Signed TAB 1 Valiant Bridge 10 JA UAE Oman Kenya Redacted.pdf

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (CUI)

CUI

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 Page 1

Controlled by: DLA Troop Support/FTAD CUI Category: Source Selection Limited Dissemination Control: FED ONLY POC: Tina.Frederico@dla.mil

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

Under Authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) Full Foodservice Prime Vendor for Customers

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Djibouti (DJB) & Kenya

1. Agency Identification: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support, Subsistence Supply Chain, is the contracting activity.

2. Nature of Action being Approved: The action being approved is the award of DLA requirements on an Other than Full and Open Competition basis.

3. Description of Supplies: The proposed acquisition will be an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, fixed price with Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) bridge contract for a period of 251 days, effective December 28, 2023, through September 3, 2024, to provide perishable and semi-perishable subsistence supplies to authorized customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Djibouti (DJB) and Kenya Area of Responsibility (AOR). A competitive long term contract providing support to this AOR was awarded to Valiant Integrated Services LLC (Valiant) on January 19, 2023, but as explained more fully below, a stop work order was issued on February 9, 2023.

Following corrective action, re-award of a competitive long term contract providing support to this AOR was executed with an effective date of November 27, 2023, and implementation of the follow-on contract commenced. On December 5, 2023 a post-award protest was submitted to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and a stop work order was issued on December 6, 2023. The GAO must issue its recommendation on a protest within 100 days from the date of filing of the protest with the GAO. Assuming a favorable judgement from the GAO, the remaining implementation time will be required once the stop work order is lifted. The proposed period of performance (December 28, 2023

– September 3, 2024) for this other than competitive action is to accommodate the GAO's statutory 100-day requirement to issue the decision plus the 150-day follow-on contract implementation period, and is necessary to provide support to the AOR, until if and when a favorable decision is rendered by the GAO.

The supplies to be acquired under the proposed bridge contract are commercial food items, which are distributed to ordering facilities by the current Prime Vendor contractor, Valiant. The estimated contract value of the proposed bridge contract is $38,000,000.00 based upon a total of six (6) months of current customer usage gathered from the Subsistence Total Order and Receipt system (STORES) for Valiant’s contracts. The guaranteed minimum dollar value of the proposed bridge contract is $3,800,000.00, which is ten percent (10%) of the estimated contract value. The maximum dollar value of the proposed bridge contract is $152,000,000.00, which is four hundred percent (400%) of the estimated contract value and accounts for the possible addition of customers and/or items as well as surges in requirements. With the recent conflict in the Middle East, Valiant has received an increase in customer requirements due to increased Navy Afloat traffic in the areas of the UAE, Oman and Djibouti. It is anticipated that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, and the proposed contract maximum reflects this. The necessary funds for the guaranteed minimum will be reserved after the approval of the Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition and obligated upon award.

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 – Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Basis for use of the Authority: The use of this authority is necessary because the required foodservice supplies are available only from the current contractor, Valiant, in the timeframe required and award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. Contract SPM300-12-D-35951, the most recent competitive Prime Vendor contract supporting the region, was awarded on September 18, 2012, and expired September 17, 2017. Since that time, two (2) competitive long-term contracts have been awarded, but both were rescinded soon after award due to protests necessitating corrective action. In order to continue support to the AOR, nine (9) bridge contracts have been awarded to the incumbent contractor following expiration of contract SPM300-12-D-3595. The first bridge contract, SPE300-17-D-4027, was effective September 18, 2017, through September 17, 2018; the second bridge contract, SPE300-18-D-4042, was awarded for an approximate eight (8) month period, effective September 18, 2018, through May 29, 2019; the third bridge contract, SPE300-19-D-4048, was awarded for a period of 249 days, effective May 30, 2019, through February 2, 2020; the fourth bridge contract, SPE300-20-D-4057, was awarded for a period of 213 days, effective February 3, 2020, through September 2, 2020; the fifth bridge contract, SPE300-20-D-4061, was awarded for a period of 217 days, effective September 3, 2020, through April 7, 2021; the sixth bridge contract, SPE300-21-D-4075, was awarded for a period of 341 days, effective April 8, 2021, through March 14, 2022; the seventh bridge contract, SPE300-22-D-4092, was awarded for a period of 342 days, effective March 15, 2022, through February 19, 2023; the eighth bridge contract, SPE300-23-D-4113, was awarded for a period of 114 days, effective February 20, 2023, through June 13, 2023; and the ninth (current) bridge contract, SPE300-23-D-4115, was awarded for a period of 197 days, effective June 14, 2023, through December 27, 2023. The contract action authorized by this Justification and Approval (J&A) will be the tenth bridge contract.

