Offeror Question Responses -SOW Changes.pdf

Questions & Answers to Solicitation SPE300-25-R-0011

The answers below are provided for clarification purposes only and do not change the solicitation requirements. In the event of any discrepancy between the answers provided here and the solicitation documents, the solicitation documents will take precedence. Questions from offerors may have been consolidated for convenience and/or revised to remove sensitive, misleading or extraneous information.

1. In column J of the market basket the strike date appears to be a placeholder (xx/xx/xx). Can you confirm the submission date of pricing for the market basket?

DLA Troop Support Response: Quotes should be dated no earlier than 02/11/2025.

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Submit (1) digital copy of each MANUFACTURER’S quote through DIBBS using the official DLA Price Documentation sheet for every item listed on the Market Basket spreadsheet (ONE QUOTE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM IN THE MARKET BASKET)? Identify the item number from the market basket that it supports on the quote sheet? Submit the quotes in item number sequence? Submit quotes that are dated no earlier than TBD. Was each line on the Official DLA Quote sheet completed by the manufacturer? Are F.O.B. Destination Terms clearly identified on the quote? Is the NAPA discount clearly identified on the quote and removed from the delivered price? Refer to solicitation for actual requirements.

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Submit (1) digital copy of each MANUFACTURER’S quote through DIBBS using the official DLA Price Documentation sheet for every item listed on the Market Basket spreadsheet (ONE QUOTE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM IN THE MARKET BASKET)? Identify the item number from the market basket that it supports on the quote sheet? Submit the quotes in item number sequence? Submit quotes that are dated no earlier than 2/11/2025. Was each line on the Official DLA Quote sheet completed by the manufacturer? Are F.O.B. Destination Terms clearly identified on the quote? Is the NAPA discount clearly identified on the quote and removed from the delivered price? Refer to solicitation for actual requirements.

2. Regarding the manufacturer quote sheet, it appears the solicitation number is incorrect.

Will DLA issue an updated manufacturer quote sheet with the correct solicitation number?

DLA Troop Support Response: Attachment #3 Alaska Quote Sheet has been corrected and is attached.

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OFFICIAL DLA TROOP SUPPORT OCONUS SUBSISTENCE PRICE QUOTE SHEET

Solicitation: SPE300-24-R-0038 Region: Alaska

MUST BE COMPLETED BY MANUFACTURER

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OFFICIAL DLA TROOP SUPPORT OCONUS SUBSISTENCE PRICE QUOTE SHEET

Solicitation: SPE300-25-R-0011 Region: Alaska

MUST BE COMPLETED BY MANUFACTURER

3. What is the rationale behind the weighted factor of .3%? How is the factor of .3% determined?

DLA Troop Support Response It was determined that applying a weighting factor of 30% to this acquisition was necessary in order to ensure the firm-fixed price portion of the contract unit price, the Distribution Price, is weighted more heavily.

4. Understanding that this is an OCONUS solicitation and may have different statement of work, the common language in CONUS solicitations is as follows: The Services’ Requirements provide detailed guidance and specifications for items required in the recipes and menus of the various Military Services. Items that do not meet these established standards are not acceptable. How are the Services’ Requirements applied to evaluating submitted Market Basket items?

DLA Troop Support Response: Items that do not meet the Service’s Requirements may be considered unacceptable.

Page 116, before “2. Period for acceptance of offers” add: Items that do not meet the Service’s Requirements may be considered unacceptable.

5. For Market Basket submission, other than a signed manufacturer quote sheet, is there any other price/item documentation required?

DLA Troop Support Response: As stated in the solicitation, The Market Basket submission requirement is a manufacturer quote.

6. Business Proposal/Pricing – Solicitation requirements do not state supporting documentation for items listed in the Market Basket other than price quotes from the manufacturer. Please confirm that no product specification, label, Berry Amendment compliance, etc. be supplied with our solicitation response for each item on the Market Basket.

