Request for Information FEMA National Cross-Dock/ISB

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Logistics Management Directorate

Transportation Management Division

National Cross-Dock/ISB Contract

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed this Request for

Information (RFI) to solicit market research information from industry.

FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. One of FEMA’s

responsibilities are to ensure the effectiveness of emergency response personnel in responding to

emergencies and disasters.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This notice is not a Request for

Proposal, a Request for Quotation, an Invitation for Bids, a Solicitation, or an indication that the

Government will contract for the services detailed herein. This RFI is part of government market research efforts to determine the scope of industry capabilities and will be utilized for informational purposes only. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary and the Government will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned and respondents will not be notified of the results of the review. If a Solicitation is issued, the Government does not guarantee that it will be issued to RFI respondents. The Government is also requesting that restrictive or proprietary markings not be used in response to the RFI.

Please note that this RFI does not restrict the Government's acquisition approach on a future Solicitation.

NO PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED OR ACCEPTED AND NO CONTRACT

SHALL BE AWARDED AS A RESULT OF THIS RFI.

No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this RFI or any follow up information requests.

The purpose of this RFI is to receive responses to the list of questions provided by FEMA.

Information regarding this specific requirement is included in this notice for reference.

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND DISCLAIMERS: Respondents shall identify any proprietary information in its response. Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used at the discretion of the Government. Further, the information submitted will remain confidential insofar as permitted by law, including the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts.

FEMA reserves the right to utilize any non-proprietary technical information in the anticipated PWS or solicitation.

Although it is not necessary to address in their response, respondents shall be aware of any potential, actual, or perceived organizational conflicts of interests. Any real or potential conflicts

must be sufficiently mitigated prior to a contract award. For further guidance, refer to the FAR Part 9.5.

BACKGROUND

FEMA Transportation Management Division requires transportation service providers who possess the ability to develop and employ a network of transportation and emergency cross dock/freight forwarding service operation centers, along with disaster staging area support services, throughout the Continental United States. When a national emergency occurs, the need for transportation and logistics services to the impacted areas are most critical.  An efficient, reliable, and highly flexible operation is needed to provide State, Local, Tribal and Territory (SLTT) governments the life sustaining supplies needed to deliver relief to survivors in the affected areas.

PROJECT SCOPE/DELIVERABLES

Transportation service providers must possess an adequately owned and/or directly leased controlled infrastructure, transportation resource fleet, personnel, and material handling equipment (MHE), as well as the information technology capability to efficiently transload, transport, manage, track, communicate and process various levels of supplies into the impacted area.

In addition to cross dock site support, FEMA at times needs Empty Trailer Yards (ETY) to help to lessen trailer backlogs and congestion at ISB / FSA locations. Trailer volume will be the primary factor when determining yard size. An ETY provides additional space for trailer staging and creates flexibility in scheduling the movement of loaded and empty trailers.

At the ISB, FEMA will require a contractor support team and equipment to receive, stage, ship and account for those resources that may come directly from carriers or a FEMA cross dock site.

The contractor shall provide all personnel, training, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items, unless specified as government furnished, to manage and perform key logistical aspects and support for either a cross dock site (CDS), empty trailer yard (ETY), and/or an Incident Support Base (ISB), or both CDS and ISB at the designated location.  The contractor shall also be able to provide these same support services on a supplemental basis at FEMA managed ISB/FSAs.

PERIOD OF PERORMANCE?

The NAICS code is 488999 and the PCS code is R706 – Support – Management: Logistics Support. The Small Business Size Standard for this action is TBD.

SUBMISSION OF CAPABILITY PACKAGES INSTRUCTIONS:

Interested contractors shall submit a brief capabilities’ statement package electronically to the Points of Contact listed below. The vendor’s statement of capability shall also include the information listed below:

• Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number and website
• Single Point of contact name, title, telephone number and email address
• UEI Number, Cage Code, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.)  Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to receive an award from federal agencies.

https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

• Applicable NAICS codes under which the company customarily does business.
• Company size and socioeconomic status, if qualified as one or more of the following:
  • 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA)
  • Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA)
  • Women-Owned Small Business
  • HUB-Zone firm (must be certified by SBA)
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

RFI Response for “(program office and requirement title)” shall be in the subject line of your email.

All responses shall be unclassified, with proprietary information clearly marked. The

document format shall be either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)

formats. Pages shall be 8.5 by 11 inch and shall use a type of pitch that is no smaller than a

standard 11-point font type, except for charts, graphs, or tables, which shall use a pitch not smaller than 10-point font. Responses shall not exceed 5 pagesin length including images,

displays, charts, graphs, and tables. Page limitation does not include: 1 cover page. Do not include promotional materials.

QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY

Interested parties are requested to submit as part of their statement of capability how they are capable of meeting the requirements below and provide recommendations to the Government on alternative solutions.

1. What is your experience with cross-dock operations in both a normal day and disaster operation?
2. Has your company ever supported federal and/or state emergency and disaster response / recovery operations? If yes, please outline a description of the support provided, contract type/contract numbers. Please provide your CPARS record for any prior / current contracts related to emergency and disaster response / recovery initiatives, if applicable.
3.  What is the size of your organic Transportation fleet? Please provide your organic fleet quantities for prime movers, trailer conveyances and types of trailers.  
4.  Does your company have the capability to provide 250 trailers with 72 hours’ notice? Please provide a description of your subcontracting plan to scale up your transportation fleet to include prime movers and trailer conveyances.
5. To reap the full benefits of cross-docking, companies should consider utilizing facilities designed specifically for the practice. A cross-dock facility typically has truck or dock doors on two or more sides with some storage space and is designed to accommodate factors such as product movement requirements, dock-area layout and capacity, yard management and material handling equipment. Does your company have ability to secure a cross docking facility and fixed real estate for a commodities / equipment staging base and empty trailer yard, anywhere in contiguous 48 state within 120 hours.
6. With the fast pace of a cross-dock environment and its demands for an efficient and responsive flow of information, strong I.T. systems support is critical. Please provide a description of your in-transit Visibility (ITV) capability.
7. Cross docking operations requires specific MHE to up / download products. Please explain how you will secure various MHE and the needed MHE densities for a high-volume fast -paced cross docking operation.
8. This procurement activity requires ground support, logistics support and project management support personnel at various transportation and logistics nodes. Please explain how you will accommodate high volume staffing requirements to support the operational and management aspects of this contract action.
9. Are you capable of working in an austere environment? If so, are you self-sufficient for food, water, billeting, fuel during in a disaster operation?
10. Do you have the capability to stand up and operate more than one cross-dock operation?
11. Are you able to provide sufficient personnel to operate cross-dock operations (facility/empty trailer yard/ISB site)?
12. What challenges do you see with securing trailers, cross-dock facility, staging sites (includes empty trailer yards that are hard sites) and wrap around services (Wi-Fi or IT/light sets/office space/portable latrines/security guards/fenced area/maintenance team/ yard dogs)?

DHS/FEMA intends to assess submittals in response to this RFI/Sources Sought Notice; however, feedback may not be provided back to respondents.

RESPONSE DEADLINE AND POINTS OF CONTACT INFORMATION

FEMA will only consider Capability Statements submitted no later than 5:00PM ET, Friday May 10, 2024. No phone calls will be accepted or returned.

Points of Contact:

Isaac Chapple

Contracting Officer

FEMA Office of the Component Chief Procurement Officer

Isaac.Chapple@fema.dhs.gov

Edward Ruud

Contract Specialist

FEMA Office of the Component Chief Procurement Officer

Edward.Ruud@fema.dhs.gov