Bagged Crushed Ice-Fort Johnson, LA

THIS IS A Sources Sought Notice ONLY.  This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future.  This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service.  Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this sources sought notice.  The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder.  Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Governmentwide Point of Entry.  It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Governmentwide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is: 

312113, Ice Manufacturing with a size standard is 750 employees.

The anticipated Product Service Code (PSC) is: 8940, Specialty Dietary Foods and Food Specialty

A continuing need is anticipated for the requirement currently being fulfilled through current contract number W911RX19D0004.  Attached is the draft Statement of Work (SOW) for the new potential requirement.

Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC)-Fort Johnson has received a requirement for a Contractor to provide delivery of crushed bagged ice in support of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) Fort Johnson, LA.  The Contractor shall provide one mechanically cooled ice storage trailer to a designated location on the Installation and have ability to provide two mechanically cooled ice storage bins upon Government request.  The ice storage house (building or van) shall have a capacity of holding a minimum of 60,000 pounds of ice and the two mechanically cooled ice storage bins shall have a capacity of holding a minimum of 1,120 pounds of ice. The Contractor shall be required to furnish ice manufactured by and delivered from establishments currently appearing in the Directory of Sanitary Approved Food Establishments for Armed Forces Procurement (https://sph.health.mil). The plant/facility where the ice is manufactured must be on the approved list and shall be subject to random inspections performed by the Government.  

If a vendor is interested in performance of this potential requirement, it is highly recommended to visit the website above and initiate the process to submit the required documents for an initial food protection audit to be scheduled.  The audit must be done on the establishment that is processing the product (packaged ice).  Refer to Appendix B, Section 1 – Initial Sanitation Audit Requests for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, The Caribbean, and the Pacific Region for instructions.  Once at the website, click on Main View and then the dropdown arrow next to PHC and click on the Appendix to expand the instructions.  Vendors should review paragraphs 2 and 3 and ensure completion of the letter addressing the U.S. Government purchasing agent or contracting agency and the Pre-Audit Questionnaire (PAQ APHC_24OCT2019.DOCX) which is attached on that webpage underneath paragraph 4.  These completed documents will need to be forwarded to the same POCs as indicated below in response to this sources sought, however request they are provided in a separate email with subject:  Initial Audit Request Documents- (Company name).   

In response to this sources sought, please provide:

1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, CAGE code, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code.

2.  Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not.  Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any.

3.  Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination. 

4.  Information to help determine if the requirement is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information (e.g., market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc.

5.  Identify how the Army can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns.

6. Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition. Include the subject of the acquisition, this announcement, and the MICC POC information from the Sam.gov notice. Provide the specific aspects that unreasonably restrict competition and the rationale for such conclusion.

7.  The estimated period of performance consists of one (1) base year plus four (4) twelve (12) month options; specifics regarding the number of option periods will be provided in the solicitation.

The contract type is anticipated to be Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Requirements type contract with estimated quantities where delivery orders may be issued monthly, quarterly or annually.

Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goal.

Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Shamaria Fields, in either Microsoft Word (.docx) or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email at shamaria.b.fields.civ@army.mil and cc: tamera.s.butler.civ@army.mil. Submitted capabilities statements shall not exceed five (5) pages.  The deadline for response to this request is no later than 12:00 p.m. CST, 8 December 2023.

All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.

All questions must be submitted to the Contract Specialist identified above within three (3) days of the posting date. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.