DLA Troop Support Response: As stated in the solicitation, The Market Basket submission requirement is a manufacturer quote.

7. Food Defense Plan – Solicitation states that a Food Defense Plan may be requested by DLA upon solicitation response review as well as be required to provide DLA 60 days after contract award. Please confirm a Food Defense Plan, per servicing facility, is not required with solicitation response submission.

DLA Troop Support Response: Food Defense Plan is not required with solicitation response submission.

8. In the CONTRACT IMPLEMENTATION PHASE / TRANSITION PLAN (page 49) it states in part: "

i. Within four (4) months after award, the incumbent Prime Vendor shall be fully prepared to support all customers under the terms and conditions of the new contract". However, in section on Submission Requirement on page 119 it states that: "The offeror’s proposal must provide dated milestones that identify each step of the plan within the specified 60-day implementation timeframe". Is the required implementation timeline under this solicitation four (4) months or sixty (60) days?

DLA Troop Support Response: The implementation timeframe is (4) Months or (120) Days.

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1. Describe your firm’s financial capability to perform throughout the life of a resultant contract (i.e. bank commitment letter, financial strength of your firm, etc.). Specifically address your firm’s financial capability to perform during the 60-day ramp up as well as during any surge timeframe. If additional finances will be required, discuss the intended method and lead time required to obtain said finances. If no additional finances will be needed to handle the proposed contract, please confirm in writing.

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1. Describe your firm’s financial capability to perform throughout the life of a resultant contract (i.e. bank commitment letter, financial strength of your firm, etc.). Specifically address your firm’s financial capability to perform during the 120-day ramp up as well as during any surge timeframe. If additional finances will be required, discuss the intended method and lead time required to obtain said finances. If no additional finances will be needed to handle the proposed contract, please confirm in writing.

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1. Discuss all elements of your implementation plan from the date of contract award to fully operational capability (“FOC”) in accordance with section III “Contract Implementation Phase” of the statement of work. The offeror’s proposal must provide dated milestones that identify each step of the plan within the specified 60-day implementation timeframe. Any actions that will cause a delay and impact the successful FOC must be clearly identified.

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1. Discuss all elements of your implementation plan from the date of contract award to fully operational capability (“FOC”) in accordance with section III “Contract Implementation Phase” of the statement of work. The offeror’s proposal must provide dated milestones that identify each step of the plan within the specified 120-day implementation timeframe. Any actions that will cause a delay and impact the successful FOC must be clearly identified.

9. On page 63 under Common Carrier Procedures, DLA makes reference to "these remote locations" in paragraph 1. Where are “these remote locations”? Common carriers are used to transport products from CONUS to Prime Vendor’s Alaska Warehouse. Please clarify whether the Statement of Work should be revised to state Prime Vendor warehouse in Alaska instead of remote locations.

DLA Troop Support Response: Common Carrier Procedures apply to area 4 and 5 on page 87 of the solicitation. The Statement of Work will remain the same.

10. On the pricing spreadsheet, where do we provide any information related to the Basic Freight Rate per pound , plus any applicable Fuel Surcharge as detailed on page 64?

DLA Troop Support Response: The Basic Freight Rate and Fuel Surcharge as explained in the Common Carrier Procedures will be established at the time of the contract award. There is no submission requirement, and this will not be evaluated.

11. Under the CONTRACT IMPLEMENTATION PHASE / TRANSITION PLAN section 2.iii. it states that: "The incumbent Prime Vendor may have stocked product available for sale to the new Prime Vendor. If available, the new Prime Vendor is required to procure the available product offered for sale from the incumbent Prime Vendor. In section iv., it states: 'In accordance with the average demand history for each item, quantities sold to the new Prime Vendor shall be 2 months of stock". Since this solicitation is not a true OCONUS region in that DLA/TRANSCOM did not pay for the transportation of the products to Alaska, why should the new SPV have to purchase "2 months" of stock when most of it can be sold on the commercial market unlike a true OCONUS SPV program that prevents the sale of US products on the open market?

