This RFI is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any contract award be made because of this synopsis.
All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is not binding to the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes,” is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes.
I. Description:
DLA Troop Support hereby issues the following Sources Sought/Request for Information (RFI) to ascertain the level of interest of potential vendors desiring to provide logistics support for commercial metals items in Federal Supply Class (FSC) 4710, 9505, 9510, 9515, 9520, 9525, 9530, 9535, and 9540 ordered by DLA customers. The requirements covered include, but are not limited to aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, copper, brass, titanium, nickel and nickel alloys; and other industrial metals in various forms, such as: wire, plate, sheet, strip, bar, angle, extrusions, pipe, tube, and any other shape required by the ordering activities, within the aforementioned Federal Supply Classes (FSCs). All items are commercial products and are to conform to manufacturer commercial specifications. From Fiscal Year (FY) 22 through FY24, DLA issued awards for approximately 8,950 lines of metals products worth an estimated $153M.
II. Contractor Responsibilities
The Contractor shall be responsible for supplying various types of metals products including, but not limited to, FSCs 4710, 9505, 9510, 9515, 9520, 9525, 9530, 9535, and 9540 to military commands, federal agencies, and other authorized DLA customers through Customer Direct, FOB Destination shipments within the continental United States (CONUS), Customer Direct shipments to Alaska and Hawaii, and shipments to Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) customers worldwide through Container Consolidation Points (CCPs) within the CONUS. The top ordering activities are Aberdeen Proving Ground, Anniston Army Depot, Letterkenny Army Depot, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Naval Sea Systems Command (NSWC) Carderock, Marine Depot Maintenance Command (MDMC) Albany, Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) Norfolk, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane, Picatinny Arsenal, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Rock Island Arsenal, and Tobyhanna Army Depot.
III. Questions
Based on the above scope of effort DLA Troop Support is requesting the following information:
1. Does your firm have business alliances sufficient to support this requirement in its entirety (ability to supply products in all identified FSCs)?
2. Shipments of metal products in the aforementioned FSCs will be Customer Direct within CONUS, Customer Direct to Alaska and Hawaii, and OCONUS via CONUS CCP’s.
Is your firm willing and able to ship material on a Customer Direct, FOB Destination basis to all of these locations? If not, please explain why.
3. Does your firm, or any of the manufacturing facilities/mills you partner with normally stock items within the identified FSCs above (raw materials, common lengths of commercially requested pre-cut materials)?
4. Does your firm own or lease any warehouses to stock metals products? If so, where are they located, and what is the square footage?
5. Will your firm be able to provide transportation for this material or employ a carrier to do so? Does your firm, or your firms employed carrier(s) have access to various transportation methods (land, sea, air, rail)?
6. DLA anticipates a required delivery of 10 days for routine deliveries, 24 hours to 10 days for urgent deliveries, and 24 hours for emergency deliveries. Will your firm be able to meet these delivery requirements for all identified delivery locations? If not, please provide the realistic delivery requirements your firm can meet for routine deliveries, urgent deliveries and emergency deliveries.
7. If the Government wishes to use an option to extend the term of the contract, a pricing mechanism for the option year(s) would be included in any award resulting from the Solicitation.
Would your firm be able to provide pricing on the items for a base contract year(s) and any option year(s)? For example: could your firm provide pricing past a two-year base contract period for two (2) eighteen-month periods, or, for up to four (4) two-year option periods? If no, please state why.
8. What capabilities/resources would your firm utilize to efficiently manage these items?
9. What risks does your firm associate with this effort and how would your firm mitigate those risks?
10. Does your firm currently hold, or has your firm had any long-term contracts with the government and/or commercial customers? If yes, please describe (i.e. contract number, contract type, length, dollar value, delivery location(s), types of materials provided, etc.)
If your firm has not held any long-term contracts, what types of purchasing agreements has your firm held? Who are your major customers, e.g. retailers, industrial accounts, commercial accounts? Please identify customer/business names and delivery locations.
11. Is there any other feedback that you could provide relevant to this initiative?
Responses should include:
- Company Name, Cage Code, Company Address, and Place of Performance Address
- Point of contact, including name, title, phone, and email address
- Size of company and number of employees
- Whether the business is classified as a Large Business, Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, HUBZone Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, or Women-Owned Small Business
- Whether your firm is a manufacturer or dealer/distributor
