Market Research Survey.docx

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

TROOP SUPPORT

700 ROBBINS AVENUE

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19111-5092

IN REPLY

REFER TO: DLA-FCDD Teresa Rivera-Cruz, teresa.rivera@dla.mil

6/20/2024

SUBJECT: Market Research Questionnaire

RE: PALLETS

NSN(s): 3990-00-935-7960 - P/N MH1/9-02SW4048

3990-00-599-5326 - P/N MH1/9-03SW4048

3990-01-041-8803 - P/N MH1/9-05SW4048

3990-00-141-7261 - P/N MH1/9-10BW4048

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support is conducting market research on the above items to determine an acquisition strategy that will enhance our support of military customers worldwide as well as to determine what your company will be capable of providing with respect to the required items. In order to get an accurate assessment, DLA would appreciate your firm sharing your expertise and insight into how these items can be most efficiently procured.

DLA anticipates issuing a solicitation for the referenced items with an Indefinite Quantity Contract vehicle. Any awards resulting from the solicitation will be made by depot and possibly on a multiple award basis. The contract will be for a base term of two years. The contract may contain an option(s) to extend the term of the contract. If option(s) are included in the solicitation, the extension period will be one year per option, not to exceed three option years. It should be noted that the total contract term will not exceed five years. The questionnaire responses received regarding pricing will be a factor in the determination of the contract terms.

It should be expressly noted that this inquiry shall not be interpreted as a solicitation for offers. Furthermore, the information provided in response to this questionnaire will not be considered binding between the vendor and the Government. With these facts in mind, it is requested that you review the items listed above and respond to the questions on the attached pages. The responses you provide will remain confidential. Please return this survey to Teresa Rivera-Cruz by C.O.B. Friday, July 5, 2024 via email at: teresa.rivera@dla.mil. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Teresa Rivera-Cruz Contract Specialist

1. Company Background:

(a) What is your Business Size and Type? For example: large or small; women-owned, small-disadvantaged, etc.

(b) Are you registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.GOV) with an active status? Please provide your cage code. If not, you must register to be considered for future solicitations.

(c) Do you have access to the DLA Internet Bid Board System (“DIBBS" -https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/) and the Contracting Opportunities website (https:// https://sam.gov/content/home), formerly Federal Business Opportunities ("FedBizOps" -https://www.fbo.gov/)? If not, you must register to be considered for future solicitations.

(d) Do you have access to the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)? (Note that delivery orders issued under any resultant contract award would be communicated to your firm through this system.)

(e) Are you a manufacturer or distributor? If you are a distributor, please provide manufacturer’s cage code in addition to your firm’s cage code.

(f) Who are your major customers, e.g. retailers, industrial accounts, commercial accounts? Please identify.

(g) Do you have relevant procurement history (government and/or commercial)? Do you or have you had any long-term contracts with the government and/or commercial customers? If yes, please describe. If no, please explain why (for example: pricing too volatile, no interest).

2. Commerciality:

(a) Are the items considered commercial or modified commercial in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101? For example: is the item of a type used, offered, leased, licensed or sold to the general public? Please answer this question I/A/W the FAR reference, above.

(b) If the answer to (a) is yes, are the items commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item in accordance with FAR 2.101 (i.e. items are sold in substantial quantities to the general public)? Are the items sold to the government in the same form they are sold in the commercial marketplace? If yes, please list your major commercial marketplace customers and provide estimated sales volume to those customers.

(c) Who are your current commercial customers for these products? Government customers?

(d) If the items are commercial, any anticipated Request for Proposal (RFP) may only allow 30 days between the issue date and the closing date. Can you or an authorized distributor respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP) within this timeframe?

(e) If the answer to (a) is No, does your firm manufacture or distribute commercial products that would be comparable to the item(s) required and/or can they be used in lieu of these items? If so, could you provide examples?

3. Items Required:

(a) Are the items made of any type of material that is a major cost driver? If so, please state what material drives the cost of these items. For example, are the items made of steel, or a petroleum-based product? What are the major cost drivers for these items (i.e. special testing, raw material, labor, freight, etc)?

(b) Do any part of the items consist of foreign material? If yes, please identify components/raw materials and country of origin.

(c) Does your firm normally stock these items?

(1) If yes, how many are on hand at any given time?

(2) If no, would your firm be willing to stock these items?

(3) If your firm is willing to stock these items, would you need a stocking period? If so, how many days would be required?

(d) If you are a manufacturer, what is the production rate for these items? How many items can be produced at a time? Is the manufacturing process a batch process or a continuous process?

4. Delivery:

(a) DLA anticipates delivery to approximately 12 DLA stock locations. Are there any pricing differences based on delivery locations? For example: delivery to an East Coast location would cost less than delivery to a West Coast location, or the same? Explain.

