RFI (Final).pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

and PRESOLICITATION NOTICE

5.56mm Service Ammunition

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Customs and Border Protection

INTRODUCTION

The Law Enforcement Safety and Compliance Directorate (LESC), on behalf of Operations Support (OS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting market research to gain a greater understanding of the full range of available options for the ammunition industry’s ability to provide CBP suitable 5.56mm NATO service ammunition which meet the government’s preliminarily identified requirements. This is an RFI released pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 – Market Research.

This RFI’s purpose is to obtain market information on viable sources of supply, industry practices, answers to specific questions, and industry comments. All RFI submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

This announcement constitutes an official Request for Information (RFI). Further, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or Government use of such information. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by CBP in developing and refining its Acquisition Strategy, Statement of Work, and Performance Specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response.

The U.S. Government does not intend to award a contract solely on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to same. The U.S. Government is not obligated to notify respondents of the results of this survey.

DESCRIPTION

This initiative, 5.56mm Service Ammunition, is a new requirement to allow Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Components, and other federal agencies the ability to supply their armed workforce with service ammunition while achieving significant cost savings and superior performance. CBP has around 45,000 armed agents and officers with approximately another 27,000 armed DHS employees across other Components for a total of ~72,000 that utilize rifles as part of their assigned law enforcement duties. This is in addition to other federal law enforcement entities that may utilize this contract. CBP intends to solicit a 5 year Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract for 5.56mm ammunition for their AR platform rifles. This contract is intended to be a Single Award, Multi-Agency Contract (MAC).

The Law Enforcement Safety and Compliance Directorate (LESC), Harpers Ferry, WV, on behalf of Operations Support (OS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is assessing the ammunition industry’s ability to provide DHS with suitable duty ammunition which meet the government’s preliminarily identified requirements. Attached is a draft Statement of Work for review and comment.

This announcement constitutes an official Request for Information (RFI). This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the SAM.gov website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

INFORMATION REQUESTED:

1. Company Name, Company Address, Point of Contact, Telephone Number, and e-mail Address.

2. Are you under NAICS code 332994 Small Arms, Ordnance, and Ordnance Accessories Manufacturing? If not, what NAICS code do you use? What size business are you registered as with this code?

3. What is your organization’s experience with, and capability for, manufacturing and distributing service ammunition for military or law enforcement agencies? Does this experience include designing specific cartridges to meet agencies/military technical requirements?

4. Where is your ammunition manufactured and/or assembled? If parts/components are manufactured in a different location from final assembly, please identify all subcontractors’ names and locations.

5. Is your organization capable of manufacturing a 5.56mm cartridge that meets the technical requirements included in the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW)?

6. Does your organization offer ammunition with a warranty? If yes, please provide warranty length, and coverage of warranty.

7. Provide a synopsis of current Quality Control process related to duty ammunition.

8. Are you ISO certified? If so, what is your level of ISO certification?

9. Provide your total manufacturing capacity for rifle ammunition on a quarterly basis.

10. What quantity of production could be devoted to this contract per quarter?

11. What is your surge capacity for ammunition devoted to this contract?

12. What is the normal lead-time for delivery of ammunition once an order is received?

a. 5,000,000 rounds

b. 10,000,000 rounds

c. 30,000,000 rounds

13. Do you have any concerns or questions regarding the requirements set forth in the attached draft Statement of Work?

RESPONSES

The information provided may be used by CBP in developing and refining its Acquisition Strategy, Statement of Work, and Performance Specifications. Responses shall be the minimum length necessary to accommodate all requested information and submitted via e-mail only.

Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on betaSAM.gov website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contracting Officer, email address listed above. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted.

Questions, if not answered directly to the respondee, will be answered by posting on the SAM.gov website; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary, sensitive, or classified information. Vendors interested in purchasing the SOW specified AR platform uppers for research and testing purposes may contact the Contracting Officer for rifle manufacturer point of contact info.

Instructions and Response Guidelines:

Please provide the information you deem relevant in order to respond to the specific inquiries of the RFI. Information provided will be used solely by CBP as market research. This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request for

Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bid, or Request for Quotation (RFQ), and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response to this request. All information contained in this RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government.

RFI Responses shall be submitted electronically via email to the Contract Specialist, Starla VanWinkle at starla.r.vanwinkle@cbp.dhs.gov no later than 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

Telephone responses will not be accepted. The Government is not required to respond to any information provided in response to this RFI. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor Fedbizopps.gov for additional information pertaining to this RFI.

mailto:starla.r.vanwinkle@cbp.dhs.gov

Telephone responses will not be accepted. The Government is not required to respond to any information provided in response to this RFI. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor Fedbizopps.gov for additional information pertaining...