SPRBL1-21-R-0013 (G2S) Attachment 0004 - Questions and Answers (2021-08-06).pdf

G2S Attachment 0004 – Questions and Answers

Question & Answer (Q&A) solicitation amendment number

Question Number

Question

(Note that some questions have been rephrased for clarity)

Answer

0001 1 Has the Government kept a record of large businesses interested in competing for this opportunity and can the list be provided to small businesses interested in partnering with large businesses?

The Government cannot disclose a list of interested parties for the solicitation.

0001 2 Our company falls under the Non-Standard Equipment category, do we need a MCN assigned, or would that be assigned if we are selected?

The Management Control Number (MCN) mentioned in the solicitation and Exhibit A - Statement of Work (SOW) is a number assigned by the Government to a Non-Standard Equipment item, not a company. A MCN is 13-characters, similar to a National Stock Number (NSN) except that the seventh character would be a letter instead of a number, which would be a code letter representing the activity that requested the assignment of the MCN. Additional information regarding MCNs can be found in Army Regulation 708–1 (https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/r(708-1)_Web_FINAL.pdf) and Army Pamphlet 708–1 (https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN19765_P708_1_FINAL.pdf).

0001 3 Is the MCN something that will be provided prior to submitting a proposal?

All of the items on the C5ISR Gateway to Sustainment (G2S) solicitation SPRBL1-21-R-0013 Attachment 0001 Price Evaluation List (PEL) have a National Stock Number (NSN) assigned; none of these items have a separate the Management Control Number (MCN) assigned.

(Q&A) solicitation amendment number

Question Number

Question

(Note that some questions have been rephrased for clarity)

Answer

0001 4 Are the only items under consideration those on the PEL? Would we be considered if we submit a proposal for these items?

Recommend reading the C5ISR Gateway to Sustainment (G2S) solicitation SPRBL1-21-R-0013 in its entirety. The Price Evaluation List (PEL) is a sample list of C5ISR items for the solicitation, not the full list of potential C5ISR items. The scope is expected to include much more than just SATCOM terminals or Non-Standard Equipment. As described in the solicitation, future C5ISR supplies/services would normally be competed amongst the G2S contract awardees. The proposal requirements are outlined in the solicitation.

0001 5 Centron Industries, a potential source of supply for items on the PEL is listed in SAM with exclusion proceedings pending (https://sam.gov/exclusions-new?pirKey=421412&pirValue=1622210810635993)

While Centron Industries currently has an active exclusion with proceedings pending which could affect their eligibility future G2S delivery/task orders, note that the Government owned Technical Data Packages (TDPs) are being made available as outlined in the solicitation for the items on the PEL. Please refer to the solicitation Section M.2.3.1.1 for details regarding the evaluation for responsibilities for future G2S delivery/task orders.

0001 6 DCX-CHOL (CAGE Code: 27456), a potential source of supply for items on the PEL is listed in SAM with exclusion proceedings pending (https://sam.gov/exclusions-new?pirKey=423031&pirValue=1623927006677953)

While DCX-CHOL (CAGE Code: 27456) currently has an active exclusion with proceedings pending which could affect their eligibility future G2S delivery/task orders, note that the Government owned Technical Data Packages (TDPs) are being made available as outlined in the solicitation for the items on the PEL. Please refer to the solicitation Section M.2.3.1.1 for details regarding the evaluation for responsibilities for future G2S delivery/task orders.

0001 7 Is the solicitation currently posted to SAM a draft version? No, the solicitation currently posted to SAM a not a draft version.

0001 8 Are Offerors allowed to include past performance from their G2S team member's to satisfy the requirements of the solicitation sections referenced above or must it be based on contracts/orders performed only by the offeror?

Please refer to the solicitation Section M.3.2 for details regarding the evaluation for joint ventures.

0001 9

Reference - Columns M and V (of the PEL): The FY2022 quantities are less than the initial/first shipment. Does the initial/first shipment reflected in column V reflect the quantity initially ordered under a previous contract and not related to this procurement? If not, then what is the reason for the difference in quantity?

