RFI_Program for Advancing Supply Chain Outcomes_PASCO_12.22.2020 (1).pdf

Embassy of the United States of America

Subdivision 694/Stand 100 Ibex Hill Road

P.O. Box 320373

Lusaka, Zambia

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

TO: All Prospective Offerors

DATE OF ISSUE: December 22, 2020

CLOSING DATE: January 28, 2021 at 17:00 Lusaka time

SUBMISSION EMAIL: oaa-solicit-lusaka@usaid.gov

SUBJECT: RFI - Draft Performance Based Work Statement (PBWS)

Program for Advancing Supply Chain Outcomes (PASCO)

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development

(USAID), is seeking input from interested parties to provide comments, opinions, and recommendations in response to the proposed draft Performance Based Work Statement

(PBWS) attached.

USAID/Zambia is working closely with the Zambian Government through the Ministry of

Health (MoH) and Medical Stores Limited (MSL) to establish and operate a safe, secure, reliable and sustainable supply chain of pharmaceuticals, laboratory and other HIV-related health commodities. To effectively achieve a sustainable pharmaceutical supply chain, USAID/Zambia seeks to develop a pool of Zambian organizations that will strategically manage third party logistics related to transportation and distribution services of pharmaceuticals, laboratory and other HIV-related health commodities.

This RFI is soliciting input/feedback from interested offerors on the attached Performance

Based Work Statement (PBWS). This activity will focus on the provision of transportation and distribution of health commodities which will require order management, transport management and delivery of commodities from MSL to the regional hubs, District Health

Offices (DHOs), and to the last mile or service delivery points (hospitals and health centers).

The release of this RFI in no way obligates the United States Government or USAID to release a solicitation for this proposed activity, nor is USAID/Zambia responsible for any costs incurred in preparing responses to this RFI.

All responses to this RFI must be emailed to the attention of Mr. Mohib Ahmed, Supervisory

Contracting Officer, and Ms. Shachibonde Kasanda, Acquisition and Assistance Specialist, at the email address listed above, by no later than the date and time listed on this cover letter.

USAID/Zambia may choose to publish responses to the RFI submissions in an anonymized format through https://beta.sam.gov/.

mailto:oaa-solicit-lusaka@usaid.gov https://beta.sam.gov/

RFI - Program for Advancing Supply Chain Outcomes (PASCO)

Thank you for your interest in the subject request for information.

Sincerely, Mohib Ahmed

Supervisory Contracting Officer

Director, Office of Acquisition and Assistance

ATTACHMENTS:

1. RFI Response Requirements

2. Draft Performance Based Work Statement (PBWS) - PASCO

ATTACHMENT 1 – RFI RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Interested parties are strongly encouraged to submit a response to this inquiry. All submissions must be via email, in Microsoft Word attachments and should be in the following format:

1. Email Subject Line: USAID/Zambia PASCO RFI - [Organization Name]

2. File Attachment: USAID/Zambia PASCO RFI - [Organization Name]

3. Cover page, not to exceed two (2) pages, that includes:

● Organization name and address

● Point of contact name and contact information

● Brief statement of interest that indicates the organization’s interest in applying as a prime or subcontractor. If a team or consortium is envisioned, please provide the names of the potential partner organizations, if possible.

● Brief statement about the organization’s experience in managing transportation and distribution of health commodities, or similar commodities, in Zambia and/or in other countries, including the scale of commodities previously/currently managed.

Please include details describing the organization’s experience managing resources, technology, infrastructure, and external 3PLs to deliver commodities.

● Brief statement describing the organization’s capacity to conduct modeling and data analysis related to transportation system performance metrics, including the organization’s experience using spot pricing.

● Brief statement describing the organization’s experience in managing data information management systems that can integrate with other supply chain information systems such enterprise management software (ERP) and logistics management information system (LMIS), as well as fourth party logistics (4PL) tracking tools to facilitate continuous improvement and virtual control of medicine distribution.

● Brief statement describing the organization’s strategic capacity for 4PL management including resources for allocation, capacity and methodology for sourcing and any pre-qualification.

● Brief statement describing the organization’s expertise in working with

Government counterparts.

