Q A_under_0284_11-16.docx

1. Please confirm the term of the IDIQ? Is it a base year with a one year option for a total of two years?

The IDIQ has a two year ordering period. There is no option period. Pricing is made available according to ordering period. CLINs 0001-0004 will contain pricing for CY 2016, while CLINs 0005-0008 will contain pricing for orders during CY 2017.

2. Please confirm if the maximum and minimum quantities put forth for each CLIN are for each year or for the total term of the contract?

The quantities listed are put forth for the total term of the contract.

3. Please confirm that if a large manufacturer (OEM) and their small business resellers are both providing responses with the same exact laptop system configurations that the Government will allow for one set (qty.2) of each system proposed to be submitted for testing.

No, all proposals must contain the required bid samples.

4. Warranty-3 year CONUS & OCONUS Warranty-The Government states, " The manufacturer shall provide, at minimum, a 3-year United States (CONUS) and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) warranty for each laptop in accordance with the following sections." Will the Government please provide a list of proposed OCONUS locations.

Warranty has been modified to include the following:

The manufacturer shall provide their standard commercial warranty for all units. In addition to contractor's standard warranty, the following government requirements must be included in warranty:

FAR 52.212-4 (o) Warranty. The Contractor warrants and implies that the items delivered hereunder are merchantable and fit for use for the particular purpose described in this contract.

1. A minimum 3 year warranty.

2. All components used to repair damage laptops shall be of the same type, make, and configuration as the originally installed component.

3. Units for repair will be shipped by the Government to the contractor for repair directly. After repair/replacement, contractor will be required to ship unit to one of the two designated delivery locations listed in the solicitation.

4. The cost of replacement parts and all related service fees will be included in the warranty.

5. Damage incurred during shipping from contractor's facility will be covered under the warranty.

In the event that the standard commercials warranty and the Government's requirements conflict, the Government's requirements will take precedence.

It's actually not relevant since the OCONUS locations will be responsible for shipping back the laptops to the US. But, the main locations are Australia, Finland, Malaysia, Kuwait, Denmark, and Japan.

5. The Government states, "If system damage requires a replacement, the vendor shall replace the system with the same exact configuration and/or any components associated with the system."

Please confirm the Government is requesting a warranty that covers accidental damage on all purchased systems (including spills, drops, surges, and breakage to select systems or peripherals).

This requirement is to ensure that all components used to repair damage laptops shall be of the same type, make, and configuration as the originally installed component. This ensures consistency between all units.

6. The Government states, "The warranty period for each laptop shall begin no sooner than upon delivery of that laptop." Please confirm the Government accepts the terms of warranty start at time of invoice or time of receipt not to exceed 30 day for CONUS and 45 days for OCONUS.

The time of laptop receipt will start the warranty period.

7. Will the Government please specify the time zone for submission?

The Government will accept submissions using the Pacific time zone.

8. Will the Government accept either one (1) PCMMCIA (PC Card) Slot or one (1) Express Card slot?

No. The specification states that one PCMCIA slot is mandatory.

9. Minimum Requirement-RS-232 Port- Will the Government accept an adapter for the RS-232 serial port versus a native RS-232 port?

No, the specification states a native RS-232 port is required.

10. Minimum Requirement-eSATA Port- Will the Government accept an adapter for eSATA versus a native eSATA port?

No, the specification states a native eSATA port is required.

11. Minimum Requirement-15" Widescreen- Will the Government relax the display requirement to a minimum of 14" Widescreen?

Yes, we would be willing to look at a 14" screen.

12. Minimum Requirement-Resolution- Will the Government relax the resolution requirement to 1366 x 768?

No, the resolution requirement is essential to the software.

13. The IT industry is continually changing and evolving to include newer technologies and phase out older technologies, should a Laptop go end of life or, if a newer version of a Laptop becomes available, will the Government allow a technology refresh?

No, the exact same configuration needs to be maintained for the life of the contract

14. Are offerors required to submit any of the other CLINs (spare hard drive, docking station, or carrying case) as bid samples?

No, the only samples required are the laptops.

15. Will the Government accept samples submitted directly by the OEM?

No, each vendor needs to ship the samples from their place of business. Each laptops needs to be clearly identified with the competing vendors information.

16. Do the bid samples have to exactly match the configuration bid to the Government? More specifically, if the bid samples meet at least all of the “minimum” specifications but the priced configuration in the bid includes some of the “desired” specifications, will the Government accept this scenario? As an example, if the bid sample has a 512 GB hard drive but we bid the system with a 1TB hard drive, is that acceptable?

Yes, the bid sample must match the configuration that you are proposing.