(b) Can you deliver items on an FOB Destination basis if required?

(c) Can you deliver these items to any Continental U.S. (CONUS) location whether it is the East or West Coast?

(d) We anticipate the solicitation stating a required delivery of 7 – 10 days for customer direct orders and 30 – 60 days for DLA direct orders. It should be noted that orders will be placed by truckload quantities and delivery will be a minimum of 1 truckload/maximum of 4 truckloads per week as directed by each depot. Will your firm be able to meet these delivery requirements? If not, please provide the standard delivery time your firm can meet for these items.

(e) How many pallets would equate to one truckload (TL)? Please advise if this varies per NSN.

3990-00-935-7960

3990-00-599-5326

3990-01-041-8803

3990-00-141-7261

(f) Would your firm be able to expeditiously ship items within 2-7 days for an urgent requirement? If no, please provide additional information, such as quickest delivery possible, extra costs associated with expedited shipping, the prohibiting factors, etc.

(g) Would your firm be able to accommodate a surge requirement in which your company would be required to satisfy requirements for emergency situations? For example: ramp up to meet early requirements (surge) and/or requirements that may exceed estimated annual quantities)?

5. Pricing:

(a) Can you provide an estimated unit price for these items? If no, please state why.

- The anticipated ordering activities for this contract are 12 Depots: DLA Distribution Corpus Christi, TX (DDCT); DLA Distribution Hill, UT (DDHU); DLA Distribution Oklahoma City, OK (DDOO); DLA Distribution Red River, TX (DDRT); DLA Distribution San Joaquin, CA (DDJC); DLA Distribution Puget Sound, WA (DDPW); DLA Distribution Anniston, AL (DDAA); DLA Distribution Norfolk, VA (DDNV); DLA Distribution Susquehanna, PA (DDSP); DLA Distribution Tobyhanna, PA (DDTP); DLA Distribution Albany, GA (DDAG); DLA Distribution Warner Robins, GA (DDWG).

DLA Distribution Locations: https://www.dla.mil/Distribution/Locations/

- Prices are to be submitted on an FOB Destination basis.

Annual Quantity Estimated Price

DLA Distribution Corpus Christi, TX (DDCT)

DLA Distribution Hill, UT (DDHU)

DLA Distribution Oklahoma City, OK (DDOO)

DLA Distribution Red River, TX (DDRT)

DLA Distribution San Joaquin, CA (DDJC)

DLA Distribution Puget Sound, WA (DDPW)

DLA Distribution Anniston, AL (DDAA)

DLA Distribution Norfolk, VA (DDNV)

DLA Distribution Susquehanna, PA (DDSP)

Defense Depot Tobyhanna, PA (DDTP)

Defense Depot Albany, GA (DDAG)

Defense Depot Warner Robins, GA (DDWG)

(b) Is the pricing on these items stable or volatile?

(c) If the Government wishes to use an option to extend the term of the contract, a pricing mechanism for the option year(s) would be included in any award resulting from the Solicitation.

(1) Would you be able to provide pricing on the items for the base contract year and any option year(s)? For example: could you provide pricing past the two-year base contract period for year(s) 3, 4 and 5? If no, please state why.

(2) If the answer to (c)(1) above is no and your firm can only provide pricing for the two- year base contract, would you be willing to accept an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA), which would allow the Government to adjust the base contract price to achieve a revised contract unit price for an option year(s)? The EPA is based on a formula that is generally tied a Producer Price Index (PPI).

(d) Do you have a minimum ordering quantity and/or dollar value that you require for an individual order and if so, could you provide the quantity and/or dollar value?

(e) Do you have a maximum ordering quantity and/or dollar value that you require for an individual order and if so, could you provide the quantity and/or dollar value?

(f) Are there price breaks for the items? If so, what are the quantity break points?

(g) How do you determine pricing for your customers? Do you have volume discounts or valued customer discounts? How would pricing be determined for these items?

6. Quality/Warranty/Returns:

(a) Have you encountered any problems with manufacturing/providing these items? (Long lead times, problems with raw materials or quality discrepancies, etc.)

(b) Do you have any commercial warranties? If not, please explain what your standard warranty plan is for the items that you sell.

(c) What is your commercial practice for returns (for example: items damaged upon delivery, incorrect orders, etc.)?

(d) Do you use/have industry standards for product quality or safety? If yes, please list.

(e) Do you inspect products for resale at time of receipt? If yes, who performs the inspections (i.e., individual, department)?

7. Please provide any additional comments/information about your company that you feel may be beneficial to help us better understand your firm’s capabilities.

Company Name:

Cage Code:

Point of Contact:

Phone:

E-mail:

Small or Large Business:

Please e-mail all responses and feedback to teresa.rivera@dla.mil by Friday, July 5, 2024. We appreciate your time and consideration for replying to the questionnaire.

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