Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

22 August 2024 - Extended Offer Due Date to 30 Aug 2024 at 110:00 AM CST 14 August 2024 - Solicitation edited to add RFI Q & A's #2. Attachmetn listed in attachment section. 13 August 2024 - Solicitat... 22 August 2024 - Extended Offer Due Date to 30 Aug 2024 at 110:00 AM CST 14 August 2024 - Solicitation edited to add RFI Q & A's #2. Attachmetn listed in attachment section. 13 August 2024 - Solicitation edited to add RFI Q & A's. Attachment listed in attachment section. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial supplies prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The combined synopsis is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) under solicitation number: W50S6Q24QA005. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC). Total Small Business Set-Aside: 100%; Applicable Size Standard is $40 M NAICS Code: 517810 – All Other Telecommunications Product or Service Code (PSC): 5830 – Communication Equipment Posting Date: 23 July 2024 Response Date/Time: 30 August 2024 11:00 AM CST Contracting Office: 188th Wing Contracting, 4850 Leigh Ave, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72903-6018 Government Points of Contact: Contracting Officer: Mrs. Devin Green DEVIN.GREEN.5@US.AF.MIL and Contract Specialist: Mr. Samuel Bond SAMUEL.BOND.1@US.AF.MIL Line item number(s) and items, quantities, and units of measure: DESCRIPTION ESTIMATED QTY UNIT CLIN 0001 Secondary Crash Net System 1 Each Description of requirements for the services to be acquired: The work to be done by this project consists of Install system (equipment, software, etc.) to operate as secondary crash net IAW AFMAN 13-204V2 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.3. Install, design, configure, test, & train users on system that is configured on currently owned Cisco Unified Call Manager version 14.0.1.12900-161. The system should have the capability of tying in current emergency mass notification system to broadcast on speaker of all current Cisco VoIP phones. Recording should be added as an option to the proposal. Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance and FOB point: Building 208; 4850 Leigh Ave, Fort Smith Arkansas 72903. Upon award of a purchase order or delivery order, the contractor shall deliver, install, and configure all requirements within 90 days. Provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and addendum applies to this acquisition. Provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items and addendum applies to this acquisition Offerors shall include a completed copy of 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services with its proposal. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this acquisition. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition. See clause below, in full text, for list of additional applicable clauses. Additional contract provisions and clauses are applicable and included below as necessary. Defense Priorities and Allocations Systems (DPAS) Rating: Not rated. 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sep 2023) (a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code(s) and small business size standard(s) for this acquisition appear elsewhere in the solicitation. However, the small business size standard for a concern that submits an offer, other than on a construction or service acquisition, but proposes to furnish an end item that it did not itself manufacture, process, or produce is 500 employees, or 150 employees for information technology value-added resellers under NAICS code 541519, if the acquisition— (1)Is set aside for small business and has a value above the simplified acquisition threshold; (2)Uses the HUBZone price evaluation preference regardless of dollar value, unless the offeror waives the price evaluation preference; or (3)Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value. (b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show— (1) The solicitation number; (2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers; (3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror; (4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary; (5) Terms of any express warranty; (6) Price and any discount terms; (7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address; (8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically); (9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments; (10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and (11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. (c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation. (d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing. (e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions, including alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with FAR subpart 4.10), or alternative commercial products or commercial services for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately. (f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers. (1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due. (2) (i) Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and- (A) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or (B) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or (C) If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received. (ii) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted. (3) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel. (4) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume. (5) Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer. (g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). 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. (h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the offer. (i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation. (1) (i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101–29, and copies of Federal specifications, standards, and product descriptions can be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil. (ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a copy of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained from the address in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision. (2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil. (3) Defense documents not available from the ASSIST website may be requested from the Defense Standardization Program Office by— (i) Using the ASSIST feedback module ( https://assist.dla.mil/feedback); or (ii) Contacting the Defense Standardization Program Office by telephone at 571–767–6688 or email at assisthelp@dla.mil. (4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance. (j) Unique entity identifier.