Solicitation QA W91CRB22R0002 091622.pdf

AMC Audit Support and Financial Management Transformation W91CRB‐22‐R‐0002 ‐ Solicitation Questions and Comments

Solicitation Update: 13 September 2022

No. Category RFP Part & Section Reference

RFP Page

Questions/Comments/Clarification Government Response

1 Instructions PWS 1.5.6

PWS 4.2

Section C, 1.5.6

PWS 1.5.6 states "The Contractor shall submit a Secret Facility Clearance with their proposal." PWS 4.2 states "The Contractors and subcontractors/team members (as applicable) shall have been granted a SECRET facility clearance from the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office prior to performing work in support of this contract."

Will the Government consider allowing team members to work under Prime’s facility clearance to maximize flexibility and provide the best possible resources?

Would the Govt confirm that the secret facility clearance (1) may be included as part of the Offeror’s Volume 1 submission and (2) a signed letter from the offeror’s facility security officer (FS)) will meet this requirement?

The Government confirms that secret facility clearance may be included in Offeror’s volume 1 submission. The ultimate awardee will need to comply with HQ AMC security requirements.

The Government cannot allow team members to work under the Prime’s facility clearance. A subcontracting company must be part of the National Industrial Security Program (NSP) and have their own Facility Clearance (FCL) in order to perform on classified contracts. A subcontractor cannot be “carried” or “operate” under the Prime’s FCL.

A completed DD254 with all possible work locations, annotated “for planning purposes” shall be submitted with the proposal.

The Government confirms DD Form 254 is a post‐ award requirement.

A signed letter from the offeror’s Facility Security Officer (FSO) stating the level of facility clearance is sufficient to satisfy this requirement.

2 Instructions Vol 3, Factor II, PP

97 The RFP states, “…email the entire questionnaire to the Contracting Office no later than 18 August 2022…”.

Will the gov please confirm that the PPQ is due a week before submission on 12 September 2022?

Attachment J.3 reflects a requested response date no later than 15 September 2022.

Document language has been updated in Section L.

3 Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model / Performance Objective 5

Tab:

Contract Yr Pricing and Phase in Price, and 95

Can the Government adjust the Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model Contract Yr Pricing and Phase in Pricing worksheets “Location” cells for the key personnel to match the Solicitation Page 32 section 5.1.3 Requirements by Labor Category?

The “Key” personnel column in Attachment J.4 has been updated to correspond to 5.1.3 Requirements by Labor Category.

The Labor Category Descriptions state that the Project Manager, IT Lead and SBR Lead all need to be located in Huntsville, AL. However Column B "Location" of both the "Contract Yr Pricing" and "Phase In Price" tabs of attachment J.4 "Price Proposal Model" states that all key personnel positions are located in Huntsville.

Please consider updating Attachment J.4 to be consistent with the guidance in 5.1.3.

The document states that "All Key Personnel shall work in the Redstone Arsenal area" however on page 27 the document states "All Key Personnel may be required to perform work in the Redstone Aresenal area, as directed by the Government". Would the government consider updating the requirement on page 37 to be consistent with the requirement on page 27?

Would the Government confirm that the Data Lead (as described in Section 5.1.3 on page 28) is intended to be Key Personnel? If so, please update the language on page 95 in 2a to state that the government is requiring "eight (8) labor categories with a total of 15 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)". If not, please remove the Key Personnel classification from the Data Lead description in Section 5.1.3.

Performance Requirements Summary will be updated to be consistent with Section 5.1.3

Quantification of labor categories and FTEs has been removed from document.

4 Price Attachment J4 and RFP Sect M

P101 The Government has provided the normalized amount of $550,000 annually for proposal purposes for Travel/ODCs in CLIN x002.

For pricing purposes, would the Government consider splitting this amount into two separate CLINs (one Travel CLIN and one ODC CLIN) as the indirect application factors may be different for Travel and ODCs?

Attachment J4 has been updated to separate Travel and ODCs.

5 Price Section L, Volume 5 – Factor IV –

100 The Price Volume instructions state, “Therefore, in accordance with FAR 15.403‐1(b)(1) and (b)(3), certified cost or pricing data is not required, and data

The referenced FAR language in Volume 5 are intended to cover additional competitive situations.

See also answer to question 61.

Cost/Price Proposal other than certified cost or pricing is currently required in accordance with FAR 15.403‐3. “

We respectfully question the applicability of the requirement for data other than certified cost or pricing:

(1) FAR 15.402 Pricing Policy states that when there is adequate price competition, no additional data is necessary.

(2) When certified cost or pricing data are not required by 15.403‐4, shall obtain data other than certified cost or pricing data as necessary to establish a fair and reasonable price, generally using the following order of preference in determining the type of data required:

o No additional data from the offeror, if the price is based on adequate price competition, except as provided by 15.403‐3(b).

15.403‐3(b) reinforces that when there is adequate price competition, no additional data are necessary, unless there are unusual circumstances.

(b) Adequate price competition. When adequate price competition exists (see 15.403‐1(c)(1)), generally no additional data are necessary to determine the reasonableness of price.

