Final QnA for SPE2DS-23-R-0001.pdf

Draft: Q&A SPE2DS-23-D-0001

1. Would the lab be able to order product 716980 (BioClone® Anti-IgG,-C3d; polyspecific Green) off of our current US DLA ECAT contract?

a. Answer: No, current ECAT contracts do not have USAMMC-SWA’s commercial address as a ship-to location. Please contact the Contracting Officer on your current ECAT contract regarding that inquiry.

2. The Ortho products 719810, 719610, 719100, 719210 and 6902096 require a standing order to be set up, how can this be accomplished via ECAT.

a. Answer: ECAT is not capable of placing orders. Each order must be manually entered by the ordering activity at the time of demand.

3. Our current ECAT contract has a 15-day delivery to OCONUS locations. We are unable to meet a 5-day delivery target. How do we ensure that for these products it is clear on a 15-day delivery?

a. Answer: The SOW, Paragraph III, Ordering/Confirmation/Delivery, requires 5-business day delivery for the items on Attachment 1. It also provides three (3) business days to confirm item availability and accept the order. That time is not included in the 5-day delivery timeline.

b. Please note that If an Offeror cannot meet that requirement, they may note it in their technical proposal. However, per Paragraph D of “Caution Notice” contained in the original RFP and on Page 9 of the Amendment, “any Offeror that takes exception to any term or condition of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration for award.” Also refer to Addendum to FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, also describes how technical proposals will be evaluated.

4. As some of the descriptions are incorrect, please confirm the product codes below are the products you are looking for:

a. Answer: The Government confirms the items listed in the chart below. Note that Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors, Volume III Price, Paragraph a, ECAT Catalog Proposed Prices, requires Offerors to complete the “Product Description” in Column H. The “Product Name: in Column G of Attachment 1 is how the items are visible in the Government’s supply system.

Company Product Code Description

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 719810

ORTHO® Coombs Control

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 716980

BioClone® Anti-IgG,-C3d;

polyspecific Green

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 719610 SELECTOGEN®

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 719100

SURGISCREEN®

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 719210 AFFIRMAGEN®

ORTHO CLINICAL

DIAGNOSTICS 6902096

ORTHO® Confidence System

5. As some of the product codes are incorrect, please update your files to the below product codes:

a. Answer: The Government confirms that the product codes (SKU’s) listed below are correct and that SKU 88753 is a Quidel item. Attachment 1 is revised to match the SKU’s and company information highlighted below. Offerors shall ensure that price proposals are submitted on the Attachment 1: ECAT Loader dated 27 July 2023.

Company Product Analyzer Product Name SKU’s

Quidel Triage Meter Pro TRIAGE BNP XR TEST 25S 98000XR

Quidel Triage Meter Pro PANEL SOB TRI PROF 25S 97300EU

Quidel Triage Meter Pro Triage Multi-Analyte Control Level 1 98100

Quidel Triage Meter Pro Cardiac Panel Cartridge 97000HS

Quidel Triage Meter Pro Tox Drug Screen Controls Lv 2 94614

Quidel Triage Meter Pro Tox Drug Screen Controls Lv 1 94613

Quidel Triage Meter Pro Drug Screen Panel Cartridge 94600

Quidel Triage Meter Pro CONTROL BLOOD CHEMIST 88753

Quidel QuickVue Rapid test Strep A Rapid Test (Comes with QC) 00343

Quidel QuickVue Rapid test QUICKVUE TEST KIT 10S 0W009

6. Would be advisable/possible to set up an ECAT account now, prior to submitting the proposal, or if it would be advisable to wait until after award?

a. Answer: No, it is not possible to set up an ECAT account prior to award. Offerors who are awarded a contract will be advised on when to set up an ECAT account.

7. Since past performance will be one of the evaluation factors for award, but does not have a separate volume specified in the solicitation instructions, are we to assume that similar past performance efforts we’d like to bring to your attention must be confined to the page limits of the technical Volume II of the offer?

a. Answer: Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors, is revised to include a past performance submission instructions below and to increase the page limit from six (6) pages to seven (7) pages.

Past Performance: Provide recent and relevant past performance information for the provision of similar supplies as required by this solicitation to a commercial or Government customer within the last three (3) years from the release date of this RFP. The contracts or agreements shall be relevant, the same or similar to the supplies required by this solicitation, and have similar magnitude and scope. Relevancy includes item similarity, delivery terms and location, and complexity. Limit: 1 page.

Past performance information shall be in the following format:

• Contract Number (if applicable)

• Customer Organization or Business Name

• Customer Point of Contact Name, Title, Phone Number and E-mail address

• Dates of performance

• Brief description of the type of items supplied under the contract and the applicable delivery terms. Offerors may list Product Service Codes (PSC) to describe the items supplied.

