Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

INFORMATION SOUGHT REGARDING BOAT CREW HELMETS TO BE USED BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY FOR WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CON... INFORMATION SOUGHT REGARDING BOAT CREW HELMETS TO BE USED BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY FOR WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. RESPONDANTS ARE ADVISED THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY FOR ANY INFORMATION OR COSTS INCURRED IN RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NOTICE. NO BASIS FOR CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT SHALL ARISE AS A RESULT FROM A RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE NOR GOVERNMENT USE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED. ALL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST WILL BE SOLELY AT THE RESPONDING PARTY’S EXPENSE. PURPOSE The purpose of this request for information notice is solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes, that may be of interest to the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The result of this market research will contribute to determining the requirements of the procurement. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purposes of this notice is to: (1) determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency’s requirements exist, (2) to ascertain potential market capacity, (3) determine the commercial practices of companies engaged in providing the needed service or supply, (4) determine the small business status for small business programs, and (5) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; and meeting and tracking performance. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this request does not preclude participation in any further RFP, if any is issued. In accordance with FAR 15.201 (e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 (Competition Requirements) and FAR Part 19 (Small Business Programs), competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. After the review of the responses to this sources sought announcement, and if the USCG still plans to proceed with the acquisition, a solicitation announcement will be published in SAM.gov or distributed to contract holders if a strategically sourced vehicle is mandatory for use and deemed appropriate. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor the SAM.gov website. A response to this Request for Information Notice is not adequate response to any future solicitation announcement. All interested offerors will have to respond to any solicitation in addition to responding to this Notice. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose determined appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. No solicitation exists at this time; therefore, any request for a copy of the solicitation is premature. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on SAM.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor SAM.gov for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Notice. REQUIREMENT The United States Coast Guard has a need for boat crew helmets to be used fleet-wide. Please review the draft requirements for the boat crew helmets (located at the end of the Notice) in relation to the requested information below. The USCG requests all respondents please provide the following information and answer the following questions: Company name, address, phone number and point of contact. Company's UE number and socioeconomic status. Do you feel the draft requirements provided are achievable? If not, which requirements are too difficult to fulfill? What normal wear-and-tear (non-warranty) replacement pieces would your helmet require (e.x. suspension system, etc.)? For delivery timing, what thresholds are realistic (e.x. 1,000 helmets can be delivered within 30 days of the order; 5,000 in 60 days; 10,000 in 90 days)? Would you be willing to provide 10 helmets free of charge for the testing phase of a solicitation? If so, would you require the helmets to be returned upon completion of the testing? Could you offer a discount if more helmets were ordered? If so, at what threshold(s) of helmets ordered can you offer a discount? Finally, what type of discount can you offer at said threshold(s)? Please provide your sizing charts and corresponding measurement ranges for each size helmet you produce, both inside and outside of our sizing requirements (i.e. 5th to 95th percentile). Additionally, please let us know if helmet pricing varies by size when outside our sizing requirements. Responses to this Notice along with any capability statements, company literature, brochures should be emailed to the Contracting Officer, Allen A. Tillman II at Allen.A.Tillman@uscg.mil and Contracting Specialist, Miranda Smith at Miranda.V.Smith@uscg.mil with “Helmets Request for Information” in the subject line. Telephone responses will not be accepted. The USCG respectfully requests that written responses be limited to 10 pages or less. This 10 page limit does not include commercial brochures or product literature. Written responses are requested by December 29th, 2022 to help expedite this market research for a strategy decision.