Inactive

16 July 2020 - Amendment 1 - Questions from and industry and Government responses are added to this notice; additional answers are forthcoming via a future amendment. The list of AOIs appended to this... 16 July 2020 - Amendment 1 - Questions from and industry and Government responses are added to this notice; additional answers are forthcoming via a future amendment. The list of AOIs appended to this solicitation has been updated to include two additional areas identified by USAFE-AFAFRICA– see Attachment 1 Areas of Interest (Rev 1 – dated 16 July) for more information. The deadline for receipt of white papers will be extended to 7 Aug 2020. SECTION A: Introduction The 764th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (764 ESS) is conducting a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) authorized by Department of Defense Class Deviation 2018?O00016. Under a CSO, the Air Force may competitively award proposals received in response to a general solicitation, similar to a broad agency announcement, to acquire innovative commercial items, technologies, and services based on a review of proposals by scientific, technological, or other subject?matter experts within the Air Force. Under this CSO, all items, technologies, and services shall be treated as commercial items. The Air Force intends to obtain “innovative” solutions or potential new capabilities that fulfil requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technology advancements. Solutions may include existing technologies or procedures that are not currently in use by units on or supported by USAFE-AFAFRICA bases, that would enhance or streamline their mission capabilities. “Innovative” is defined as any new technology, process or method that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal. It may include an application of an existing technology, method, or process that is not currently in use at Sheppard Air Force Base or its supported units. This CSO contains broadly defined Areas of Interest (AOIs) and interests in more specific requirements. While these areas of interest are geared toward meeting requirements at locations listed in each AOI, the Government reserves the right to award contracts from this CSO to meet Air Force requirements at other locations with similar AOIs and mission requirements. 764 ESS may utilize one of the following processes for evaluation and award: A single?step CSO evaluation process which consists of offerors whose proposed solutions clearly meet the Government’s needs expressed in the AOIs, or more specific interest areas receiving an immediate notice that they have been selected for award or selected to provide more information that may subsequently lead to an award; or A two?step process where offerors are invited to make a virtual or in?person pitch of their proposal to an evaluation panel which will then select the proposals that best meet the Government’s desire for solutions in its stated AOIs or more specific interest areas for award(s). It is incumbent on the offeror to identify if a virtual or in-person pitch (at Ramstein Air Base) is sought, and as applicable the Government intends to schedule pitches and execute on two-spiral contracts NLT 30 Sept 2020. SECTION B: Annual Announcement 764 ESS and USAFE-AFAFRICA intend to execute a quarterly CSO with this notice. It is the Government’s intent to update this notice on at least a quarterly basis to provide updated AOIs (see Attachment 1), revise deadlines and make other changes as applicable. Vendors are strongly recommended to see revisions and amendments to this CSO posting for additional information and instructions throughout the year. SECTION C: Instructions for Preparation and Submission of Proposals All contracts will be firm?fixed price. All supplies or services obtained via this CSO are considered commercial items. Because all awards made under this CSO are considered commercial, 764 ESS intends to award FAR part 12 contracts but reserves the right to award other agreements (e.g. Other Transactional Agreements (OTAs)), if deemed in its best interest. As with any award, price is always a factor and will be evaluated for fairness and reasonableness so offers are reminded to provide solutions at competitive prices. Submitted documents shall not contain classified data or sensitive information and proprietary information shall be clearly marked. Proposal Contents: COVER LETTER Shall not exceed 2 pages, and must include the following: AOI for which proposal is submitted (number and title) Company Name, physical address, mailing address, and website URL Proposal valid till date (validity through at least 30 Sept 2020 is required). Authorized representative or point(s) of contact Brief introduction to company and history/expertise with proposed AOI CAGE code, DUNS number SAM.gov screenshot to confirm current registration Relevant NAICS code and description for AOI proposal Note: The Government reserves the right to not consider a proposal for award if it omits any of the required information. TECHNICAL “WHITE PAPER” Shall not exceed 5 pages, and must include the following: Substantive description of the technical solution in sufficient detail to allow USAFE-AFAFRICA to make an assessment of the validity of the proposed solution and the offeror’s capability to support the proposed solution. Convincing evidence the proposed solution will meet the USAFE-AFAFRICA need. The following examples of convincing evidence are strongly encouraged: Authentic company URL or web address. Summary of product commercialization currently used in the open market. Pictures, diagrams, models or figures to depict the essence of the proposed solution. Note: 764 ESS and USAFE-AFAFRICA may elect to use the information provided as part of its continuous market research. VOLUME II: PRICE Shall not