This announcement constitutes a Special Notice (DRAFT RFQ) for industry comment. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS MARKET RESEARCH ONLY. The Draft RFQ is posted at GSA's E-buy site under RFQ# 767161. The United States Air Force, Enterprise Sourcing Group (ESG), Furnishings Commodity Council (FCC) proposes to contract in the future for Air Force wide Executive Office and Conference Furniture (formerly referred to as Casegoods and Common Area Furniture) utilizing enterprise wide strategic sourcing to standardize product offerings and to leverage the best pricing for the Air Force. The result of this evaluation will be to award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) to vendors who will be the ONLY mandated sources of supply for the entire Air Force, when making purchases that fall under the scope of this program. The Government intends to issue a formal Request for Quotes (RFQ) in Spring/Summer of 2013 via GSA e-Buy, in accordance with FAR 8.405. It is the intent of the ESG FCC to establish a target of five (5) BPAs that will be awarded, against Government Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 71 SIN (Special Item Number) categories are SIN 711 8 Executive Office Furniture and SIN 711 9 Executive Conference Room Furniture, Coordinated Tables, Case Pieces and Accessories. If determined to be in the Government's best interest, the Air Force reserves the right to award more or less BPAs. BPAs will be awarded in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-3(a). All resulting BPAs will contain agreements on prices for products at a not-to-exceed (NTE) amount and at the Call/order level, prices will become firm fixed prices. This announcement is restricted to small businesses under NAICS code 337211. The planned period of performance for the BPAs will include a base period of one (1) year and four (4) one (1) year ordering periods. It is anticipated that the BPAs will be awarded not earlier than October 2013. Annual reviews of the success of the BPA as well as price reasonableness will be conducted prior to the end of each ordering period. The estimated value of the Air Force's Executive Office and Conference Furniture needs is approximately $78M. The Government does not guarantee any percentage of the $78M to any one particular contractor. BPA holders will honor their NTE pricing (or better) and their discount percentage and then each local base will compete their requirements amongst the BPA holders for their individual Executive Office and Conference Furniture needs. The discount percentage is calculated and explained in Attachment 6. It provides a framework for bases to buy GSA-listed Executive Office and Conference Furniture furniture items off of proposed product lines that are not already included in the Furniture Pricing Matrix (Attachment 6). To be eligible for a BPA award, an Offeror must (1) be a current GSA Schedule 71 small business schedule holder, (2) meet all specifications listed in the Requirements Attachment 5a, and (3) have all items listed in the Furniture Pricing Matrix Attachment 6 on their schedule. No open market items will be allowed. Each contractor must also have D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and be registered in the Department of Defense (DoD) System for Award Management (SAM). Register via the SAM Internet site at https://www.sam.gov or by calling 1-866-606-8220. D&B can be reached by calling 1-866-705-5711. Contractors are also required to complete the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) found in the SAM website. The Government intends to conduct a Best Value Evaluation in accordance with FAR 8. Furthermore, FAR Part 15, with its reference to Source Selection, will not be employed. The purpose of posting this DRAFT RFQ is to elicit feedback from Industry in order to accomplish the following: 1. Ensure what we are asking for is clear 2. Ensure industry can provide what we are asking for 3. Ensure industry understands the evaluation process 4. Determine if the Air Force has omitted any details that prevent Industry's ability to participate This is a DRAFT RFQ requesting feedback to be utilized to make the FINAL RFQ a better product. How to Respond to this Draft RFQ: Responses: The AF Enterprise Sourcing Group is seeking industry involvement in shaping the FINAL RFQ package for this unique project. Responses are not required, but are strongly encouraged. Please pay particular attention to the Requirements Attachment 5a as specifications have changed based on industry input to Requests For Information (RFIs) previously released. Please do not submit quotes, prices, marketing materials, or any other deliverable requested in the DRAFT RFQ. We do not want you to fill out any of the attachments. We do not want you to submit prices or product information at this time. Attachments are only being included at this time to allow you the opportunity to review for content and to provide feedback on how to refine them or where clarifications could be made. Responses shall be limited to a maximum of ten (10) pages, on 8.5"x11" page size, font size of 10, one inch margins, and single spaced. Microsoft Word is required and tables may be used. Please reference the attachment, section, and page number (if available) of the Draft RFQ to which you are commenting in all responses. Do not submit marketing type material. Responses are due to Mr. Joshua Holbrook at:
