Inactive

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE PRESORT MAIL SERVICES PITTSBURGH VAMC This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE only. Responses to this notice will be used for information and planning purposes. No quotes are being reque... SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE PRESORT MAIL SERVICES PITTSBURGH VAMC This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE only. Responses to this notice will be used for information and planning purposes. No quotes are being requested or accepted at this time with this notice. The intent of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify potential Small Businesses especially any SDVOSB/VOSB any and other business size offerors capable of providing Presort Mail Services as listed in the Statement of Need (See Below). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code being considered for this procurement is 561499, All other Business Services, Product Service Code (PSC) is R604, Mailing and Other Distribution services. This is for the VA Healthcare Center in Pittsburgh, PA 15240. Below is a draft copy of the Statement of Work (SOW). Responses to this notice should include the following: 1. Company name 2. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number 3. Company s address, 4. Point of Contact information (i.e. title, phone number and email address) 5. Company s capability to meet this requirement and any pertinent information which demonstrates the company s ability to meet the above requirements. 6. GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract number, if within scope of this effort (if applicable). Company s type of business (small or large) and socioeconomic status whether Service Disable Veteran Owned, Veteran Owned, Hubzone, 8(a), Women Owned, Small Disadvantaged, etc. If applicable, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) and Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) must be verified in www.VetBiz.gov , and be able to meet the limitation on subcontracting in accordance with 13 CFR 125.6; if applicable. All responses shall be submitted in writing via email no later than 12 pm EST, on Apr 14tth, 2021 to Mr. Jeffrey Pruett at Jeffrey.Pruett@va.gov SUBJECT LINE: Presort Mail Pittsburgh VAMC E-mail: Jeffrey.Pruett@va.gov. Facsimile or telephonic responses will not be accepted. Simply responding as an interested party in www.fbo.gov does not constitute your company as a source. Offeror must provide the above requested information. After review of the responses to the sources sought notice, a solicitation announcement may be published on the FBO website in the near future. Responses to the sources sought announcement are not considered adequate responses to the solicitation announcement. All interested offerors will have to respond to the forthcoming STATEMENT OF WORK I. BACKGROUND A. The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) is comprised of two campuses and ancillary facilities in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. VAPHS sends out a high volume of mail, much of it comprised of appointment reminder forms and other patient notifications. Increased efficiency is needed to minimize cost and maximize the patient-care experience for each dollar spent. The locations of the two campuses are: H. J. Heinz III Progressive Care Facility (HJH), 1010 Delafield Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15215; University Drive (UD) campus, 1 University Dr C, Pttsburgh, PA 15240; B. The Contractor shall pick up the mail once per day for barcoding, presorting, and delivery to the United States Postal Service (USPS). II. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE A. The period of performance for this requirement shall be for one (1) base year and four (4) option years. III. SCOPE A. The purpose of this contract is for the contractor presorting by nine-digit zip code, barcoding, and commingling mail with that of other customers so that the mail can sent at discounted rates instead of the higher non-bulk rates charged by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) per piece of standard mail. The contractor will never become involved with the content of the mail, but will pick it up sealed and addressed at VAPHS, sort it, and send it to the addresses printed on the envelopes. 1. The Contractor will process VAPHS mail in such a way as to qualify for the lowest USPS rates for Standard Mail. The Contractor and VAPHS will mutually work out standard operating procedures which will preclude any need for the Contractor to return mail to VAPHS instead of delivering it to the USPS. 2. The Contractor will provide all postage, transportation, and sorting services. VAPHS will pay the actual postage per piece of mail. 3. The Contractor shall furnish vehicles dedicated for contract use within normal working hours. Fuel, maintenance, and other operating costs for vehicles is the responsibility of the Contractor. Vehicles must be closed and secured during transport and when unattended when mail is aboard. The Contractor shall furnish all labor and ancillary equipment, such as protective covers, dollies, rollers, skids, hand trucks, ramps, pry bars, pallet jacks, truck platforms and any other tools needed to perform work under the contract. 4. The Contractor will pick up VAPHS mail at the University Drive campus of VAPHS daily, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, and will complete sorting and deliver the mail to the USPS in accordance with USPS regulations, on Tuesdays and Fridays. IV. REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall furnish all facilities, equipment, materials and labor required to meet the requirements of this contract which shall include, but is not limited to pick up, barcoding, presorting mail and delivery to the Post Office. Contractor to provide mail trays and have equipment available to load and unload pallets (pallet jack). Permit mail report (PS 3600-R), bar-coding and presort shall be in accordance with the latest United States Postal regulations and with the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). All contract work shall be performed in contractor-owned facilities. VAPHS mail contains Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that must be protected from unauthorized disclosure. Contractor site must be secure to prevent unauthorized individuals from access to the VAPHS mail. Any lost or stolen mail must be reported as soon as it is known to the COR. The number