Could the Government clarify what unusual circumstances exist that necessitates other than certified cost or pricing data and overrides the existence of adequate price competition?

6 Price Section L, Volume 5 – Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal

100 The Price Volume instructions state “Therefore, in accordance with FAR 15.403‐1(b)(1) and (b)(3), certified cost or pricing data is not required, and data other than certified cost or pricing is currently required in accordance with FAR 15.403‐3. In accordance with FAR 15.403‐5(b), the Contracting Officer may specify

The Government can confirm the yellow fill‐ins in Attachment J.4 are requested for the proposal. All additional cost/price information to support the offerors proposed rates shall be contained in the Cost/Price Volume. See also answer to question 34.

the format of cost or pricing data or data other than certified cost or pricing data.”

Can the government please confirm that the items a) –

f) and the yellow fill‐ins in Attachment J.4 constitute the totality of the ‘other than certified cost or pricing’ required?

7 Price Volume 5 – Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal and Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model

Page 100 / Tab:

Contract Yr Pricing, Instruction #8

The price instructions request that subcontractors submit separate and complete price proposals and that their contribution to the effort is separately identified in Attachment J.4.

Can the government please confirm that subcontractors may have separate / different rates from their Prime for labor categories in which both the Prime and Subcontractors will perform?

To further clarify, in a labor category that will be performed by the Prime and subcontractors, multiple rates may be proposed, with each entity having their own separate and distinct billing rate.

The Government confirms that the subcontractors may have different rates from the Prime.

8 Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model

Tab:

Contract Yr Pricing

Can the government clarify how Column F (“Status”) shall be completed for PWS Labor Categories where there are multiple FTEs, where there may be a combination of personnel types within the required FTE quantities?

Where there are a combination of personnel types within the required FTE quantifies, column F of the Price Proposal Model shall be completed or footnoted as, for example: “4 C and 4 N”

9 Price Attachment J.4

Model

Tab: Phase In

Can the government confirm that the hourly labor rates proposed for the Phase In must not exceed the rates proposed for the Base Period (11 months)?

The Government confirms that the hourly rate proposed for the phase in period must not exceed the rates proposed for the Base period.

10 Price Factor IV – Cost/Price

106 “Proposed amounts for Phase‐In will be evaluated for price reasonableness as appropriate, however will not be included as part of the evaluated TEP.”

Does the Government plan to evaluate the proposed level of effort and skill mix proposed by the offeror for

Yes, the Transition‐In plan will be evaluated in accordance with Section L and M of the solicitation as part of Factor I Solution Development (Technical).

Phase‐In for reasonableness and consistency with their proposed Transition In Plan?

11 Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model

Tab: Total Price

Row 21 is a calculated value representing the total budget available for Travel and ODC support less material handling and indirect costs. We respectfully note that the math in row 23 is not correct and understates the Actual Travel and ODC Amount after removal of the indirect burden cost.

The formula in row 23 should be (C12 / (1+C22)) so that when the burden % is applied to the Travel and ODC cost (not the total price), the total adds up to $550,000. Can the government please confirm our interpretation is accurate?

Confirmed ‐ the Government acknowledges/agrees with this interpretation in principle, although the cell references in the question/comment appear to be off.

Intent is to limit total annual Travel and ODC amounts (inclusive of indirect burden costs) to the total budgeted amount available as provided in the normalized Travel/ODC amounts. Formulas in Row 21 cells have been revised in the spreadsheet “Total Price” tab to address the discrepancy.

12 Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model

Tab: Total Price

Can the government confirm that Subcontractor content and pricing is not to be itemized in the FFP Phase In Price?

Subcontractor information should be itemized in the Phase‐in price in the same way that it will be itemized in the other proposal periods/CLINs. A column for identification of the Prime vs. Sub performance has been added to the Price Proposal Model ‘Phase In Price’ tab.

13 Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model

Tab: Total Price

Can the government confirm that for ease and clarity of evaluation, that the Travel and ODC amounts, and Material Handling rate details shall be represented by the Prime only, and subcontractors do not need to allocate Travel/ODC cost nor provide their Material Handling rate for price evaluation purposes?

Confirmed. Any subcontractor material handling/G&A/indirects applied by the subcontractors to their own Travel and ODCs under the proposal shall be separately negotiated for fair and reasonable pricing between the prime and their subcontractors.

14 Price Section L, Volume 5 – Factor IV – Cost/Price

100 "Any proposed subcontractor(s) shall provide their pricing information in the same format and shall include all requested information.”Given that subcontractor content is not represented / requested in the Phase In Price tab and are not themselves generating a Contract Total Price, can the government confirm that a subcontractor price proposal shall include only the Contract Year Pricing tab of Attachment J.4 and a Price Narrative?

Subcontractor content shall be included in both the ‘Contract Yr Pricing’ and ‘Phase In Price’ tabs. See answer to question 12 – a column has been added to the Phase In tab to allow representation of both prime and subcontractor hours.

15 PWS Section 3.3, Government‐

25 “The contractor shall be accountable for all Government issued property.”

The Government confirms that the property to be issued will be in the form of laptops and office related equipment.

Furnished Property/Items

Can the Government provide additional information as to what property may be issued (e.g., does this include Government laptops)?

