SOURCES SOUGHT
75 -- BLANKET PURCHASE AGREEMENTS FOR PURCHASE OF OFFICE PRODUCTS
- Notice Date
- 3/24/2003
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- ACA, South Region Contracting Center, 1301 Anderson Way SW, Fort McPherson, GA 30330-1096
- ZIP Code
- 30330-1096
- Solicitation Number
- DABK01-03-R-0000
- Archive Date
- 6/24/2003
- Point of Contact
- Janie Wright, 404-464-4104
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to ACA, South Region Contracting Center
(wrightja@forscom.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NA On 1 October 2002, the Army mandated the use of a group of blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) for the purchase of office products. The primary goals of the BPA initiative are to ensure that office product purchases are in compliance with the statutory pre ferences afforded to products manufactured under the Javits-Wagner-O?Day (JWOD) Act and to capture economies of scale. A total of twelve vendors received BPAs. The BPAs were tied to current federal supply schedules issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) and each vendor is an authorized JWOD distributor for office products. All CONUS Army users are now requir ed to purchase office products through the BPAs. However, Army installations with an onsite self-service supply store must use the store as their first option to obtain JWOD office products. To the maximum extent practicable, BPA purchases must be made t hrough the DoD E-Mall at https://emall.prod.dodonline.net/scripts/emLogon.asp. Army customers place orders using the Government-wide Purchase Card. The Army is now considering the issuance of additional BPAs and is also addressing problems and questions identified during the first several months of BPA use. Therefore, to assist with further planning strategies, the Army is seeking input from current BPA holders as well as additional vendors who are interested in future business opportunities regarding office products. Specific issues of concern include: 1. Use of E-MALL. The Army?s goal is to track individual purchases made by purchase card holders down to the product level and to track statistics for all socio-economic business categories we are mandated to report such as Small Business, HUB Zone, Sma ll Disadvantaged Business, Veteran Owned Business, Woman Owned Business, Native American and other socio-economic categories. This will enable us to analyze spending patterns and to measure our performance against these socio-economic criteria. Ancillary goals are to limit the number of hours Army cardholders spend with sales staff, and limit access to Army bases for security considerations. Therefore we intend to mandate that, to the maximum extent practicable, all orders be placed through the BPAs on the E-MALL, and to severely limit or restrict any orders placed directly with BPA holders, either through sales staff, telephonic, or direct web site. 2. Delivery. The current BPAs require delivery within 24 hours of order placement. Please provide your assessment as to whether a requirement for 24-hour delivery is unreasonable and whether the Army could save money by using a 3-4 day basic delivery re quirement. What is the industry standard? Would a delivery plan that includes additional fees for expedited delivery be more economical than a standard 24-hour delivery requirement? Should zip codes or other geographic mechanisms be a consideration in d elivery requirements? If so, please recommend a method you feel would be most effective, 3. Minimum Orders. Is a minimum order amount a significant concern for vendors? If so, what is an appropriate dollar amount? 4. Charges to Customer Purchase Card. Due to administrative procedures surrounding the Government-wide Purchase Card, separate charges resulting from split deliveries cause additional work for cardholders. The Army?s objective in the new round of BPAs i s to reduce tracking, administrative burden, and paperwork for purchase card holders who use the BPAs. Split orders with split charges to the card, for example, could result in order dollar values below some ?minimum?, and potentially result in order rej ection or duplicate shipping charges. The Army plans to include a provision to require that only complete orders be shipped OR that a single charge be applied to the credit card for the entire shipment, regardless of whether origin is single or multiple p oint, and even if time-phased shipments are made against a single order. From an industry perspective, what are the pros and cons of this proposal? Please make recommendations as to the most effective method(s) to achieve this objective? 5. Pricing and Discounts. The Army?s objective is to achieve the maximum possible discount from BPA vendors for total dollar volume ordered. This, we believe, can be achieved via initial discounts from GSA Schedule pricing, and a schedule of additional discounts that will become effective as the total dollar volume ordered under an individual BPA reaches certain thresholds. These discounts would then be applied to the pricing in the E-MALL catalog. Volume discounts would remain in effect for the life o f the BPA and potentially for follow on BPAs. Pricing is a significant customer concern and the Army intends to assure that BPA prices are competitive with best open market prices or special contract terms and conditions offered to customers with similar buying volume. It is critical that the Army provide customers with the best quality, delivery and pricing available. What advice can industry provide to effectively structure a discount system that will work effectively to achieve the Army?s goals? Wha t is the best way to apply quantity discounts for combined Army purchasing power? What are the specific risks from an industry perspective that would arise as a result of this approach, and specifically, of any alternative solution industry proposes? Pl ease include specifics as to the structure and mechanism proposed. 6. Prepriced Items. The Army is considering the potential benefits of pre-pricing some of the most popular office products. If we elect to do this, we may mandate that only vendors who are very competitive in their pricing of these products (one or more ) will receive BPAs that cover these ?pre-priced? items. What challenges would industry foresee in administering such a program? What issues should be considered and addressed before such a decision is made? 7. Javits-Wagner O?Day Act Compliance. It is the unambiguous purpose of the Army to assure that orders placed under these comply with JWOD Act. What challenges do vendors face regarding JWOD issues? Can vendors readily identify and differentiate betw een mandatory JWOD products and JWOD-produced products in the E-MALL catalog? Are there pricing or delivery issues with JWOD products that should be raised to the JWOD committee? 8. Potential Awards To Teams Or Business Consortia. It is the Army?s intent to encourage small business teams or consortia to submit proposals as single entities. The goal is to assure uniformity of pricing, reduced administration for the Army, a broad er business base, and improved service for Army customers. We have initially identified potential issues with this approach, such as assuring that small business offerors work with the Small Business Administration to assure that their teaming arrangement does not exclude them from proposing as a small business entity. Also, the Army would not be amendable to managing separate catalogs, shipping terms, etc. for individual members of the consortia or teams. These details would have to be worked directly b etween the BPA holder entity (team or consortium) and the E-MALL technical staff. Please submit written responses to this Request for Information to Ms. Lynn Worsham at the Army Contracting Agency, Southern Region Headquarters, or e-mail Lynn.Worsham@forscom.army.mil. Please indicate interest in future business opportunities for offic e supply products. Include business name and address, business size (NAICS code is 422120 and the small business size standard is 500 employees), and contact information. Responses are due by 25 April 2003.
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACA, South Region Contracting Center 1301 Anderson Way SW, Fort McPherson GA
- Zip Code: 30330-1096
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 30330-1096
- Record
- SN00286327-W 20030326/030324213602 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |