Request_for_Information (RFI)_Medical_Gas_Industry_.docx

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

TROOP SUPPORT

700 ROBBINS AVENUE

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19111-5092

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY (DLA) TROOP SUPPORT

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

MEDICAL GASES – Product Service Code (PSC) 6835

I. INTRODUCTION

Department of Defense (DoD) Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs)/ Dental Treatment Facility (DTFs) have a vital role in providing medical healthcare services to military personnel and their corresponding communities. The use of various Medical Gases at these MTFs/DTFs is a necessity in order to effectively perform many of those healthcare related services. The DoD consists of over one hundred (100) MTFs/DTFs that cumulatively spend approximately $10,000,000 on Medical Gas related supplies/services annually.

The Government appreciates your interest and willingness to provide information, for market research purposes, in support of the Warfighter!

II. BACKGROUND

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support is conducting market research in relation to medical gas support at MTFs/DTFs located within the Contiguous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Support would consist primarily of filling/refilling the cylinder(s)/tank(s) with various types of bulk liquid and cylinder compressed medical gases, consisting of Medical Liquid Oxygen (USP), Medical Gaseous Oxygen (USP), Medical Liquid Nitrogen (NF), Medical Compressed Nitrogen (NF), Medical Carbon Dioxide (USP), Medical Nitrous Oxide (USP), Medical Gaseous Helium (USP), Medical Liquid Helium (USP), Argon, Hydrogen, and Medical Grade Air (USP).

The intent of this RFI is to obtain feedback relating to medical gas vendor capabilities and industry standards/practices. The Government’s overall intent with obtaining vendor feedback is to develop a first generation national program for medical gases that will establish an alternative to local procurement actions and re-engineer the business process with an automated e-commerce business solution. This objective is tentatively expected to be accomplished via a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) fixed price with Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) contract utilizing a regional structure (regional structure identified below), where a single award IDIQ is awarded to each region, with intent to award to both a Primary Vendor and a Back-Up Vendor. As a result, two (2) single -award IDIQ’s may be awarded to support each region, one (1) for the Primary Vendor and one (1) for the Back-Up Vendor. Additionally, the term of the contracts awarded (both Primary Vendor and Back-Up) as a result of this solicitation will be a five (5) year base period and a single option to extend contracts for an additional five (5) year term.

III. TENTATIVE PROGRAM LOCATION SUPPORT STRUCTURE

A total of twelve (12) regions are tentatively established under this Medical Gas Program. Vendors can either participate as a Primary Vendor, Back-Up Vendor, or both. Furthermore, vendors can either submit pricing to compete (as Primary Vendor, Back-Up Vendor, or both) on a single region or multiple/all regions. However, the Primary Vendor and/or Back-Up Vendor must be capable of providing full support of the entire region (individual region locations specified below).

A single supplier may be awarded multiple regions, either as a Primary Vendor and/or Back-Up Vendor. However, no single supplier will be awarded as both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor for the same region(s).

The tentative program regional structure is as follows:

Pacific Region: California, Oregon, Washington Mountain Region: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming West North Central Region: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota East North Central Region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin Mid-Atlantic Region: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania New England Region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island West South Central Region: Arkansas, Louisana, Oklahoma, Texas East South Central Region: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee South Atlantic Region: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia Alaskan Region: Alaska Hawaiian Region: Hawaii Puerto Rico Region: Puerto Rico

IV. MINIMUM REQUIRED SUPPORT LOCATIONS

The below are the individual tentative minimum required support locations that make up each of the twelve (12) regions:

V. TENTATIVE PROGRAM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS

A. Medical Gas Cylinder Tentative Minimum Requirements:

(1.) Vendors are required to offer cylinder compressed medical gases, including Medical Liquid Oxygen (USP), Medical Gaseous Oxygen (USP), Medical Liquid Nitrogen (NF), Medical Compressed Nitrogen (NF), Medical Carbon Dioxide (USP), Medical Nitrous Oxide (USP), Medical Gaseous Helium (USP), Medical Liquid Helium (USP), Argon, Hydrogen, and Medical Grade Air (USP).

