DLA Troop Support 700 ROBBINS AVENUE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19111-5092 IN REPLY REFER TO DLA Troop Support- FQBC (Baotran Dao 215-737-7249; email:
[email protected]) August 25, 2014 SUBJECT: Market Research Item 1: Shirt, Fireman's, Yellow, PGC#04004, NSN 8415-00-233-5818 - AEQ:34,080 Item 2: Pants, FR, Aramid, Sage Green, Type I, PGC#04003, NSN 8415-01-464-2282 - AEQ:53,320 Item 3: Pants, FR, Aramid, Spruce Green, Type II, PGC# 04005, NSN 8415-01-559-3540 - AEQ:9,792 The DLA Troop Support is conducting market research on the above items to determine an acquisition strategy that will enhance our support of military customers worldwide as well as to determine what your industry will be capable of providing with respect to the required item(s). For this reason, DLA Troop Support would appreciate your firm sharing your expertise and insight into how these items can be most efficiently procured. DLA Troop Support anticipates issuing a solicitation for the referenced item(s) under an Indefinite Quantity Contract. The contract may be for a term of one year. Further, it may contain an option to extend the term of the contract. If an option to extend the term of the contract provision is included in the solicitation, each option term would be one year. However, the total contract term will not exceed four years. The answer to the questions concerning pricing will be one of the factors that will help the Government to determine the term of the contract. It should be noted that this inquiry, in no way, should be interpreted as a solicitation for offers. No information provided in response to this inquiry will be considered binding between the vendor and the Government. With these facts in mind, it is requested that you review the item(s) listed above and answer the questions on the attached pages. The answers you provide will remain confidential. Please return this survey to Baotran Dao by September 5, 2014 via email at
[email protected], phone: (215) 737-7249. NOTE: This is a MARKET RESEARCH SURVEY, NOT A REQUEST FOR A BID/PROPOSAL. Please review the following pages and provide a current market price. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Baotran Dao Acquisition Specialist These items shall be third party certified as being in compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1977, Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Fire Fighting. Proof of this certification shall be presented at the time of First Article submission. A prerequisite for NFPA 1977 certification includes ISO 9001 certification. Suggested sources for NFPA 1977 certification include: Underwriters Laboratory at http://www.UL.com Safety Equipment Institute at http://www.seinet.org An approved Certification Organization shall certify that the item meets the requirements of NFPA 1977. The contractor shall provide all required materials, garments, and information to the Certification Organization to permit such certification. The cost of certification is the contractor's responsibility. Any change to place of performance, design or materials may require recertification. Any changes after an item has been NFPA certified shall be presented to DLA Troop Support and the NFPA certification agency for evaluation. Trailer info applies to both Shirts and Pants 1. Commerciality: (a) Is the item(s) commercial or modified commercial in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101? For example: is the item of a type used by the general public; sold or offered for sale to the general public? Is the modification of a type available in the commercial market place? (b) If the answer to (a) is no, does your firm deal in commercial products that would be comparable to the item(s) required and/or can they be used in lieu of these items? If so, could you provide examples? (c) Are you aware of a commercial item available in the market place that you could manufacture with minor modification to meet government requirements? 2. Item(s) Required: (a) Is the item(s) made of any type of material that is a major cost driver? For example, is the item made of {list major materials, ie, leather, nylon, etc.} (b) Does any part of the item(s) consist of foreign material? If yes, what material and where is it manufactured. (c) Does your firm normally stock this item(s)? (1) If yes, how many are on hand at any given time? (2) If no, would your firm be willing to stock this item(s)? (3) If your firm is willing to stock this item(s), would you need a stocking-up period? If so, how many days would be required to stock-up? (d) If you are a manufacturer, what is the production rate for these item(s)? How many item(s) can be produced at a time? Is the manufacturing process a batch process or a continuous process? (e) What is the minimum monthly production quantity required to be economically producible? (f) What is the maximum monthly production quantity without incurring additional costs? 