As noted in the header for Column M, it contains Procurement Quantity Estimates that may or may not match-up exactly with the Initial/First Shipment Quantities listed in Column V due to the different sources of data available to the Government. Note that space is provided in Column EE where a G2S Offeror may proposed a different Initial/First Shipment Quantity.

0001 10 Reference - Attachment 0001 - PEL: If the items are not available for purchase, is the contractor to propose re-manufacturing of the item?

Column AE provides some market research information for convenience and Column AR provides First Article Test (FAT) approved source information. However, since all of the items in the PEL have a Government owned Technical Data Package (PEL), if the item cannot be procured from one of these sources or if the Offeror chooses, the item should be priced based on a new source with the applicable Columns completed for the Offeror proposal information.

0001 11 Reference - Attachment 0001 - PEL : Does the Government intend to purchase items off of the PEL after award without discussion or competition?

Refer to the solicitation Sections L.5 and M.5 of the solicitation as well as Attachment 0003 for a description of the Post-Award Ordering Process for PEL items that might be added to a Rapid Ordering Catalog at the time of award.

0001 12 Reference - Solicitation M.5.2: Would the Government allow SDVOSBs to propose 60% of the PEL instead of 70%? No, please refer to the evaluation requirements listed in Section M of the solicitation.

(Q&A) solicitation amendment number

Question Number

Question

(Note that some questions have been rephrased for clarity)

Answer

0001 13

Reference - Solicitation M.1.3: The Government will evaluate Small Business Offerors, Small Business Offerors with Socioeconomic Status, and Other-than-Small-Business Offerors separately and alike, as defined throughout the evaluation criteria. Does the Government intend, or would they consider, evaluating offerors by socio-economic status (i.e. Group 1: HUBZone, Group 2 SDVOSB, Group 3 WOSB etc.) instead of all offerors with socio-economic status together?

No, please refer to the evaluation requirements listed in Section M of the solicitation.

0001 14 Reference - Solicitation M.1.2: The Government intends to award multiple contracts from this solicitation. How many awards does the Government intend to make to small, socio-economic, and other than small businesses?

The solicitation includes a reservation for one or more small business awardees, not a specific number.

0001 15 Due to the time to obtain the TDPs, answers to questions, and the time to identify sources of supply for PEL items, will the Government grant a 30-day extension?

The Government does not anticipate an extension at this time. If an extension were granted, it would be made part of an amendment to the solicitation.

0001 16

Reference - Solicitation L.3.3: Instructions for Past Performance Proposal include “To show that the example is currently active or awarded within 3 years of the RFP issuance/opening date” Would the Government consider amending this requirement to allow any contract having performance within the past 3 years from the RFP date?

An example currently active within 3 years of the RFP issuance/opening date is a contract having performance within 3 years of the RFP issuance/opening date.

0001 17

Reference - Solicitation Section L.2.1: Section L states for all volumes that "Any and all annexes, documentation, attachments, etc. that are submitted by the Offeror will count against the page limitation." Will the Government allow Glossaries, acronym lists, Cross-reference matrices, appendices, and supporting document/certificates to be exempt from the page limitation?

As noted in the solicitation, the only pages that will not count against the page limitation are a cover page and any table of contents pages.

0001 18 Reference - Solicitation Section K: Does the Government want the Offerors to complete Section K - Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors with their proposal submission? If so, should this be included as a separate document?

As noted in the solicitation Narrative A0001, a complete proposal package would include the Standard Form 33 solicitation document with page 1 blocks 16, 17 and 18 completed/signed and all fill-in information entered where required throughout the solicitation, including the applicable entries in Section K.

0001 19 Reference - Solicitation Section L.1.10: Would the Government permit the use of larger size pages, such as 11" X 17" for tables or figures?

All pages shall meet the size limits listed in Section L.1.10 of the solicitation with legible text using a font with a 12-point size type or larger for all body text.

0001 20 Reference - Solicitation Section L.1.10: Would the Government permit the use of 8 or 10-point fonts for tables and figures?

Section L.1.10 of the solicitation requires font with a 12-point size type or larger for all body text.

Non-body text such as that included in tables and figures would not be subject to this size requirement but would need to be legible.