[email protected] by 22 March 2013. Please provide responses via email only. The point of contact for this DRAFT RFQ as well as the FINAL RFQ is Joshua Holbrook, Contracting Officer,
[email protected]. Contracting Office Address: Enterprise Sourcing Group (ESG), Furnishings Commodity Council (FCC) 771 ESS/EGC 1940 ALLBROOK Drive, Bldg 1, Suite 600 WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, OH 45433 The posting of information about this requirement does not express or imply any commitment by the Government to issue a FINAL RFQ or the promise for any contract action. Industry responses to this Draft RFQ are due to Mr. Joshua Holbrook at:
[email protected] by 22 March 2013. Please provide responses via email only. - - - Capabilities Briefings Manufacturers and Dealers may also request the opportunity to provide a capabilities briefing to the Enterprise Sourcing Group's (ESG) Furnishings Commodities Council (FCC) after the Draft Request for Quotation (RFQ) is released. Manufacturers and Dealers may request the opportunity to provide an in-person or telephone capabilities brief to the Executive Office and Conference Furniture program team. This session will be strictly limited to two hours in duration, to promote consistency/fairness for all parties. The purpose of these capability briefings is to allow Manufacturers and Dealers the opportunities to not only discuss their individual capabilities, but to directly address any issues or concerns that they may have with the Draft RFQ and the subsequent release of the final RFQ. Briefings will be scheduled for March 18-22 (after draft RFQ release). The agenda for this briefing is provided below. Please note the structured nature of the agenda and refrain from providing promotional material. Capabilities Briefing Agenda: 1. Please confirm your ability to meet the Executive Office and Conference Furniture requirements contained in Attachment 5a of the draft RFQ. Discuss any requirements you are unable to meet and/or whether or not you will be able to meet the requirements by the time the final RFQ is released. 2. Confirm that you have at least two GSA-listed product lines with salient characteristics for each style proposed (traditional, transitional, and contemporary) that meet 100% of the requirements listed in Attachment 5a. More specifically, if you have two separate product lines, we are looking for two product lines that individually meet 100% of the requirements of RFQ Attachment 5a. If your product is unable to meet 100% of the requirements, please identify the specific requirement(s) that the product does not meet. 3. Provide feedback regarding the pricing methodology we are proposing (see Attachment 6). Discuss any issues you see with the proposed calculation of an average weighted discount for non-typical products and accessories. 4. Discuss the RFQ response time of 30 days. Specifically, if the FCC gave you more time how would you use it, how would it affect the quality of the proposal, and how would it benefit the government? 5. Discuss any experience you have with GSA schedule 71, and your concerns with using GSA E-Buy as the primary acquisition vehicle. 6. Please discuss whether price discounts of 10% are realistic based upon total historical Air Force Executive Office and Conference Furniture spend. 7. Please address questions or concerns with Attachment 7 - Reporting Instructions, and Reporting Matrix. 8. Question and Answer session. This Q&A session will be limited to no more than 15 minutes and any questions/answers will be posted for other parties to review. Note that any proprietary information will not be disclosed in any posting. If you decide to participate, please send an e-mail confirming your desire to meet, along with any scheduling preferences, to the name and address at the end of this request. We will determine the final schedule and provide a response back to your firm. The deadline for requests to provide capabilities briefings will be 7 days after posting the draft RFP on GSA E-buy (March 15). Responses should be sent to SrA Michael Lucero at
[email protected].