QMA BOA - Initial Offering.pdf

QMA BOA - Initial Offering

Purpose:

GSA’s Office of Acquisition Operations (QMA) is establishing a Basic Ordering Agreement to enable the rapid solicitation, award and delivery of products and services to support general and declared emergencies. The BOA will greatly reduce the administrative lead time required from the time an emergency requirement is identified to contract award and ultimate fulfillment.

Background:

What exactly is a BOA? FAR 16.703 gives the formal definition of a Basic Ordering Agreement and explains that BOAs represent a method of expediting contracting for uncertain requirements. The agreement itself is included as Attachment 1 to this document, and it describes the actual ordering process that a participating vendor is agreeing to follow when authorized users need to order emergency supplies and services.

What is the significance of a BOA not being a contract? Participation in the BOA means that a vendor has been selected to participate in future competitions for government orders for supplies and services, not that a vendor is guaranteed any future work. Think of the BOA like a marketplace that QMA intends to establish with a group of vendors that offer a wide variety of both products and services that federal agencies will likely need for emergency responses. This marketplace provides authorized users with an avenue to easily, and quickly, locate vendors providing the things they need to support emergencies, and who have agreed to follow a simple and fast process for submitting pricing and expediting delivery once orders are placed.

What kind of supplies and services are needed for this BOA? A list of historical purchases and descriptions of some of the pre-positioned kits that are often needed are included with Attachment 1, but the BOA will not include a price list or other catalog-type list of supplies, services, labor categories or other required offerings; vendors should consider the provided historical data as demonstrative of the types of purchases that federal agencies make in responding to emergencies. In determining if the QMA BOA is a good fit for your business, please consider your ability to provide a wide array of products, services, or both to ensure that you will be in the best position possible to compete among participating vendors for any orders placed.

Will I need a GSA Schedule to participate in the QMA BOA? No. Participation in the BOA does not require vendors to have GSA schedules, nor does it mean that any participating vendors that currently have GSA schedules are limited to those items included in their schedules when providing quotes under the BOA. The procedures of FAR 8.4 will not apply to the BOA ordering process, as the agreement itself is the ordering process that both users and vendors will follow when emergency support is required.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-16#FAR_16_703

I’m not sure if this BOA is for me, but I have more questions. Not a problem! Please reach out to the QMA Contracting Personnel identified below with any questions, or to schedule a virtual meeting to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.

Initial Offering:

Initial Invitation to Participate: Vendors who are interested in participating in the QMA BOA are invited to apply for consideration immediately by submitting the following documents to the QMA Contracting Personnel listed below:

1. Company Overview - We are interested in learning about your company and the products or services you provide, especially with respect to emergencies. Please let us know what you sell, how long you have been providing supplies, services or both to the government, your experiences with federal agencies and anything else you think we should know about your business. Please do not send us a price list--this is not a competitive solicitation and no formal evaluation will occur, but we would like information to help start building a vendor profile in ensuring that the BOA will provide a comprehensive array of emergency products and services. Please limit your overview to no more than 4 pages.

2. Contact Information - Please provide contact information for your company, specifically the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of individuals that we can use to communicate with you, as well as any org boxes or distribution lists that you would like us to use when providing RES documents or other BOA related correspondence. Also, please provide your company’s DUNS number.

Please submit your interest to be considered documents at your earliest convenience, but no later than the end of day on November 30, 2021. The Initial Invitation to Participate will consider as many interested vendors as possible, and will result in QMA entering into agreements with as many vendors as necessary to ensure a reliable network of vendors is available nationwide to respond to requests for emergency support. Not all vendors expressing interest will necessarily be invited to join the BOA, and not all vendors participating in the BOA will necessarily receive any orders by virtue of their inclusion; QMA will endeavor to ensure that as many vendors as possible are included and that supplies and services offered are diverse enough to allow all participating vendors a reasonable expectation of being considered for as many orders as possible.

Invitation Conference: Upon receipt of your interest to be considered documents, the QMA team will review your submission along with verifying your current SAM.gov registration, checking the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), and reviewing any other available information regarding your business. Once this preliminary review is complete, the QMA team will reach out to you to schedule an Invitation Conference to discuss the BOA terms and conditions in detail. This conference will be held virtually and will ensure that interested vendors fully understand the ordering process and other aspects of the BOA. Upon completion of the Invitation Conference, those vendors selected for participation will be asked to sign the BOA agreement form. Once countersigned by the BOA Contracting Officer, you are officially a participating vendor! For those interested vendors that are not selected for BOA participation, the Invitation Conference will be an opportunity to meet with the QMA team to discuss the rationale for not including you in the BOA, and ways to improve your capabilities or qualifications for future participation in a future onboarding invitation or in pursuing other contract opportunities with the government.

QMA BOA “Go Live” Date: The QMA team anticipates beginning to submit RES for emergency supplies and services as soon as a sufficient number of participating vendors with fully executed agreements are available to provide for adequate competition, but no later than December 31, 2021. Participating vendors will receive a notification once the BOA “Goes Live”, and any vendors that are joining after the “Go Live” date will be notified during their individual Invitation Conference.

Contact Information:

For additional information, please contact the following QMA Contracting Personnel:

Primary POC Michael Sands BOA Contract Specialist

(312) 342-7506 michael.sands@gsa.gov

Alternate POC Christopher Hardcastle BOA Contracting Officer

(202) 769-8048 christopher.hardcastle@gsa.gov

Attachments Attachment 1 - QMA BOA Draft Attachment 2 - Historical Purchases