16 Staffing/KP Section 3.2.

Facilities/Office Space

25 “The Government will provide workspace for thirty‐five to forty (35 ‐ 40) contractor staff to include desk space, telephones, computers and connectivity to printers, scanners, and fax machines. ”Per the government’s responses in the Pre‐Solicitation Questions posted on 8/23/2022, the government indicated, “There will be approximately 20+ workspaces provided in both Huntsville and NCR.”

Can the government clarify if there will be 35‐40 or approximately 20 on‐site workspaces in both Huntsville and NCR?

The number will fluctuate based on needs of the audit. For planning purposes, the Government will provide 20 or more workspace as needed to meet the mission.

17 Staffing/KP Section 5.1.2.2, Specific Qualifications

26 “An understanding of the Army's business transformation and ERP and Logistics Systems ERP solutions, especially the LMP and the Global Combat and Control System – Army and associated feeder systems”.

Can the Government revise this to be related to an understand/experience with business transformation and DoD SAP solutions? Noting specific Army’s systems is very focused and can limit competition to only those with specific Army experience (e.g., incumbent).

The Government has updated the language from Army to DoD’s business transformation and DoD and associated feeder systems.

18 Staffing/KP Section 5.1.1, Special Qualifications

26‐27 “ 5.1.1.3 Familiar with functionality of ERP systems, (GFEBS, GCSS‐A, LMP); as well as writing Pyspark code to build GFEBS and LMP tables from the raw Systems, Applications and Products ( SAP) tables.”

Can the government confirm the contractor personnel that requires familiarity with writing Pyspark code is applicable to the Data Lead LCAT only?

This requirement is focused on the Data Lead and those contractors that support that specific effort.

19 Staffing/KP Section 5.1.1, Special Qualifications

26‐27 “5.1.1.3 Familiar with functionality of ERP systems, (GFEBS, GCSS‐A, LMP)...”

Can the government confirm the contractor personnel that requires ERP systems can include DoD SAP solutions? Noting specific Army’s systems is very

This requirement is focused on the IT and Data Lead and those contractors supporting that effort. The GFEBS, GCSS‐A, LMP are merely examples of some DoD ERP systems which include DoD SAP solutions.

focused and can limit competition to only those with specific Army experience (e.g., incumbent).

20 Staffing/KP Section 5.1.3 Labor Categories

28 EDP Audit Senior II: Master’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management AND 2 years of experience with information systems including 1 year of experience with the DoD ERP/SAP and Logistics Systems.”

Can the Government consider 2 additional years of experience in lieu of a Master’s Degree?

No, The government feels the current request is best to suit the needs of this contract.

21 Staffing/KP Section 5.1.3, Requirements for Labor Categories

28 “Data Lead (Key Personnel): Bachelor’s Degree in relevant area such as engineering, statistics, data science or similar field; 10 minimum years of experience creating data‐driven decision analytics products, programming, designing, writing Pyspark code to build GFEBS and LMP tables from the raw SAP tables and building databases or relevant experience.

Direct experience with the OSD Advana, DoD ERP/SAP and Logistics Systems Advance Degree may substitute 1 year of experience.”

Will the Government please clearly define if 'equivalent experience' would include DoD SAP solution experience so that vendors understand the requirement and provide a resume that qualifies?

Yes, DoD SAP solution experience can be considered as equivalent experience

22 Staffing/KP RFP Section L Volume 2 ‐ Factor I – Solution Development, #2 a Volume 5 ‐ Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal, d) / 5.1.3 Requirements by Labor Category

27, 92, 95, 100, 101, L Vol 2 #2 a states, "The Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) for all Key Personnel specified in the PWS who are not currently employed by the Offeror." However, L Vol 5 d) states "For all Key Personnel, as specified in the PWS, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page maximum) that shall include individuals name, contingent start date, salary amount and position/title. "

Will the Government please confirm that Offerors must only provide signed LOIs for proposal Key Personnel who are not currently employees of the Offeror or one of its subcontractors?

Section L, Volume 2 – Factor I – Solution Development, #2 Solution Development: Section II Staffing and Key Personnel states: “Additionally, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) for all Key Personnel specified in the PWS who are not currently employed by the Offeror.”

Other references to letters of commitment in the solicitation document have been updated for consistency.

The Government has stated that letters of commitment are only required from key personnel who are not currently employed by the Offeror (pages 92 and 95). However, there are other references to letters of commitment in the solicitation that were not updated to state that this requirement is only for individuals who are not currently employed by the Offeror. Can the Government please update the following Sections for consistency throughout the solicitation: 5.1.3 Requirements by Labor Category (page 27); Volume 5 ‐ Factor IV ‐ Cost/Price Proposal

(d) (page 101)?

23 PWS‐General 1.4 Scope 15 To allow for a fair competition, can the government amend section 1.4 Scope below to allow for the prime or major sub contraction to have a local office within commuting area of Redstone Arsenal, AL? A major sub is defined as on that is performing at least 20 percent of the total contract support.