Additionally, since the current SPV provides its own unique product brands, the new SPV will not be providing those products under their new catalog. Lastly, since over 90% of the costs included in the Distribution Fee deal with storage, staffing and transportation cost, why is the new SPV just entitled to 50% of the of the newly contracted distribution fee for product purchased for the incumbent SPV as stated in same section?

DLA Troop Support Response: See revised text below:

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iii. The incumbent Prime Vendor may have stocked product available for sale to the new Prime Vendor. If available, the new Prime Vendor is required to procure the available product offered for sale from the incumbent Prime Vendor. Any such sale shall be in accordance with the following terms and conditions. Any additional terms beyond those specified below must be agreed upon between the two parties and will be considered a commercial agreement separate from the requirements of the resulting contract from this solicitation and resulting contract.

iv. In accordance with the average demand history for each item, quantities sold to the new Prime Vendor shall be 2 months of stock, which would account for a total pipeline (stock on-hand and receipted replenishment quantities to include stock levels for surge and sustainment requirements). Products shall be sold to the new Prime Vendor at the “Delivered Price” as defined by The Economic Price Adjustment – Actual Material Costs for Subsistence delivered Price Business Model DLA Troop Support Subsistence Prime Vendor (SPV) Contiguous United States (CONUS) Alaska, and Hawaii. The estimated value for the maximum 2 months of stock (delivered price only) is $10 million. The new Prime Vendor shall request and obtain supporting invoice documentation from the incumbent Prime Vendor of all items purchased for traceability and price verification purposes. Any other charges by the incumbent Prime Vendor will be billed to the new Prime Vendor separately from the Delivered Price and shall not be included in the new Prime Vendor’s catalog pricing or otherwise reimbursed by the Government.

The new Prime Vendor shall inspect all products prior to acceptance. The following products may be excluded from any required purchase transaction.

• Product that fails to meet minimum contractual requirements (i.e. proper storage, shelf life remaining, etc.);

• Product that does not have sufficient anticipated demand;

• Product that is sourced from Outside Contiguous United States (OCONUS) contractors (i.e. fresh fruits and vegetables, etc.); and or

• Product, the purchase of which would not make economic sense for the new contractor and the Government, alike.

The new contractor will be responsible for determining whether any of the above considerations apply, with the exception of the fourth category, which must have the concurrence of the Contracting Officer.

Once the new Prime Vendor and the incumbent Prime Vendor have agreed upon the products that will be purchased per the considerations provided herein, the incumbent Prime Vendor shall deliver those products to the new Prime Vendor’s warehouse facility for inspection and acceptance. A detailed list of all items included in this sale shall be provided to the Contracting Officer to include the product name, stock number, quantity sold, etc.

The new Prime Vendor shall distribute the products purchased from the incumbent prime vendor in accordance with the Product Quality and Quality Program requirements contained within the QUALITY CONTROL, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND INSPECTIONS section of this Statement of Work.

All products purchased by the new Prime Vendor at the “delivered Price” Actual Material Costs for Subsistence delivered Price Business Model shall be used to establish fully functional catalogs under the new contract and provide initial support to the customers under the terms and conditions of the new contract. See below section - Prime Vendor 832 Catalogs.

The new Prime Vendor will only be entitled to 50% of its distribution price for product purchased from the incumbent Prime Vendor in accordance with this section and ultimately deliver to customers under the resulting contract.

The Prime Vendor will be responsible for reporting the remaining inventory purchased from the incumbent Prime Vendor on a weekly basis, or as directed by the contracting officer.

The Prime Vendor shall submit a request to the contracting officer for each item once the stock purchased from the incumbent Prime Vendor is depleted. Thereafter, the contracting officer will update the distribution price applicable to the new inventory.