The first, second and third bridge contracts were required due to delays in the award of the competitive follow-on acquisition for the Southern Arabian Peninsula and Nations of Eastern Africa (SAPNEA) AOR, solicitation SPE300-15-R-0024, due to changes in Government requirements, including changes and additions to geographical regions to be serviced under the resultant contract.

On April 29, 2019, DLA awarded a competitive follow-on contract for Prime Vendor support in the region to Ocean Fair International Ship Chandleing, LLC (OFI). On May 20, 2019, two post-award protests were filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) challenging that award decision. Corrective action began on June 5, 2019, and the award to OFI was rescinded on June 11, 2019. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth bridge contracts were necessary to provide uninterrupted contract coverage while corrective action was taken in response to those GAO protests and re-award and implement the competitive follow-on acquisition.

On January 19, 2023, DLA awarded a competitive follow-on contract a second time for Prime Vendor support in the region. Award was made to Valiant. However, on February 8, 2023, a post-award protest was filed with the GAO challenging that award decision. After review of the protest, 1 Contract SPM300-12-D-3595 was originally awarded to Seven Seas Shipchandlers, LLC. In February of 2017, responsibility for performance of contract SPM300-12-D-3595 was transferred to Nova Global Supply and Services, LLC through a novation agreement. In 2019, Nova Global Supply and Services, LLC formally changed its name to Valiant Integrated Services, LLC.

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 the contracting team determined it was in the best interest of the Government to take corrective action and reevaluate Past Performance. The award to Valiant had a stop work order issued on February 9, 2023. A request for dismissal was filed with the GAO on March 2, 2023, the protest was dismissed on March 7, 2023, and corrective action began at this time. As a result of the corrective action, the current ninth bridge contract was required to provide uninterrupted contract coverage until a competitive follow-on contract could be awarded and implemented. Specific details resulting in the need for the prior bridge contracts can be found in the Justification and Approvals (J&As) for each of these prior contracting actions. The proposed tenth bridge contract is necessary for the reasons described below.

At the time the J&A for the ninth bridge contract was approved, DLA anticipated making a new award decision for the follow-on competitive SAPNEA acquisition by June 30, 2023. It was expected that full contract implementation would occur by the expiration of the ninth bridge contract on December 27, 2023. However, the SAPNEA award decision was delayed beyond June 30, 2023.

On May 12, 2023, the document reviews required for the corrective action were thought to be final.

During the review process, it was discovered that a Contractor Performance Assessment Report for one of the offerors had been inadvertently omitted. The acquisition team did not have access to this specific Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) report due to limitations in access and the search function in CPARS. Once discovered, this CPARS report needed to be included in the evaluation for the past performance technical factor.

Consequently, in addition to evaluating the Past Performance, an additional eight (8) weeks was required to review the additional CPARS assessment, make the changes to the associated award documents as a result of the additional CPARS report, and obtain support office reviews of the documents. The additional CPARS evaluation was not a part of the original corrective action, but since it was discovered during the review process, it had to be incorporated into the award documents.

Additionally, the contracting team was notified by one of the offerors that one of its proposed warehouses listed as a place of performance for the follow-on acquisition experienced a fire on September 6, 2023. All the offerors for this acquisition also proposed the same warehouse.

However, before proceeding with the follow-on award, the source selection evaluation board and procuring contracting officer considered information provided by the post award Contracting Officer. Information included the extent of damage and efforts made by the warehouse owner to provide additional freezer space while the damage is repaired, and to determine if the offerors could successfully implement the contract, if awarded, based on the information in their proposal as it pertains to the warehouse. The Contracting Officer reviewed, analyzed, and incorporated this additional information in the re-evaluation of each offeror’s proposal to address the fire and any impact on proposals. Review of the re-evaluation and the associated documents were approved in November 2023 and the contract was awarded to Valiant on November 22, 2023, with an effective date of November 27, 2023. Implementation of the competitive follow-on contract commenced.