“Senior Contractor Leadership shall be responsive to emergent work requests and meetings that require on site presence at AMC facilities. As a result, the contractor’s facility shall be within the local commuting area of Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898. Services shall be performed at AMC locations, ASA(FM&C) locations, or remotely dependent upon the task and skill set required.”

Yes, the Government will allow the prime or major sub‐contractor to have a local office within commuting area of Redstone Arsenal, AL at their own expense.

24 Key Personnel/Pricing

5.1.3 Requirements by Labor Category, Attachment J.4 Price Proposal

Contact Yr Pricing excel

5.1.3 indicated that Data Lead is Key Personnel while Attachment J.4 Price Proposal spreadsheet (2nd and 3rd tabs) indicate the Data Lad is not Key Personnel. Can the government please clarify if the Data Lead is considered Key Personnel?

J.4 Price Proposal has been updated to be consistent with 5.1.3. Data Lead is Key Personnel.

25 Key Personnel, Specific Tasks

Section C, 5.1.2.5 26 Would the Govt provide additional clarity regarding the required experience for a SAP accounting expert, the

The Government has removed “for the code”.

conceptual data model, and what is meant by “the code”?

26 Security Requirements

1.5.6 16 Section 1.5.6 states that the contractor shall submit a Secret Facility Clearance with their proposal, however there are no instructions for how the Government would like to receive this information. Can the Government please clarify whether a statement confirming the Offeror's facility clearance level is sufficient or whether more information is required?

A signed letter from the offeror’s Facility Security Officer (FSO) stating the level of facility clearance is sufficient to satisfy this requirement.

27 Requirements by Labor Category, IT Lead

5.1.3 27 Would the Government consider adding commercial audit experience/audit remediation experience to the IT Lead requirements to be consistent with the other labor categories?

The updated Labor Category wording would read "CISA; minimum of 10 years government or commercial IT audit experience/audit remediation experience (a combination is acceptable); minimum of 3 years of experience working directly with supply chain management systems; must be physically located in Huntsville, AL".

Yes, The Government has added commercial experience to this labor category

28 Requirements by Labor Category

5.1.3 28

The description states that "PA or CISA may substitute for 1 year of experience". Please clarify that PA is intended to be CPA.

The Government confirms that PA is intended to be CPA. The document has been updated at 5.1.3.

Requirements by Labor Category

5.1.3 28

For consistency across the labor categories, would the Government consider removing the Masters Degree requirement from the EDP Audit Senior II labor category and instead increase the years of required experience with information systems from 2 years to 4 years and a CISA certification may be substituted for 1 year of experience.

The updated Labor Category would read "Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management and 4 years of experience with information systems including 1 year of experience with the DoD ERP/SAP and

No, The Government will leave this labor category requirement as we feel it is the best for the magnitude of this project.

Logistics Systems. A CISA may be substituted for 1 year of experience.

29 Requirements by Labor Category

5.1.3 28 The Consultant I and Research Assistant labor categories as presented have very similar/equivalent requirements. Therefore we recommend the following changes to the Consultant I labor category in order to allow differentiation between the two labor categories:

"Consultant I: Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management AND 1 year of experience in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management."

Upon review of these labor categories, the Government has changed the Research Assistant labor category specifications to “minimum of 2 years in WCF business process areas”.

30 Solicitation 52.216‐1 TYPE

OF CONTRACT

(APR 1984)

55 "Type of Contract" states that "the government contemplates award of a Time & Materials (T&M) contract resulting from this solicitation. Given that the Transition in CLIN (005) is FFP, please consider updating this to "Hybrid FFP and T&M"

The Government has considered the suggestion and has decided not to reference the Hybrid FFP portion of the requirement. When the preponderance of the contract value is T&M, the contract type is typically referred to as T&M.

31 Proposal Content Requirements

Volume 2 ‐ Factor I – Solution Development

94 The document states that "the Offeror shall demonstrate an understanding of the issues presented below and clearly demonstrate a complete understanding of the PWS Section 5.3 Tasks/Requirements and deliverables…". Does the Government wish Offerors to address every single PWS Section 5.3 area and CDRL in our Solution Development, or only the PWS Section 5.3 areas and CDRLs that are directly applicable to the three scenarios that are described on page 95 Solutions Development: Section 1 ‐ Technical Approach?

The offeror shall address all issues in PWS 5.3 and all CDRLs

32 Past Performance

Factor II Past Performance and Evaluation Criteria

97, 104, Given that there is no comparably‐sized incumbent contract for this work, defining past performance relevance as including "dollar value, contract type and subcontract/teaming" is including features of past performance citations that are not directly related to represent an offeror's likelihood of mission success on this solicitation. Further this would exclude highly relevant work including similar work being performed

The Government will not change the definition of relevancy for this acquisition.

at the Army and AMC today. To more directly tie past performance evaluations to mission success on this project, would the Government consider eliminating the "dollar value, contract type, and subcontract/teaming" language and focus evaluation on the factors directly tied to likelihood of mission success, specifically "similarity of service/support and complexity"?

