WP_14R0077_Preproposal_Conference_Minutes_final.pdf

DLA ENERGY

OVERSEAS BULK PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCE

WESTERN PACIFIC (WESTPAC) SP0600-14-R-0077

MCNAMARA HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX, FT. BELVOIR, VA

MAY 15-16, 2014

The following Government representatives were in attendance:

Bulk Petroleum Products / Contracting Sandra Shepherd, Deputy Director, Bulk Petroleum Products Candis Schiefer, Chief, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Christopher Boeding, Contracting Officer, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Kathryn Moore, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Chancley Meadows, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Roger Wilson, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Bruce Gunther, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Stephany Officer, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Michael Huck, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Hope Whitfield, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products Kathleen Ponchock, Contract Specialist, Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products William MacLaren, Bulk Fuels Procurement Analyst

Inventory & Distribution Management John Phinisey, Chief, Inventory and Requirements Branch John Simmons, Chief, Tanker Operations Patrick Jenkins, Supply System Analyst Jessica Evans, Tanker Operations Analyst Eulanda Whiteside, Supply System Analyst

Quality / Technical Support Patricia Wilkins, Deputy Director, Quality/Technical Support Office Daniel Baniszewski, Chief, Product Technology & Standardization Division Richard Knapp, Acting Chief, Quality Operations Division Yan Guo, Product Specialist

The preproposal briefing slides were presented at the conference and have been posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) webpage with the solicitation documents. In addition, the following items and questions were discussed:

Offeror Submission Package:

• In accordance with FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(BULK) (TAILORED) (DLA ENERGY) (FEB 2012), paragraph (b), offerors must “Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation.”

WESTPAC SP0600-14-R-0077

Preproposal Conference Minutes

• The fill-in clauses FAR 52.212-3 and DFARS 252.212-7000, Offeror Representations and

Certifications – Commercial Items, may also be completed in the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) system in lieu of filling in the OSP. ORCA may be accessed through the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov.

• It is suggested that for convenience, more than one authorized negotiator be provided per provision

K-0004 K33.01, AUTHORIZED NEGOTIATORS (DLA ENERGY APR 2007).

Pricing / Payment Terms

Q: Is the price reference mechanism in the solicitation Platts pricing plus 10 days?

A: Yes, In accordance with B-0002/B19.34 ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT (OVERSEAS BULK) (DLA ENERGY JAN 2012), the Reference prices are calculated by averaging the respective low prices and averaging the respective high prices for the ten published effective days' prices preceding the date of delivery. Both the low and high averages are then averaged to determine the new Reference Price.

Q: Has DLA decided to hedge prices?

A: No, price hedging has been analyzed by DLA for years and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has mandated that DLA not participate in price hedging.

Q: How does an offeror implement a competitive pricing strategy with in the BEM and reverse auction process?

A: The offerors’ knowledge of their evaluation position throughout the process is enhanced with the changes implemented to accommodate the required use of reverse auctions. DLA Energy now shares two iterations of the Minimum Cost Evaluation Worksheet (MCEW) and the Lowest Laid Down Cost (LLDC) reports with offerors prior to FPRs.

Q: Are the payment terms Net 10?

A: Yes, vendors are paid no later than 10 days after the submission of a proper invoice.

Small Business

Q: Does the solicitation include any Small Business provisions?

A: No. In accordance with FAR 19.000(b), FAR 19 – SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS applies only in the United States or its outlying areas (except for subpart 19.6, which pertains to Certificates of Competency and Determinations of Responsibility) and applies worldwide.

Contractor Performance Assessment and Rating System (CPARS) / Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS)

Q: Can a subcontractor have a negative impact on the prime contractor’s rating?

A: DLA Energy has no contractual relationship with subcontractors; the prime is responsible for performance of the contract. Subcontractor performance is a direct component of the prime’s performance evaluation. However, an assessing official may include comments about a subcontractor’s performance within the CPARS rating.

http://www.sam.gov/

Q: What are the rating metrics and how does a contractor slip from one rating to another (i.e. from a satisfactory rating to a marginal rating)?

