in print—is that mandatory, or can it just be submitted via email?
(Item 28)
A: FEDLINK requires both hard copy and electronic copy.
38. Q: Section A1. Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales to Federal Government: does this refer to all sales to Federal Government or only those sales through the FEDLINK contract?
A: This refers to all sales to the Federal Government.
39. Q: Section G.1.4. Often times product notifications to customers may be time sensitive. If we are to submit these to FEDLINK first for approval, what will be the expected turnaround time for such approval to take place?
A: 1. When a vendor provides new products/services, the internal review process takes an average of 15 working days.
2. Other contract related literature has an average review turnaround time of 8 working days.
40. Q: Item G.3.3 (d) – Each invoice will say FINAL – is there a designation as to where this wording is placed on the invoice?
A: No, there is not specific designation
41. Q: Section G.7 refers to Quarterly Sales Reports, Section H.7.1 refers to Monthly Sales Reports, but the final bullet point in H.7.1 refers to Current quarterly dollars invoiced for each customer. Our previous FEDLINK contract required Quarterly Sales Reports, and that is our current standard procedure. Can that continue? Or does this now have to be monthly?
8 | P a g e
A: The reporting period has changed to monthly for all required reports.
42. Q: Section H.7.2 and J.3. CATEGORY MANAGEMENT REPORT Is this now a new mandatory report?
Elements within this report appear to be redundant with what is contained in the Quarterly Sales Report in combination with the required invoice elements. Our previous FEDLINK contract did not require this report. Additional reports require additional support and are not part of our standard operations and hence effect our bottom line as well as pricing. We want to be able to keep our offerings as affordable as possible.
A: Yes, this is a new mandatory report.
43. Q: Section H.7.2 (Category Management) "H.7.2. CATEGORY MANAGEMENT REPORT, "LC/FEDLINK requires all Vendors provide the following transactional data. The Vendor shall use the Category Management Report Template (see attachment J.3)…LC/FEDLINK reserves the right to require invoice data for Direct Express purchases. Failure to comply with this requirement will constitute an “incomplete package” for invoicing purposes for transfer pay customers and no payment will be made to the vendor until the reports are received."
a. Would LC consider the removal of section H.7.2? As a comparison, GSA has implemented similar reporting for a limited number of schedules, but has intentionally withheld implementation for Schedule 76, which is the most analogous vehicle to
FEDLINK.
A: We will not remove Section H.7.2. FEDLINK stakeholders, internal and external, require this information.
44. Q: Monthly Sales Reports - At H.7.1, you discuss the requirement of monthly sales reports.
However, the referenced attachment in this section (attachment J.1), mentions quarterly sales data. Can you please clarify this discrepancy in reporting?
A: This should state monthly and will be revised through an amendment to the solicitation.
45. Q: Please clarify whether a response to the volume discount table in B.3 is mandatory. If so, is there a minimum additional discount percentage?
A: Yes, this is mandatory to complete. There is no additional minimum discount percentage.
46. Q: Section B.2 - Pricing Proposal (page 4) - Considering that the prices for FY19 are not yet established and will not be completed before the proposals are due, can vendors submit current FEDLINK prices with the expectation that the FY19 prices will be submitted by July for approval and effective October 1, 2018? Please note that this is consistent with the approach used with the previous solicitation.
A: Offerors shall propose pricing up front for all years of the contract with the submission of their proposal.
9 | P a g e
47. Q: Section B.2 - Regarding the establishment of the yearly cap, is there a maximum increase and can we vary the cap by product and CLIN (contract line item)? What supporting information do you require a vendor to produce to explain or justify the proposed cap?
A: Caps may vary by product and contract line items. Please see the amended version of
Section B.2 of the solicitation for additional information.
48. Q: Section G.3.4.f - We understand that FEDLINK plans to start using the IPP platform. Is there a timeline or start date for its implementation?
A: Not at this time.
49. Q: We request further clarification regarding what specific FAR clauses the Library intends to incorporate by reference under FAR 52.212-5.
A: The clauses that marked with an “X” are those that apply to this solicitation.
50. Q: Regarding what is contained in Lot 1 – did definitions change from the previous RFP/Contract
(RFP LCFDL13R7100) which would require us to change the products listed under the specific lot?
A: There have been some minor updates since 2013; the offeror should respond to the new solicitation requirements in LCFDL18R7000.
51. Q: I have the following questions regarding the category management report: Three of our customers are not listed as sub group or I can’t find using search: a) NDU, b) Naval Postgraduate and c) US Army War College. What code should we use and what should we put in the sub group?