33 Proposal Content Requirements

Volume 3 ‐ Factor II ‐ Past Performance

The solicitation states that "offerors shall provide narrative descriptions for up to three (3) contracts for the prime Offeror and no more than two (2) for all major subcontractors of performance". Can the government confirm that this requirement means that an offeror can proivde up to five (5) total narratives (3 from the prime and 2 from major subcontractors) if desired? Can the government also confirm, that regardless of whether they have major subcontractors or not, that the offeror can provide three (3) narratives for the prime Offeror and be compliant?

The Government confirms that offerors can provide narratives for up to 5 contracts but only up to 3 for the Prime and 2 for major subcontractors (totaling 5).

If no major subcontractors are anticipated as part of the proposal the offeror can provide up to 3 narratives as the Prime.

34 Cost/Price Volume 5 Factor IV Cost/Price Proposal

FAR 52.216‐31, stating this is a T&M Commercial Item procurement, is included within the list of Clauses on page 48 and the solicitation states on page 100 that "certified cost or pricing date is not required". Given this, please confirm the Government will accept the Offeror's GSA Schedule rates as data other than certified cost or pricing in accordance with FAR 15.403‐ 3.

In accordance with Solicitation Section L, Volume 5 – Factor IV – “Cost/Price Proposal,” the Price Proposal Narrative shall include all information required to support offerors’ proposed costs and prices. In accordance with item (f) of the same section, the Government strongly encourages inclusion of supporting documentation and schedules necessary to substantiate the fairness and reasonableness of the proposed costs/prices. A GSA schedule may serve as one piece of data in support of the cost/price evaluation. If GSA schedules are used as the basis of proposed pricing, discounts from the established GSA rates are encouraged, and those discounts shall be clearly identified by the offeror in the Price Proposal Narrative volume.

35 Past Performance

Table 2 – Relevancy Ratings

Would the government consider adjusting the relevancy ratings to place a stronger emphasis on

The Government will not change the definition of relevancy for this acquisition.

scope (e.g., Army/AMC/MSC programs) and recency and remove the magnitude consideration?

36 Security Attachment J.2 DD Form 254

According to box 1b of the DD‐254, Secret Safeguarding is required. Please confirm Secret Safeguarding is only expected at the Government site.

Secret Safeguarding is expected at the Government site.

37 Cost/Price Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model Instruction 5

Instruction 5 on the "Contract Yr Pricing" tab states that "for the Base and 2 Option Years…" however the pricing is intended for the Base and 4 Option Years.

Recommend updating the instruction to reflect Base and 4 Option Years.

Attachment J.4 Price Proposal Model Instruction #5 updated to 4 option years.

38 Cost/Price Attachment J.4

Model, Instruction 3

In order for the Government to confirm the labor categories mapping to the Bidder's organization LCATs result in similar labor categories that match or exceed the Education and Experience requirements in the PWS, will the Government consider requiring this information to be included in the Volume V: Price Volume instead of the Attachment J.4 (removal of Column C). This will allow the Bidder to align the LCATs 1:1 instead of the multiple rows with hours for each LCAT the Attachment J.4 requires and should facilitate a cleaner review of all offeror's information.

Column C shall remain in Attachment J.4 ‘Contract Yr Pricing’ and ‘Phase In Price’ tabs. As the Price Proposal Narrative shall include all information required to support offerors’ proposed costs and prices, the labor category mapping shall be supported in the Price Proposal Narrative volume with associated labor category commercial rate/price lists as well as any other data from the offeror organizations necessary to substantiate the fairness and reasonableness of the proposed costs/prices.

39 Cost/Price Attachment J.4

The instruction states that the "Status" column should be filled out with "Current Employee", "New Hires" or "Incumbent Personnel". Given that incumbent status is not relevant to the evaluation of the Price Proposal Model, recommend removing that status as an option.

Where there are a combination of personnel types within the required FTE quantifies, column F of the Price Proposal Model shall be completed or footnoted as, for example: “4 C and 4 N”

40 Cost/Price Attachment J.4 Proposal Model, Instruction 4

The solicitation states that the Army is engaged in one of the most complex and challenging business transformations ever attempted to revolutionize their financial management processes, business rules, and systems. Per Attachment J.4, over 40% of the labor hours are in the Consultant I labor category, which can be filled by very junior personnel. Would the Government please consider moving some of the Consultant I labor hours to the Senior Consultant I and Manager I labor categories to provide the Army with

The Government will leave this labor category requirement as is. We feel it is the best mix for this project at this time. The Government will consider adjusting as audit needs change throughout the life of the contract.

more experienced personnel to assist in solving their challenges?

41 Solicitation SF 1449

N/A Would the Govt confirm Offerors should not provide the SF 1449 in their proposal submissions.

The Govt confirms the SF 1449 is not to be submitted with offeror proposals.

42 Cost/Price 3‐13;

Section B

Would the Govt confirm these pages are not required to be completed as part of Vol 5?

Confirmed. Offerors are not requested to enter Amounts on pages 3‐13 of Section B ‐ Supplies or Services and Prices for each Contract Line Item.

43 Key Personnel Section C 1.5.11 20 Would the Government consider change to: “The contractor shall informally notify the COR of key personnel planned absences exceeding three days as well as planned key personnel reassignments.”?