(2.) Vendors are required to offer each of the below patient medical gases at corresponding purities that are equal to or greater than those provided below:

(3.) Vendors are required to offer a variety of medical gas cylinder sizes that fully cover (see definition in below note) the required range of 400 – 8,620 liters (~14.13 – 304.41 Cubic Ft.). Cylinder sizes are often manufacturer-specific; therefore, vendors must offer a variety of cylinders +/- 100 liters (~3.53 Cubic Ft.) within the range identified above.

NOTE: As it relates to the above minimum requirement, “fully covered” shall be considered providing various medical gas cylinder sizes within the require range, but without any cylinder having greater than a 100-liter gap from the next nearest size.

B. Bulk Gas Tentative Minimum Requirements:

(1.) Vendors are required to offer medical gases (for existing bulk tank usage), including Medical Liquid Oxygen (USP) and Medical Gaseous Oxygen (USP).

(2.) Vendors are required to offer each of the below medical gases (for bulk tank usage) at corresponding purities that are equal to or greater than those provided below:

C. Tentative Additional Requirements / Certifications:

(1.) Vendors are required to offer dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in either rice, pellets, and/or blocks.

(2.) As it relates to medical gas cylinders, in accordance with the DHA Procedures Manual for Medical Gases (attachment to this RFI), the vendor is required to maintain all documentation certifying the purity of the compressed medical gas supplied to each Government facility.

(3.) As it relates to bulk medical gases, in accordance with the DHA Procedures Manual for Medical Gases (attachment to this RFI), the vendor is required to provide a Certificate of Purity documenting the concentration for each bulk medical gas delivery.

(4.) Throughout the life of any resultant contract, vendors are required to only offer patient medical gases that conform to the most recent specifications prescribed in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the National Formulary (NF), including standards that address quality, strength, purity, packaging, labeling, and identification.

(5.) Throughout the life of any resultant contract, the distributor (if other than manufacturer), the medical gas manufacturer, and vendor personnel that are the fillers of medical gases shall be registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, all patient medical gases shall be manufactured, processed, packaged, transported, and stored according to the latest version of the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations and Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 201, 210, 211, and 820. Furthermore, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) requires that a drug, including the finished dosage form and its components, meet CGMPs standards to assure drug safety, identity, strength, quality, and purity.

VI. TENTATIVE SUSTAINMENT AND SUPPORT MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

A. Tentative Support Minimum Requirements:

(1.) A vendor submitting to compete on any (or several/all) of the regions, either as the Primary Vendor and/or Back-Up Vendor must be able to provide coverage, at a minimum, to all of the specified individual Government facilities (identified above under Section IV.) under that particular region. In order to be eligible for award of a region, the vendor must be able to provide full support (i.e., support to all specified individual Government facilities under the corresponding region), either as the Primary Vendor or Back-Up Vendor, to at least one (1) of the twelve (12) regions specified under Section III. of this RFI.

(2.) As it relates specifically to both medical gas cylinders and bulk medical gas, whether the selected/awarded Primary Vendor is a manufacturer or a distributor of manufacturer-specific products, the Primary Vendor must provide consistent material (i.e., the same manufacturer-specific product) to the individual facilities for which it supports under that particular region and throughout the life of any resultant contract. The Primary Vendor may provide medical gas cylinder and bulk medical gas support via the use of multiple suppliers or manufacturer-specific products in order to support the region as a whole. However, continuity of single supplier / manufacturer-specific product must be maintained among each of the individual facilities within the awarded region(s) throughout the life of any resultant contract.

If other than the manufacturer, the offeror must submit with its proposal a letter of commitment from the manufacturer which will assure that the offeror will be able to source manufacturer(s) items and satisfy the Government's requirements for the contract period. The letter must provide assurance that offered pricing will be fixed for the life of the contract and could only be adjusted through the EPA clause. This requirement must be met prior to contract award.