(Applies to all offers that exceed the micro-purchase threshold, and offers at or below the micro-purchase threshold if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).) The Offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Offeror's name and address. The Offeror also shall enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. The EFT indicator is a four-character suffix to the unique entity identifier. The suffix is assigned at the discretion of the Offeror to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative EFT accounts (see FAR subpart 32.11) for the same entity. If the Offeror does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment directly to obtain one. The Offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the unique entity identifier. (k) [Reserved] (l) Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable: (1) The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s offer. (2) The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror. (3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection. (4) A summary of the rationale for award; (5) For acquisitions of commercial products, the make and model of the product to be delivered by the successful offeror. (6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency. (End of provision) ***Addendum to FAR 52.212-1*** PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Submission Due Date. The offeror must ensure its proposal, in its entirety, reaches the required destination before the date and time set for closing of the solicitation. The submission due date for this solicitation is 23 August 2024 at 11:00 AM central standard time. Late Proposals. The lateness rules for submitted proposals are outlined in FAR 52.212-1 "Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services," and are incorporated into this solicitation. Submission. The proposal submitted in response to this solicitation shall be formatted as stated below and furnished electronically to the Contracting Officer (KO), Devin Green, devin.green.5@us.af.mil and the Contract Specialist (CS), Sam Bond, samuel.bond.1@us.af.mil. The proposal shall only be submitted as described. Proposal Compliance. The Government must have received from the offeror a fully compliant proposal. The proposal is compliant when it conforms to all of the requirements, terms, and conditions of the solicitation, including the Statement of Work (SOW). Proposal Acceptance. The contractor shall make a clear statement in the proposal as to the expiration date of the proposal and the stated expiration date shall be valid for all proposed subcontractors as well. FAR 52.212-1(c) is hereby tailored for this solicitation: The contractor shall specify a proposal acceptance period in the Proposal Summary of not less than 60 days from the date of the solicitation closing. This date may be extended by mutual agreement. Proposal Retention. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8, Government Contract Files, the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Single Proposal Submission. FAR 52.212-1 is hereby tailored to remove subparagraph (e), which does not apply to this solicitation Offerors are limited to submitting one proposal with one approach to meeting all the requirements of this solicitation. Proposals that contain alternative terms and conditions will be considered as taking exception to the requirements of the solicitation. Optional Proprietary and Restrictive Markings Mark the title page with the following legend: “This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of -- or in connection with -- the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [offeror shall insert numbers or other identification of sheets]” and Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: “Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.” PROPOSAL FORMAT This section provides guidance to the offeror for preparing a proposal in response to the solicitation. The offeror’s proposal shall include all data and information required by this solicitation and submitted in accordance with these instructions. Any contract resulting from this effort shall be required to meet United States Government regulations and statutory requirements. In addition, the offeror is expected to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations, standards, and any other constraints specifically identified in the solicitation. The proposal submitted in response to the solicitation shall be formatted as stated below and furnished as stated herein. The acceptable electronic formats for proposals shall be compatible with MS Office, specifically MS Word and MS Excel; PDF format is acceptable as well. All proposal volumes shall be labeled with the solicitation number (W50S6Q24QA005), as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the Offeror. All volumes shall be electronic files and not be password protected. Offerors shall scan all files for computer viruses prior to submission to the Government. PROPOSAL CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION The offeror shall prepare the proposal so that the Government can identify that all requirements listed in the statement of work are met and how the offeror intends to meet those requirements. The proposal shall not contain citations for, or active links to live Internet sites or pages. All linked information shall be contained within the electronic proposal. Any linked information that is not contained in the proposal will not be accepted. Each volume shall be written or presented on a standalone basis. Information required for proposal evaluation that is not found in its designated volume or presentation