The Government has update the requirement to state “The contractor shall notify the COR in writing.”

44 Specific Tasks‐ Special Qualifications

Section 5.1.2.2 26 The PWS references the Global Combat and Control System – Army. Would the Govt clarify if the system the Government is referring to is the Global Combat Support System‐Army (GCSS‐A)?

Yes it should read Global Combat Support System‐ Army (GCSS‐A). This has been updated for consistency purposes.

45 Requirements by Labor Category

Section C, 5.1.3 27 Would the Govt include qualified degrees or certifications that are alternatives to the CPA, such as Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), or Lean Six Sigma (LSS)?

No, The Government will leave this labor category requirement as is as we feel it is the best solution for this requirement.

46 Requirements by Labor Category

Section C, 5.1.3 27‐28 The Government is using a single contractor’s complete specifications covering labor category requirements for Project Manager (Key Personnel); Partner/Director (Key Personnel); Information Technology (IT) Lead (Key Personnel); Inventory Lead (Key Personnel); SBR Lead (Key Personnel); Property, Plant, and Equipment (PPE) Lead (Key Personnel); Data Lead (Key Personnel);

Senior Manager (Key Personnel); Research Assistant;

and Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Staff II. The contractor’s specifications cover “minimum education, experience and certification requirements,” as well as physical duty location and key personnel designations “for personnel performing under this contract.” The Government accepted the contractor’s specifications in response to pre‐solicitation questions and included them as requirements in this solicitation.

The Government posted the draft pre‐solicitation to gather input from industry on all aspects for the requirement. There were a number of questions received from multiple potential offerors commenting on the over restrictive nature of the labor categories.

Upon review of all submitted information the Government revised most labor categories to loosen the requirements and ensure fair competition. The Government internally developed the labor category language throughout multiple meetings and looked at suggestions from all offers. The end result is what the Government believes is required to complete this requirement.

The labor category specifications drafted by the submitting contractor favor its own personnel capabilities, creating an unfair competitive advantage.

The Government should take corrective actions to ensure a fair, unbiased, competitive procurement, including elimination of the contractor providing the labor category specifications from competing for this contract.

Would the Government clarify its plan to eliminate the contractor providing labor category specifications from competing for this contract?

If the answer is no, would the Government clarify what detailed corrective actions will the Government take to ensure a fair, unbiased, and competitive procurement?

47 Requirements by Labor Category

Section C, 5.1.3 28 Would the Govt align the years of experience so that Senior Consultant’s experience matches the expectation and that Consultant I and/or Research Assistant match an entry level position (i.e. 0‐3 years experience)?

Recommend that the Research Assistant LCAT can hold a minimum of 2 years' experience to differentiate from the Consultant I labor category.

Upon review of these labor categories, the Government has changed the Research Assistant labor category specifications to “minimum of 2 years in WCF business process areas”.

The Consultant I labor category states “Bachelor’s Degree or minimum 5 years of experience” while the Senior Consultant I states “Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management AND 3 years of experience”

48 Audit Liaison and Infrastructure

Section 5.3.1.2 29 Would the Govt define the requirements for “cradle to grave issue tracking”?

Cradle to grave refers to ensuring the contractors knows how to track any identified deficiency from the time it is identified until it is resolved.

49 Audit Liaison and Infrastructure

Section C, 5.3.1.3 29 Would the Government clarify if the Army Material Command (AMC) has access to all Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF)‐/AMC‐related Notifications of Findings and Recommendations (NFR) and associated Corrective Action Plans (CAP)?

Would the Govt clarify how soon after contract award will NFR and CAP details be provided to the contract?

Yes, AMC has access to all AWCF‐ AMC related NFRs.

The NFRs and CAPs will be made available during the transition‐in phase. This will be NLT 30 days after contract award.

50 Audit Support, Strategy, Prioritization and Stakeholder Engagement

5.3.2 29 This section requires the contractor to “develop and/or update the AMC strategy and plan to identify and overcome findings and deficiencies preventing the Army from getting an unmodified opinion.”

Would the Government clarify if AMC currently has a mature audit compliance plan, including objectives, scope, tasks, sub‐tasks, schedule, and responsible organizations?

Yes, there is a plan for the deficiencies identified to date. This plan will be shared once the contract has been awarded during the transition in phase.

51 Reconciliation data for AWCF’s Universe of Transactions

5.3.3.2 30 This section requires the contractor to “transition the UoT from its existing environment to the new designated environment.” Would the Government clarify if the contractor is required to transfer (i.e., software, data, something else)? Is the “new designated environment” operational?

UoTs are currently being transitioned to ADVANA. If this is not completed by contract award, the new contractor may assist in transferring data to the new operating environment. Yes the system is currently operational.

52 Reconciliation data for AWCF’s Universe of Transactions

5.3.3.4 30 Would the Government define what is meant by “a data categorization methodology”?

Design ways to categorize/align data for use with audit facilitation.

53 Information Technology

5.3.4 30 Would the Government clarify if AMC expects the contractor to “design” IT controls over the Army Enterprise Resource Plans (ERP) (i.e., General Fund Enterprise Business System [GFEBS], Logistics Modernization Program [LMP], Global Combat Support System – Army [GCSS‐A])?

