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This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFI does not commit the... This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Furthermore, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. A central tenet of acquisition reform is to significantly improve the quality of market research. One of the main benefits of solid market research is to materially improve the government s understanding of the current state of the marketplace, including commercial/government best practices, industry capabilities, innovative delivery approaches, commercial market service levels, and performance strategies and measures. For this upcoming requirement, a special emphasis of the market research is being placed on performance metrics and measurements, innovative delivery methods for the required services, and incentive programs that your firm may have found particularly effective. We are also interested in identifying performance criteria that differentiate between and among high-quality firms in this field. We believe this information will dramatically improve the quality of the forthcoming acquisition, including the solicitation and resulting contract. Subject: CONTACT CENTER OPERATIONS AND BILLING in Repair Services This is in follow up to our Request for Information 36C79119Q0010 of January 31, 2019. Thank you for agreeing to participate in an important initiative to assist Department of Veteran Affairs in performing market research related to the Wheelchair and Scooter Repair Services. Industry has been asked to participate in providing Medical Wheeled Mobility Repairs. This RFI is to gather Information and seek clarification on best commercial practices for a multifaceted customer contact center that manages service requests, quality assurance reporting, repair trend reports and maintenance or manufacture recall follow ups to include the use of modern technology in web and mobile applications with ease of use eligible Veterans and or Veteran Affairs Clinical Staff. The Contact Center shall schedule repairs after verifying eligibility of veteran, have certified technicians complete repair or maintenance service meeting OEM manufacture requirements through a streamlined process associated with the management and coordination repair and maintenance requests to achieve efficiencies and create shorter maintenance and repair turnaround times. The contact center shall assure customer satisfaction and quality assurance of repairs by providing world class customer service to Veteran beneficiary s and VA Staff. In order to understand the program requirement, it is recommended that interested parties read the provided draft performance work statement. This RFI is specifically to address operations, management and billing portion of Contact Center under Task 001. Please provide answers to the following questions (reference draft PWS): What are current commercial practices for billing of the contact center operations? Specifically, address if there are discounts associated with monthly billing versus per repair? When invoicing is it a separate line item charge or is it wrapped into the repair service cost? Example: Contact center receives a call/web notice from party in need of repair, contact center initiates repair ticket, sends technician, repair completed and then invoice submitted. How does contractor account for a contact but no repair required ticket? Would it be a service fee or other? Please provide details on how these types of contact are handled. What are current commercial practices? How does the contractor bill for OEM replacement parts? Is it to suggested manufacturer retail price or is it to a set negotiated price between supplier and contractor? Please provide information on how the charges for parts would be billed. What are commercial practices for billing the repair technician labor hours versus parts costs in a contract? Would the billing reflect one price or would it be broken down by labor and part? How would commercial companies address the pricing of OEM parts? Would it be by submitting a spreadsheet of current catalog prices or other? Please explain. What considerations does the government need to make in this type of commercial contract for both Contact Center Operations and Repair Services? Are there supplier concerns, staffing considerations or other logistical considerations? Please refer to PWS to help us understand any considerations. The Department of Veterans Affairs is sharing the following Draft PWS for review, suggestions and guidance of best commercial practices in a nationwide repair service industry. Performance Work Statement Medically Prescribed Wheeled Mobility Repair Services Contract Background and Objectives: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Commodities and Services Acquisition Service (CSAS) and the Denver Logistics Center (DLC) manage a holistic supply and service chain management for the VA National Audiology, Prosthetics, and Telehealth Programs and supports VA and other Government agencies with professional acquisition and logistical services.  The CSAS and the DLC has been tasked with a requirement to procure Medically Prescribed Wheel Mobility Repair Services aligning to the VA Mission Act to meet the needs of the Veteran. CSAS/DLC strategy shall obtain volume-based discounts, committed pricing, and streamlined ordering processes through innovative integration using a combination of the Department of VA Remote Order Entry System (ROES) and Contractor s Commercial System that allows for eligible Veterans and or VHA Clinicians/Prosthetic staff to place repair requests with contractor without going through Prosthetic or Regional Contracting Offices. Thus, implementing a solution that improves VA s service delivery outcomes for the Veteran beneficiary. This is a Non-Personal Service; Performance Based Contract and the success of this contract depends on not only the performance satisfaction of the requirement but on the satisfaction of the veteran beneficiary or VHA Clinical Staff on services received. Rather than a list of tasks of activities, this Performance Based Work Statement is an expression of VA s expectation of the service to be performed by the contractor. A higher