Market Research Questionnaire.pdf

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

TROOP SUPPORT

700 ROBBINS AVENUE

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19111-5092

DLA TROOP SUPPORT-FQG

SUBJECT: MARKET RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE US MILITARY PHYSICAL

FITNESS UNIFORM PROGRAM

DLA Troop Support (DLA-TS) is conducting market research for the US Military’s Physical Fitness Program. DLA-TS would appreciate your company’s response to this market research questionnaire. It should be noted that this inquiry, in no way, should be interpreted as a solicitation for offers. No information provided in response to this inquiry will be considered binding between the vendor and the Government. With these facts in mind, it is requested that you review the information provided and answer the questions on the following pages and attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram.”

The answers you provide will remain confidential. Please return this questionnaire to Catherine Dillon by 3 PM EDT on Monday, June 2, 2025 via email at Catherine.dillon@dla.mil.

The Defense Appropriations and Authorization Acts and other statutes (including what is commonly referred to as “The Berry Amendment”) impose restrictions on the Department of Defense’s acquisition of foreign products and services. Generally, clothing and textile items (as defined in DFARS clause 252.225-7012) and specialty metals (as defined in DFARS clause 252.225-7014), including the materials and components thereof (other than sensors, electronics, or other items added to, and not normally associated with clothing), must be grown, reprocessed, reused, melted or produced in the United States, its possession, or Puerto Rico, unless one of the DFARS 225.7002-2 exceptions applies. These items contain clothing and textile items and therefore DFARS clause 252.225-7012 applies. DLA Troop Support is looking for USA manufactured items under this acquisition.

DLA-TS intends to make multiple awards that will be firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity type contracts. The contract shall be for a term of ten (10) years. It will include a base period that will last five (5) years and one option period that will also last five (5) years. In accordance with FAR 16.505, individual delivery orders issued under the basic contracts will be competed using fair opportunity procedures. Within the initial proposal, offerors shall provide unit price(s) for item(s) it is offering on. These prices will be the awarded prices of the first delivery order once pre-production samples have been approved. Contractors will then have the opportunity to provide current pricing under each notice of fair opportunity (NOFO) for any subsequent order.

The intended result of this solicitation is multiple contracts covering the entire spectrum of categories of items required. There are 51 items within the Physical Fitness Program. Offerors are free to offer on all items or only those it selects to offer on. If an offeror offers on all 51 items and meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation, it will result in one (1) contract for all 51 items. If the offeror only offers on ten (10) items, for example, and meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation, it will result in one (1) contract for all ten (10) items. If an offeror offers all 51 items but only meets the requirements for 25 of those items, it will result in one (1) contract for only the 25 items in which the offeror meets the requirements. It is also noted that should the Military change its Physical Fitness Uniforms, the new version of the uniform will be modified into resultant contracts after pricing is established and determined to be fair and reasonable.

In your response, please be sure to pay special attention to the section on minimum sustainment rates after coordinating with the material suppliers. It will be important to inform the material suppliers that multiple contracts are being issued, and it is expected that at least three (3) delivery orders will be issued concurrently under these contracts. Therefore, the Government expects that suppliers’ minimum order quantities will be spread out over the three (3) orders rather than remaining the same per contractor. It is your responsibility to inform suppliers of this now, during market research.

It is estimated that the minimum dollar value of each contract will be the total cost of pre-production samples for each CLIN. Within the proposal, there will be one (1) lump sum CLIN to provide pricing for the pre-production samples. It is estimated that three (3) pre-production samples will be required for every item the offeror receives an award for. If an offeror receives an award for all 51 items, this will require 153 pre-production samples. The offeror would take the sum of their estimated price for producing the 153 pre-production sample and enter this in the lump sum CLIN which represents the guaranteed minimum of the contract. The Government will meet the contract minimum under the first delivery order.

The Government reserves the right to award only the contract’s minimum. The overall value of awards made under the Physical Fitness Uniform Program will be $763,082,470.46. The estimated dollar value and maximum dollar value will be established prior to the issuance of an award. These values will be established as part of negotiations with each offeror or, if awards are made on initial offers, the values will be established in a bilateral award.

Offerors are cautioned to consider their current production and possible production capabilities when offering under this solicitation. During the NOFO process, offerors may only be eligible for one (1) award lot per item. If an offerors over-bids and later request delivery extensions, it will be denied and could result in the offeror’s inability to receive future delivery orders.

The resultant solicitation will be a standing solicitation and will be active for five (5) years. The solicitation will open from the date of issuance through 60 days thereafter. The Government will retrieve proposals received at the date of initial closure and thereafter will retrieve proposals as needed (approximately every 180 days or when it is in the Government’s best interest to re-open). The Government reserves the right to close the solicitation if it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government to do so. In this event, an amendment will be issued 60 days prior to the solicitation’s closing.