Would the Government clarify if the contractor must implement the design or if that is the responsibility of those program / product system integrators (i.e., Program Executive Office Enterprise Information System [PEO‐EIS], GFEBS Systems Support Operations [SSO], etc.).

The contractor is expected to recommend IT controls to mitigate risk in connection with the audit readiness.

Implementation is the responsibility of the Government and system integrators.

54 Proposal Submission requirements

#9 92 This section states, “All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date and Request for Proposal (RFP) number in the header and/or footer.”

The Government confirms that required information in the headers/footers may be included within the established 1‐inch page margin space.

Would the Government confirm required information in headers/footers may be included within the established 1‐inch page margin space?

Proposal Submission Requirements

92 This section states, “Cover sheet, table of contents, resumes, consent letters, letter of commitment/intent for personnel not currently employed, and acronym lists are excluded from the page count.” Would the Government confirm an acronym list is optional and is not required to be included, as well as: (1) Confirm a list of tables/figures may be included as part of the table of contents (i.e., a linked list of all tables and figures included within the files) (2) Confirm the Title Page is the same “Cover Sheet” and is excluded from page count (3) Confirm the Summary Section for each volume is also excluded from page count.

The Government confirms an acronym list is optional, a list of tables/figures may be included as part of the table of contents, title page is the same as cover page and is excluded from page count, and the summary section is excluded from page count.

55 Volume 2 Factor I Solution Development

Solution Development Section II Staffing 2a

95 This section states, “Additionally, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) for all Key Personnel specified in the PWS who are not currently employed by the Offeror.”

Would the Government confirm subcontractors that are currently employed by the subcontractor do not require a letter of intent?

Solution Development – Section II: Letters of Intent are required for all key personnel not currently employed by the Offeror or Subcontractor.

56 Volume 2 Factor I Solution Development

Solution Development Section II Staffing 2a

95 Would the Government confirm key personnel résumés and letters of intent for contingent personnel are not included in the 30‐page limit for Volume 2 and may be included as appendices?

The Government confirms that Letters of Intent are not included in the page count for Volume 2.

57 Volume 3 Factor II Past Performance

Would the Government confirm the Offeror’s understanding that major subcontractor past performance references are not required?

The Government confirms that past performance of major subcontractors is not required. As stated in Section L, “the Government reserves the right to use alternative resources to gather past performance information. The Government may independently obtain information from other sources, which may be used to evaluate past performance against the requirements set forth in the solicitation. Past performance information is used to assess how well the Offeror or major subcontractor(s) performed on contracts for the same or similar items and/or services as an indicator of how well they will perform the proposed requirements. Offerors with no past performance shall so state.”

58 Proposal Content Requirements

Volume 3 Factor II Past Performance

97 This section states, “The Offeror shall also submit the written consent of its major subcontractors to allow the disclosure of its subcontractor’s past performance information to the Offeror. In addition, letters of commitment shall be included for all major subcontractors, or their past performance will not be considered.” Would the Government confirm 1) written consent for disclosure of past performance information and 2) letters of commitment for all major subcontractors may be provided as an appendix outside of page count?

The Government confirms that letters of commitment and letters of consent for major subcontractors are not included in the page count.

59 Proposal Content Requirements

Volume 4 Factor III Small Business

99 This section states, “This information shall be provided, at minimum, for each of the contracts discussed in the Offeror’s Past Performance volume.” Would the Government confirm this is for the Prime Offeror only and this information is not required for contracts discussion in the past performance volume provided by subcontractors?

The Government confirms that this is for the Prime Offeror only. Past performance of subcontractors is not required as part of the Small Business factor.

60 Cost/Price Attachment J.5 100 Because this will be a Time & Materials (T&M) (and Firm‐Fixed Price [FFP]) commercial item procurement based on adequate competition to establish cost reasonableness, thus exempt from the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA), can the Government remove the requirement to provide a cost build and instead permit offerors to provide fully burdened rates x hours to arrive at their pricing?

Attachment J.5, instruction #5 is “For the Base and 4 Option Years input the proposed fully burdened T&M labor rates.

61 Cost/Price Volume 5 Factor

IV

100 Will the Government please revise Vol 5, paragraph 3, sentence 2 to read: “…certified cost or pricing data is not required, and data other than certified cost or pricing data may be required in accordance with FAR 15.403‐3.” The solicitation contemplates a commercial item procurement based on adequate price competition to be evaluated for realism. In accordance

Confirmed. The reference will be changed to state “may be” required instead of “is currently” required.

with FAR 15.403‐3(b) and (c), if there is adequate competition and the government has sufficient information to evaluate realism (e.g., through 52.222‐ 46), no additional data is required. 15.403‐3(a) only requires other than certified cost and pricing data if there is not adequate information from other sources for the Government to determine realism.

62 Cost/Price Volume 5 Factor

IV

100 As this will be commercial services awarded based on adequate competition, subcontractor rates will fall below prime rates and pricing and will thus be reasonable by default. As such, will the Government consider removing the requirement for separate subcontractor pricing, and instead replace it with a subcontractor Professional Employee Compensation Plan (PECP) and identification of subcontractor labor for the prime to include in their response?

