PWS- Manual Price Shops - FINAL.docx

PERFORMANCE OF WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

For

MANUAL PRICE SHOPPING

HDEC05-26-R-E008

1 Scope. This Performance Work Statement (PWS) defines the effort required for collection of data via manual price shops and reporting of data at commissary and competitor locations in the contiguous United States (CONUS) and outside the contiguous United States (OCONUS) at the following locations: Alaska and Hawaii.

1.1 General. This is a non-personnel services contract to provide Manual Price Shopping. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

1.2 Background.

1.2.1 DeCA is a Department of Defense (DoD) agency that operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to authorized patrons in a safe and secure shopping environment. The organization is comprised of stores located in both CONUS and OCONUS. As a core military family support element and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military and their families and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.

1.2.2. In accordance with 10 U.S.C. §2481 the Secretary of Defense is required to provide the congressional defense committees, on at least a quarterly basis, an assessment of the savings the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) provides patrons. The Secretary must ensure pricing achieves overall savings to patrons consistent with the baseline savings established for the relevant region for a representative market basket of goods. Quarterly savings results are compared to the same-store baseline savings to avoid variability from store selection. Quarters are established as follows: October 1 to December 31; January 1 to March 31; April 1 to June 30; and July 1 to September 30. It is essential DeCA prices are compared accurately and appropriately to competitor commercial grocery store(s) or supercenter(s), hereinafter referred to as competitors, in the local commuting area during the first month of each quarter.

1.3 Description. DeCA requires the services of a contractor with specialized expertise and experience in conducting manual price shopping collections across all departments including fresh and scannable items at DeCA commissaries and designated competitors. Manual price shopping involves the physical verification of Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) and Product Look-Up (PLU) prices.

2 DeCA Key Personnel.

· Approves contract modifications

· Approves funding and deliverables

· Ensures FAR compliance

· Cannot provide technical director to contractor

· Cannot modify performance methods without formal contract modification

· Communicates contractual changes through KO letters or formal modifications

· Receives escalated issues from COR

· Reviews and approves deliverables for technical accuracy and timeliness

· Provides clarification on PWS requirements

· Conducts inspections, audits, and sampling

· Cannot change contract terms, cost, or schedule

· Cannot direct work outside PWS scope

· Primary point of contact for contractor technical questions

· Coordinates with KO for necessary modifications or non-compliance issues

· Provide store-level operational guidance (item location)

· Report store level issues to COR

· Cannot direct contractor’s technical execution

· Cannot modify data collection requirements or procedures

· Provide store-specific support and resolution for operational obstacles

· Communicate issues through COR

3 General Requirements.

3.1 Contract Administration Point of Contact. The contractor shall provide in writing a primary and alternate point of contact responsible for overall contract administration that has authority to obligate the contractor. The name, title and contact information shall be provided at contract award to the Contracting Officer (KO) and updated within three business days when a change occurs.

3.2 Contract Performance Point of Contact (POC). The contractor shall provide in writing a primary and alternate point of contact who shall: work closely with DeCA personnel; be responsible for service performance; and have the authority to resolve issues that arise through the course of providing services. The name, title and contact information shall be provided three business days after award to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and updated within three business days when a change occurs.

3.2.1 The Performance POC shall be the designated contracting personnel to whom the lists (e.g., store list, SKU, and PLU list) are sent.

3.2.2 The Performance POC shall be the designated contracting personnel who receives the report containing the price data collected from the commissaries and competitors.

3.2.3 The Contractor shall monitor and report on deliverables including timelines, updates, periodic progress, and task scheduling, to assist the Government personnel in fulfilling both short-term and long-term recurring requirements for the tasks described above.

3.2.4 The Performance POC shall be prepared to explain the data when requested, providing definitions, support, or assistance to address any questions related to the data.

3.2.5 The Performance POC shall provide reports regarding the contractor’s quality control plan in support of the Government’s quality assurance responsibilities.

3.2.6 The Performance POC shall be available via electronic mail, teleconference, or video teleconference (VTC) to discuss contract performance.

3.3 Post Award Conference and Periodic Progress Meetings. The contractor shall participate in a post award conference to ensure a clear understanding of the requirements and periodic progress meetings thereafter to discuss any performance issues that may arise. The contractor or the government may initiate a request for a period progress meeting. At these meetings the contracting officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

3.4 Installation Access. The Contractor’s personnel must be able to access U.S. military installations based on individual installation security requirements. The Contractor is solely responsible for installation to determine their specific entry access requirements.