3. Delivery: (a) Can you deliver item(s) to military customers throughout the US (direct vendor delivery) as well as to stock points (generally Mechanicsburg, PA and Tracy, CA)? (b) Are there any pricing differences based on delivery locations? For example, delivery to an east coast location would cost less than delivery to a west coast location due to bulk nature of the product. (c) Can you deliver item(s) on a FOB Destination basis? (d) The production lead time associated with this item is 180 days. Is this realistic? Can you provide better terms? Terms _____________ (e) The Government anticipates an annual demand quantity of 34,080 Item 1/53,320 Item 2; 9,792 Item 3. Can you meet this demand? (f) Would your firm be able to ship item(s) in two (2) days for an urgent requirement? Please provide additional information, such as quickest delivery possible, extra costs associated with 2 day shipping, etc. Please provide additional information, such as quickest delivery possible, extra costs associated with two day shipping, etc. 4. Pricing (a) The Government anticipates an annual demand quantity of 34,080 Item 1/53,320 Item 2; 9,792 Item 3. Can you provide a "ballpark" price? (g) What is the material/labor ratio (as it related to costs) for manufacturing this item? (b) Is pricing on item(s) stable or volatile? (c) If the Government wishes to use an option to extend the term of the contract, a pricing mechanism for the option year(s) needs to be included in any resultant contract. (1) Would you be able to provide pricing on the item(s) for the base contract year (1 year) and any option year(s)? That is, could you price items out 2 years, 3 years, 4 years or 5 years? If no, please state why. (2) If the answer to (c) (1) above is no and your firm can only provide pricing for one year, would you be willing to accept an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA), which would allow the Government to adjust the base contract price to achieve a revised contract unit price for an option year(s)? The EPA is based on a formula that is generally tied to the Producer Price Index and is limited to a 10% annual increase. (d) Do you have a minimum ordering quantity and/or dollar value that you require for an individual order and if so what would that quantity and/or dollar value be? (e) Do you have a maximum ordering quantity and/or dollar value that you require for an individual order, and if so what would that quantity and/or dollar value be? (f) Are there price breaks for this item(s)? If so, what are the quantity break points? (g) How do you set prices for your customers? Do you have volume discounts or valued customer discounts? How would pricing be set for this item(s)? 5. Quality/Warranty/Returns: (a) Do you have any commercial warranties? If not, please explain what your standard warranty plan is for the items that you sell. (b) What is your commercial practice for returns (items damaged upon delivery, incorrect orders, etc.)? (c) Do you use/have industry standards for product quality or safety? If yes, please list. (d) Do you inspect products for resale at time of receipt? If yes, who performs the inspections (i.e, individual, department)? 6. Company Description: (a) Are you a large or small business? (Small business being defined as a firm that employs less than 500 people) (b) Are you a manufacturer? If so, would you be willing to provide an offer? If not, do you have an authorized dealer/distributor? (c) If you are a dealer/distributor, would you be willing to provide an offer? If not, do you have an authorized dealer/distributor? (d) Who are your major customers, e.g. retailers, industrial accounts, commercial accounts? (e) Do you have any long-term contracts (up to 5 years) with your customers and/or suppliers for the same or similar items? (f) Are you familiar with LTC Procedures: If yes, please describe. If no, please explain why, e.g., pricing too volatile, no interest. 7. First Article Requirements (if applicable): a. The Government typically requires 30 days for the manufacture and delivery of the first article for this item. Is this an adequate amount of time for this item given the ordering and receipt of components? b. If not, please provide a more appropriate amount of time and provide the reasons why you need the additional time. c. The production lead time (PLT) for this item is 180 days. Given the 30 day delivery time and additional 30 days for government testing, would delivery within the PLT be affected? 7. Miscellaneous: (a) Can your company accommodate a Surge Requirement in which your company would be required to satisfy requirements for emergency situations (i.e., ramp up to meet early requirements (surge) and/or requirements that may exceed estimated annual quantities)? (b) Delivery orders issued under any resultant contract will be communicated to your company by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Does your firm have EDI capabilities? If not, do you plan on establishing EDI capabilities in the near future? (c) Do you have access to and/or are you registered on Defense Logistics Agency's DLA internet Bid Board System DIBBS (at https:www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil)? (d) If item is commercial, any anticipated Request for Proposal (RFP) may only allow 2 weeks between issue date and closing/due date. Can you respond to an RFP in this timeframe? (e) Is your company registered in the System for Award Management (SAM)? (Registration is mandatory prior to receiving any award from DLA Troop Support)