Section_L_BBU369jun21.pdf

Impulse Cartridge

BBU-36A/B

SECTION L

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS (ITO)

Revision 9 June 2021

1. PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES

1.1. The purpose of this solicitation is to select two approved manufacturers to supply the BBU-36A/B impulse cartridges. However, the Government reserves the right to award no contract if the Source Selection Authority (SSA) determines it is in the Government's best interest. The SSA will consider the Government's expected volume of work, available funding, adequate competition, and the availability of best value proposals.

The Government reserves the right to award contracts with or without discussions.

1.2. This Source Selection will be conducted and awarded using best value/trade off. The

Government anticipates issuing a target of two five year Indefinite-Delivery-Indefinite- Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. The projected ordering period for delivery orders to be issued will be five years.

1.3. The Government anticipates awarding two delivery orders concurrent with the award of the basic IDIQ contract(s).

1.4. Budget/Funding Information – Funding will be obligated on each delivery order awarded under the basic contract.

2. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

2.1. This section provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on format and content. The offeror's proposal shall include all data and information requested and shall be submitted in accordance with these instructions.

Any offeror who submits an incomplete package may be considered non-responsive and eliminated from the competition. The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), and Model Contract. Non-conformance with these instructions may result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation.

2.2. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements.

Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the proposal.

2.3. Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed artwork, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

2.4. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Block 12 of Section A (front page) of the model contract/solicitation. Offerors providing less than the specified calendar days for Government acceptance after the date offers are due may be considered non-responsive and may be eliminated.

2.5. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Unless the offeror requests otherwise, the Government will destroy extra copies of such unsuccessful proposals.

2.6. Point of Contact – The Contracting Officer (CO) is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. Email requests for clarification may be sent to the CO at the following email address below:

AFLCMC/Ammunition Division Attn: George Bell 6072 Fir Ave BLDG 1233 Hill AFB, UT 84056 George.bell.2@us.af.mil

2.7. Pre Award Debriefings - The CO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range, whereupon they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505.

2.8. Post Award Debriefings - The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR 15.506. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring debriefing must make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR

15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

2.9. Discrepancies – If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions.

2.10. Electronic Reference Documents – All referenced documents for this solicitation are available at beta.sam.gov. Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

2.11. Oral Presentation – Oral presentations will not be allowed.

2.12. Amendments to Solicitation – If this Request for Proposal (RFP) is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged and in full force. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this request by the date and time specified in the amendment(s) by signing and returning the front page of each.

mailto:George.bell.2@us.af.mil file://fshill/Contracting/EBHK/10-Source_Selection/Tab55/BBU36_Tab_55_SS/Tab%20A.%20SSP/Tab%2055%20A.b%20-%20SSP%20Revisions/beta.sam.gov

2.13. Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals

2.13.1 Proposals and modifications to proposals shall be submitted in electronic media to the address located in paragraph 2.6 of this document, showing the time and date specified for receipt, the solicitation number, and the name and address of the offeror. Late proposals will only be considered IAW FAR 15.208.

Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government Installation includes the time/date of email received by the PCO.

2.14. Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits

2.14.1.1. The title page of each volume must show:

2.14.1.1.1. Solicitation Number

2.14.1.1.2. Company name, address, cage code and DUNS

2.14.1.1.3. Primary point of contact name, telephone number and email

Address

2.14.1.1.4. Volume number and name (e.g. Volume I, Price) and copy Number (i.e. Original, copy 1, copy 2, etc.)

2.14.1.2. The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization table below. The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as defined in this table, all of which shall be within the required page limits and with the number of copies specified.

Table 1 - Proposal Organization

VOLUME SECTION L

PARAGRAPH #

TITLE COPIES PAGE LIMIT

I 3.0 Past Performance

1 25

II 4.0 Price 1 25

III 5.0 Contract Documentation

IV 5.2.2.1 Small Business Sub-contracting

Plan

1 15

2.15. Page Limitations – Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Page limitations may be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs) if applicable. The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the offerors. Each page shall be counted except the following: blank pages, title pages, tables of contents, tabs, glossaries, Cross Reference Matrix, and those noted in the Proposed Organization Table as “Unlimited.”

2.16. Pricing Information – All pricing information shall be addressed ONLY in the Price

Volume.

2.17. Cross Referencing

Each volume shall be written on a standalone basis so that its contents may be evaluated without cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation that is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted.

The offeror shall fill out a cross reference matrix in the format below, indicating the proposal reference information as it relates to the Section L – Instructions to Offerors, and Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award. This shall be included in the Contract Documentation Volume (Volume II). The offeror shall fill in each section independently labeled with the appropriate paragraph number or page number from their proposal that addresses the requirement or sub-factor.