NOTE: The requirements outlined in paragraph (2.) above do not apply to the Back-Up Vendor role. As such, the Back-Up Vendor may provide the required medical gases from several suppliers/sources, including at the individual facility level, as their role entails maintaining support as an interim solution, in addition to serving as a potential primary source for bulk medical gas, if the Primary Vendor is not able to fill those orders dependent upon who owns the bulk tank.

B. Tentative Sustainment Minimum Requirements:

(1.) The cylinder requalification process, including inspection, hydrostatic testing, cylinder marking, and physical reconditioning, shall be conducted in accordance with the guidance provided within “DHA Procedures Manual for Medical Gases (attachment to this RFI)” and the most recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Good Manufacturing Practice for Medical Gases.

C. Tentative Additional Requirements / Certifications:

(1.) During certain situations (situations further discussed in below Section VII. of this RFI) that may arise throughout the life of any resultant contract(s), the Primary Vendor and Back-Up vendors awarded to a shared region may need to coordinate with one another to ensure support requirements are being met and/or maintained. As such, in order to be eligible for award, either as Primary Vendor or Back-Up Vendor, vendors are required to provide certification that they agree to coordinate with the other vendor awarded to that shared region in order to ensure that requirements are being met and/or maintained, if such situation were to arise to require joint support. This certification does not entail nor require the use (refilling) or maintenance of other vendors cylinders.

(2.) As it relates to any region(s) proposing to provide support to, vendors must provide certification that they possess all of the licensing/certifications required by federal, state, and local laws and regulations to manufacture (if applicable) and/or distribute medical gases in accordance with the best recognized commercial practices.

(3.) Vendors must certify that they can and will meet all of the requirements specified within DHA Procedures Manual for Medical Gases (attachment to this RFI).

VII. PRIMARY VENDOR AND BACK-UP VENDOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Primary Vendor Roles and Responsibilities:

(1.) The Primary Vendor shall act as the primary and single source of supply during normal situations, “normal situations” being defined as an uninterrupted peacetime purchasing environment. Additionally, the Primary Vendor is required to support emergency orders, whether it be for emergency situations that do not impact the Primary Vendors ability to perform as the single source of supply or for emergency situations that do impact the Primary Vendors ability to perform as the single source of supply where the Primary Vendor would need to work in conjunction with the Back-Up Vendor (only when authorized by Contracting Officer). The Primary Vendor established for each region(s) is required to support the routine day-to-day ordering for all requirements that fall under that particular region(s) its contract was awarded under.

B. Back-Up Vendor Roles and Responsibilities:

(1.) The Back-Up Vendor acts as an alternate and/or additional source of supply in situations where the Primary Vendor is unable to perform, whether partially or entirely, on requirements under that shared region(s). Such situations may include, but are not limited to, performance related issues, supply/manufacturing issues, and/or additional aid during emergency/war situations (i.e., Force Majeure). During normal situations, the Back-Up Vendor remains on support standby.

As it relates to the limitations that exist with bulk tank refills, where only Government owned or Primary Vendor owned bulk tanks could be refilled by the Primary Vendor, the Back-Up Vendor (whether manufacturer or distributor) may act as the primary source of supply for bulk tank deliveries to locations within their awarded region in situations when the bulk tank is not owned by the Government or the awarded Primary Vendor, but the Back-Up is capable and authorized to refill the bulk tank (whether as the manufacturer or a distributor of the manufacturer that owns that particular bulk tank). Otherwise, the Back-Up Vendor established for each region(s) is only required to perform on the routine day-to-day ordering when authorized, in writing, by the Contracting Officer.

VIII. TENTATIVE CONTRACT LIMITATIONS

A. Maximum Contract Limitation:

Recent historical sales data for covered products has been approximately $10 million per year. The total program estimate for the next 10 years is approximately $700 million based on historical sales, estimates for sales growth, and contingencies.