3.4.1 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with installation access procedures in a timely manner to support contractor performance. Failure to obtain access, resulting in denied entry, will be considered unsatisfactory performance as it directly impacts the mission.

3.4.2 Contractor personnel may be subject to background security checks and clearances in order to obtain necessary credentials for installation access.

3.4.3 Vehicles are subject to inspection prior to installation access. Random checks are performed at installation access points. Force Protection Conditions may warrant increased vehicle inspections. Denying vehicle inspection will result in denied installation access.

3.5 Commissary Access. The Contractor shall ensure personnel performing services under this contract are trained and follow procedures for commissary access to include signing in upon arrival and signing out upon departure.

3.6 Employee Identification. Contractor personnel shall identify themselves by introducing themselves and displaying distinguishing badges or other visible identification when meeting with Government personnel. Contractor personnel must be recognizable as such while on the installation. Identifying nametags, badges, or uniform name patches with company name shall be worn by all employees in a conspicuous place on exterior clothing.

3.7 Release of Information. Except as required by law, the Contractor shall not release information not publicly available related to services performed under this contract without DeCA’s expressed written consent. The Contractor will work with DeCA as a trusted business partner to create an environment of transparency during the course of this contract.

3.8 Software. This requirement does not include the procurement of software. The contractor’s software shall be compatible with DeCA’s software. Compatible software can effectively work with other applications, systems, or hardware without conflict or errors. DeCA utilizes Microsoft Office Suite applications.

3.8.1 DeCA will provide documents created in Microsoft Office Suite applications. The contractor shall be able to open, edit, and save documents received by DeCA.

3.8.2 The contractor shall submit all required manual price shop documents in a format compatible with DeCA’s software, ensuring they can be opened, edited, and saved without conversion.

4 Specific Requirements. The contractor shall provide all personnel, supervision, equipment, supplies, transportation, tools, materials, and other items necessary to perform manual price shops collecting and reporting regular and sale prices for approximately 900 brand name products plus private label equivalent products, as applicable, at each of 708 locations, comprised of 177 commissaries and 531 designated competitors, annually, enabling DeCA to meet their regulatory requirement for patron savings.

4.1. The contractor shall conduct manual price shops collecting both regular and sale price data for brand name and private label products, as applicable. The contractor may perform the price shop across multiple visits but must complete it within 10 days of starting the shop at any given location.

4.1.1 The contractor shall shop the list of approximately 900 national brand SKUs and PLUs provided by DeCA. DeCA will provide the list on or about 30 days prior to the start of the quarter.

4.1.2 The contractor shall be responsible for identifying the private label equivalent product, as applicable, for each of the approximately 900 brand name products. Private label equivalent comparison shall be based on quality of the product’s attributes. If multiple private label equivalents exist, the Contractor shall record the most directly comparable item based on size, weight, and product characteristics. If a comparable private label product does not exist, the Contractor shall document this in the data submission and proceed without substitution.

4.1.3 The contractor shall be responsible for annotating the private label information in accordance with the identification process designated by DeCA. National brand items are marked with an Item Identification (ID), and the corresponding private label is grouped under that same item ID to indicate its association with the national brand.

4.1.4 The contractor shall collect and identify fresh items with a per-pound price (lb) or each price (ea) for all items based on how the product is sold at a given store, unless the item’s description states otherwise. When collecting meat prices, the contractor shall pay close attention to the “cut of meat” and grade of meat to ensure consistencies in collection. In the event, the contractor is unable to locate fresh items, the contractor shall seek assistance. If at the commissary, the contractor shall inquire with commissary management. If at the competitor’s store, the contractor shall seek assistance from an employee until the product is found or it is determined that the product or a same or similar product is not among their assortment of resale products.

4.1.5 The contractor shall provide supporting documentation (e.g., photographic evidence) when the price comparison between the commissary’s price and the competitor’s price varies by 35% or more.

4.2. The contractor shall dispatch personnel to store locations based on the list provided by DeCA. The list will contain approximately 25% of the commissaries and two or more designated competitors located within the local commuting area of each commissary. With the exception of the quarter October 1, 2025 to December 30, 2025, DeCA will provide the list on or about 30 days prior to the start of a quarter to perform manual price shops. For the exception period, DeCA will provide the list within three days of contract award or September 1, 2025, whichever comes latest.

4.2.1. The contractor is prohibited from using remote, web-based, or database scraping methods for data collection.

4.2.2 The contractor may utilize mobile applications and handheld tools to collect price data on-site, as applicable, when this approach aligns with industry best practices, supports data accuracy, and minimizes unnecessary labor costs or manual entry errors.