Table 2 – Sample Cross Reference Matrix

Section L Section M Proposal Para. X.x. Para. X.x. Para. X.x.

2.18. Indexing

Each volume shall contain a detailed table of contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that volume.

Include an indexed list of Tables and Figures. Tables and Figures do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms – Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation for each. Glossaries do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

2.19. Page Size and Format

A page is defined as each face of a sheet of paper containing information. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches, not including foldouts, and printed on both sides. Except for the reproduced sections of the solicitation document, the text shall be Times New Roman and font size shall be no less than 12 points and lines shall be single spaced.

Tracking, kerning, and leading values shall not be changed from the default values of the word processing or page layout software. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume. These page format restrictions shall also apply to responses to ENs if applicable. These limitations shall apply to electronic proposals.

Legible tables, charts, graphs and figures shall be used wherever practical to depict organizations, systems and layout, implementation schedules, plans, etc. These displays shall be uncomplicated, legible and shall not exceed 11 by 17 inches in size.

For tables, charts, graphs and figures, the text shall be no smaller than 10 point.

These limitations shall apply to electronic proposals.

2.20. Be sure to apply all appropriate markings including those prescribed in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, and 3.104-4, Disclosure, Protection, and Marking of Contractor Bid or Proposal Information and Source Selection Information.

2.21. Electronic Offers – All proposals will be submitted electronic via email. If the file is too large to be sent via email then the offeror will request access to DoD Safe. To get access to DoD Safe the offeror will contact George Bell and Branddy Stevenson via email. Written proposals will not be accepted due to COVID-19. Use separate files for each volume to permit rapid location of all portions, including sub-factor required plans, exhibits, annexes, and attachments, if any.

2.22. Distribution – The "original" proposal shall be identified. Proposals shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer and emailed: george.bell.2@us.af.mil and Branddy Stevenson: branddy.stevenson@us.af.mil.

3. Volume I -- Past Performance

3.1. Offerors shall submit recent, relevant contracts that can demonstrate performance quality as defined below. The offeror shall submit three (3) completed contracts not to exceed 5 years old. A Past Performance Information attachment shall be completed for each contract. The government will consider this information, along with information obtained from other sources (e.g. Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PIPERS) and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS))

3.1.1 Recency is defined as performance of five years old or less. The Government will not consider performance on contracts/task orders where performance was concluded more than five years prior to this solicitation’s issue date.

3.1.2 Relevancy is defined as work that involves similar types and complexities of products described in the Request For Proposal (RFP). For Government contracts, any relevant Government contract will be considered and reviewed to determine past performance history.

mailto:george.bell.2@us.af.mil mailto:branddy.stevenson@us.af.mil

3.1.3 Performance Quality is defined as past performance that was compliant with compliance with small business subcontracting goals (par. 6.1), adverse information identified, positive information identified, and will be determined based on formal rating system to include but not limited to CPARs and informal ratings to include but not limited to customer surveys or interviews.

3.2. Offerors may address any potential performance problems and/or issues that the

Government may identify, explain corrective action taken and current status. The Government will consider this information in determining the offeror’s past performance rating. An offeror’s failure to address performance problems/issues within this volume does not preclude the government from using such information in determining a past performance rating.

3.3. If a joint venture is contemplated, provide complete information as to the joint venture.

Include any relevant and recent past performance information on previous joint ventures with same partner. If this is a first time joint venture, each party to the joint venture must provide a list of past relevant contracts.

3.4. Offerors shall completely fill out Section L attachment titled ‘Past Performance

Information (PPI Form)’. A separate PPI form will be filled out for each contract/program submitted. Provide frank, concise comments regarding your performance on the contracts you identify. Provide a separate completed form for each contract/program submitted. Limit the number of citations submitted and the length of each submission to the limitations set forth at paragraphs 2.14 and 2.15 of this section.

4. VOLUME II – PRICE

4.1. General Instructions

4.2.1 The price evaluation criteria of completeness, reasonableness, and Total Evaluated Price (TEP) as defined in Section M of the RFP will be assessed from the information provided in this volume. Offerors should review Section M criteria to ensure the minimum requirements are met.

4.2. Total Evaluated Price

4.2.1.1. Offerors shall input fixed composite rates for all categories and years identified in the quantity band worksheet (Section J Attachment).

Composite rates shall include all direct rates, indirect rates (Overhead, General and Administrative, etc.) and profit necessary for the performance of the entire requirement. Use the Workload Inventory Spreadsheet (Section J Attachment) along with the information below to develop your rates. Proposed rates are Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and contractually binding.