level of effective communication between the Government and Contractor is essential for partnering for this performance-based service contract to succeed. The success of this Contract is shared between the Government and the Contractor. The objectives of this contract are to:  Establish a singular national contract that can serve the entire the United States and its territories for medically prescribed wheeled mobility repairs to eligible veteran beneficiaries. Augment the VA s ability to provide repairs for wheeled mobility devices to eligible Veterans in current and future years by providing improved access to repairs and the reporting of the repairs completed by using contractor through an automated system in conjunction with VA systems Establish a customer service contact center that is Veteran and VA Staff centric for service requests, quality assurance reporting, repair trend reports and maintenance or manufacture recall follow ups to include the use of modern technology in web and mobile applications with ease of use for all users. Schedule and complete repair or maintenance service meeting OEM manufacture requirements and streamline the administrative processes associated with the management and coordination repair and maintenance requests to achieve efficiencies and create shorter maintenance and repair turnaround times. Ensure customer satisfaction and quality assurance of repairs by providing world class customer service to Veteran beneficiary s and VA Staff. Leverage the Department of Veteran Affairs enterprise account to establish favorable pricing for repairs and parts through cost savings by streamlining internal processes and billing practices in conjunction to current commercial standards. The service requirement identified in the contract may be sought as a complete comprehensive requirement that may cross over multiple service categories, including other direct costs (ODCs) or may be sought as a single service or multiple services allowing the customer the option to choose services that can be customized to meet the unique needs. Scope/Requirement: The scope of this contract covers the most commonly used repair services for the complete operation and maintenance of prescribed manual and powered wheelchairs, highly customized power and manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters, herein after to referred as in this contract as mobility devices. This contract will provide coverage for the entire geographic area of the Continental United States of America as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico for an estimated amount of 66,000 repairs yearly. Repairs are defined as unscheduled work required to prevent the breakdown or failure of a wheeled mobility device, or to return the wheeled mobility device back to service after a breakdown or failure. Service Calls are defined of requests for repairs contacts from Eligible Veterans or VA staff to contractor. Master Equipment list is defined as the eligible Veteran list with their contact information, VA clinician name and contact, and the equipment issued to the Veteran. The Contractor shall furnish all qualified/certified personnel, labor, materials, tools, parts, equipment, supervision and oversight required to perform customer contact service center operations and maintenance and repair services in accordance to the performance work statement of this contract. The contractor shall ensure that veteran eligibility is verified prior to conducting repair services. All aspects of the work program shall be performed in an organized, systematic manner to assure services will be performed that ensure the repairs are completed in a professional timely manner. During the course of this contract, the contractor must comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations in regard to services rendered. Performance Objectives and Tasks: The tasks covered under this scope is divided into separate Service Groups (1) Customer Service Contact Center and Repair Reporting Operations and (2) Repair Services. Under each service group there are services that have been identified as required and optional. The required services under each service group are the minimum services the contractor must be able to provide to compete for the contract under this solicitation. The optional services are additional services the contractors can offer as part of the total solution (See evaluation section). Proposed Workflow: The diagram below identifies all services in this scope and shows which service group each service falls under: The Veteran contacts the toll-free number/initiates request via world wide web/mobile application; contractor customer service representative then verifies eligibility and initiates repair ticket with level one contact to veteran to verify repair issue and or diagnose further. The assigned technician will schedule the repair service the same day or in accordance with the Veterans request. The repair will be completely as soon as possible if parts are available . If additional parts are needed, a return data will be set between the Technical and the Veteran to complete the repair. Once completed, the Technician will send documentation back to contract service rep to close the ticket and update the file. The contractor shall complete all repairs within 20 number of days from initiation of authorization unless further authorizations are needed? The contractor shall manage the total work effort associated with the operations, maintenance and repair and all other services herein to assure fully adequate completion of these requirements. Included in this function are a full range of management duties including, but not limited to scheduling, report preparations, establishing and maintaining records and quality control. The contractor shall provide adequate staff with necessary expertise to assure the performance of the work for the requirement is met. The contractor may provide a subcontractor(s) entity other than themselves to provide maintenance and repair services on mobility devices. If so, the contractor shall ensure that the subcontractor(s) is an acceptable third-party service with certifications and qualifications to maintain and repair the various mobility products to manufacturer OEM