A contract maximum shall be established by the Government for each regional Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor contract through analysis of available information, which may include analysis of previous sales, commercial sales, or other methods. This single maximum contract limitation shall apply for life of the contract, including the base year and all option years, if exercised. No single regional contract maximum shall exceed $100 million and the cumulative regional contract maximum, which accounts for any vendor(s) award of multiple regions, shall not exceed $350 million.

B. Regional Maximum Ordering Quantity:

Throughout the life of any resultant contract, including the base and option periods, the Government has the option to purchase covered supplies/services in accordance with the following regional quantity estimates of each region:

NOTE 1: The estimated quantities listed above are only estimates based on data available at this time. The Government is in no way obligated to purchase beyond the minimum guaranteed quantity (identified below). With the submission of its proposal, vendors shall consider any business risk associated with these estimates.

NOTE 2: Under normal conditions, it is estimated that the Back-Up vendor will have a maximum regional quantity estimate that is approximately 10% of that of the Primary Vendor. However, as reflected in the above chart the Back-Up vendor is provided the same maximum regional quantity estimate as the Primary Vendor, which is intended represent the most extreme circumstance where the Primary Vendor is no longer able to provide support to a particular region(s) and responsibility to maintain support defaults to the Back-Up vendor.

C. Guaranteed Minimum Ordering Quantity:

The Government guarantees that it will order a minimum quantity among each region as outlined below. The Government may fulfill the guarantee by a single delivery order or by any number of delivery orders.

NOTE: The above regional guaranteed minimums apply to each the base and option period, if exercised.

IX. TENTATIVE CONTRACT TERM

The tentative term of the contracts awarded (both Primary Vendor and Back-Up) as a result of this solicitation will be a five (5) year base period and a single option to extend contracts for an additional five (5) year term.

X. ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT

Economic Price Adjustment clause 52.216-2 - ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT-STANDARD SUPPLIES is contemplated for use in the proposed acquisition.

(a) The Contractor warrants that the unit price stated in the Schedule for all offered items is not in excess of the Contractor’s applicable established price in effect on the contract date for like quantities of the same item. The term "unit price" excludes any part of the price directly resulting from requirements for preservation, packaging, or packing beyond standard commercial practice. The term "established price" means a price that-

(1) Is an established catalog or market price for a commercial product sold in substantial quantities to the general public; and

(2) Is the net price after applying any standard trade discounts offered by the Contractor.

(b) The Contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of the amount and effective date of each decrease in any applicable established price. Each corresponding contract unit price shall be decreased by the same percentage that the established price is decreased. The decrease shall apply to those items delivered on and after the effective date of the decrease in the Contractor’s established price, and this contract shall be modified accordingly.

(c) If the Contractor’s applicable established price is increased after the contract date, the corresponding contract unit price shall be increased, upon the Contractor’s written request to the Contracting Officer, by the same percentage that the established price is increased, and the contract shall be modified accordingly, subject to the following limitations:

(1) The aggregate of the increases in any contract unit price under this clause shall not exceed 10 percent of the original contract unit price.

(2) The increased contract unit price shall be effective-

(i) On the effective date of the increase in the applicable established price if the Contracting Officer receives the Contractor’s written request within 10 days thereafter: or

(ii) If the written request is received later, on the date the Contracting Officer receives the request.

(3) The increased contract unit price shall not apply to quantities scheduled under the contract for delivery before the effective date of the increased contract unit price, unless failure to deliver before that date results from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor, within the meaning of the Default clause.

(4) No modification increasing a contract unit price shall be executed under this paragraph (c) until the Contracting Officer verifies the increase in the applicable established price.

(5) Within 30 days after receipt of the Contractor’s written request, the Contracting Officer may cancel, without liability to either party, any undelivered portion of the contract items affected by the requested increase.