4.2.1.2. The quantity bands are listed along the left side, across the top is the ordering years. Unit prices for each quantity band will be the ceiling price for that ordering year. When an offeror proposes on each delivery order their unit price cannot go above the ceiling price but can be lower.

4.2.1.3. Submit a copy of the completed quantity band worksheet in the Price

Volume.

Cost or Pricing Information Requirements – In accordance with FAR 15.402, 15.403-1(b) and 15.403-3(a), “information other than certified cost or pricing data” may be required to support price reasonableness. If after receipt of proposals, the CO determines that there is insufficient information available to determine the reasonableness of the proposed pricing, the offeror may be required to submit additional information such as other than certified cost or pricing data. If, during the source selection process, the CO determines that adequate competition no longer exists, then certified cost and pricing data may be required.

Pricing Assumptions - Summarize all significant pricing assumptions, scope limitations and/or qualifications of the Price proposal.

Unreasonable high proposed costs or prices, initially or subsequently, may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from the competition either on the basis that the offeror does not understand the requirement or has submitted an unrealistic proposal. Additionally, unbalanced pricing poses an unacceptable risk to the government and may be a reason to reject an offeror’s proposal. Offers should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate their reasonableness and balance. The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the offeror.

Rounding – All dollar amounts provided shall be rounded to the nearest penny.

Price Volume Organization - The price volume shall consist of the following sections:

SECTION 1 – Table of Contents; summary descriptions of estimating, purchasing, and accounting systems; changes to estimating, accounting practices, or Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Disclosure Statement.

SECTION 2 – Data other than certified cost or pricing data (as applicable), to include estimating methodology including a brief description how the price was determined.

SECTION 3 – List of each exception to the ground rules and assumptions provided in the solicitation. Provide complete rationale for any exceptions.

SECTION 4 – Any other information the contractor deems necessary to support its priced position or a summary of information related to the price volume.

5. VOLUME III – CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION

5.1. Model Contract/Representations and Certifications – Provide copies in the formats and quantities identified in Table 1.

Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form: Complete blocks 13 (offerors must input 120 days for acceptance), 15, and 27 of the SF1447. Signature by the offeror on the SF1447 constitutes an offer, which the Government may accept.

Section B – Supplies Costs/Prices: Do not input pricing information in Section B of the model contract. All required prices shall be proposed in the TEP Worksheet.

5.1.1 The Offeror shall propose the delivery schedule in each Contract Line

Number in Section B of the model contract.

Section I – Contract clauses contain blocks that must be filled in by the Offeror as noted in the clause language and returned to the Contracting Officer as part of the Offerors model contract.

Section K – Representations, Certifications, and other Statements of offerors:

Complete representations, certifications, acknowledgments and statements.

Offeror must have filled out an online provision 52.204-08 Annual Representations and Certifications (JAN 2005) in System for Award Management, www.sam.gov.

Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements – Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or sub-factors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost, and specific requirements of the solicitation. This information shall be provided in the format and content of Table 3.

Table 3 – Solicitation Exceptions

6. Volume IV – Small Business Sub-Contracting Plan

6.1. If the offeror is other than a small business, the offeror shall submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9. The Small Business Subcontracting Plan will separately address and specify the extent of the offeror’s commitment to the participation of SB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone, SDB, and WOSB concerns. If the offeror has submitted an individual contract plan, the plan must separately address subcontracting with SB, VOSB, SDVOB, HUBZone, SDB, and WOSB concerns. The plan shall be included in and made a part of the resultant contract. Failure to submit and negotiate the subcontracting plan shall make the offeror ineligible for award of a contract. If applicable, submit a copy of your approved Master Plan. In the event the offeror has negotiated a comprehensive subcontracting plan pursuant to DFARS 219.702, the Small Business Contracting Program, Statutory requirements, the offeror must submit the information that identified and specifies the extent of their commitment to the participation of SB, VOSB, SDVOB, HUBZone, SDB, and WOSB.

7. Other Information Required

7.1. Authorized Offeror Personnel – Provide the name, title, telephone number, and email address of the company/division point of contact responsible for negotiating with the Government.

7.2. Plans Required by Regulation or Policy: Submit the following plans in accordance with applicable FAR/DFARS. These plans shall be placed in individual folders that are subtitled (e.g. Volume III, Contract documentation, Small Business Sub-Contracting Plan). Provide copies in the formats and quantities identified in Table 1.

SOLICITATION

Document

Page/ Paragraph

Requirement/ Portion

Rationale

SOO, SOW, SPEC,

Model Contract, etc.

Applicable Page and Paragraph Numbers

Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken

Describe why the requirement can/will not be met

2.14.1.2. The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization table below. The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as defined in this table, all of which shall be within the required page limits and with the number...