Solicitation_Cover_Letter.pdf

BEST VALUE DECISION

Award will be made to the offeror who proposes the best value to the Postal Service. Technical Factors are slightly more important than price. In determining potential tradeoffs to arrive at the best value selection, the Postal Service will assess the strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies between or among competing technical proposals from the standpoint of 1) what the difference might mean in terms of anticipated performance; and 2) what the evaluated cost would be for the Postal Service to take advantage of that difference.

Award will not necessarily be made to the offeror who provides the highest-rated technical proposal or to the offeror who offers the lowest price. Price is more important in selecting between or among closely ranked technical proposals. In making any price-technical tradeoff, the Postal Service also does not intend to pay a premium price unless there is a significant technical advantage justifying a higher price. The Postal Service reserves the right to not award a contract based on this solicitation should it deem that a non-award is in its best interest. Awards will not be made to offerors whose proposals are not competitively priced or to offerors with poor technical proposals.

Attached to this document is an Evaluation Factors template that may facilitate your response to the solicitation.

EVALUATION OF OFFERS

Provision 4-2: Evaluation (March 2006) (MODIFIED) Each offeror will be required to submit a two-volume proposal. The Technical Evaluation will be based on the first volume, whereas the Price Evaluation will be based on data provided on PS Form 7405. Supplier Eligibility will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Offerers who do not “pass” the Supplier Eligibility criteria will be deemed “not eligible” and will not be further evaluated for award.

Evaluation factors will be weighted as designated below.

Evaluation Factors

Supplier Eligibility (Pass / Fail):

The offerors’ ability to meet all the required criteria that are necessary to perform operations, to include the following:

a. Persons ineligible to become suppliers.

1. Employees of the U.S. Postal Service or members of their immediate families.

2. Business organizations substantially owned or controlled by Postal Service employees or their immediate families.

3. Suppliers suspended, debarred, ineligible, or proposed for suspension, debarment, or ineligibility are also excluded from conducting business with the Postal Service as agents, subcontractors, or representatives of other suppliers.

b. Persons eligible to become suppliers. Subject to the foregoing exceptions, the following are eligible to hold mail transportation contracts:

1. An individual (if at least 21 years of age).

2. A partnership, if any partner meets the foregoing age qualification of an individual.

3. A corporation.

Past Performance (less important than Supplier Capability and Management Plan, more important than Sustainability Plan) Using the information provided in the offeror’s proposal and with its own information and data, the Postal Service will evaluate the following, which are not subfactors but will be considered in reaching an overall rating for this evaluation factor:

a. Quality & Timeliness: Listing of current or recent Postal and non-postal contracts. For each contract listed, the offeror should provide a record of on-time performance rates and adherence to contract requirements. The Postal Service will evaluate its own data regarding service performance in connection with the evaluation.

b. Business Relations: Established productive business relations (a history of being reasonable and cooperative with customers; commitment to customer satisfaction; integrity, and ethics).

c. Cost Control: Demonstrated ability to accurately forecast and contain costs.

Supplier Capability (most important, same as Management Plan) The extent to which the offeror has the resources (e.g., financial, technical, equipment, etc.) adequate to perform the work will be evaluated. The offeror should address the following in the supplier capability section of the proposal. These are not subfactors but will be considered in coming up with an overall rating for this evaluation factor:

a. The ability to meet the required delivery schedule (e.g., able to begin operations on effective date of start-up of contract performance), considering all existing commitments, including pending awards.

b. The ability to provide the necessary equipment.

c. A sound record of integrity and business ethics.

d. The necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, technical skills, and production and property controls.

e. Acceptable financial condition that will allow the Contracting Officer to determine that operations are likely to remain ongoing. Documentation should include a recent credit report. The offeror may also consider submitting additional documentation as applicable to the service. Such documentation might include a current financial statement (income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows) and/or funding documentation from a financial institution.

f. Proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance, if applicable, as demonstrated by a Copy of the Insurance Certificate. If Workmen’s Compensation Insurance is not applicable to the subject service, the offeror should specifically list in its proposal that it is not applicable.