standards. The VA will review and approve of the contractor s subcontracting plan. Task 1 Customer Service Contact Center/Repair Reporting Operations: CLN 0001 The contractor shall provide and maintain a robust and scalable already established enterprise wide Commercial off the shelf (COTS) customer contact service operations and system (hardware, software and accessories) for repairs for medically prescribed wheeled mobility devices to eligible and verified Veterans off the Master Equipment list. The contractor shall manage and coordinate mobility device repairs services and resolve the repair issues through commercial standards (e.g. customer communication, safety, staff management plans) and agreed to VA processes (e.g. ROES, IVR scripts). The contractor shall provide and maintain turnkey service of telephone representatives, Automated Data Processing (ADP) and telecom equipment and network services, including call processing equipment, and facilities and network services for the purpose of responding to incoming calls and accepting repair claims related to the medically prescribed wheeled mobility devices. Services shall include a customer contact service center with an electronic computer application/method that allows for the initiation, issuance, monitoring, closing and billing of individual repair tickets by individual VA beneficiaries or VA staff. The system shall be adequately sized and equipped to handle fluctuations in the volume of inquiries received. The system shall be configured such that it can easily be expanded to accommodate growth in call volume; electronic and written inquiries, electronic transactions, automated voice responses and FAQ services; knowledge base; inquiry tracking; data storage and retrieval; automatic fax-back; and other affected areas. The systems shall have adequate backup capability to maximize availability and reliability of all services. This system shall have the capability to provide reporting to the VA on number of voice calls or digital tickets opened and closed, repair tickets issued, items repaired, repair tickets closed and final repair service invoiced associated with VA beneficiary. The system should have the ability to provide reporting of excessive repairs, or repairs that would exceed the value of the medical equipment. The system shall be secure and meet all applicable VA IT rules and regulations, HIPPA compliance, Privacy Act rules and PHI regulations in accordance to VA Contract Security Policies (VA 6500). A Business Associate Agreement shall be signed upon award. See Appendix ? for more information as directed in Section H Special Requirements. All facilities provided shall conform to the requirements set forth in Section ? of the base contract and must be located within the Continental United States of America as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Minimum Technical Requirement for Task 1: The contractor shall provide a multifaceted customer contact service center in which Veteran beneficiaries or VA Clinical Staff can coordinate repair services by OEM or OEM qualified technicians with and onsite repair through HIPAA compliant digital applications (web or mobile) or toll-free voice services in English and Spanish. Shall be staffed with qualified personnel in sufficient quantities to meet the contract requirements to include project manager, contact center supervisor, customer service representatives, repair coordination supervisor, and any other support staff (see Section E Instructions to the Offerors for more detailed information). The contractor shall ensure that the staff has the appropriate qualifications and skills required to perform the task and meet minimum qualifications set forth in the contract. The contractor shall provide all recruiting, screening, hiring, and monitoring of staff for the project. The contractor shall comply to all Federal Privacy Act and HIPAA requirements involving the employment of staff. Refer to the VA Policy HIPPA/PRIVACY Training: The contractor shall have supervisors and/or other qualified personnel monitor each customer service representative s performance for quality assurance and appropriate coaching per a government supplied monitoring plan. Industry accepted customer service standards will be followed. A monitoring evaluation form will be used for this purpose. Shall be section 508 compliant (see Section ?) Shall be operational 24/7, 365 days of calendar year. Shall service approximately 1,000 of calls daily or more Shall provide commercial Interactive Voice Response (IVR) script for customer contact that will be reviewed and approved by VA. IVR script with scenarios for handling increased call volumes with prolonged hold times due to inclement weather, contracted system outages or other unplanned outages. IVR scripts should have at least 2 language options English and Spanish. Shall maintain and operate telephony and digital systems and equipment in full operational order to include timely and effective customer support. The contractor shall provide and maintain all necessary telecommunications equipment and services to support the specified number of agents, to include appropriate hardware and software and back-up systems, and will immediately report any problems to VA that cause or could potentially cause service disruptions. The contractor shall provide and maintain an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) switch sufficient to support all traffic and queues for the specified number of agents and associated telephone sets and headsets with appropriate hardware and software support to meet estimate call loads. The contractor shall provide to VA the telephone number, mobile app download and website URL within 10 15 business days upon award. The contractor shall develop, maintain and utilize a quality control plan that meets the VA s approval (can be commercial ISO standards) . Service Calls, Authorization, Eligibility Determination for Repair Services: The VA will provide the Master Equipment list with Veteran Eligibility information of the Veterans who are eligible based upon the VA Prosthetics program guidelines. The contractor shall be responsible for verifying Veteran eligibility using the Master Equipment list and issuing repair orders once