4. Comments and/or questions on the draft PBWS. Submissions must not exceed five (5) pages, excluding annexes/attachments that may be relevant. Please reference the Page and Section Title of the RFI document for each question to ensure USAID fully understands the question/comment.

5. No proprietary, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. USAID reserves the right to use any non-proprietary information in any resulting solicitation(s).

No other documents or information are requested at this time. USAID asks respondents to not send any additional information other than what is requested above and to adhere to the page limits mentioned.

[END OF ATTACHMENT 1 - RFI RESPONSES REQUIREMENTS]

ATTACHMENT 2 – DRAFT SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/PERFORMANCE

BASED WORK STATEMENT

C.1 ACTIVITY TITLE

The Activity Title is Program for Advancing Supply Chain Outcomes (PASCO).

C.2 OVERVIEW

The Program for Advancing Supply Chain Outcomes (PASCO) is a commodity distribution program to improve life-saving commodity availability at service delivery points through Medical

Stores Limited (MSL). PASCO takes the current third-party logistics (3PL) activity managed by the Global Health Supply Chain Procurement-Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project a step further by including last mile distribution and strategic logistics management. Under the leadership of USAID and in consultation with the MSL Team, the contractor will provide fourth party logistics (4PL) services which include but are not limited to distribution and transportation management.

C.3 SUCCESS

PASCO will manage and facilitate a more effective and efficient transportation system to distribute health commodities from MSL to the regional distribution centers, district health offices (DHOs) and eventually to the last mile (hospitals and health centers) to ensure improved availability of commodities at service delivery points (SDPs). Successful implementation of this activity must result in an increase in on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery of life-saving commodities to SDPs and a reduction in the number of days a given facility is stocked out (i.e. decrease in stock out turnaround time (STAT) from the baseline over the period of performance).

C.4 KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Implementation of PASCO will require coordination and collaboration with key stakeholders. A fully supported and sustainable transportation and distribution system will require increased contributions from the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), donors, and other stakeholders throughout the project’s life. During the life of the award, PASCO will engage with

GRZ, donors, and other stakeholders to secure on-going funding and technical support for the system. In coordination with donors and GRZ, the activity will identify components of the system that can be transitioned and supported by other donors and GRZ, for full ownership by

GRZ by end of project. The following list provides key stakeholders and their respective roles and responsibilities within the PASCO Activity:

Stakeholder Role

GHSC-PSM Provide TA to MSL on 3PL coordination and oversight

MSL National counterpart for program implementation

USAID

Directly manage the PASCO contract with the end-goal to move all oversight of the transportation services to MSL

Global Fund and other donors Counterparts for resource mobilization

Ministry of Health National counterpart for governance and leadership

USAID Implementing

Partners

Counterparts for service delivery, last mile storage, order management, logistics management information systems, and facility inventory management

C.5 BACKGROUND

USAID’s assistance in Zambia focuses on the following key objectives: improving the health of

Zambians, with a particular focus on women, at-risk youth, and vulnerable children; reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases; increasing agriculture-led economic growth to reduce rural poverty and food insecurity; mitigating the effects of climate vulnerability and promoting sustainable management of natural resources;

raising the quality of basic education to increase literacy; increasing access to electricity; and enhancing democratic governance.

USAID/Zambia supports the strengthening of in-country supply chain systems in Zambia through a variety of intervention partnerships with the GRZ. The GHSC-PSM project provides global procurement services for commodities procured with USG funding and coordinates with local partners, GRZ, other donors, and regional subject matter experts to improve medical commodity security. Within Zambia’s supply chain, core functions such as warehousing and transportation services for medicines and health commodities are managed by the central medical stores, MSL, with plans to transition these functions to the new statutory entity, Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA). USAID/Zambia, through the U.S.

President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health programs, procures and distributes more than $100 million in medicines, test kits, lab products and other medical supplies each year, which are stored and delivered to health facilities through MSL’s distribution system.