(d) During the time allowed for the cancellation provided for in paragraph (c)(5) of this clause, and thereafter if there is no cancellation, the Contractor shall continue deliveries according to the contract delivery schedule, and the Government shall pay for such deliveries at the contract unit price, increased to the extent provided by paragraph (c) of this clause.

(End of clause)

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.216-2

The following paragraph(s) of 52.216-2 are amended as indicated below:

Paragraph (c)(1) of FAR 52.216-2 is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

(c)(1) On an annual basis, the aggregate of the increases in any contract unit price under this clause shall not exceed 10 percent of the prior contract unit price.

Paragraph (c)(1)(i) of FAR 52.216-2 is hereby added and consists of the following:

(c)(1)(i) Any adjustment requests (upwards or downwards) from a supplier other than the manufacturer and that does not sell commercially, must utilize the manufacturers established price catalog, as the basis for their adjustment requests.

XI. DISCLOSURE

This notice is being issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government expects that any information provided in response to this RFI will be considered and treated as unrestricted information, which can be used by the Government in any future planning or acquisitions. All information, comments, and suggestions determined to be beneficial to DLA Troop Support may be incorporated into future acquisition documents or contracts, without identifying the source or obtaining prior approval from the source, unless it has expressly and specifically been designated as proprietary by the vendor. Any vendor information provided in response to this RFI which the vendor considers to be proprietary must expressly, clearly, and specifically be identified by the vendor as proprietary. Proprietary information will be handled accordingly and not discussed publicly.

Information provided in response to this RFI will be shared between DLA and DHA.

The Government shall not be responsible or liable for any costs incurred by any party in the preparation of response to this RFI. DLA does not guarantee that any resultant acquisition action will result from this RFI.

XII. RFI SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

RFI responses to the below questions must be submitted to Mario Buonanoce at Mario.Buonanoce@dla.mil no later than February 1, 2024, at 3:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Any extension requests shall also be submitted to Mario Buonanoce at Mario.Buonanoce@dla.mil.

RFI QUESTIONS

A. General Questions:

(1.) Question 1: Please provide the name of your company name and address and corresponding Company Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code.

Vendor Response:

(2.) Question 2: Is your company able to mee the technical, support, and sustainment requirements outlined under Sections V. and VI. of this RFI? If not, which specific requirement(s) is you company not able to meet and please briefly explain why/how you company cannot meet a particular requirement(s).

Vendor Response:

(3.) Question 3: Is your company able to provide the necessary certifications provided under Sections V. (C.) and VI. (C.) above? If not, please identify which certification(s) your company cannot agree to and please briefly explain why your company cannot agree to those certifications.

Vendor Response:

(4.) Question 4: Is your company a manufacturer of ALL of the required items (i.e., various required medical gases, including medical gas cylinders, bulk medical gases) or is your company a distributor of all required items?

Vendor Response:

(5.) Question 5: Whether your company is a manufacturer or a distributor in the medical gas industry, does your company deliver the medical gas cylinders and bulk gas to the customers directly, or does another company fulfill delivery on behalf of your company? If so, please briefly explain that process.

Vendor Response:

(6.) Question 6: Does your company own the medical gas cylinders being delivered? If not, who owns the medical gas cylinders your company utilizes for delivery to customers?

Vendor Response:

(7.) Question 7: Is you company considered a small or large business under NAICS 325120 INDUSTRIAL GAS MANUFACTURING?

Vendor Response:

(8.) Question 8: Would your company be interested in the Primary Vendor role, Back-Up Vendor role or both the Primary and Back-Up Vendor roles? If not interested in a particular role, please briefly explain why.

Vendor Response:

(9.) Question 9: Does your company meet the minimum support requirement of being able to provide full support (i.e., support to all specified Government facilities under corresponding region), either as the Primary Vendor or Back-Up Vendor, to at least one (1) of the twelve (12) regions specified under Section III. above? This requirement entails being solely responsible for any/all orders that get placed at any facility within a particular region. If so, please confirm which specific region(s) your company can provide full support to. If unable to meet the support requirements of any region, please briefly explain why.