A: Failure to comply with the delivery schedule or failure to conform to the SOW or specifications of the contract would be amongst possible reasons for a sub-satisfactory rating.

Q: How does a CPARS rating factor into the award determination?

A: Past performance is not an evaluation factor under the WESTPAC solicitation. However, CPARS ratings become available for use by source selection officials through the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) on any U.S. Government procurement that includes past performance as an evaluation factor.

Delivery Term / Minimum Guarantee

The 90% minimum lift guarantee was incorporated into the solicitation due to several vendors expressing their preference for a higher lift guarantee at the DLA Captain of Industries Meeting.

Vendors stated that the higher lift guarantee enables them to offer better prices.

Q: How will the Government ensure the 90% minimum lift guarantee is met?

A: The following actions have been taken to ensure the minimum is met:

• Current estimated requirements are conservative.

• Supplemental solicitations may be issued for surges in requirements.

• Orders under Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA) may be issued for surges in requirements.

• Contract extension provisions may be considered to allow additional time to meet the guarantee.

• Bilateral contract modifications for swaps may be executed (e.g., a contractor may agree to deliver quantity under its contract to an alternate location). Supply planners would look into possibly swapping barrels from one area or place to another, if more or less barrels could be considered if needed to reach the 90% requirement during the 3 year period.

• Contractors can do their part to meet the 90% guarantee by ensuring product is available to meet all ratable lifts.

Q: What happens if the 90% minimum lift guarantee is not met?

A: The vendor would be notified that the Government was unlikely to fulfill its minimum lift guarantee and likely use the termination clause in the solicitation, which allows the Government to terminate for convenience if necessary. If the vendor incurred any losses due to a termination for convenience, then they have the option to submit a claim.

Quality / Specifications

Q: Is the contractor responsible for non-conforming product of its supplier if DLA Energy had vetted the supplier and its specifications in advance?

A: The prime contractor is ultimately responsible for the performance of its subcontractors.

Q: What is the new sulfur content limit in the new F76 specifications?

A: See C-0005 C16.23 FUEL, NAVAL DISTILLATE (F76) (DLA ENERGY). The new sulfur content limit is 15 ppm, which translates to 0.0015 mass% maximum. Offerors that cannot meet this requirement are encouraged to submit an exception which will be considered.

Tanker Destination Delivery

Q: Will FOB Destination Tanker offers be considered?

A: No. Only FOB Origin Tanker offers will be evaluated. However, DLA Energy may accept pipeline, railcar, truck, and barge destination offers.

Q: Why?

A: The Military Sealift Command (MSC) now controls all tanker movements for bulk petroleum products.

Trade Agreements Act

Q: What is the applicability of TAA to tank bottoms, which may represent product acquired from non-qualifying countries?

A: Self-certification of product source is a requirement of the Offeror Submission Package (OSP).

Product may not be commingled.

Bid Evaluation Model (BEM):

Q: How does the BEM model operate and how can suppliers structure their offers?

A: The BEM operates by considering all stated offers and evaluating all possible routes to determine the lowest overall laid-down cost award pattern. Suppliers can structure their offers in any way they desire that falls within the stated guidelines of the solicitation. While the Government cannot provide specific recommendations on how a vendor should structure their offer, suppliers may ask whether a proposed alternative can be evaluated in the BEM and would be acceptable for award.

Q: Is it possible to offer multiple bid lines to split a performance period?

A: This feature allows offerors to change their price(s) during a delivery period. The primary use of this function is for multiyear contract periods when the risks of future price increases extend beyond the usual tolerance. The feature can be employed for a single year delivery period, like WESTPAC;

however, due to the Government’s need to award ratable lifts over the entire delivery period, a split price offer becomes in effect an all-or-none offer. An offeror can also offer two ways with award of one or the other, but not both.