eligibility is determined. The VA will provide process flow as guidance in conjunction with the Repair Approval list to the contractor to allow for continuity of service. The contractor authorization of repair ticket shall include the following information in contractor commercial system: Veteran Full Name, Address, Mobility Equipment Chassis Serial Number Description of Repair Problem or Repair Type Date of Repair Request Date of Repair Services completed Description of Actions taken to resolve repair (replaced parts, realigned seat etc.) . Contractor/Subcontract Name, Address, Phone who completed repair Contractor Point of Contact Information for questions from VA. This authorization shall always accompany invoice. The contractor shall be responsible for verification of Veteran Eligibility to participate in Repair services under this contract, in accordance to the Performance Work Statement Section? Customer Contact Center and Customer Service Requirement: The contractor shall provide proactive customer service in an acceptable quality manner in accordance with Attachment ? - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) as defined by elements below: Maintain and operate a contact service center for VA staff and Veteran Beneficiaries to request repair services. Quality Control Plan (QCP).  The contractor is responsible for ensuring services are performed in accordance with PWS requirements. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor shall be required to develop and submit a QCP to the COR for Government approval within 30 days of Award. The QCP shall outline how performance issues will be remedied or addressed (i.e. performance improvement plans, suspensions, reprimands and/or terminations).  Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A robust courteous CRM program, including planning, scheduling, tracking and control activities involved with customer repair services, to include customer support by going through manufacture recommended pre-diagnosis and or remote diagnosis and evaluation for identification of repair issue through the multifaceted platform. The contractor shall be required to develop and submit a Customer Communication Plan to document the approach to communicating with the Veteran Beneficiary as approved by VA. The plan shall be delivered to the VA in accordance to Schedule of Deliverables. The Communications Plan must detail the key messages that must be articulated to the Veteran stakeholders, as well as the timing associated with the delivery of those messages. In addition, the Communications Plan must contain the desired outcomes for the communications, as well as the vehicles for communications distribution. The contractor shall produce and provide a card/sticker/pamphlet for Veterans which include information on how to request a repair. In addition, the contractor shall print/distribute the materials after VA approval is granted. The VA will provide the contractor with Veteran Information. The contractor shall not market Repair services to ineligible Veteran s or those not identified eligible by the VA. All publications and materials about the repair services will be created with and approved by the VA via Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer Representative. Data Management Services: Data Management services tasks necessitate the contractor to track service events through their entire life cycle of the mobility device and communicate information related to on-going and completed service events. Such communication shall take the form of an access-controlled web site, telephony system, mobile apps, service request forms, weekly (or real time) and monthly reports, and or some other near real time process. Data Management Services activities include, but are not limited to: Digital and Telephony Interface systems for internal VA users and external Veteran users. Digital interface customizing VA IT and Clinical Staff preferences relative to contract requirements through contractor portal or SharePoint on Reports on real time data on repair tickets through initial contact to billing after repair completion, tracking and identifying trends in all repair types, manufacturing quality issues, reporting to VA staff for recalls, and of repair trends of unusual or of significant nature. Provide a toll-free phone line for VA Staff use only. Reporting Requirements: The contractor shall provide a mechanism for VA Clinical staff to obtain service history, service activities, and service status of the mobility device for the life of the contract. The repair data should be easily tracked, recorded and transferable (e.g. spreadsheet format). Representative activities in support of the services include, but are not limited to: The contractor shall provide the VA with reporting that shall include, but not limited to: Monthly financial reports with number of repairs ordered. Number of repairs completed, and number of repairs cancelled with associated costs, Monthly maintenance and repair trend analysis reports: Veteran Repair Trend analysis: This report should focus on repairs that are reoccurring with veteran. Monthly Maintenance and Repair: This report is a summary of the repairs completed to include the tracking and reporting of declined repairs to ineligible veterans. Monthly invoice report with government issued ROES Purchase order (P.O.) number and assigned invoice number Quarterly Customer satisfaction and Quality Control report The contractor shall provide the ability to look up current status of service performed for an eligible Veteran and the associated cost. The contractor shall provide the ability to trace the service history of the mobility devices repaired. All reports shall be submitted electronically to the VA Point of Contact, Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer Representative. The Contractor shall maintain the Master Equipment List/Eligible Veteran List and support the VA in facilitating a flexible streamline process for updating the list. Initiate Repair Tickets in accordance to process flow with data elements captured for services requested includes at a minimum: Request Date Veteran Name, Address, Phone, VAMC Location Original Equipment Manufacture Name, Model and Serial Number Repair Issue Description