Management Plan (most important, same as Supplier Capability) The offeror must include a detailed management plan in its proposal. The Management Plan, at a minimum, must address the offeror’s plan for all situations listed below. These are not subfactors but will be considered in coming up with an overall rating for this evaluation factor.

a. Ability to conduct normal operations to include all bulleted items below

• Maintaining adequate staffing levels including drivers and supervisors. Include the planned hours for portal time, layover, and pre/post inspections.

• Compliance with Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations

• Implementation of GPS or other technology-driven solutions

• Implementation of safety program and driver training program

• Ability to monitor service performance

• Ability to close-out, receive, and dispatch all surface vehicles

• Ability to secure the mail

b. Ability to handle contingency operations to include

• Overflow mail (Extra trips)

• Less Mail Transportation Equipment (MTE) than required

• Damaged containers

• Damaged or non-labeled mail

• Schedule changes

• Equipment breakdowns

• Inclement weather during operations

• Labor disruptions including, but not limited to, walkouts or strikes

• Staffing shortages relating to medical or other emergencies

• Delays caused by environmental issues such as fuel spills, chemical spills, or other HAZMAT

Sustainability Plan (least important) The offeror must include a detailed sustainability plan in its proposal. The Sustainability Plan, at a minimum, must address the items listed below. The following are not subfactors but will be considered in coming up with an overall rating for this factor.

a. A listing of the Make, Model, Age, and Class of Vehicle that it plans to use for the solicited service.

b. For each class of vehicle listed, the offeror should list the average Miles Per Gallon (MPG) fuel efficiency

c. An explanation of the number of scheduled miles, portal miles, backhaul miles, maintenance miles, and any other miles that will be included in the contracted service

d. The amount of gallons of fuel that the offeror is proposing for this service

e. Whether the vehicles operate using alternative fuel. If so, please state the type (CNG, LNG, etc.).

f. Whether the vehicles are California Air Resources Board compliant (if applicable)

g. A plan to improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicles over the life of the contract. The plan should describe the offeror’s current sustainability initiatives and metrics, as well as suggested initiatives on which the offeror will work collaboratively with the Postal Service.

Price Proposal Evaluation Box 2 on PS Form 7405 (Rate of Compensation) will be used to analyze each of the offeror’s proposal(s). The offered price must include all elements of cost the offeror expects to incur in performing service. The rates may be carried out to a maximum of four decimal places.

RFx ATTACHMENTS (see RFx ATTACHMENTS for the following forms)

When submitting your proposal, ensure that the following documents are completed and submitted:

• PS Form 7405 – Transportation Services Proposal & Contract for Regular Service (pages 1 & 2)

• Narrative responses to Evaluation Factors listed in Terms & Conditions Provision 4-2

• PS Form 7468A - Cost Worksheet

• PS Form 5472 - Pre-Award Questionnaire

• Provision 4-3 Representations and Certifications

• PS Form 2025 - Contract Personnel Questionnaire

• PS Form 2181-D(X) - Disclosure & Release

• Supplier Information Sheet

• Vehicle Information Sheet

• Employee Vacation Declaration

• PS Form 3881-X (optional)

• Subcontracting Plan (if applicable, see Terms & Conditions Clause 3-1)

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

o Proof of Vehicle Insurance Certification Copy of Policy indicating premiums & all discounts Terms of Coverage (dates) & Limits of Liability List or schedule of all vehicles covered by the policy o Proof of Workman’s Compensation Insurance Copy of Policy indicating premiums & all discounts Terms of Coverage (dates) & Limits of Liability o Proof of payroll tax payments Federal and state unemployment Social Security o Credit Report o Proof of filing form VETS-4212 with the Dept. of Labor https://www.dol.gov/vets/vets4212.htm https://www.dol.gov/vets/vets4212.htm