Q: How can I see the BEM program online?

A: It is no longer available online. Several years ago, DLA Energy had software (Foxpro) on its website which would generate reports. This program is no longer available, as the BEM is now a web-based application which allows access only within the Government. However, DLA Energy now produces and posts BEM summary reports to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) at www.fbo.gov.

Development is underway on a BEM “offer wizard” application, which is expected to improve visibility of how an offer is coded into the BEM. It will allow an offeror to register and input an offer online. All the current information on the offer data sheet will be duplicated in the Wizard and it will http://www.fbo.gov/ include attachment capability. Offerors can complete this information and send it to a Bulk Products Email mailbox. Most of the data could be adjusted by the offeror throughout the negotiation process, however, certain fields could be locked by the buyer when needed (fields such as shipping point, for example).The “offer wizard” will not be available for this solicitation.

Q: Where can I obtain additional information regarding the BEM?

A: Potential offerors may contact William Maclaren at William.Maclaren@dla.mil or 703-767-8426 with any questions on the BEM or the Contracting Officer, Christopher Boeding at Christopher.Boeding@dla.mil or 703-767-9651.

Bulk Reverse Auction Process:

Q: Who receives copies of the BEM Minimum Cost Bid Evaluation Worksheet (MCBEW)?

A: This information is generated separately for each offeror, and each offeror will receive only the information applicable to their offer.

Q: Why is DLA Energy giving the suppliers two days to review the MCBEW?

A: Two days is a guideline for the example. The Contracting Officer will make the final determination regarding the length of time for the review, based on the complexity of the procurement.

Q: Are offer discounts displayed in the Procurex Tool?

A: Vendors will be able to participate in the Procurex Reverse Auction by submitting discount rates during a scheduled auction. The parameters of the auction only allow offerors to see the lowest bid discount rate. However, this discount is not a final evaluated price; the discount will be evaluated by the BEM after the auction. Vendors are not required to enter a discount rate. Please refer to the Procurex slides.

Q: What is the auction start price?

A: The auction is initiated with an arbitrary price made available by the contracting officer before the start of the auction. Participants may offer a discount which will be applied to all their prices for that specific product. The ranking is only on the size of the offered discount per product.

Reverse Auction / Procurex

Q: When may I register in Procurex?

A: Offerors may register in Procurex once they receive an invitation from the Contracting Officer. Once registered, offerors will not have to re-register every time they wish to participate in a reverse auction in future acquisitions. However, offerors must receive an invitation from the appropriate Contracting Officer in order to participate under each solicitation. Please refer to the Procurex slides.

Q: Does a vendor have to enter in a discount rate in order to see the lowest discount rate offered in

Procurex?

A: Yes, a vendor must participate by offering a discount in order to view the discount data. It’s important to note that this not a typical reverse auction price as participants are only able to view discounts offered against an arbitrary price, not the actual offered prices.

mailto:William.Maclaren@dla.mil mailto:Christopher.Boeding@dla.mil

Q: Is there an opportunity to participate in the Procurex process prior to schedule Reverse Auction?

A: Yes, there will be a “mock auction” scheduled prior to formal reverse auction.

Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)

Q: Can a vendor register in WAWF prior to being awarded a contract:

A: Yes, it usually takes a week to process a registration, so offerors are encouraged to register before they need to use the system. There can only be one account per email.

Q: Is the quality information pre-populated in WAWF?

A: Only the specification information is prepopulated. The test results must be entered by the contractor.

Q: Could you confirm DLA Energy’s DODAAC?

A: SP0600 is the DLA Energy legacy DODAAC. All awards processed through the Enterprise Business System (EBS) will have the SPE600 DODAAC assigned.

CHRISTOPHER M. BOEDING

Contracting Officer

Overseas Bulk Petroleum Products