Patents Tangible Award RFI_FINAL.pdf

Request for Information USPTO - Patents Tangible Awards

Request for Information (RFI)

THIS RFI IS FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY – NO AWARD WILL BE MADE FROM

THIS NOTICE. This RFI is being released for informational purposes and subject to change.

Title: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patents Tangible Awards

This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will take procurement action in this matter. Further, neither USPTO nor the Government will be responsible for any cost incurred in furnishing this information.

Background:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a federal agency whose mission is to administer the laws and regulations related to patents and trademarks to promote industrial and technical progress in the United States and strengthen the national economy. The USPTO carries out its mission by examining patent and trademark applications, issuing patents and registering trademarks, disseminating patent and trademark information to the public and by encouraging a domestic and international climate in which intellectual property can flourish. The largest of the USPTO business units is the Patents organization. The Patents organization includes approximately 10,500 employees made up of a Patent Examining Corps and support offices to facilitate examination of patent applications.

Objective:

The USPTO seeks to acquire engravable 20oz travel mugs as patents tangible awards for its for 10,500 Patent employees as a “thank you” for their hard work.

Scope:

The scope of this requirement is to acquire 20-ounce (oz) travel mugs for 10,500 Patent employees.

Each travel mug shall be engraved as specified in the statement of work (SOW). The vendor shall furnish the services and equipment (i.e. production, engraving, mailing supplies, boxes, labels, etc.) necessary to fulf ill the requirements. The vendor shall ensure that all shipments are secure to prevent damage through transit. The Contractor shall provide and ship 10,500 20oz travel mugs. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will provide a list of recipients to the Contractor within two (2) business days after award. Please refer to the SOW and attachment for the complete requirement description, including the salient characteristics of the 20oz travel mugs.

General and Technical RFI Submission/Assessment Areas:

1. Please complete the requested information using the response tables in Appendix A (see below) detailing your organization’s profile (e.g. general, company, active/live client information, etc.).

2. Provide feedback on the SOW and its attachment, and please specify the SOW section, including, but not limited to the following:

● Potential constraints/risks

● Unclear tasks or areas to refine

3. What is your recommended NAICS and PSC codes for the work presented in the SOW?

4. What is your production lead time?

5. Explain how your company handles personally identif iable information (PII), to include mailing lists of employee’s names and home addresses. How does your company safeguard this information? How will the company ensure that the names and addresses on the mailing list will not be added to any marketing lists so that no future marketing materials are mailed.

6. Does your company have the capability to accept and transmit encrypted emails?

7. Can all items (10,500 quantity) be sent out as one deliverable to all the addressed provided? Or, will your company need to batch the shipments, if so, please specify the quantities per batch.

8. Price estimating. The Government is contemplating a minimum quantity of 10,500 travel mugs. Does your company offer quantity discounts? If so, please provide your commercial step-ladder pricing breakouts. Please provide your step-ladder estimate that covers the 10,500 – 12,000 quantity range. Please explain your pricing and what is included in the price. Please price estimates for this requirement to include the per unit price and total estimated price for quantities of 10,500 and 12,000.

9. What information would you need to efficiently describe and price the appropriate solution in an RFQ?

Please note that the RFI responses shall not exceed 4 pages in length not inclusive of the requests in Appendix A. Use single spaced, 12-Point, Times New Roman Font. Please refrain from providing materials that are not relevant to this request (e.g. marketing materials). Acceptable file formats include Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Response Submission Deadline:

Interested party shall provide the information requested in this RFI, via email, on or before the due date listed in this RFI announcement to the following points of contacts:

Ms. Kelly Gustafson Mr. David Sheppard USPTO Contracting Officer USPTO Division Director Kelly.Gustafson@uspto.gov David.Sheppard@uspto.gov

Late submissions will not be considered.

All responses must contain the following naming convention in the email subject line:

Request for Information – <Insert Company Name>: USPTO Patents Tangible Awards Response

Disclaimer and Important Notes:

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids, quotes or proposals. This notice does not obligate the Government to solicit for this requirement or award a contract and does not obligate the Government to reimburse interested parties for any costs incurred to prepare or provide a response to this request for information.

Any interested party responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete. Respondents are advised that the Government has no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

The Government contemplates utilizing the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(4)(A). This RFI is intended as preliminary market information gathering which the USPTO will use to determine which vendor(s) is/are the most likely to successfully meet the agency’s needs and are thereby eligible to participate in an alternative competition. As a result of this market research, the solicitation will only be issued to one, or possibly more, qualif ied vendor(s) that have been determined as most likely to successfully meet the agency’s needs.

mailto:Kelly.Gustafson@uspto.gov

Appendix A – General Response Table

RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE: The following information shall be included in RFI responses:

Organization Profile

1. Name of Company and UIN number

2. Address of Company

3. Name, phone number and email address of company representative

4. Company size standard and/or socio-economic standing(s); i.e., large business, small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUB Zone small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business.

5. Capability statement and/or letter of interest: Technical Assessment Areas

6. Relevant experience and past performance: Provide Federal PoC, summary of scope and value.

7. Include questions or suggestions for improvement of the DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW). We encourage feedback on ways to improve our SOW or proposed acquisition strategy.