However, on December 5, 2023, a post-award protest was filed with the GAO challenging the award decision, and on December 6, 2023 a stop work order was issued to Valiant. Bridge coverage is required through September 3, 2024 in order to provide uninterrupted contract coverage for the 100 days anticipated for a GAO decision, and assuming a favorable GAO judgement, the remaining time

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 required for implementation of the competitive follow-on contract once the stop work order is lifted.2

This proposed action will result in the award of a tenth bridge contract to the incumbent, Valiant, effective December 28, 2023 through September 3, 2024. The proposed bridge contract is necessary to ensure continued uninterrupted service to the customers in the region under the current bridge contract’s terms and conditions, and to avoid mission failure while the post-award protest is pending with the GAO, and if a favorable decision is rendered, while the competitive follow-on contract, also to Valiant, is subsequently implemented. Authorized customers in UAE, Oman, DJB & Kenya will continue to receive full line foodservice support under this proposed bridge contract until resolution of the GAO case and full implementation of the follow-on contract is completed and all customers can be transitioned to SPV support under the competitively awarded contract. The bridge contract is necessary to ensure there is no break in critical Class I support for the customers during this timeframe.

Valiant is the only source able to immediately meet current DLA requirements starting on December 28, 2023. Valiant is also the only food supplier in the UAE, Oman, DJB, and Kenya AOR that has a fully implemented Subsistence Total Order and Receipt Electronic System (STORES) electronic catalog. Award of a bridge contract to any other potential food supplier would cause an unacceptable break in supply. The implementation of an updated STORES electronic catalog and the transition of supplies to the UAE, Oman, DJB, and Kenya AOR from Valiant to any other Subsistence Prime Vendor contractor, to include Valiant itself, for the purposes of providing support under this bridge contract, while the GAO case is pending and potential implementation for the follow-on contract subsequently continues, cannot be completed in the necessary timeframe to allow uninterrupted support. Based upon extensive experience, DLA Troop Support generally expects that OCONUS SPV follow-on contract transition can take up to six (6) months to complete before a new contractor is in a position to fully perform. This transition period takes into account critical milestones such as establishing logistical infrastructure in the region and conducting fair and reasonable pricing determinations in order to build a Prime Vendor’s supply chain pipeline of all required cataloged subsistence items (ranging from 600-800 items) from the United States to OCONUS warehouse locations where performance occurs. The implementation period also includes establishing fully functional catalogs in STORES, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) testing, ordering point establishment/validation, Public Health Command (PHC) inspections of the Prime Vendor’s facilities, and hiring of additional personnel needed for full operating capability. No other contractor would be able to complete these actions in the timeframe necessary to provide support under the bridge contract.

The military customers rely on the DLA prime vendor contract for all of their foodservice needs.

Failure to efficiently feed our military service members would constitute mission failure. Only Valiant has the inventory and warehouse management systems in place to support the high-volume demand of our customers during the pending GAO case and subsequent implementation period.

Failure to award a bridge contract to Valiant will result in a break in Prime Vendor support for our customers. Should the GAO case be resolved in favor of the Government and the competitive

2 This September 3, 2024 end date includes an extra day past the time period needed for the GAO protest resolution and implementation timeframe in order to avoid administrative issues in having the bridge contract end on a Federal holiday on September 2, 2024 (Labor Day).

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 follow-on contract be implemented ahead of the projected timeline and the guaranteed minimum amount met under the bridge contract, no further orders will be placed against this bridge contract.

6. Publication: A notice of this contract action will be published to Contract Opportunities (www.SAM.gov). All information pertinent to the special notice will be available to the general public at www.dla.mil/TroopSupport. In addition, this justification will be made available for public inspection, after award, in accordance with FAR 6.305.

7. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: As the Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable based on price analysis, which will include an overall assessment of market conditions and a comparison of the offered distribution price and item prices with recent competitively awarded OCONUS Prime Vendor contracts.

8. Market Research: The information supporting this action is based primarily on the Government’s knowledge of the foodservice market in the region. With the exception of synopsizing the requirement, no additional market research will be conducted, and no other firms will be solicited since the Government is unaware of any other firm in the region with the existing capability, including electronic STORES cataloging, to perform in the timeframe required.