Currently, USAID/Zambia’s main mechanism for addressing supply chain procurement and technical issues is through GHSC-PSM, which has been providing oversight and management of the Third-Party Logistics (3PL) activities and providing on-going technical support to MSL and supply chain managers at provincial, district, and health facility levels. Currently, GHSC-PSM provides significant technical assistance (TA) to MSL for both overall management and targeted interventions for warehouse systems and transportation services management. Specifically, GHSC-PSM TA supports human resource (HR) needs, procurement services, and supplemental transport services through Vpiee Import and Export Enterprise for non-temperature sensitive commodities, Marvin Motors and Transport Limited for cold chain, and Taurus Partners

Limited for distribution of insecticide treated nets. GHSC-PSM provides approximately 85% of the country’s commodity distribution with support from USAID.

C.6 OBJECTIVES

The goal of PASCO is to ensure sustainable access to safe, effective, quality-assured, affordable lifesaving health commodities by strengthening capacity for transportation and distribution systems through Zambian owned Logistics Organization. In this effort, USAID has identified three overarching objectives that address life-saving commodity availability at service delivery points.

1. Respond to the need of the GRZ through MSL to deliver commodities from the central medical stores warehouse to various regional distribution centers and health centers while ensuring commodity safe arrival

2. Timely delivery of lifesaving commodities to service delivery point

3. Improve the availability and access of lifesaving health commodities with assured quality to the people who need them

Public health supply chain performance is measured by the reliability, flexibility, and responsiveness of the functions in the supply chain and its logistics management information system. Efficiency and reliability of the supply chain, supported by a well-coordinated distribution system, is a key success factor in ensuring the smooth flow of goods and services.

In order to achieve the stated success in section C.3, PASCO will support evolving supply chain needs through the proposed activities listed below:

● Manage resources, technology, infrastructure, and external 3PLs to provide national transportation and distribution of health commodities, considering international standards and regulations around the medicines, equipment, and medical devices that will be included in the deliveries

● Development and implementation of a distribution plan that outlines relationships and

Standard Operating Procedures with MSL and partners that ensures on-time, in-full delivery (Distribution plan should be responsive and flexible to changing needs but follow guidelines as outlined)

● Conduct an initial modeling and data analysis exercise to provide baseline metrics of the transportation system to provide route optimization information as well as ensure cost control data as described in more detail under “Modeling and baseline data collection of supply chain network”

● Provide technical advice and guidance to MSL on direct distribution system implementation to enhance last mile distribution and a plan for transition of contract management by end of project.

● Provide data visibility, reporting, and analytics utilizing well-established data information management systems which can integrate with other supply chain information systems such as ERP and LMIS, as well as 4PL tracking tools to facilitate continuous improvement and virtual control of medicine distribution for monitoring and evaluation; examples of best in class data include proof of delivery, vehicle tracking, cubic volume, cycle time, etc.

It is expected that the transportation and distribution of commodities, previously managed through GHSC-PSM and their 3PL provider, will transition to this new bilateral award within three months of the execution of this contract. This will facilitate a smooth transition and ensure commodities are available during the transition. The 4PL provider will be expected to work directly with USAID/Zambia and MSL during this transition.

C.7 LINKS TO CDCS

USAID/Zambia supports GRZ’s enhanced human capital development Objective 4 in the 7th

National Development Plan (7NDP) through its Country Development Cooperation Strategy

(CDCS) Development Objective 3 (DO3): Capacity of Zambia’s Government, Citizens and

Private Sector Increased to Improve Health Outcomes and Meet Critical Needs of Vulnerable

Populations. This objective will be realized when the PASCO activity contributes to the following CDCS intermediate result:

● IR 3.2: Health System Effectiveness, Capacity and Sustainability Strengthened Increased.

● Sub-IR 3.2.1: Health care delivery standards improved

● Sub-IR 3.2.2: Human resource capacity increased

This activity therefore will contribute to the USAID/Zambia Health PAD, Improving Health

Status for Zambians, under Development Objective 3 (DO3).

C.8 ASSUMPTIONS

USAID/Zambia believes that through this activity the results will be achieved by the end of the five years given the following assumptions:

● By strengthening the capacity for transport and distribution systems, there will be improved availability of health commodities to meet patient demand.