exceed 2 pages, and must include the following: Proposed price(s) Flexible quantities or pricing options are encouraged to allow USAFE-AFAFRICA to maximize the use of available and limited funding. Prices for supplies shall be expressed as inclusive of all shipping charges and Free on Board (FOB) destination Delivery date or period of performance SAM Registration It is critical offerors are registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), https://www.sam.gov/, you will not be eligible for an award if not registered in SAM at the time your proposal is submitted. However, for foreign vendors, if your proposal is less than $30,000, SAM is not a requirement IAW FAR 4.1102(a)(6). Additionally, verify that you are registered to receive contracts (not just grants) and that your address matches between your proposal and SAM. Questions All questions related to this CSO and specific AOI's must be submitted in writing via email NLT 10:00 am Eastern Time, 13 July 2020. Proposal Submission The deadline for receipt of proposals in response to this CSO is NLT 10:00 am Eastern Time, 31 July 2020. USAFE-AFAFRICA recommends that you complete your submission early, as computer traffic gets heavy near the announcement closing and could slow down the system. Do not wait until the last minute. USAFE-AFAFRICA will not be responsible for proposals received late due to servers being "down" or inaccessible. Offerors may submit proposal amendments any time prior to the proposal deadline specified herein, however USAFE-AFAFRICA will ONLY review the final amended proposal that is submitted. Please ensure that your e-mail address listed in your proposal is current and accurate. USAFE-AFAFRICA is not responsible for ensuring notifications are received by firms changing mailing address/e-mail address/company points of contact after proposal submission without proper notification to USAFE-AFAFRICA. Changes of this nature shall be annotated in the solicitation or amendments. A proposal is acceptable if it conforms to all material requirements of the CSO, otherwise it is unacceptable and may be ineligible for award. **Note: Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all amendments to this solicitation are reviewed carefully prior to submitting a proposal. The members of the CSO team will do our best to post answers to questions we receive in response to this CSO as we obtain them, but may consolidate answers to a regularly scheduled post to avoid many answers being posted in a single day or to limit the need for many separate amendments. SECTION D: Procedures and Criteria for Selection Proposals As stated above, USAFE-AFAFRICA may use either a one or two-step process for evaluation of proposals for award. After receipt of step 1 proposals, the Air Force will conduct an evaluation based on three factors: technical, importance to agency programs, and funds availability. The evaluation process will proceed as follows: Technical Evaluation of the White Paper. The non-price portions of the proposal will be reviewed holistically to make an assessment of the validity of the proposed solution and the offeror’s capability to support the proposed solution. Importance to Agency Programs: The non-price portions of the proposal will be similarly reviewed to assess the solution's potential to enhance the mission effectiveness of the unit. Funds Availability: The offeror’s pricing information will be evaluated to determine to what extent funding is available for the solution. Price shall be considered to the extent appropriate, but at a minimum, to determine that the price is fair and reasonable. The Air Force must determine the price fair and reasonable prior to award using the procedures at DFARS subpart 212.209. The contracting officer will use market research as the primary method to determine the price fair and reasonable. In rare circumstances, the contracting officer may request information from the offeror regarding recent purchase prices paid by the Air Force and/or commercial customers for the same or similar commercial items. At the conclusion of step 1 and based on the results of the evaluations, USAFE-AFAFRICA will select offerors for immediate award or to participate in step 2. All offerors will be notified as to the status of their proposals at this time. Offerors that are selected for step 2 will receive an invitation to schedule a pitch to the USAFE-AFAFRICA team, which include further instructions for the pitch contents and/or other questions from the Government about their proposed solutions. Offerors who pitch their solution to evaluator will be immediately notified if they were selected for an award (to the greatest extent practicable). The evaluation criteria for step 2 is the same as step 1: technical, importance to agency programs, and funds availability. During any step of the CSO, the Air Force may request additional information from offerors that will need to be answered by email or during a Pitch Day presentation. The Air Force reserves the right to cancel a pitch and immediately make awards or not make a specific award or any awards if it deemed in its best interest. Pitches may be made in a public forum so contracts shall not include classified, sensitive or proprietary or trade secret information in their pitches. If a cleared contractor wishes to make a classified or sensitive pitch those will be handled on a case by case basis. SECTION E: Areas of Interest See Attachment 1 for AOIs related for this CSO. As noted in SECTION B above, 764 ESS and USAFE-AFAFRICA intend to revise this listing of AOIs on at least a quarterly basis to remove AOIs which have been awarded against, and add new capability gaps as they arise. Vendors are strongly recommended to see revisions and amendments to this CSO posting for additional information and instructions throughout the year.