0001 21

Reference - Solicitation Section L.3.2: "If a long-term contract had more than one order, those orders may be used as examples for the base contract, however a base contract and any associated orders may only be counted one time towards the list of four (4) separate contracts/orders."

Would the Government confirm that Task/Deliver Orders awarded under broad scope MAC IDIQs that supported different customers/scope will be treated as separate past performances and counted as separate contracts/orders?

Multiple Task/Delivery Orders awarded under a broad scope Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery- Indefinite Quantity contract may be cited but that contract would only count as a single example as noted in Section L.3.2 of the solicitation.

0001 22

Reference - Solicitation Section L.3.2: "To be recent the contracts/orders must have been completed within 3 years of the RFP issuance/opening date."

To promote more small business participation, would the Government consider changing the recency from 3 to 5 years?

This requirement is the same for both Small and Other-Than-Small (i.e., Large) Business Offerors.

(Q&A) solicitation amendment number

Question Number

Question

(Note that some questions have been rephrased for clarity)

Answer

0001 23 Reference - Solicitation Section L.3.2: Please confirm that the list of 4 Offeror's past performances include those from our team, Subcontractors' past performances in the past performance citations?

As noted in Section L.3.2 of the solicitation, the Government will not consider any contracts/orders substantially (more than fifty percent (50%)) completed or performed by subcontractors for the requirements listed in the past performance proposal.

0001 24 Reference - Solicitation Section L.4.1.3: Please confirm that the Small Business Participation Proposal should only contain percentages and no dollar amounts.

Yes, since this Request for Proposal (RFP) is anticipated to result in Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite- Quantity (IDIQ) multiple-award contracts, Section L.4.1.3 of the solicitation requires the Offeror to provide a Small Business Participation Commitment Document (SBPCD) that explains its plan to maintain a minimum of forty percent (40%) of the total awarded order dollar value throughout the life of the contract to small business. This is based on a percentage, not a dollar amounts, because the total award price is not fixed with IDIQ multiple-award contracts.

0001 25

Reference - Solicitation Section C: DLAD PROC NOTE C04 Paragraph states "To be considered for award, the offeror must complete and submit the following representation with their offer. Additional supporting documentation to demonstrate the surplus material offered was previously owned by the Government and meets solicitation requirements must be provided within 24 hours of request by the contracting officer."

If Offerors have unused former Government surplus property to report, 1) does the Government want this representation to be submitted as a separate document. 2) If not, which volume should we submit this under? 3) If it's part of an existing volume, can this representation be included as an Appendix and be exempt from page count?

As noted in the solicitation Narrative A0001, a complete proposal package would include the Standard Form 33 solicitation document with page 1 blocks 16, 17 and 18 completed/signed and all fill-in information entered where required throughout the solicitation, including the applicable entries in DLAD PROC NOTE C04. If Offerors have unused former Government surplus property to report that exceeds the space available within the body of the solicitation DLAD PROC NOTE C04, additional completed copies of DLAD PROC NOTE C04 may be submitted as attachments to its proposal Volume 4 along with the completed copy of the Price Evaluation List (PEL) Excel file and would not count against any page limit for Volume 4 of the proposal.

0001 26 Reference - Solicitation Section C: Does the Government require one (1) DLAD PROC NOTE C04 unused former Government surplus property representation from each Offeror or one for each applicable PEL?

If all of the supplies proposed in the completed Price Evaluation List (PEL) are new, unused, and not of such age or so deteriorated as to impair its usefulness or safety (i.e., Yes to the first question in DLAD PROC NOTE C04), this need only be completed once in the completed/signed copy of the Standard Form 33 solicitation document. Refer to Question Number 24 for additional information if needed.

0001 27 Backbone International is listed in the PEL for many items as a suggested source and there are some concerns with the qualifications of this company.

Column AE provides some market research information for convenience. As noted on the PEL, these are the Names/CAGE Codes for any companies identified during the Government’s previous market research as possible manufacturing sources for each item. As noted on the PEL, this information is provided as a courtesy, not to be considered an endorsement by the Government.

These companies are not listed by the Government as “suggested sources”.