9. Other Supporting Facts: There are no additional facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

10. Potential Sources: On March 8, 2019, EFS Ebrex (EFS) provided a letter to the Contracting Officer noting that the second bridge contract for the UAE, Oman, DJB, and Kenya was expiring, and the follow-on acquisition had not yet been awarded. EFS advised that should a third bridge contract be necessary it expressed a willingness to perform the bridge contract. Although EFS expressed interest at that time and has knowledge of the STORES, EFS does not have the infrastructure or inventory to support the customers in the UAE, Oman, Kenya, and DJB AORs. Valiant continues to remain the only source capable of providing the customers with uninterrupted SPV support in the immediate timeframe required. To date, no further inquiries have been received from EFS. Valiant remains the only contractor with the existing necessary inventory, resources, and STORES capabilities in place to perform the requirements of the contract without significant transition or interruption of support.

11. Removing/Overcoming Barriers to Competition: A competitive solicitation was issued on December 6, 2016, and was awarded on April 29, 2019, but the award was rescinded as part of the corrective action resulting from GAO protests. After corrective action was taken, the solicitation was awarded on January 19, 2023 for a second time, but a stop work order was issued in February 2023 as a result of a GAO protest. Following corrective action, re-award of a competitive long term contract providing support to this AOR was executed with an effective date of November 27, 2023;

however, a stop work order was issued on December 6, 2023 as a result of a GAO protest. The primary barrier to competition for the bridge contract that will be awarded pursuant to this justification is the temporary need for performance by the incumbent as the only contractor able to provide immediate support for all requirements until implementation of the new contract. It is anticipated that all future acquisitions for these requirements will be competed on a full and open competition basis.

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

12. Contracting Officer Certification: As the Contracting Officer, I hereby certify that the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

TINA FREDERICO Date Contracting Officer

I hereby certify that the requirements which form the basis of this justification are accurate, that these supplies and services meet the Government’s needs in accordance with applicable specifications and that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

SEAN GEMMELL Date Chief, OCONUS Region Subsistence Supply Chain

I have reviewed this justification and recommend approval.

MACIEJ OKULICZ-KOZARYN Date DLA Troop Support Competition Advocate

I have reviewed this justification for legal sufficiency.

R. ZEN SCHAPER Date Supply Chain Counsel DLA Counsel – Troop Support

I have reviewed this justification and recommend approval.

12-15-23

12-15-23

12-15-23

FREDERICO.TIN

A.M.1228971827

Digitally signed by

FREDERICO.TINA.M.1228971827

Date: 2023.12.15 09:40:30 -05'00'

GEMMELL.SEA

N.P.1291914914

Digitally signed by

GEMMELL.SEAN.P.1291914914

Date: 2023.12.15 09:57:31 -05'00'

OKULICZ

KOZARYN.MACIEJ.12482736

Digitally signed by OKULICZ

KOZARYN.MACIEJ.1248273654

Date: 2023.12.15 14:41:32 -05'00'

SCHAPER.ROBER

T.Z.1380491601

Digitally signed by

SCHAPER.ROBERT.Z.1380491601

Date: 2023.12.15 16:46:00 -05'00'

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

WILLIAM J. KENNY Date Executive Director DLA Troop Support Contracting and Acquisition Management

I have reviewed this justification and recommend approval.

GEORGE W. ATWOOD, III Date DLA Competition Advocate

I have reviewed this justification for legal sufficiency.

DLA Office of General Counsel Date

I have reviewed and hereby approve this justification.

MATTHEW R. BEEBE Date Senior Procurement Executive

KENNY.WILLIA

M.J.1228968826

Digitally signed by

KENNY.WILLIAM.J.1228968826

Date: 2023.12.18 12:28:57 -05'00'

ATWOOD.GEORG

E.W.III.1229655015

Digitally signed by

ATWOOD.GEORGE.W.III.1229655

Date: 2023.12.21 13:08:47 -05'00'

FRATARCANGELI.JOSEP

H.VINCENT.1237282457

Digitally signed by

FRATARCANGELI.JOSEPH.VINCENT

.1237282457 Date: 2023.12.20 07:35:00 -05'00'

BEEBE.MATTHEW.R

ICHARD.1012725473

Digitally signed by

BEEBE.MATTHEW.RICHARD.1012

725473 Date: 2023.12.21 13:59:06 -05'00'