A: For the purposes of responding to this solicitation, use the available customer codes that are currently in Agency Bureau Codes tab. FEDLINK will resolve any additional issues prior to awarding the contracts.
52. Q: We would have 5 entries for the 5 customers of ours who use FEDLINK as method of payment, we would enter these individually, what is the CSV format page for, are we to add in quotes and commas vs the cell blocks in the spreadsheet? We wouldn’t be exporting the data from anywhere, just keying in as we have yearly agreements with our customers, so the same data would be sent each time until a contract changes or cancels.
A: The report should be sent in CSV format in accordance with the instruction provided in section J.3. of the RFP. The template was provided in Excel for guidance in preparing the report.
53. Q: We have questions on the following two sections:
a. L.3.1 Technical Description b. M.2.1 Technical Acceptabililty
10 | P a g e
Both these sections appear to be the core sections for providing details on the functionality and services being offered, however they seem to only be relevant to ‘Lot 1’ responses. They contain references to section C.3.1 (a-e) and have topics that draw specifically on that LOT 1. We are interested in responding to LOT 2 (section C.3.2) and LOT 4 (section C.3.4). Are we missing a section for responding to the other LOT descriptions?
A: The solicitation is amended to include language pertaining to Lots 2, 3, and 4 in Sections L.
and M.
54. Q. PART II – Contract Clauses
I.2 FAR Number 52.227-14 May 2014 – Rights in Data – General
FAR Number 52.227-14 indicates that the government will own the data provided by products offered here. However, some products may include access to pre-existing data that has been developed and aggregated at private expense. Are there options to offer products or services that provide only limited rights to the data or otherwise is not subject to this FAR clause?
A. Yes. Please see section H.9 of the solicitation.
55. Q. Section B – Schedule of Supplies / Services
B.2 Pricing Proposal – CLIN
55a. Does the government have any guidance on LCFEDLINKs preferred approach to CLIN numbering and identification of the individual products and services, some of which may be related?
A. Each CLIN represents a Lot under Section C. Offerors should follow the basic structure as listed in B.2. Additionally, offerors should list and price each product or service. However, if offeror proposes multiple products and services under one price, this can be listed as one item under the CLIN.
55b. Should these product offerings be identified using the one CLIN shown for that Lot or should we add an additional identifier to the CLIN?
A. See response to 55a. Offerors may include additional identifiers to the major CLINS.
55c. Is it acceptable to list each of these products as a separate line item under the stated CLINs on the Pricing Proposal table with each product/service price?
A. Yes, see also response to 55a. above.
56. Q. Section C – Statement of Work
Products and Services
11 | P a g e
56a. Are Lot 1 and Lot 2 considered separately? If one product meets the requirements for both multiple Lots, is it advised to submit the product under all relevant lots or should the products be listed only in one?
A. Lot 1 and Lot 2 are considered separate products and services. If one product meets the requirements for multiple Lots, the offeror should list the product only in one Lot.
56b. Under Lot 1, there are 5 product/service types (sections “a” through “e”). If one product meets the criteria for multiple sections, is there any difference if we list the product once or multiple times OR should each product be listed only once under each lot? (e.g., an information retrieval database can also provide alerts, should it be in Lot 1A and Lot 1B?)
A. Each product should only be listed in one Lot. See also answers to questions 55.a-c.
57. Q. Section C – Statement of Work
C.3.1.1. (a-f) Support Requirements.
57a. Is it necessary for products to meet all of the support requirements, or is this section simply for the vendor to indicate whether or not each product/service meets each of the support requirements, such that the answer to some support requirements may be “not supported”?
A. Depending on which products and services that offeror provides, not all of the support requirements may be supported by the offeror.
C.3.1.1. (f) E-Metrics Usage Data
57b. Is the requirement for each product to capture electronically E-Metrics usage data?
A. Yes.
58. Q. Section C – Statement of Work
C.3.3. Can the government give an example of the kinds of products that are relevant for Lot 3.
A. Yes, publications not offered under Lot 1 that are created and published by the vendors are relevant to Lot 3; for example, books, journals, reports published by the vendor.
59. Q. Section H.2 – Contract Modifications
New products and services may be released to the marketplace. Please explain the process to add products and services to the contract and price proposal.
A. The FEDLINK contractor submits a written request to the assigned contract specialist to add products/services under their FEDLINK contract. The request should include a description of products/services, a copy of the commercial price list, and FEDLINK’s pricing. If the proposed additions are approved, a contracting officer will issue a contract modification in writing.
12 | P a g e
File details come from the government source that posted it.