Request For Information.pdf

Solicitation #: 47QSSC-24-Q-2158

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

General Services Administration Ergonomic Seating

After reading the RFI, interested contractors must submit in eBuy the enclosed “Sources Sought Questionnaire,” by April 22, 2024 at 5:00pm ET.

This is a RFI, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) General Supplies and Services Supply Chain Management Division seeking information from prospective vendors interested in providing Traditional Ergonomic Office Chairs for the National Stock Number (NSN) Program.

At this time, GS&S is gathering information for a procurement which may result in a Blanket Purchase Agreement award according to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4 Federal Supply Schedules, under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Program (MAS).

NAICS Code (North American Industry Classification System) 337214 – Office Furniture (except Wood) Manufacturing applies to this RFI. Note: NAICS Code 337214 must be added to all quoters’ System for Award Management (SAM) record (https://www.sam.gov) to be eligible to submit a quote for the formal Request for Quote (RFQ), which will be posted in the future.

NAICS 337214: Office Furniture (except Wood) Manufacturing, Business Size: 1,000 Employees

The Government will use the responses from the RFI to determine if a total small business set-aside or a further socioeconomic small business set-aside can be assigned to this BPA; however, all interested firms are invited to submit responses.

At this time, the government intends to set-aside the procurement for a total small business set aside in accordance with FAR 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside. Only quotes submitted by small business concerns under the applicable NAICS Code 337214 will be accepted by the Government. Any quote that is submitted by a contractor that is not a small business concern will not be considered for award. Additionally, if the procurement is set-aside, the Non-Manufacturing Rule (NMR) will apply. The NMR requires that a small business performing under a set-aside order MUST provide the products of small business domestic manufacturers. Any quote that reflects products of large business manufacturers will not be considered for award.

Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTA) are permitted. Orders will be requisitioned by customer agencies, and GSA will issue purchase orders for the requested items to the GSA MAS awardee for direct delivery to the ordering agency.

The Government intends to award a fixed price contract, with consideration to economic price adjustments (EPAs) incorporated at the GSA MAS Contract level. Therefore, GSA will allow EPAs approved on the MAS contract to flow down to the BPA, while applying the same discounts quoted at the time of the BPA award, with the approval of the BPA Contracting Officer.

Product specifications for these furniture products are in the attached documents, Item Purchase Description (IPD) for Ergonomic Office Chairs.

Please note that any or all commodities herein are being routinely considered for a Strategic Sourcing Solution, which may result in cancellation of any or all commodities herein or may result in the addition of commodities within the awarded product line(s).

The future RFQ will be posted on GSA’s eBuy https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov and SAM (System for Award Management) https://sam.gov. All interested parties will need to be registered in GSA eBuy and SAM to receive the RFQ posting.

The basis of the award will be “lowest price technically acceptable.” Submitted pricing quotes must be FOB Destination, inclusive of shipping. This includes shipping to consolidation points located in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, Tracy, California, and the GSA Export Facility in Georgia for OCONUS shipments. The FOB Destination pricing quoted shall be inclusive of all packaging, labeling, palletizing, and creating requirements for OCONUS shipments (see requirements in MIL-STD -129R attachment and FED-STD-123J). The Government is requesting GSA Multiple Award Schedule pricing or better, even if GSA schedule pricing reflects FOB Origin. Any pricing received above the awarded GSA Schedule pricing will be eliminated from award consideration

This BPA will be awarded against the successful quoter’s current GSA schedule contract. In the event the current GSA schedule contract reaches Evergreen expiration and a successor GSA schedule contract is awarded, this BPA shall automatically transfer to the successor GSA schedule contract, under the conditions that the successor schedule contract includes those items awarded under the BPA and that the vendor honors the lower of the BPA prices or the new MAS price adjusted for any BPA discount.

It is anticipated that the RFQ will include the following technical factors:

(1) Compliance with technical characteristics

(2) Past Performance

The specific evaluation factors will be fully described in the RFQ.

