SPE4A520R0150-AmendmentQandA-15May2020.pdf

SPE4A5-20-R-0150

Questions Submitted After Posting of Amendments 1 and 2

1. FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations (Oct 1995) What are fill-ins?

FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations (Oct 1995) fill-ins to be completed as follows:

Minimum = 1 and Maximum = estimated annual demand (EAD)

2. DFARS 252.225-7001 Buy American and Balance Of Payments Program—Basic (Dec 2016) and DFARS 252.225-7001 Buy American and Balance Of Payments Program—Basic (Dec 2016), Alt I (Dec 2016) Will these clauses be deleted?

DFARS Clause 252.225-7001 and ALT I to be deleted.

DFARS 25.225-7020 and DFARS 252.225-7021 to be added.

3. FAR 52.225-12 Notice Of Buy American Requirement - Construction Materials under Trade Agreements (May 2014) Will this clause be deleted?

FAR 52.225-12 to be deleted.

4. What material will the contractor acquire or will the government furnish to the contractor that will have to be managed as government property under the contract? Section C does not describe any requirement to manage government property.

With Amendment 1, items with GOVT TOOL, MATL, PROP, PROP/TOOL/STE items were removed from the population. See A1 Appendix C, Tabs 1b (Core) and 2b (Alternative), Columns AB, AC, AD, AE

5. SOW/C.10.3.9 Warranty and Item Returns C.10 states: “The contractor shall utilize VSM to coordinate all shipments for all NSNs in the entire target population.” C.10.3.9 states: “The contractor shall accept Item Returns for shipping errors, damage or loss upon delivery within 30 days of date of delivery when Item Returns have been reported within 10 days of the delivery date.”

The statement at C.10.3.9 quoted above is in alignment with the preceding Section 10.3.8.

PQDR and SDRs will be communicated in detail via QN letters to the Contractor by the Contracting Officer. Also see the Answer to C.10.3.8 below.

6. SOW C.2.7.3, VSM

Regarding the statement, “[t]he Military Shipping Label (MSL) and carrier information/shipping instructions should be available in VSM within 24 hours of initial shipment registry. The carriers chosen by the government will be responsible for shipping from the consolidated container point (CCP), port of embarkation (POE) or Freight Forwarder point to the OCONUS customer destination”:

a) What should the contractor do if this information in not available within the 24-hours timeframe?

Generally, carrier/shipping instructions are available in the VSM web portal at the time the Contractor accesses each delivery order in VSM to obtain the data for shipping purposes. There may be occasions when the information is not available immediately and could possibly take up to 24 hours. (i.e. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) shipments and the shipment is going to a Navy ship that has changed locations). The VSM web portal provides specific contact information (phone and email) when situations such as this occur. Contacting the appropriate VSM point of contact, when information is not available, is the best approach.

b) Will government assigned carriers be responsible for shipping from the contractor’s location(s) not from the locations described, and instead be responsible for shipping to those locations as well as to CONUS military installations?

The statement in Section C 2.7.3 is emphasizing that for OCONUS shipments, the Government will not only be responsible for getting shipments from the Contractor to CCP, POE, or FF locations (when called out on delivery orders via VSM) but will be responsible for shipping from those locations to the final OCONUS customer destination. Sections C 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 indicate that VSM will be used to process all delivery orders, regardless of CONUS or OCONUS.

7. Alternative Basket Performance Metric A 100% OTD metric is a perfect performance standard that allows no margin for late orders.

The contractor will need to resort to accelerating production to mitigate the possibility of not meeting the metric, which will drive up cost to the government. Therefore, can this metric be relaxed to a percentage not exceeding 98%?

100% OTD, while being measured, is not disincentivized. Delinquent orders will require a recovery plan and new CDD each quarter (Section C 7.3.2). Additionally, Section C 1.1.2 states “The Contractor will have a one-time opportunity to provide a revised PLT to the Contracting Officer within 90 days of order issuance when the first order is issued for each item in the Alternative basket.” Given this leverage to provide a revised PLT after an order is issued should ensure that the Contractor would be able to meet the 100% OTD metric.

8. On Time Delivery (OTD) Regarding the statement, “[i]f the delivery order’s invoice receipt date is after the scheduled delivery date and/or the total quantity of the order is not packed and ready for shipment, the order will be considered late”, should the “invoice receipt date” be replaced with “pack date”?

OTD is not measured by pack date. It is whether DLA or the customer receives the material by the delivery date. Paragraph 2 at Section C.7.3.1 has been amended to read as follows below:

“When the total quantity of material for a delivery order is received by DLA or the customer on or before the scheduled delivery date, the order will be considered on time. If the delivery order’s receipt date is after the scheduled delivery date and/or the total quantity of the order is not received, the order will be considered late. The percentage of delivery orders that are on time divided by the total number of orders will determine the OTD percentage rate.”