Section L, Volume 5 has been revised to clarify that a separate subcontractor “sealed volume” submission is only required in instances where there is a need to submit proprietary data that the subcontractor wishes not to disclose to the prime or other vendors.

Subcontractor information should be submitted as requested through the conformed solicitation.

63 Past Performance

101 This section requires a letter of intent for all Key Personnel. Would the Government confirm:

1) This is for contingent personnel only This is the same requirement as the letters of intent required in Volume 2 and the only difference is that salary information is included in the Volume 5 iteration.

The Government can confirm that the only difference is that salary information is included in the Volume 5 iteration.

64 Basis for Award Section M 102

Would the Govt confirm Vol 1 will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis?

Volume I is for information purposes only and is not truly evaluated on a pass/fail basis. It is “evaluated” in terms of completeness. Any OCI mitigation plan that is submitted as part of that volume will be reviewed to ensure that no OCI exists or that the mitigation plan is appropriate.

65 Basis for Award Section M Factor I Solution Development

103 This evaluation description focuses on evaluation for the Offeror’s response to Section I – Technical Approach. Would the Government provide more information as to how they plan to evaluate Section II – Key Personnel and Resumes and Section III – Transition Plans?

The Offeror’s proposal will be evaluated for the extent to which the Offeror’s Solution Development Factor including Section II and III will result in successful performance of the requirements of the solicitation.

Elements of Section II and III that will be evaluated are found in Section L.

66 Solicitation Attachment J.2 Would the Government confirm this is a post‐award requirement?

The Government confirms DD Form 254 is a post‐ award requirement.

67 Solicitation Attachment J.3 There are two Attachment J.3 files; would the Government clarify which one is to be used?

The only difference in the documents is the requested due date for return on the cover letter of the PP evaluation.

68 Solicitation Attachment J.5 Would the Government confirm this is a post‐award requirement?

The Government confirms J.5 GFP attachment is a post‐award requirement.

69 Tech Exhibit I PRS 36‐40 Pg. 36‐40 Performance Requirements Summary ‐ What specific requirements and/or metrics will AMC use to determine how the selected contractor is meeting 95% for each of these performance objectives?

Those that are measured through direct observation and periodic inspections should include further details on how the 95% will be assessed as these seem subjective in nature.

The evaluation will be based on task assigned. So all task will be assessed based on completion and whether it passes Government audit scrutiny. So, if there are 20 tasks for the time frame covered, in order to meet 95% the contractor most complete at least 19 out of 20 task on time and tasks must meet Government audit requirements.

70 Key Personnel 101 Page 95 indicates that "Additionally, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) for all Key Personnel specified in the PWS who are not currently employed by the Offeror. "

Page 101 states: "For all Key Personnel, as specified in the PWS, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page maximum) that shall include individuals name, contingent start date, salary amount and position/title."

Please confirm that the government requires letters of intent for contingent hires only, consistent with the language on Page 95 of the solicitation.

The Government confirms that letters of intent are required for contingent hires only.

PWS 5.1.3 27 Page 95 indicates that "Additionally, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) for all Key Personnel specified in the PWS who are not currently employed by the Offeror. " Page 27 states:

"The contractor shall propose current employees for all key positions, and shall include letters of intent to employ the individual, signed by the offeror and the employee."

Please confirm that Key Personnel proposed can

The Government confirms that letters of intent are required for contingent hires only.

include people that are not current employees of the offeror and the government requires letters of intent for contingent hires only, consistent with the language on Page 95 of the solicitation.

72 Past Performance

Vol 3, Section II 97 Will the Army consider adding this following sentence after the first sentence of the section for Volume 3 ‐ "All past performance examples should be where the offeror or major subcontractor performed the work as the prime contractor."? The reason is that a subcontractor's role in an engagement is very difficult to discern from the overall team making the relevance of the work difficult to impossible for the Army to assess fairly in this solicitation. Removing this issue reduces risk for the Army.

The Government has reviewed this suggestion and has updated the language in the solicitation to reflect this change.

73 Volume 5 ‐ Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal

Page 101 requires all Key Personnel to submit a letter of intent, contingent start date, salary amount and position/title to be included in the price proposal. Due to this being a commercial item procurement, the price determination for fair & reasonable is solely based on fully burdened labor rates so that salary amounts for specific personnel are not relevant. Additionally, Question 46 in the Pre‐solicitation asks for the government to remove the requirement for inclusion of salary information and the answer provided is that "Reference to requiring annual salaries has been removed from Sections L&M."

Please confirm that the Government will remove the requirement for salary amounts for key personnel from Section L.

Salary information is only requested for Volume 5 – Factor IV – Cost/Price

74 Volume 5 ‐ Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal

Page 100 Volume 5 ‐ Factor IV – Cost/Price Proposal:

This section states that subcontractors must submit price information in the same format as the Prime.

Because this is a commercial item procurement requesting fully burdened labor rates (and where a subcontractor’s rates will fit under a prime contractor’s), would the Government please remove

Confirmed – see response to question 62.

the…