PLEASE NOTE: FAR 15 DOES NOT APPLY

The Government intends to establish a BPA upon initial quotes received without further communicating with contractors. Consequently, contractors are highly encouraged to quote their best technical and pricing quotes in their initial submissions. However, the Government reserves the right to communicate with any or all contractors submitting a technical and price quote, if it is determined advantageous to the Government to do so. This statement is not to be construed to mean that the Government is obligated to communicate with every quarter (note that FAR Part 15 procedures do not apply to FSS orders, therefore formal discussions are not applicable). A contractor may be eliminated from consideration without further communication if its technical and/or pricing quotes are not among those contractors considered most advantageous to the Government.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

This is a notice for sources sought, and is intended to compile a list of companies interested in receiving the formal Request for Quote (RFQ). Quoted pricing is not required at this time. The information provided in this document is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure supplies or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay direct or indirect costs or charges that arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this notice or the Government’s use of such information.

https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov https://sam.gov

Enclosures:

● Sources Sought Questionnaire (located on pages 4-9, needs to be completed by the Contractor and returned in eBuy if interested in receiving the RFQ).

Attachments:

● Attachments 1-48:Item Product Descriptions Ergonomic Seating (IPD).

● Attachment 3: Business Transaction Processing Methods document

● Attachment 4: FED-MIL-STD-129R

● Attachment 5: FED-STD-123J

Sources Sought Questionnaire

Contractor Name:

Contractor’s GSA MAS Contract No:

Teaming Partners:

(Please complete Pages 4 - 7 and return to eBuy.

Also, please submit GSA product catalogs for the Manufacturer Part Numbers listed below).

National Stock Number (NSN)

Available on MAS

Schedule?

Yes or No

Manufacturer Name

Manufacturer Part Number

Manufacturer Business Size Under NAICS

337214

Delivery Time in Days from Receipt of Order

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305159

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305175

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110016305179

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015736561

STOOL,REVOLVING

7110015981893

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015981912

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015984112

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736556

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558492

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558510

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736562

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305163

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305182

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015871160

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305173

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558494

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736563

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015984108

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305177

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015871156

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736559

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305165

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305178

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015871159

STOOL,REVOLVING

7110015981899

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558495

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736560

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015984111

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305157

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110016305168

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305161

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305174

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305181

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305164

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305172

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305180

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110016305176

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558502

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015981918

7110015984383

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015984109

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558499

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015736558

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015558491

CHAIR,ROTARY

7110015736539

CHAIR,STRAIGHT

7110015871157

STOOL,REVOLVING

7110015981896

7110015558496

Additional Questions:

General

1. Does your product meet all technical requirements listed in the 48 IPD ? If not, please explain the differences.

2. Are your products independently third-party certified as compliant with the ANSI/BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard of a minimum Level 1 or higher, including one or more points under ANSI/ BIFMA e3 Section 7.6? If not, do your products have other sustainable certifications?

3. Will all products listed on the IPD be on a GSA Multiple Award Schedule Contract by the future RFQ closing date and time? If not, please list products that will not be listed and why.

4. Do the products ship fully assembled?

5. What product warranty do you offer and what is included in the warranty?

6. What is your minimum foam density for the seat cushion?

7. What is the durability standard of your mesh?

8. Does the upholstery fabric stretch over the entire bottom of the seat?

9. Please explain your upholstery stitching technique.

10. What is the maximum weight capacity for your Intensive Use 24/7 Task chair? Is the weight capacity above 400 lbs.? Does the chair have additional reinforcement in the seat and seat back?

11. Do you have any comments regarding the color options? Do you have any suggestions regarding industry trends?

12. Will you be able to meet the FOB Destination pricing requirements? What is the FOB term of your MAS contract?

13. Are there any other concerns you have after reviewing the RFI and IPD that may prevent you from submitting a competitive RFQ?

14. How are you grading your fabric options?

15. Do your guest chairs, including nesting chairs, come with a brushed/polished metal frame or are they painted/powder coated? What colors are available?