9. Late Orders Should the quarterly report of delinquent orders only include orders overdue by 90 days or more similar to the report for delinquent orders for Core NIINs basket report of delinquent orders.

All delinquent orders should be reported with the quarterly report.

10. C.7.9.2 EDI Order Issues Does “metric relief up to three days based on original CDD of the order” mean that an original CDD showing a date in the past will only be extended up to 3 days even if this extension does not allow the contractor 1 – 3 days to prepare an order for shipment after receipt of order? Can the government clarify that metric relief for incorrect CDDs will be granted to allow 1 – 3 days after the date of order receipt (based on order priority) to prepare orders for shipment?

“…metric relief up to three days based on original CDD of the order…” means that relief will be based on the original time frame of the order’s CDD (time between Order Issue Date and CDD), from 1 to 3 days. There will be no extension/modification of CD orders, only relief granted at time of reconciliation. In accordance with performance expectations, the Contractor should already have items ready to ship. The sentence highlighted further states “…and the Contractor has material ready to ship.” The Contractor is responsible for advising the Government when these situations occur. The ELLIS web portal will give the Contractor a way to enter this data.

For example, if the order’s original date is 1/15/2020 with a CDD of 1/16/2020, but the Contractor did not receive the order via EDI from the Government until 1/17/2020 (due to a systemic EDI issue) and the Contractor had the order packed and ready (pack date) on 1/18/2020, the Government will grant metric relief for that order during reconciliation time.

If the Contractor did not have the order packed and ready until 1/27/2020, the Contractor did not meet the expectation of the full relief circumstances and the Government will not grant metric relief for the order.

11. C. 10.2.3 Program Management Reporting Deliverables The SOW refers to the monthly Inventory Report and monthly Metrics Summary Report as being roll-ups of daily reports. The SOW does not specify any requirement for any daily reports, only weekly, monthly, and semi-annual reports. Are these reports intended to be rollups of weekly reports instead?

“This is a monthly roll-up report of the daily report” has been removed from the monthly report section for (a) Inventory Report and (b) Metrics Summary Report.

12. C. 10.2.3 Program Management Reporting Deliverables Can the government clarify the differences between the information submitted annually for the Socio-economic Data Report and the information submitted under C.8.2 Small Business Commitment Metric Documentation or confirm the following interpretation?

a) The information submitted for the Socio-economic Data Report covers the contractor’s full procurement activity over the reporting period (subcontracts and purchases placed with subcontractors and suppliers) whereas the information submitted for the Small Business Commitment Metric relates to the business size status of the subcontractors that supplied material for orders filled over the reporting period.

Interpretation is correct. Socio-economic data is total % of contract dollars awarded. SB Commitment Metric is order-by-order.

b) The information submitted for the Socio-economic Data Report covers dollars by small business size category for all subcontracts and purchase orders issued during/ through the reporting period, e.g. material purchases for Core basket items to replenish contractor inventories, material purchases to fill orders for Alternative basket items, and subcontracted services. It is the same information included in semi-annual Individual Subcontracting Reports submitted in eSRS.

Correct.

c) The information submitted for the Small Business Commitment Metric, on the other hand, identifies for each delivery order completed during the reporting period the small business size category of the subcontractor/vendor/source of supply associated with the material supplied for each delivery order.

Correct. This will be utilized to determine if the Contractor met the 25% metric; exceed the metric or failed to meet the metric.

13. C.10.3.2 Source Control or Qualified Products List Regarding the statement, "[r]efer to Appendix L for reference tables included in each item’s PID" Appendix L does not appear with any of the solicitation documents posted on Beta.SAM.gov. Where can Appendix L be found?

Appendix L was posted to Contract Opportunities at beta.sam.gov for SPE4A5-20-R-0150 on May 8, 2020.

14. Does each warehousing location used to perform the contract require QSLD certification and can this certification be done as warehouses are stood up during Transition?

Response to be provided at a later date.

15. C.10.3.8 Product Quality Deficiencies & Supply Discrepancies The third paragraph to this section includes the statement, “[t]he contractor is responsible for picking up and correcting or replacing any material requiring correction or replacement, and for delivery of conforming goods to the customer.” It is understood that the contractor is responsible to deliver conforming goods, with replacement material shipped at the contractor cost (not billed to the government), but picking up nonconforming material seems beyond the scope. Can the government confirm that material pickup is a requirement of the contract or clarify that the contractor is responsible for assisting customers with returns of nonconforming material at the contractor’s expense?

“Picking up and correcting or replacing” is within the scope of the contract as this language gives the Contractor flexibility in handling their responsibility for defective items, however, “picking up” is not an exclusive contract requirement. The warranty at Section C.10.3.9 is very clear in that it states that the Contractor agrees to take responsibility of item issues and delivery costs associated with the defective items within one year from date of delivery (whether pickup/correct or replace). Therefore, further clarification is not required.

