Synopsis for Fresh Fruit & Vegetable support for DLA Troop Support's DoD and Non-DoD customers in the Arkansas Zone

The DLA Troop Support intends to solicit a full-line of produce support for DoD (Troop) customers and Non-DoD (USDA School) customers located in the Arkansas Zone. This acquisition will be issued on a small business set-aside (100%) basis. A waiver of the Non-Manufacturer rule has not been requested for this acquisition because it is an acquisition for multiple items. In accordance with 13 CFR 121.406(d)(1), if at least 50% of the estimated contract value of an acquisition for multiple items is composed of items that are manufactured by small business concerns, then a waiver of the Non-Manufacturer rule is not required. As such, for this acquisition, it is expected that items comprising at least 50% of the contract value will be manufactured by small business concerns. The contracting officer must be immediately notified if it appears as though this requirement will not be met.

The total length of the contract will be five (5) years. It contains one (1) twenty-four (24) month tier, and two (2) eighteen (18) month tiers.

Its estimated maximum total contract dollar value is $124,500,000.00. The delivery points require indefinite quantities of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables throughout the term of the contract. A more detailed listing of the delivery sites can be found in the solicitation. All responsible sources may submit proposals that will be considered by DLA Troop Support.

The Government will award a contract(s) resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer(s) conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The source selection method for this procurement will be the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection procedures and shall use the following to evaluate offers:

1. Technical Acceptability - A technically acceptable offer is an offer that takes no exceptions to the terms and conditions in the solicitation and complies fully with all submission requirements, including submissions relating to the two sub-factors listed below. Offerors will be required to provide a statement noting that they take no exceptions to the terms and conditions in the solicitation. A proposal that takes exception to solicitation terms and conditions or that fails to comply with all submission requirements may be deemed technically unacceptable and, thus, may be found ineligible, and removed from further consideration for the award. By submitting a proposal with no exceptions, an offeror is confirming it possesses the necessary facilities, equipment, technical skills and capacity to successfully provide all items required by this solicitation. The following sub-factors will be evaluated and must be found acceptable for a proposal to be eligible for award:

A. Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) License – The offeror shall possess and submit proof of a valid current PACA license.

B.  USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard Audit with warehouse and food defense addenda – The Contracting Officer will require an offeror to submit a valid USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard audit, including addenda for warehouse and food defense, or an independent third-party certifying company audit report(s) / certificate for each place of performance identified in the offeror's proposal. The audit report(s) must demonstrate a passing score in the following parts: General, Warehouse and Food Defense addenda. In lieu of a USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard audit report / certificate, the offeror may submit an audit report / certificate conducted by a recognized private independent third-party certifying company certifying to an industry recognized food safety standard that exceeds all aspects of the USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard audit report / certificate requirements. NOTE: Offerors relying on a non-USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard audit report / certificate must agree to have a USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard audit with warehouse and food defense addenda report /certificate for each place of performance prior to the start of contract performance.

2. Pricing - Pricing is required for all items found in the Schedule of Items (for Group 1 (1a and 1b) and for all tiers. Failure to offer pricing for all items and for all tiers may result in a proposal being removed from consideration for award as technically unacceptable. The Government will perform an aggregate price analysis on all items found in the Schedule of Items (for Group 1 (1a and 1b). To determine an offeror's Evaluated Aggregate Price, the Weighted Aggregate Distribution Price will be added to the Aggregate Delivered Price for Group 1a and 1b, respectively, to come to a preliminary Evaluated Aggregate Price for each sub-group. Then, the preliminary Evaluated Aggregate price for Groups 1a and 1b will be added together to determine an offeror's Evaluated Aggregate Price. Please refer to paragraph (d) of this provision for further details regarding these price components. The award(s) will be made on the basis of the lowest Evaluated Aggregate Price (for Group 1 (1a and 1b) of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-price factors. The Government reserves the right to remove item(s) from the Schedule of Items or do a common item comparison if offerors do not submit pricing for all items. Prior to award, the offered prices of the presumptive awardee(s) will be evaluated on an individual line-item basis to determine whether each price is fair and reasonable using analytical techniques deemed appropriate by the Contracting Officer in her/his complete discretion.

A. Price Components:

1. Weighted Aggregate Distribution Price:

Aggregate Distribution Price is obtained by first multiplying the proposed distribution price for each item in the Schedule of Items by the item’s estimated quantity to calculate the total distribution price for each item. Then, the total distribution prices of all items will be added together to determine the total distribution price for tier 1. The total distribution price for each subsequent tier will also be calculated. The total distribution prices for all tiers will be added together to determine the Aggregate Distribution Price. The Aggregate Distribution Price is then multiplied by a weighting factor of 6 to arrive at the Weighted Aggregate Distribution Price. Note: the weighting factor is applied only to the overall Aggregate Distribution Price (not on a line item basis), and is to be used for evaluation purposes only. The Government's use of a weighting factor of 6 for distribution pricing is done in order to more accurately balance the significance of the pricing components and their respective impact on any subsequent contract(s) issued under this solicitation.

2. Aggregate Delivered Price:

The Aggregate Delivered Price is obtained by first multiplying the proposed delivered price of each item in the Schedule of Items by the item’s estimated quantity to calculate the total delivered price for each item. Then, the total delivered prices of all items will be added together to determine the total delivered price for tier 1. The total delivered price for each subsequent tier will also be calculated. The total delivered prices for all tiers will be added together to determine the Aggregate Delivered Price.

3. Evaluated Aggregate Price:

The Evaluated Aggregate Price is obtained by adding the Weighted Aggregate Distribution Price and Aggregate Delivered Price together.

4. For purposes of the Price Proposal Evaluation, Weighted Aggregate Distribution Price and Aggregate Delivered Price are considered equal. This equality is accounted for mathematically by applying a weighting factor of 6 (based on current Government data) to the Aggregate Distribution Price.

Options are not included in this solicitation.

A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

Past Performance will not be used as an evaluation factor for this solicitation because other technical evaluation factors are sufficient to ensure performance for the commercial items being procured. In accordance with FAR 15.304(c)(3)(iii), the Contracting Officer has determined that Past Performance is not necessary because existing technical requirements are sufficient to ensure adequate performance. These requirements state that an offeror must possess a current Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) License and current USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Plus + Standard Audit with warehouse and food defense addenda certification, or commercial equivalent. Offerors possessing these certifications are operating in the commercial marketplace as distributors of fresh produce, and thus are deemed able to perform on the solicited requirements. Past Performance will be considered in a determination of responsibility for the successful offeror prior to award. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

See https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/gmp for details concerning program and certification.

Copies of the solicitation will be found on www.SAM.gov in a future posting and the DLA-EBS Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) at https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil. If not already registered, prospective offerors will be required to do so prior to viewing and downloading a copy of the solicitation. RFPs are in portable document format (PDF). In order to download and view these documents, prospective offers will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is available free at http://adobe.com. Solicitation is expected to be issued in September 2025 and will be issued under FAR 15.101-2 Low Price Technically Acceptable (LTPA).

The resultant award will be for an indefinite delivery contract, with a guaranteed minimum of 10% of the first year.