will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal and will not be considered. PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS Proposals shall be clear and concise and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation. The offeror shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet those requirements. The offeror should assume the Government has no prior knowledge of its capabilities and experience. The Government will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s proposal in response to this solicitation. Proposals shall be structured in accordance with the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure set forth in the solicitation. PROPOSAL SUMMARY shall include: Solicitation No. W50S6Q24QA005 Date submitted Offeror’s name Offeror’s address, CAGE code, and UEI Offeror contact information for proposal POC(s) All proposed subcontractor(s) (as applicable) Address, CAGE code, and UEI for each proposed subcontractor Proposal Acceptance Period Signature Actions/offeror Fill-Ins. Offerors shall submit a copy of all completed fill-ins for provisions and clauses requiring contractor provided information, and (if applicable) a signed copy of all amendments to the solicitation. System for Award Management (SAM) certifications need not be separately submitted; however, all offerors must be successfully registered and valid in SAM prior to award Any exceptions taken to the attachments, exhibits, enclosures, or other solicitation terms, conditions, or documents may be grounds for the Contracting Officer to reject the proposal from further consideration in the source selection process. Assumptions. The offeror shall consolidate and identify all offeror's generated "assumptions" contained anywhere in the proposal. Also, the offeror shall include a statement that none of the "assumptions" contradict or take exception to any terms, conditions, or requirements of the solicitation. Any exceptions taken to the attachments, exhibits, enclosures, or other solicitation terms, conditions, or documents may be grounds for the KO to reject the proposal from further consideration in the source selection process. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY shall include: The Technical Capability section of the proposal shall present relevant information articulating the offeror’s proposed approach to meeting the SOW requirements. This section shall clearly demonstrate the offeror’s understanding by providing a clear description of the proposed approach to performing the work. The offeror’s description should include a clear description of all processes and procedures employed. Offerors shall provide relevant experience (for this purpose, experience refers to what an offeror has done, not how well it was accomplished) in performing proposed processes and procedures. This section shall not include any pricing data. The offeror’s proposal information will be evaluated to assess the risk that the offeror will timely meet contract requirements. PAST PERFORMANCE shall include: The offeror shall submit information for a total of up to three years (no more than 5) of recent contract past performance references that were performed by the offeror as the prime contractor, which the offeror considers to have relevance. These may include foreign, federal, state, local and private industry contracts. While the Government may elect to consider data obtained from internal and external sources other than the proposal, the burden of providing thorough and complete past performance information remains with the offeror. It is the offeror's responsibility to submit detailed and complete information so the Government may evaluate its Past Performance. The Government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure problems it finds in proposals. The below instructions are provided to advise offerors as to the information required by the Government to assess the contractor's Recent and Relevant past performance. Since this information constitutes a basis of the Government's review, it is imperative that the offeror present its past performance in a clear and complete manner. Failure to provide the information requested below may result in an assessment that the offeror does not possess a record of Recent and Relevant past performance. Recent contracts are those performed within three years of the date of issuance of this solicitation. Relevant contracts are those comparable in scope and magnitude of effort and complexity to the SOW requirement(s). The Government will conduct an in-depth evaluation of all recent performance information to determine how closely the services performed under those contracts relate to the management and technical requirement(s). Consideration will be given to similar service, similar complexity of the effort, breadth and depth of skills, similar contract scope and type, and schedule. In addition, consideration will be given to any quality awards or certifications that indicate the offeror has a high-quality process for developing and producing the products or services required by this acquisition. The offeror may provide a copy of its most recent CPARS evaluation, if applicable, showing the overall rating(s) for each of the past performance references provided in the proposal. PRICE shall include: Price Proposal Format. Electronic file formatted in MS Excel, MS Word, or Adobe PDF. Under no circumstances is price information and documentation to be included elsewhere in the proposal. The price proposal shall contain: The offeror shall submit data substantiating the price proposed to complete the requirements identified in the solicitation. The offeror’s price proposal shall contain sufficient information to establish that the proposed price is reasonable and complete. The offeror shall provide the total price for each CLIN in the solicitation. Include a complete list of all categories and the direct hourly rate for each labor category, if applicable. In accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a), in addition to the information requested above, the Government reserves the right to request additional or more detailed information to support its evaluation of price reasonableness. