R602--Veterans Health Indiana Courier Services

Please see Q & A responses below:

What was the cost of the final full option year of the previous contract?

We can only provide the aggregate amount of the total contract. The incumbent information and award amount can be found here: SAM.gov

How many drivers/vehicles are currently used to service the current contract?

It is up to the Contractor to decide how many vehicles they will use to perform the requirement.

What is the vehicle size currently servicing this location?

It is up to the Contractor to decide how many vehicles they will use to perform the requirement.

What is the weekly, monthly, or annual estimated trip volume for as-needed trips in total, and/or as-needed trips per contract location, if any? Will the to locations vary per trip, or are there specific delivery locations? Are the routes predefined, or at the discretion of the driver?

As-needed trips do not have predefined routes and locations vary. Annual estimations are the quantities listed in the solicitation.

Regarding specific employees information: It is common practice for small businesses that the drivers, cars and other equipment used for a contract are not sourced until after an award has been made, for cost effectiveness and to reduce loss. However, we will be forwarding our standard Training Certificates-Procedures for your reference, is this information acceptable?

Yes, provide standard information procedures. However, immediately after award, specific training for each driver will be required.

SOW says 'Contractor shall have a web portal that allows customers to place unscheduled job requests, track delivery confirmation. Is there a preferred program/web portal that the VA is requiring to have access to? We are asking because this will be an additional cost to the vendor we need to calculate in.

No specific portal is required.

Does the VA provide all coolers and ice packs for specimen transport?

Yes.

Is dry ice ever required for unscheduled STAT deliveries? If yes, will the VA provide it?

It is not usually required but the VA will provide if needed.

C reads: All pickup and delivery of medication or pharmaceutical supplies shall be from or to a VA Pharmacy employee only. If the contractor is unable to deliver to the patient or patient s representative, contractor shall contact the pharmacy for further instruction. Statement appears to be contradicting. Will the courier also be delivering medication and/or pharmacy supplies to a VA patient's residence?

If medications/pharmaceuticals are picked up they must be picked up FROM a VA Pharmacy employee and delivered either directly to the patient/representative or to another VA Pharmacy employee, no middlemen.

It appears that a contract was awarded for a 5-year term in 2022 and again in 2023 which was awarded to Crown Based Services. What has changed that required another solicitation be posted so soon after the award?

The requiring service decided not to exercise the next option year.

What is the estimated period of performance start date?

10/02/2024

Can the government please provide historical workload data for all positions?

The government does not have any workload data from the previous contract to provide.

Will the government be providing all equipment necessary, to include computers, workstations, etc. for contractor personnel to accomplish these tasks?

The government will not be providing any government equipment for contractor s use.

Are contractor personnel required to possess training/certifications, allowing them to transport the requested materials (e.g., HAZMAT, Dangerous goods, Blood pathogens)?

Contractor s couriers transporting laboratory specimens shall be trained in Universal Precautions in the handling of biohazard and hazardous materials. Training shall include knowledge and use of clinical procedures in the case of biohazard and hazardous medication spills and accidents.

Reference: RFQ Page 14 of 94, 9. Scheduled Daily Courier Runs. Are staff required to complete daily deliveries to all listed locations?

Scheduled run days and times listed in table referenced above.

What is the expected turnaround time for response to requests, to be able to schedule drivers for same day or next day delivery?

Please see SOW, section 10 D-F

Can the government please state what supplies are needed to transport the items to and from the vehicle? Are all items provided by the government?

Nothing other than what VA provides (bags/boxes/etc) should be required, however, if the courier chooses to utilize a dolly or similar equipment for heavier shipments, that would be provided by vendor, not VA.

Can the government confirm that only deliveries will need to be made for this contract and that storage within the vehicle will not be required?

Correct. There should never be storage within the vehicle. That is prohibited under the terms of this contract.

Can the proposal volumes be submitted in PDF format?

Yes

Can the government please clarify the number of volumes and the title of each that should be submitted?

There is no specific format required for submissions.

Can the government please confirm that there are no page limits associated with submission?

There is no specific page limit required for submissions. Please ensure all requested elements are provided.

Can the government please confirm where / to whom offerors are expected to submit their quote?

Quotes will only be accepted via email to contracting officer at tiera.sims@va.gov. Please ensure to follow all instructions to offerors under section E of the solicitation.

Is the government going to evaluate vendors labor categories selection?

No

Is there an incumbent for the current solicitation and if their service has been subpar, what are some things you'd like to see from the new contractor to improve the customer experience?

The incumbent information can be found under question # 1, we will not be addressing performance here.

Will the fuel surcharge need to be included in the total pricing of the quote?

Yes

Will the transporting vehicles be required to have a refrigerated unit or will the medical facilities provide sealed refrigerated devices when transporting?

We will package all shipments as required, no need for separate refrigerated units.

What type of medical equipped will be needed transport (e.g., biological samples, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment) that may be outside of coolers and other temperature controlled containers.

None.

Would you want temperature-controlled transport options?

We will package all shipments as required, no need for separate refrigerated unit or additional temperature-controlled transport options.

Will there be hazardous materials?

Hazardous materials such as chemotherapy may be transported occasionally.

What times will pickup and delivery service start for each site? Do you want same-day or emergency delivery services?

Please see SOW, sections 2 and 8.

Would you want 24/7 real time tracking for each pickup and delivery with confirmation.

This would be preferred, but not required.

What is your process for handling courier inquiries and issues? Do you have dedicated account managers for each pickup and delivery site? How do you gather and incorporate courier feedback?

Any issues would be addressed through the COR. There are not dedicated account managers for each site. If this question is asking about feedback regarding the courier service, all feedback from VA side is forwarded to the COR and the COR will address with vendor POC as needed to ensure concerns are addressed.

What steps are you taking to minimize pickup and delivery impact of specimen from the sites?

The Government doesn t have a sustainability plan for courier at this time.

How do you handle unexpected disruptions or emergencies that would affect delay or no service? What contingency plans do you have in place to ensure continuous service?

This is the vendor s responsibility to ensure contract requirements can be met in exigent circumstances. Vendor is required to come up with contingency plan to have alternate driver available should initial plan fail.