EXPLANATION OF INITIAL AWARD DECISIONS FOR BASIC CONTRACTS:

This acquisition will not utilize best value, trade-off source selection. If a proposal meets the requirements indicated below, an award will be issued against that proposal as multiple contract awards are being utilized. The evaluation factor below will be used to determine if the proposal meets the requirements of the solicitation from a non-cost/price standpoint:

1. Evaluation Factor – Product Demonstration Model (PDM)

PDMs will be required per item segment instead of requiring samples for every item within the program. The segments are 1) jackets, 2) pants, 3) trunks/shorts, 4) shirts, 5) sweatshirts, 6) sweatpants, 7) socks, and 8) sports bars. Within the solicitation, the Government will identify the specific item within each segment that must be submitted as the PDMs for that segment. The required number of PDMs is specified in the attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” under the “PDM&PreProductionSamples” tab. Offerors only need to submit PDMs for the segments in which it is offering. For example, if you are only interested in submitting a proposal for pants and shorts, you would submit only PDMs for pants and shorts.

PDMs will be submitted at no expense to the Government and must be received prior to the time and date set forth for the initial closing of offers. PDMs will be returned at the offeror's request and expense so long as the PDM(s) is(are) not destroyed by testing, retained by the Government as a manufacturing standard, and/or unless otherwise specified by the solicitation. PDMs will become Government property unless return is requested within 30 days after date of award. PDMs are required for each place of performance – including subcontractors manufacturing all and/or portions of items – submitted under the proposal. Failure to submit the required PDM(s), and any required test reports, will result in your offer being rejected from consideration for award.

PDMs will be evaluated for visual, dimensional, and wash testing (as applicable). All PDMs must contain the name of the item, NSN, and size on the label. Alternate materials will NOT be permitted to ensure that the contractor is able to manufacture the item as outlined in the corresponding specification. The offeror is not permitted to utilize alternate manufacturing operations or change the construction/design of the PDM. The PDM must be manufactured (i) at the same facility as the production quantity and (ii) must be in accordance with applicable specifications, including the placement of the labels, unless otherwise identified. However, labels need not be printed for the purpose of the PDM but there must be an indication as to the size of the PDM, when applicable. The evaluation of the PDMs will effectively indicate the contractor’s comprehension of the items’ technical requirements and its ability to manufacture the items in accordance with the specification. PDMs will be evaluated on an adjectival basis.

Please note that if you have submitted PDMs under a solicitation for the items in which you are submitting a proposal for under this solicitation, you may request a PDM waiver if the original PDM was manufactured within the last two (2) years. To do so, the following must be sent with proposals with information completed and certified.

provided.

Product Demonstration Model (PDM) Waiver Certification

Solicitation Previously Submitted Under:

Date of PDM Manufacture:

Location & CAGE Code of PDM Manufacture:

Rating Assigned Under Previous Solicitation:

Specification/CID/PD PDM was Manufactured to:

I hereby certify that the PDM previously submitted under the aforementioned solicitation will be the same construction, materials, processes, and place of performance to be used if this proposal results in the issuance of a contract.

Should any changes be required, I shall notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, for consideration.

Certification/Signature:

Name:

Date:

If an offeror does not receive an award after the initial round of awards are made, offerors may submit new PDMs for evaluation under the next round of awards if additional rounds of awards are determined to be necessary.

EXPLANATION OF NOTICE OF FAIR OPPORTUNITY (NOFO) FOR DELIVERY ORDER

AWARDS:

NOTE: The “NOFO-Proposal-Submission” is provided for awareness and does NOT have to be completed as part of market research. If your company has feedback on this spreadsheet, you are free to include it with your response to this questionnaire.

Once awards are made, the evaluation factors for delivery orders will be 1) proposed delivery schedule, 2) past performance, and 3) unit price. The proposed delivery schedule and past performance factors are of equal importance. Both are more important than price.

NOFOs will outline what items and quantities from the basic contracts are eligible for award within each notice that is issued. To assist offerors in preparing their responses, the attached spreadsheet entitled “NOFO-Proposal-Submission” is provided as an example of how to submit a proposal. Offerors are to complete this spreadsheet to address the requirements for the following factors: 1) proposed delivery schedule and 3) unit price.

The “NOFO-Proposal-Submission” spreadsheet will include a tab entitled “Planned Delivery Orders” that indicates how many delivery orders are planned. This will include the quantity of each planned order for each item being procured at that time. In some cases, a proposed awardee may be considered for award for multiple CLINs. In this event, the delivery order will include all CLINs verses issuing individual orders per item. Therefore, the total number of delivery orders may be more or less than listed in the

NOFO.

Below is provided for informational purposes on how proposals will then be submitted and evaluated to receive delivery orders; however, the Government may update the requirement prior to issuing the solicitation so it is not binding at this time.

Proposed Delivery Schedule: The “NOFO-Proposal-Submission” spreadsheet will include a tab for each award listed under the “Planned Delivery Order” tab. In this example, there are three (3) delivery orders expected and six (6) items being procured. If the items being procured under the NOFO are included in a contractor’s basic contract, the contractor can complete the spreadsheet and submit a proposal. In the event that an item is being procured and the contractor does not have that item listed in its contract, the contractor cannot submit a proposal as it does not have a contract to which it can compete for an order. Contractors can only compete for delivery orders for items that it has a contract for.