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST The provisions of FAR 9.5, OCI, apply to any award under this solicitation. Potential offerors should review their current and planned participation in any other Government contracts, subcontracts, consulting, or teaming arrangements where they may be in a position of actual or perceived bias or unfair competitive advantage. A common example with the potential for OCI is where an entity performs work both as a system contractor/subcontractor and as a Government support contractor for Government offices involved in supporting program efforts or related programs. All offerors shall make a preliminary disclosure to the PCO, at the time of its proposal, of any Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) issues it has identified or provide an affirmative statement that the offeror does not have an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) as it applies to this solicitation. An offeror failing to submit an OCI plan that it is later determined should have been submitted, could cause the proposal to be rejected and no longer be considered for award. Offerors shall include in its plan where its employees are located and the total of employees in the location(s). Offerors should disclose any potential OCI situations to the PCO as soon as identified including prior to proposal submission. The disclosure should include the facts and an analysis of the actual or perceived conflict and a recommended approach(s) to neutralize or mitigate the potential conflict. The preferred approach to potential conflicts is to negate/obviate the conflict. Mitigation is considered only if it is not practical to negate/obviate the conflict. The PCO will promptly respond to resolve any potential conflicts. EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Capability Past Performance Price Basis for Award The Government intends to award a single Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Contract as a result of this solicitation. Per FAR 9.103, the contract will be placed only with an offeror that the Contracting Officer determines to be responsible, that is, those who can satisfactorily perform the necessary tasks and deliver the required services on time. Prospective offerors, in order to qualify as sources for this acquisition, must be able to demonstrate that they meet standards of responsibility set forth in FAR 9.104. In addition, the Government may assess the offeror’s financial ability to meet the solicitation requirements. No award can be made to an offeror who has been determined to be not responsible by the Contracting Officer. Consistency. Each section of the offeror’s proposal shall be consistent within the proposal. Completeness. The Government’s ability to evaluate a proposal may depend on the level of detail and supporting documentation provided. Insufficient supporting documentation or detail in a proposal may prevent the Government from evaluating a proposal. The Government will assess the offeror’s proposal on three factors: (1) Technical Capability, (2) Past Performance and (3) Total Price (TP). EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITY Evaluation of this factor will assess the offeror's proposed approach and understanding of the requirements and risk of unsuccessful performance of the proposed approach to technical capability in accordance with this solicitation’s requirements. EVALUATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE The evaluation of this factor will assess the risk of unsuccessful performance of the offeror’s proposed approach to performing efforts of a similar scope, magnitude, and complexity as the requirement described in the SOW. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance to determine the likelihood that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort described in the SOW. Contracts submitted in the Past Performance section of the offeror's proposal will not be considered if the Government determines them to be not recent, not relevant, or lacking any credible past performance information. If the offeror does not have a record of Recent and Relevant past performance information the offeror will be rated as "Neutral,” which is neither favorable nor unfavorable. The offeror may also be evaluated on past contract performance information utilizing internal Government or private source information and the Government reserves the right to use any information received as part of its evaluation. The Government may contact any of the references the offeror provides and reserves the right to use any information received as part of its evaluation. In evaluating the offeror's performance history, the Government may compare the offeror's deliveries or performance to the contract's original delivery or performance schedule, unless the delay was Government-caused. Schedule extensions that were the fault of the offeror, even if consideration was provided, may be counted against the offeror. EVALUATION OF PRICE FACTOR Evaluation of price will be performed using one or more of the price analysis techniques in FAR 13.106-3. Through these techniques the Government will determine whether prices are reasonable, complete, and are not unbalanced. Reasonableness. The Government will evaluate the price reasonableness of the offerors' proposed prices to ensure that in its nature and amount, it does not exceed what would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. The Government shall employ price analysis techniques in accordance with FAR 13.106-3 to determine that a proposed price is fair and reasonable. Completeness. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions with offerors, but discussions are not anticipated or intended. Since discussions are not anticipated or intended, the Government requires complete proposals with respect to price. A complete proposal will include all information required by this solicitation. Unbalanced Pricing. Offerors should note that pricing will be carefully reviewed to detect whether proposals are unbalanced between line items, as well as unbalance between periods. Unbalanced pricing ex...