12. Since the cost to move product to Alaska, from the CONUS, shall be included in the proposed Delivered Price by the offeror, how do we reflect that delivered cost in the DLA price quote sheets as the pricing information only provides for item price data only?

DLA Troop Support Response: See updated text below. Attachment #2 – Pricing Spreadsheet has been updated to reflect these changes as well.

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The Business Proposal/Pricing Market Basket Product Prices are used for evaluation purposes; but the Market Basket items will also become part of the catalog. Final negotiated prices shall become the baseline catalog prices at the time of the first order.

These prices then are permitted to be adjusted in accordance with the Economic Price Adjustment provisions in Procurement Note.

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The Business Proposal/Pricing Market Basket Delivered Prices are used for evaluation purposes; but the Market Basket items will also become part of the catalog. Final negotiated prices shall become the baseline catalog prices at the time of the first order.

These prices then are permitted to be adjusted in accordance with the Economic Price Adjustment provisions in Procurement Note.

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The Weighted Aggregate Delivered Price is calculated by multiplying each product price for items in the selected Market Basket for the base and tiered pricing periods by its respective estimated quantity and totaling the results, and then multiplying the resulting number by

0.30 (30%) for evaluation purposes only.

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The Weighted Aggregate Delivered Price is calculated by multiplying each delivered price for items in the selected Market Basket for the base and tiered pricing periods by its respective estimated quantity and totaling the results, and then multiplying the resulting number by 0.30 (30%) for evaluation purposes only.

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The item information located in the “Market Basket” tab of Attachment 2, the Market Basket represents at a minimum, 40% of the anticipated dollar value of this solicitation. The distribution category for each item has been pre-designated as indicated within Attachment 2, “Market Basket” tab, Column “O”. No changes may be made to an item’s designated category. The estimated quantities for the items selected are indicated in Columns “R”, “S”, “T”, and “U” are for information and evaluation purposes only. There are Market Basket items for Zone 1 only, Zone 2 only, and both Zones 1 and 2, which is specified in column “F”.

A quote sheet must be completed for each item. For CONUS procured items that are listed on the Market Basket Spreadsheets for both Zones, the delivered price for both Zones should be the same. If the Local Market Ready items being procured are from the same supplier for both Zones, the product price for both Zones should be the same.

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The item information located in the “Market Basket” tab of Attachment 2, the Market Basket represents at a minimum, 40% of the anticipated dollar value of this solicitation. The distribution category for each item has been pre-designated as indicated within Attachment 2, “Market Basket” tab, Column “O”. No changes may be made to an item’s designated category. The estimated quantities for the items selected are indicated in Columns “R”, “S”, “T”, and “U” are for information and evaluation purposes only. There are Market Basket items for Zone 1 only, Zone 2 only, and both Zones 1 and 2, which is specified in column “F”.

A quote sheet must be completed for each item. For CONUS procured items that are listed on the Market Basket Spreadsheets for both Zones, the delivered price for both Zones should be the same. If the Local Market Ready items being procured are from the same supplier for both Zones, the delivered price for both Zones should be the same.

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Offerors shall complete column J, Rows 3 through 106, Quoted Product Price. The product price must be based on the submitted manufacturer’s quote (see Element 4 below). DO NOT deduct Food Show allowances from the product price. NAPA Discounts shall be deducted from the product price; however, the discount must be stated on the manufacturer’s quote sheet.

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Offerors shall complete column J, Rows 3 through 106, Quoted Delivered Price. The delivered price must be based on the submitted manufacturer’s quote (see Element 4 below). DO NOT deduct Food Show allowances from the delivered price. NAPA Discounts shall be deducted from the delivered price; however, the discount must be stated on the manufacturer’s quote sheet.

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The Weighted Aggregate Delivered Price is calculated by multiplying each product price for items in the selected Market Basket for the base and tiered pricing periods by its respective estimated quantity and totaling the results, and then multiplying the resulting number by

0.30 (30%) for evaluation purposes only.