4.2.3 The contractor shall inform DeCA immediately if a designated competitor cannot be shopped (e.g., permanent closure, temporary closure for remodel, partial closure, management denial of access).

4.2.4 The contractor shall immediately notify DeCA if a competitor location identified by DeCA presents issues that prevent a manual shop from being completed.

4.2.5 The contractor shall propose a comparable replacement store in the same geographic area and retail channel when informing DeCA of a store that cannot be shopped or is an inappropriate competitor. The replacement locations may belong to the same banner as the original store that is unavailable, however, it cannot be from the same banner as other competitors shopped for the commissary location.

4.2.6 The contractor shall not charge DeCA for the cost of dispatched personnel’s travel to store locations.

4.3 The contractor shall deliver the resulting regular and sale price data, as applicable, comprised of brand name and private label products shopped at the commissary and competitor locations in accordance with the list of store locations and products provided by DeCA in the required format within 35 days of receipt of the quarterly list.

4.3.1 The contractor shall ensure the format in DeCA’s original document is the format the data is returned to DeCA with the addition of the information obtained during the manual price shops.

4.3.2 The contractor shall ensure private label products are appropriately identified as private label and correctly associated with the brand name product clearly communicating the link between the two products.

4.3.3 The contractor shall ensure price data is accurately annotated to the appropriate commissary and competitor according to the Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DODAAC) and commercial store identification (ID) indicated in the store list provided by DeCA. Each commissary is assigned a unique DODAAC, while competitor locations are assigned store IDs that are subsequently linked to their corresponding DODAACs.

4.4 Contingency Plan. The Contractor shall have a contingency plan to mitigate unplanned service interruptions (e.g., pandemic, inclement weather, Acts of God). The contractor shall promptly report to the COR unplanned service disruptions as soon as they are discovered. The contractor shall coordinate with the COR a satisfactory corrective action plan to restore services ensuring timely completion of manual price shops.

5 Quality Control and Assurance. The contractor is responsible for management and quality control to meet the terms of the contract. The Government is responsible for quality assurance to ensure contract standards are achieved.

5.1 The contractor shall submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) to the Contracting Officer within 30 days of contract award and update within 30 days of exercise of an optional performance period, as applicable. If the contractor updates the QCP more frequently, the contractor shall provide to DeCA an updated QCP within five business days of implementation of the updated QCP. The contractor shall identify the changes and provide an explanation to include reason and desired outcome of the change.

5.1.1 At a minimum, the QCP shall address quality checks for the following performance requirements ensuring:

5.1.1.1 The submission deadline is met.

5.1.1.2 The locations specified to be shopped during a quarter are shopped within the first month.

5.1.1.3 The timely notification of locations that are unable to be shopped.

5.1.1.4 The competitors are accurately associated with the appropriate commissary location according to the Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DODAAC) and commercial store identification (ID) indicated in the store list provided by DeCA.

5.1.1.5 The SKUs and PLUs specified are shopped.

5.1.1.6 The contractor’s personnel are appropriately trained to identify the private label equivalent of a brand name product.

5.1.1.7 The private label products are clearly identified and associated with the brand name products in accordance with DeCA’s naming convention, using Item ID to group national and private label equivalent brands.

5.1.1.8 The price checks for variations equal to or greater than 35% are supported by evidence clearly demonstrating accurate pricing was captured.

5.1.1.9 The report format is accurate in accordance with DeCA’s predefined fields.

5.1.1.10 The data is certified statistically accurate.

5.2 The Government will inspect and evaluate the contractor’s performance to ensure services are received in accordance with requirements set forth in this contract. The Government will use a variety of surveillance methods to evaluate the contractor’s performance. The Government may unilaterally change the type and frequency of inspections, as necessary.

5.2.1 The Government will evaluate the contractor’s performance through periodic inspections, random samplings, assessment of the contractor’s QCP and service level monitoring.

5.2.2 Assessment of the contractor’s Quality Control Program (QCP) for manual price shops will primarily be conducted by reviewing the contractor’s price shop reports or other documentation that details the commissary and competitor stores visited, the items and prices checked, the method used to track item pricing, any corrective actions taken to address discrepancies or issues found, and the name and title of the personnel conducting the price shops.

5.2.3 The Government will randomly validate the contractor’s reports to include reviewing the master data or raw data collected.

5.2.4 If the contractor has not met the requirements set forth in this contract, the Government will immediately inform the contractor of these findings and request the contractor re-perform at no additional cost to the Government.