8. How often are we permitted to submit a request for price increase? When the established price increases, once every 12 months, or twice every 12 months? There are multiple places in the SOL where pricing is discussed, and they seem to contradict each other.

Reference: SOL page 10 C13(c) states:

If the contractor’s applicable established price is increased after the contract date, the corresponding contract unit price shall be increased, upon the contractor’s written request to the contracting officer, by the same percentage that the established price is increased, and the contract shall be modified accordingly… This seems to be contradicted by page 22 II Contract Pricing item A2 which states:

Price Increase: The Contracting Officer will entertain price increases in accordance with the EPA terms in section XI which allow for one price increase per manufacturer every 12 months.

AND page 31 XI Economic Price Adjustment item E. Upward Adjustments which states:

The Contractor is authorized to submit a maximum of 2 requests for upward adjustment per manufacturer every twelve months.

a. Answer: The Contractor is authorized to submit a maximum of 2 requests for upward adjustment per manufacturer every twelve months. Page 31 XI Economic Price Adjustment Item E. Upward Adjustments is correct as written.

b. 22 II Contract Pricing item A2 revised to state, “Price Increase: The Contracting Officer will entertain price increases in accordance with the EPA terms in section XI which allow for two price increases per manufacturer every 12 months.”

c. Although only intended to describe the Economic Price Adjustment process, not the frequency of EPAs, Procurement Note C13 is deleted from the RFP as the text is not editable due to system restrictions.

9. On page 22, II. Contract Pricing, A 2: Price increase…. Which allow for ONE price increase per manufacturer every month. On page 31. XI Economic Price Adjustment, E 1 The Contractor is authorized to submit a maximum of TWO requests for upward adjustment….

a. Answer: See Answer to Question 8.

10. Since the products will be shipping OCONUS there are fees incurred regardless of contents of the shipment (cold chain packing, Bayan fee, etc.) Based on SOL page 22 II.

A. the per shipment fees will need to be accounted for in each products’ pricing. The cost for cold packing 5 diagnostic kits is not significantly different than the packing charge for a single kit, but we would need to include the cost for all in the per unit price. Will DLA consider shipping charges as a separate line item on orders, rather than included in the contract price at the SKU level? It would be beneficial to customers, as they would only have to pay the exact shipping cost and not incur extra expense for multiple items per shipment.

Reference: SOL page 22 II. A All prices shall be FOB Destination, inclusive of traceable door to door shipping and fixed at time of contract award for the five-year base ordering period. All unit prices shall include any Qatari customs fees such as import or bayan fees. The Government will not reimburse Contractors for fees associated with importing reagents to Qatar.

a. Answer: ECAT cannot be configured to add shipping charges as a separate line item on orders. However, Offerors can provide Volume Discounts on Attachment 1, Columns AD through AJ that lower the price for higher quantities of the same item.

11. Question 3: INCOTERMS state FCA Destination. Is the expectation that the products be shipped via ocean vessel or will the INCOTERMS be revised to DDP as this aligns closer to the language of SOL page 22 II. A.?

Reference: SOL page 22 II. A All prices shall be FOB Destination, inclusive of traceable door to door shipping and fixed at time of contract award for the five-year base ordering period. All unit prices shall include any Qatari customs fees such as import or bayan fees. The Government will not reimburse Contractors for fees associated with importing reagents to Qatar.

a. Answer: The INCOTERMS are FOB Destination per page 22 II.A and FAR

Clause 52.247-37, FOB Destination (NOV 1991) which is included in the Part 12 Clauses in the solicitation. Products shall be shipped by any commercial means that meets the delivery requirements in the SOW.

12. It may be impossible to deliver within the shelf-life percentage requirements in the SOW because the shelf-life starts dwindling from the time the item is ordered.

a. Answer: Note that the SOW required percentages remaining are based on the manufacturer’s guaranteed remaining shelf-life upon delivery, not total shelf-life.

For example, if an item has a total shelf-life of 6 months but a manufacturer guaranteed shelf-life of four months, the percentage of remaining shelf-life requirement is based on manufacturer guaranteed shelf-life of four months.

13. Can you provide a forecast of orders or a breakdown of the timing of the previous orders of the previous order quantities for the last year?

a. Answer: No, the only quantity information we have is the previous year total provided by USAMMC-SWA. USAMMC-SWA’s customer demands fluctuate based on deployments, redeployments, and changing missions. It is far less predictable than a typical healthcare center. The number and timing of previous orders is subject to abrupt changes. The updated version of Attachment 1: ECAT Loader 27 July 2023 is attached to this amendment. The previous order quantity is in Column “W.”

14. Do vendors have to accept payment in Euros or can they be paid in U.S. Dollars?

a. Answer: Per SOW Section II. Contract Pricing, Paragraph A., "payment may be in

U.S. Dollars or Euros."