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The Weighted Aggregate Delivered Price is calculated by multiplying each delivered price for items in the selected Market Basket for the base and tiered pricing periods by its respective estimated quantity and totaling the results, and then multiplying the resulting number by 0.30 (30%) for evaluation purposes only.

13. With regard to the Alaska Tribe and School customers, can DLA provide information on how many of these customers are actively ordering product from the current SPV?

DLA Troop Support Response: In the last year, 8 School and Tribe locations have placed orders. In total, approximately 10,000 cases were ordered.

Page 93, under section ‘SCHOOL AND TRIBAL RESERVATION CUSTOMERS” add:

USDA pays for the shipping of produce through USDA DoD Fresh. The shipping costs to deliver produce to the remote Alaska schools should be paid by the vendor and included in the bill for produce that DLA sends to USDA.

14. Can DLA provide volume or percentage by location as it is available in the sales data maintained by the current SPV and DLA databases?

DLA Troop Support Response: The following percentages of sales aligned with the Market Basket date range:

7% - FT5000 - 3 MDG SGSD Nutrional Med Flight 34% - FT9125 – Iditarod Dining Facility 3% - WC1JT7 – Fort Richardson Alaska 22% - FT9123 – 2 Seasons Dining Facility Alaska 25% - FT9146 – Clear Air Station 9% - WC1JUE – Troop Issue Subsistence Activity

15. With question due on February 25, 2025, 3:00 PM, and the closing is scheduled for March 13, 2025, we respectfully request the closing date be extended to April 3, 2025, to allow for an appropriate offer to be prepared.

DLA Troop Support Response: Amendment 0001 was issued March 4, 2025, extending the closing date to April 3, 2025.

16. Are there locations that require regular airlift on a regular basis? If so, which locations would require airlift deliveries and what is the percentage of the total volume?

DLA Troop Support Response: It is the responsibility of the vendor to determine mode of transportation.

17. Page 86 – Customers – In the “current list of customers in the AOR”, RFP states that the list does not include visiting Navy ships. Are the locations for visiting Navy ships different than the ports listed under the customer location tables? Are the volumes for the visiting Navy ships included in the Pricing Worksheet? If so, what is the approximate percentage of visiting Navy ship volume?

DLA Troop Support Response: Navy ships will use the port locations listed under Area 4 and Area 5 on page 87. All Navy ships are visiting ships; Alaska does not have land-based Navy customers in this AOR. The volume is very minimal and closer to 0%.

18. What is the requirement for product with shelf-life between 91 to 149 days? RFP indicates the following balance shelf-life requirements at the time of customer delivery:

Product shelf-life above 150 days, minimum 30 days balance shelf life required

Product shelf-life less than 90 days then minimum 14 days balance shelf life required

Product shelf-life less than 14 days then freshest available shelf life

DLA Troop Support Response: See updated text below.

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For items produced with shelf-life greater than 150 days, no product shall be delivered to customers with less than 30 days manufacturer’s original shelf-life remaining unless the customer grants prior written approval.

If product is manufactured with 90 days of shelf-life or less the Contracting Officer requires a minimum of 14 days remaining shelf-life at time of delivery. For items manufactured with less than 14 days of original shelf-life, the vendor will deliver wholesome product with the\ freshest shelf-life available). The vendor will closely coordinate production and delivery times in order to ensure that product will meet the end-use customer's usage needs.

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For items produced with shelf-life equal to or greater than 150 days, no product shall be delivered to customers with less than 30 days manufacturer’s original shelf-life remaining unless the customer grants prior written approval.

If product is manufactured with less than 150 days of shelf-life, a minimum of 14 days remaining shelf-life is required at the time of delivery. For items manufactured with less than 14 days of original shelf-life, the vendor will deliver wholesome product with the\ freshest shelf-life available).

The vendor will closely coordinate production and delivery times in order to ensure that product will meet the end-use customer's usage needs.