Vendor Response:

(10.) Question 10: Contracts awarded under any resultant solicitation will require the vendor to be solely responsible for providing full medical gas support (medical gas cylinders and bulk gas support), to all of the facilities within their awarded region(s). Has your company ever performed on a contract (whether commercial or Government) or several contracts that when combined equate to a size/scope comparable to that of the tentative proposed acquisition? If so, please briefly explain how that contract(s) is relevant in terms of items being purchased (i.e., were various medical gases, including medical gas cylinders, bulk medical gas being purchased?) for an extended period of time (i.e., was the contract term longer than 3 years?), and are comparable to the size/scope of the proposed acquisition (i.e., were you solely responsible for providing uninterrupted support to several facilities within a particular geographic region?). Additionally, if your company has not performed at this size/scope for any current/previous commercial or Government long term contract(s) for medical gas related supplies, please briefly explain what qualifications/business changes (i.e., scaling your business), strategies, and/or implementation would make your company able to effectively perform under any resultant contract issued from the proposed program. Please reference the solicitation/contract number of any Government contracts used in response to this question.

Vendor Response:

(11.) Question 11: If your company is interested in the Primary Vendor role of any region(s), does your company meet the minimum requirement provide consistent material (i.e., the same manufacturer-specific product) to the individual facilities for which it supports under that particular region throughout the life of any resultant contract (reference Section VI. A. (2.) of this RFI for more information on this requirement)?

For example, if your company, whether a manufacturer or a distributor, provide manufacturer-X-specific product to fill an order at a particular facility, would future orders for that same facility be provided the same manufacture-X-specific product (throughout the life of any resultant contract) that was originally provided or does sourcing vary? If there is variation in source supply, please briefly explain why. Additionally, if acting as a distributor stating that your company can meet this requirement, would your company be able to meet the requirements to obtain a letter from the manufacturer, within which the manufacturer provides assurance that the offeror (i.e., distributor) will be able to source manufacturers’ items and satisfy the Government's requirements for the contract period. The letter must also provide assurance that offered pricing will be fixed for the life of the contract and could only be adjusted through the EPA clause.

Vendor Response:

(12.) Question 12: Whether the manufacturer or distributor, does you company source bulk medical gas from a variety of manufacturers? If a variety, what manufacturers specifically does your company source bulk gas from? Please provide a breakdown of any/all manufacturers your company currently have agreements with that would be used to provide bulk gas support to each of the applicable regions.

Vendor Response:

(13.) Question 13: As it relates to both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor roles, what is your estimated delivery lead time (in number of days), including normal ordering lead time and emergency ordering lead time, for medical gas cylinders within the regions your company can provide full support to? Please complete applicable fields for regions your company can support (see note below chart):

NOTE: If your company is interested in both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up roles of a particular region(s) and the delivery lead times offered would differ among those roles, please specify which lead time corresponds to which role in the above chart.

(14.) Question 14: As it relates to both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor roles, what is your estimated delivery lead time (in number of days), including normal ordering lead time and emergency ordering lead time, for bulk medical gas within the regions your company can provide full support to? Please complete applicable fields for regions your company can support (see note below chart):

NOTE: If your company is interested in both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up roles of a particular region(s) and the delivery lead times offered would differ among those roles, please specify which lead time corresponds to which role in the above chart.

(15.) Question 15: Is your company capable of offering dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in either rice, pellets, and/or blocks?

Vendor Response:

B. Pricing Questions:

(16.) Question 16: Can your company provide all minimum required items (reference Section V. of this RFI) at a fixed price (with EPA), where the pricing is established based on the applicable region, and as such, the fixed pricing would apply to all of the Government facilities being supported under that particular region? If not, please explain.

NOTE 1: This question is intended to capture normal ordering conditions, such as general support of facilities routine/recurring medical gas needs. As such, this question does not include emergency situations or other situations that may require additional fees, as those would be handled on an individual order basis and priced separate from the end item.