of letters missing must be reported as well as the circumstances surrounding the loss. The contractor will be responsible for all coordination necessary with the United States Postal Service. The contractor must process a sufficient volume of daily mail to insure that VA's mail qualifies for the highest possible postage discount rate for a minimum of 85% of VA Mail. When necessary, the contractor will be responsible for storage of all mail prior to its release date, unless otherwise specified. All mail will be separated into two categories of weight (mail up to one ounce and mail over one ounce) and into two categories of destination (domestic and foreign) and given to the contractor as it is processed. VAPHS mail shall be commingled with mail from other customers of the contractor in order to insure that VAPHS mail receives the highest postage discounts possible. The contractor shall return any mutilated mail within 24 hours of mutilation. All original mutilated letters will be returned to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The contractor shall provide a minimum of one daily pickup no earlier than 10:00 AM, Monday through Friday. The designated COR will be provided with the schedule for pickup. Changes to the regularly scheduled pickup time will be coordinated and agreed upon by both the COR and contractor. The contractor will be notified at least one week in advance of any peak workload periods. Additionally, at the request of the VAPHS, the contractor shall provide special pickups of mail, in varying amounts, in addition to scheduled pickups. Contractor must provide Fast Forward address update and National Change of Address (NCOA) address correction to comply with US Postal Service move update requirements. All mail shall be processed and sprayed with a barcode representing the Zip+4+2 zip code. Presorted and released to the US Post Office on the same day released from VAPHS. The bar coded Zip+4+2 zip code is to be correct for the street, city and state address. The contractor shall ensure that the final bar-coded and presorted mail product will be in accordance with the most recent USPS requirements in effect. Pickups and deliveries will be made at the University Drive (UD) campus of VAPHS, 1 University Drive C, Pittsburgh, PA 15240. The contractor shall submit at a minimum quarterly invoices. This invoice shall include a breakdown of cost and number of pieces, number of pieces not qualifying for a presort rate (residual- which will not exceed 3% of total volume), the cost for encoding, and any special services which will have been provided. As is required when permit imprinted envelopes are used for mailing, the contractor will provide the USPS with the Statement of Mailing with Permit Imprint First-Class Mail PS 3600-R report. On a weekly basis, the contractor will provide the COR with a written report (which may be electronically transmitted) to include the following information for the previous week s processing: a count of envelopes released, number of mutilated letters returned, cost and count of qualified and residual pieces, a breakdown by postage cost and number of pieces for both one ounce and two ounce mail, and copies of PS 3600-R for each day of the previous week. The contractor shall be responsible for all costs for any presorted mail rejected by the USPS during the verification process. On occasion the VAPHS has experienced blank envelopes or letters without the address showing through the window being sent to the contractor for bar-coding and presorting. These envelopes will reject since an address will not be readable. The contractor must return this rejected mail to the COR on the next pickup of mail from the VAPHS for reprocessing without additional cost to the VA. The contractor shall return all undeliverable mail to the COR on the next pickup of mail from the VAPHS. V. SERVICES NOT COVERED Any work other than as specified in the contract shall be identified as a non-priced task, and if determined by the Contracting Officer (CO) to be within the overall scope of the contract, work shall be added by a modification to the contract. Any work requested that is identified as outside the scope of the contract shall be addressed by the facility as a separate procurement. VI. HOURS OF OPERATION The vendor is responsible for conducting business, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM, ET Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings. VII. FEDERAL HOLIDAYS OBSERVED BY THE VA New Year's Day Labor Day M L King's Birthday Columbus Day President's Day Veterans Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day Christmas Day Also included would be any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a National Holiday. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as a legal holiday by U.S. Government agencies. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a legal holiday. VIII. IDENTIFICATION, PARKING, SMOKING, AND VA REGULATIONS: The contractor's employees shall wear visible identification at all times while on the premises of the VAPHS. It is the responsibility of the contractor to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. Information on parking is available from the COR. The VAPHS will not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking violations of the Contractor under any conditions. Smoking is prohibited inside any buildings at the VAPHS. Possession of weapons is prohibited. Enclosed containers, including tool kits, shall be subject to search. Violations of VA regulations may result in citation answerable in the United States (Federal) District Court, not a local district, state, or municipal court. DELIVERY All services shall be provided at the following: Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System (VAPHS) 1 University Drive C Pittsburgh, PA 15240 GOVERNMENT- FURNISHED PROPERTY VAPHS will not furnish any property in connection with this contract. Both parties will use bulk mail bins owned by the USPS when transferring possession of mail from one to the other. CLINS Presort Postage Service - first class mail to be processed in accordance with postal regulations. Work to be performed in accordance with the SOW. Estimated 30,000 pieces of mail monthly @ variable rates per piece based on weight. Domestic Comingled Mail Service - work to be performed in accordance with the SOW. Estimated 30,000 pieces of mail monthly--appointment letters, flu shot notices and miscellaneous items. Mail Courier to perform duties as per SOW