16. C.10.4.1 Packaging Requirements It is not clear which NIINs are to be packaged IAW ASTM D-3951 Standard Practice for Commercial Packaging and which NIINs are to be packaged IAW MIL-STD-2073-1 Standard Practice for Military Packaging. SOW 10.4.1(a) states that “Packaging shall be IAW ASTM D-3951 … unless MIL-STD-2073-1 … is specified in the Packaging Matrix (Appendix C).” Neither ASTM D- 3951 nor MIL-STD-2073-1 are specified, at least not as such, in the Packaging Matrix of Appendix C (Tab1c and Tab2c).

The full text of 10.4.1.(a) previously read as follows: Packaging shall be IAW ASTM D-3951 Standard Practice for Commercial Packaging unless MIL-STD-2073-1, Standard Practice for Military Packaging, is specified in the Packaging Matrix (Appendix C), where Column “First Dest Pkg” is marked with a “Y” and Column “Pkg Table Number” is marked with “NIJJ0NNNJ”.

a) The paragraph has been amended to read as follows: Packaging requirements, as specified in the Packaging Matrix (Appendix C), shall be IAW ASTM D-3951, Standard Practice for Commercial Packaging, when Column “First Dest Pkg” is marked with a “Y” or shall be IAW MIL- STD-2073-1, Standard Practice for Military Packaging when Column “First Dest Pkg” is marked with a “N”.

b) Identification using the Column “Pkg Table Number” (NIJJ0NNNJ) has been removed.

c) The intent of this paragraph is that Commercial Packaging is allowable on the majority of the items and that packaging that is IAW ASTM D-3951 is indicated when the “First Dest Pkg” column in the Packaging Matrix (Appendix C) is marked with a “Y”, the primary indicator. The Packaging Matrixes were updated and will be included via amendment. The table below reflects the current expectations for Commercial and Military Packaging:

*The 172 blanks are being reviewed by the DLA Packaging Team. Once a final determination is made on these items (Commercial or Military), Appendix C Packaging Matrixes will be amended again.

17. Is the intent of SOW 10.4.1(a) that packaging IAW MIL-STD-2073-1 is only required where the Packaging Matrix (Appendix C, Tab1C and Tab2c) Column “First Dest Pkg” is marked with a

Basket Commercial (COL I = Y) Military (COL I = N) *Blanks (being updated) Core 6,968 3,335 18 Alternative 35,434 15,069 154

“Y” and Column “Pkg Table Number” is marked with “NIJJ0NNNJ”? This combination occurs for 6,899 NIINs (67%) of the Core basket. However, this appears in direct conflict with the Inspection Table for Core NIINs (Appendix C, Tab1d), which states that only 845 of these 6,899 NIINs are to be packaged IAW ASTM D-3951.

Refer to the table above for current counts of Commercial and Military Packaging. The DLA Packaging Team advised that not all “Pkg Table Numbers” are consistent with the “First Dest Pkg” column data, therefore, as stated above, use “First Dest Pkg” column as primary indicator.

18. In total, the Inspection Table for Core NIINs (Appendix C, Tab1d) indicates that 1,301 Core NIINs are explicitly to be packaged IAW ASTM D-3951.

Use the “First Dest Pkg” column in Packaging Matrix as primary indicator for packaging requirements.

Section H Questions

19. H.1.2 Economic Price Adjustment Methodology a)So that each economic price adjustment can reflect more recent BLS index information can the number of months in paragraphs (2) and (3) be changed from 12 months to 3 months?

DLA is not planning to change the number of months.

b) Since there may be a substantial time gap between the date of the offeror’s final proposal revision when the base index is established for Core NIINS and the date orders begin to be placed under the contract (possibly during Transition if specified by the contractor’s Transition Plan), can the government apply an initial economic price adjustment to Core and Alternative NIIN prices to apply to the Transition Period, then another economic price adjustment for Base Year 1, Base Year 2, etc.?

DLA took the time gap into consideration. Alternative basket historical prices were normalized (brought current) by the most recent BLS index bringing those prices current to reduce risk to the Contractor. Additionally, DLA increased the EPA ceiling from the standard 10% to 35% to ensure stability in the contract and to protect both the Government and the Contractor. DLA anticipates that offerors will consider all pricing elements provided within the EPA index averages, EPA ceiling increase to 35%, and TEP factors.

For Base and Adjusting Index, the average of 12 months will remain.

Section L Questions

20. L.7.2 If needed to allow readability of large graphs and tables can 11” x 17” foldout pages be included and if so would each be counted as one or two pages for page count limitation purposes?

Yes, 11 x 17 is allowable (folded to 8.5” x 11”) and will be counted as one page.