NOTE 2: As stated above under Section II. of this RFI, vendors would be able to adjust prices throughout the life of the contract in accordance with EPA clause terms.

NOTE 3: As additional context when providing a response to this question, the Government’s intent is to have pricing for fees (i.e. hazardous, delivery, fuel, etc.) priced separate from the end item (i.e., medical gas cylinders, bulk gas, etc.). Please see sample pricing formats provided below for the minimum required items and corresponding fees.

Technical Minimum Required Items Pricing Format Example (Liquid Oxygen Cylinders):

Corresponding Fees Pricing Format Example (cylinders):

Medical Gas Cylinder Related Fees

Delivery Fee

Fuel Surcharge

Hazardous Fee

NOTE: The above pricing formats are specifically in relation to pricing for medical gas cylinders. However, this format is be provided for sample purposes and although not provided above, bulk gas would be priced in similar format. Vendor proposed pricing in response to any resultant solicitation would be in the above formats and the pricing provided would be fixed for the life of the contract, unless adjusted in accordance with EPA clause. Furthermore, for any vendor interested in competing on more than one region, pricing of these line items may vary by region, as pricing will be quoted individually for each region.

Vendor Response:

(17.) Question 17 (Distributor Only): If your company acts a distributor of the required items (i.e., various required medical gases, including medical gas cylinders, bulk medical gas), does your company apply a mark-up to the manufacturer prices? If so, what mark-up percentage does your company generally apply for medical gases (medical gas cylinder and bulk gas) and how is the mark-up established? If providing a range of mark-up percentages, please explain how the established mark-up could vary within that range and whether the established mark-up percentage varies among commercial and Government customers. Additionally, does your company apply a mark-up, if any, to the corresponding fees (delivery charge, fuel surcharge, hazardous fee, etc.) associated with the purchase of medical gas related items.

Vendor Response:

(18.) Question 18 (Distributor Only): If acting as a distributor of the required items (i.e., various medical gases, including medical gas cylinders, bulk medical gas), does your company directly handle any physical product (i.e., use your own trucks to go to manufacturer Air Separation Unit (ASU’s) to source medical gases, either for cylinders or bulk gas for delivery to a facility)? If yes, please briefly explain this process.

Vendor Response:

(19.) Question 19: As stated above in the third note of question 16, the Government’s intent is to have pricing for fees (i.e. hazardous, delivery, fuel, etc.) priced separate from the end item (i.e., medical gas cylinders, bulk gas, etc.). Is your company able to price these fees individually (i.e., separate from the end item)? If not, please briefly explain why.

Vendor Response:

(20.) Question 20: Within many industries, the commercial pricing practice is that vendors offer pricing that is based on discounts off a single list price used for all customers. The list price is contained in the vendor’s commercial price list/catalog, which would apply to all customers during the validity period of the price list/catalog. Does your company have an established catalog (i.e., commercial price list) or market price for the products being sold under the proposed acquisition (i.e., various required medical gases, including medical gas cylinders, bulk medical gas). If not, please briefly explain why (refer to below note).

NOTE: A “commercial price list” is an established catalog or market price for a commercial item sold in substantial quantities to the general public.

Vendor Response:

(21.) Question 21: Does your company agree with the EPA terms outlined under the EPA clause 52.216-2 provided in Section X. of this RFI (also reference the addendum to FAR 52.216-2)? If not, please briefly explain why.

Vendor Response:

(22.) Question 22: Does your company incorporate cylinder maintenance charges in the rental charge or is maintenance charged separately? Please briefly explain how your company applies cylinder maintenance charges and what factors may impact whether these charges are separate of covered under the cylinder rental charge. Additionally, how often is cylinder maintenance generally required (i.e., every year, every five years, etc. ).

Vendor Response:

(23.) Question 23: What fees exist in the medical gas industry in relation to the medical gas cylinders and bulk tank refills? Out of those fees, please identify those that are the most common.

Vendor Response:

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