of Issue Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Assigned Information Task 2 - Repair Service The contractor shall provide OEM, OEM qualified or approved third-party technician services related to the operational maintenance, and repair of mobility devices. Where applicable, all persons employed in the repair of wheeled mobility products shall have appropriate state, or local licenses or credentials prior to performing work. The contractor shall furnish all qualified/certified personnel, labor, materials, parts, tools, equipment, supervision and oversight required to perform maintenance and repair services in accordance to manufacture standards to ensure acceptable continual operations of the mobility devices. The contractor shall be knowledgeable of the equipment, parts and components that are covered by manufacture warranty and the duration of such manufacturer warranties. All defects in material or workmanship shall be reported via repair ticket. The contractor shall always have available: a sufficient number of OEM, OEM qualified and or approved third-party technicians with an on-site response time (service level) of three (3) business days or less for repairs after initial contact established. Approved Third -Party Service Provided In some cases, the OEM may approve a commercial entity other than themselves to provide maintenance and repair services on specified mobility product. If so, this entity is an acceptable third-party service provider with certification from the OEM of their qualifications to maintain and repair that OEM s products. Acceptable Continual Operations of Mobility Device performance is defined as: Performance specification set by the OEM for that mobility device. Performance specifications defined in a method standard operating procedure for a method validated for that type of mobility product. Minimum Technical Requirement for Task 2: Service Repair Technician to make initial contact with Veteran Beneficiary requesting repair within 2 hours of authorization method to customer contact center to complete an assessment in accordance to manufacture specifications. Service Repair Technical will minimally attempt at least 2 phone calls to establish repair assessment. Service technicians shall initiate field service report to include estimated time to complete repair work, price of labor and any parts to be replaced with prices. Rental of Wheeled Mobility Product: The contractor shall provide a loaner chair only after VHA authorization. The loaner will need to be significantly similar to veteran beneficiary s current chair that needs repair until repairs are completed. Rental fees for the loaner chair will cover the cost of maintenance, repairs, replacements, adjustments, supplies, and accessories. Rental fees also include equipment delivery services and set-up. Payment of eligible fees will begin the day of delivery of the device and end on the day of pick up from the Veteran. Replacement of the rental equipment may occur when the rented item is irreparably damaged, or if replacement is required during repair and/or maintenance of a specific item. Monthly rental fees allow for the replacement costs and are not eligible for separate reimbursement. Replacement or repair of an item that has been misused or abused by the member or member s caregiver will be the responsibility of the member. The CO will determine payment to the contractor if negligence is determined to be the fault if the member. Complete repairs based upon established approved repair list in attachment? In accordance to manufacturer specifications and guidance provided in user/service manuals The contractor shall refer to Attachment Automatic Repair Approval List for reference on how to proceed with repair. Parts: The contractor shall furnish and replace all parts to meet PWS requirements. The contractor shall not use unapproved or gray market parts for replacement. The contractor shall not complete repair if the original manufactures parts not being accessible or able to be purchase due to age of equipment; thus, requiring the installation of new or improved equipment or modifications to existing equipment. The contractor shall contact VA to receive further direction. Equipment Cleaning/Disinfecting (Wheeled Mobility Devices) The Contractor shall sanitize all durable medical equipment with an appropriate disinfectant solution that meets Joint Commission, CMS, CDC and/or manufacturer disinfectant standards for durable medical equipment. Cleaning is preliminary to disinfecting. The manual process usually involves surface cleaning to remove gross soil from the object and reduce the number of microorganisms for the object to a level, which is considered safe for human use. The Contractor shall disinfect/sanitize according to one of the following: Joint Commission Infection Control (IC) Standards; Manufacturers established guidelines; Company s policies and procedures in line with manufacturers guidelines and Department of Veterans Affairs guidelines on reusable medical equipment. Also, incorporated US Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1910 (Dated July 1, 1998). Title 29 CFR, Part 1910 may be viewed at the internet web-site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-serach.html#page1 The Contractor shall ensure that returned wheeled mobility devices shall be thoroughly cleaned and dried to prevent corrosion/rusting before reissue utilizing sound infection control techniques. Clean plastic sheeting should cover all clean equipment. Contaminated equipment placed in the same vehicle shall be separated from the clean to avoid cross contamination (i.e., curtain in vehicle or wall). MINIMUM WARRANTY REQUIREMENTS Warranty terms, the offeror shall provide the terms of any warranty covering the offered repair services for review by Government. Please Note: The warranty requirements listed in the minimum technical requirements are considered minimum, unless otherwise stated. If the manufacture s standard warranty exceeds the specified warranty, the manufacturer standard warranty will apply. An offeror s warranty terms that are unfavorable or places greater restrictions on the Government than stated in FAR 52.212-4(o) will not be accepted. The Contractor shall provide a ...