21. L.7.4 Does the requirement to include an executive summary with each proposal volume not apply to Volumes 4 and 5 since these volumes do not include narratives?

Although Page Limits for Volumes 4 and 5 are “N/A” in accordance with the table at L.7.1., an executive summary within these volume submission may be appropriate for Contractors to relay any details to DLA.

22. L.9.3.1 In reference to “[t]he proposal must include a copy of its current quality standard” does the government want a copy of the offeror’s Quality Management System documentation, Certificate of Registration of the Offeror’s Quality Management System, or both?

The expectation is that offerors will provide all applicable quality standard documentation.

23. L.11.2 Core Basket Pricing.

a) Given how Core Basket NIINs are stored in the contractor’s inventory and prepared for shipment to meet TDD timeframes, Economic Order Quantities (EOQ) are only relevant to inventory replenishment orders the contractor places with its material suppliers, not to orders placed by the government. Therefore, can offerors be given the option to propose a Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs) in lieu of EOQs for Core Basket items, e.g. for NIINS with minimal Estimated Annual Demand quantities?

DLA will remove the request for MOQs for Core Basket via amendment. Only EOQs are suggested, especially for items with EAD=1. The TEP model (Appendix A) and Sections C at 1.3, L.11.2, L.11.4, M.5.1 and M.5.4 have been amended to more accurately reflect this.

b) For the Core List should proposed Unit Prices in Appendix A be based on the offeror’s proposed EOQs and MOQs if greater than the RFP Projected Quantity? For example, if RFP Projected Quantity is 1 and the contractor proposes an EOQ of 100 and an MOQ of 10, should the offeror’s proposed Unit Price be based on the EOQ of 100?

DLA will remove the request for MOQs for Core Basket via amendment. Section L.11.2 has been amended to state EOQs offered for Core and Alternative baskets are to be submitted on a separate Excel worksheet within Volume 4, including quantities and prices. EOQ’s will be noted on the TEP model with a “Y” on the applicable TEP model tabs. For the Core basket where EOQs are quoted, it is expected that the highest unit price within the EOQ price breaks will be entered as the discrete unit price.

c) For the Core List should offerors propose alternative Unit Prices that will apply if the government only accepts the offeror’s proposed EOQ or MOQ or neither and if so where should these prices be entered?

DLA will remove the request for MOQs for Core Basket via Amendment. For the Core basket where EOQs are quoted, it is expected that the highest unit price within the EOQ price breaks will be entered as the discrete unit price.

24. L.11.4 Alternative Basket Pricing It is not realistic for offerors to propose EOQs/ MOQs for 50K+ Alternative Basket NIINs within the solicitation timeframe. Therefore, can the contractor provide EOQs and MOQs for Alternative NIINs following contract award when the first order for each NIIN is issued?

DLA will remove the request for MOQs for Alternative Basket via amendment. The Contractor may choose to propose EOQs for the Alternative basket on a separate Excel worksheet in Volume 4. Section M.5.4 states that the Government is evaluating the completeness of proposals to ensure EOQ’s are included, especially in the case of items with EAD=1. DLA may consider EOQs provided following contract award.

Section M Questions

25. M.5.1 Total Evaluated Price (TEP) For the Core List and Alternative List price evaluation will the government adjust the Projected Quantity/ Estimated Annual Demand to the greater of the offeror’s proposed EOQ or MOQ if greater than the Projected Quantity/ Estimated Annual Demand for price evaluation purposes in order to prevent under evaluation of individual NIIN line item prices? For example, for a NIIN with a Projected Quantity of 1 where the offeror proposes a MOQ/ EOQ of 4 the Projected Quantity would be adjusted to 4 for price evaluation purposes.

DLA will remove the request for MOQs for Core and Alternative Basket via amendment. EOQs, if submitted, must be notated on the TEP with a “Y” and quantities and price breaks must be submitted on a separate Excel spreadsheet in Volume 4. The EADs for each item will not be changed/adjusted as they are the anticipated demand of each item and a key element in calculating the total evaluated price.

Total Evaluation Price (TEP) Model Questions

26. If the government approves an offeror’s Transition Plan that allows certain Core or Alternative NIINs to be ordered from the contractor during the Transition Period what pricing will apply since Appendix A prices are not effective until the start of Base Year 1?

The contractor may offer a recommendation in their proposal of prices to be used.

27. Can the government break out pricing entries for Management Fee to allow offerors to enter a value for each year over the 9-year period to allow offerors to propose their most competitive pricing?

Yes, the TEP has been amended to allow a management fee for each of the 9 years. The TEP will simply add the 9 years.

28. For the Alternative List, do the Historical Prices reflect economic price adjustments from the government’s historical purchase date to the FSG 53 solicitation amendment date?

Yes, historical prices were brought current/normalized.