● GRZ is stable and the country remains peaceful

● GRZ will take ownership of the Activity

● GRZ will continue to invest in supply chain, increasing its contributions over the life of the PASCO Activity i.e. over the next five years

The assumptions listed above will be revisited on an annual basis during the PMP review to help determine why results are (or are not) being met.

C.9 SCOPE

PASCO will be expected to deliver commodities from MSL to the regional hubs, DHOs, and to the last mile or service delivery points (hospitals and health centers). Health centers will include ART sites and high-volume sites across Zambia. While these locations will serve as the basis for the original contract scope, pick-up and delivery locations are subject to change.

PASCO should plan for distribution to all service delivery points, with a priority placed on high volume locations (locations and criteria will be shared). It is expected that the initial modeling and data analysis will help establish routes and vehicle requirements and PASCO will work with

USAID/Zambia and MSL to review route optimization data to finalize the distribution plan.

PASCO must provide targeted, high-impact technical collaboration with MSL, coupled with direct implementation to improve availability of life-saving health commodities at SDPs. This activity will initially cover regional distribution centers, high volume facilities, and selected health facilities including the 271 facilities currently being covered under the 3PL contract managed by

GHSC-PSM. In total, PASCO will start with 1000 facilities in year 1, with the potential to increase the coverage and geographic scope to 2000 facilities in year 2 and 2500 in the final year. PASCO’s ambition is to roll out approximately additional 1500-2500 health facilities by the end of the activity.

C.10 TECHNICAL APPROACH

PASCO is expected to serve as a fourth party logistics provider (4PL) to carry out this activity.

In this role, PASCO is expected to contract transportation providers, either entirely or as a complement to using their own transportation fleet. As a 4PL provider, it is expected that

PASCO will offer an integrated transportation solution, coordinating various transportation providers, using a single information system and shared technologies, and continuously analyzing data and performance in the aim of creating a more cost-effective medical commodity supply chain. As a 4PL partner, PASCO is expected to employ specialist resources such as industrial engineers and supply chain practitioners; leverage knowledge and experience across regions, sectors, and industries; and provide cost efficiency by deploying at scale. PASCO is expected to integrate technologies with existing data systems at MSL and to ensure that orders can be successfully picked and delivered.

To successfully work within the public health system, PASCO is also expected to adapt its programs to respond to unexpected challenges. As the Zambian public health system is not accustomed to working with the private sector, making the relationship work will take some effort and time. This should be taken into consideration in PASCO’s approach recognizing that there may be need for additional communication and intervention to ensure commodities are successfully delivered. As this public-private business relationship grows and develops, the 4PL provider should aim to professionalize the medical commodity distribution systems as much as possible, applying appropriate and customized private sector best practices.

C.11 SUSTAINABILITY

Key to any transportation and distribution system is the ownership by the host government. An essential project objective is sustainability and ownership of the system which will transition to

GRZ by the completion of the project. The contractor will develop and implement a sustainability plan, in collaboration with MOH and MSL, 24 months after the start of award to be updated by the end of this activity; the contractor will map out the future sustainability and ownership of the system by the MOH and MSL. A key measure of sustainability will be the inclusion of PASCO activities with approved funding from the GRZ in the MSL annual work plan and budget.

C.12 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

A negative determination with conditions has been reached for this award. The contractor is subject to the terms and conditions for Environmental Compliance as will be defined in Section

H. Therefore, the contractor must demonstrate how paper waste will be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner in-line with both GRZ and United States of America environmental regulations.

C.13 GENDER

Gender issues are central to the achievement of equitable, sustainable health and economic outcomes. USAID strives to promote gender equality, in which both women and men have equal opportunity to benefit from and contribute to economic, social, cultural, and political development. The Contractor must therefore account for inequitable gender norms when developing strategies and interventions that promote gender roles, and responsibilities for women, particularly young women, and men. Women of all ages need support to enhance their roles in decision-making and control over resources and services. The Contractor must incorporate gender equity considerations in all aspects of the PASCO activity including in its design and implementation.

[END OF ATTACHMENT 2 - DRAFT SECTION C,

DESCRIPTION/PERFORMANCE BASED WORK STATEMENT]