Offerors shall complete the “NOFO-Proposal-Submission” spreadsheet. There will be one tab for every proposed delivery order. Contractors eligible to submit proposals can fill out their proposed delivery schedule for all possible delivery orders (referred to in this example as Award A, Award B, and Award C). In the individual tabs, which are labeled “AWARD X – Schedule&Price,” the offeror will complete cells F through M for their proposed delivery schedule. The quantity listed in cell E will be completed by the Government and is the minimum that must be received at the DLA 3PL depot(s) within 120 days of the issuance of a delivery order.

Alternative methods of submitting a proposal will not be reviewed/accepted. Offerors proposed schedules should reflect current delivery schedules for all current/open delivery orders/contracts.

In addition to the spreadsheet, offerors shall provide no more than two (2) pages, size 11pt minimum, to address how you will complete the delivery of all open delivery orders (i.e.

previously awarded delivery order(s) that have not completed shipment) under your contract and this NOFO.

NOTE: Concurrent deliveries under NOFO delivery orders are NOT acceptable. Contractors shall finish the delivery of all previously awarded NOFOs prior to starting the delivery under a newly issued NOFO unless otherwise stated, in writing, by the Contracting Officer.

Schedules that appear to be excessive to production capacities or not supported by supplier documentation will be found unacceptable. An acceptable/unacceptable rating will be applied to this evaluation factor.

Acceptable: Proposal meets the requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable: Proposal does not meet the requirements of the solicitation.

Past Performance: Past performance recency and relevancy will be evaluated using the offeror’s SPRS score for federal supply classes (FSCs) 8405, 8415, 8420, 8425, 8440, and 8465 only. In addition, your previous performance under these contracts will be evaluated. The Government may also consider information within the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) for the above-mentioned FSCs.

Past performance quality and delivery will be evaluated based on recent and relevant previous performance for the above-mentioned FSCs. With your proposal, you shall provide a SUMMARY of the negative findings within SPRS and CPARS that are listed for the last three (3) years through the date of this NOFO. The submission shall be limited to five (5) pages with font sizes no smaller than 11pt. Offerors are cautioned to be concise in its summary as any documentation beyond page five (5) will not be considered. If additional negative SPRSs and/or CPARSs scores/ratings become available after the date of this NOFO, offerors can provide a summary response of no more than one (1) page using size 11pt font to the Contracting Officer for consideration prior to the issuance of any delivery orders. If an you do not have negative findings, you do not need to submit additional documentation.

Please review the attached technical information and provide a response to the following questions:

COMPANY INFORMATION

Vendor’s Response/Comments

Business Name and Address

Point of Contact (email and phone number)

Number of Employees per SAM.Gov Reporting

Business Type (manufacturer/dealer) Place of Performance

- List the address where items will be manufactured.

If more than one place applies, provide all addresses.

Do you have experience with long-term contracts?

- If yes, please provide examples.

Do you have experience with government contract?

- If yes, please provide examples.

NOTE: The attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” MUST be completed and returned as an Excel Spreadsheet without any protections/locks so that the information can be evaluated.

1. Product demonstration models will be required with your proposal at the closing of the solicitation. The quantities are listed in the attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” under the “PDM&PreProductionSamples” tab. 60 days for proposal submissions is planned.

Within Column G of this tab, please chose from the drop down list yes if you can meet this requirement or no if you cannot. If you select no, please enter how much time you will need to submit your proposal.

2. Pre-production samples will be required within 90 days of contract award for all items listed in the contract. Is this acceptable or is additional time required? If additional time is required, please include in below.

3. Please provide your minimum sustainment rate in column E of the attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” under tab “Vendor Fill Ins.” Please use monthly increments.

4. Please list your actual monthly capacity in column F of the attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” under tab “Vendor Fill Ins.” Please consider your current and projected manufacturing plans when answering this question.

5. After pre-production samples are approved, the government is requesting that deliveries are made within 150 days of award. If you cannot meet this, please update the number of days in row 1 that start with “Ramp Up Quantity @...” on the “Vendor Fill Ins” tab of the spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” and mark the change in RED font. If you require a ramp-up schedule to meet your monthly capacity listed in column F, please be sure to include additional columns beyond 300 days until you meet the capacity listed in column F consistently. The quantities are not cumulative and should represent the total quantity you can produce in that 30 day time period.

6. Please provide your estimated unit prices in column M of the attached spreadsheet entitled “PTUniformProgram” under tab “Vendor Fill Ins.”

7. In the attached spreadsheet, please complete the “material availability” tab for any items where suppliers have minimum order quantities that could limit the Government’s ability to place orders. Please include the affected end item, the specification and paragraph that requires that material, the supplier’s minimum order quantity, the number of end items this minimum quantity equates to, and a point of contact for the supplier – including email and phone number.

8. Inspection and acceptance will occur at the source. Is this acceptable?

Yes No _______ Days

Yes No

9. Deliveries will be made to the DLA 3PL facilities located in Pendergrass, Georgia, Austin, Texas, and Lansing, Michigan. Is this acceptable?

10. FOB Destination is required. Is this acceptable?

11. Are you able to comply with the Berry Amendment?

Yes No