RFQ: 36C246-20-Q-1050 MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS Request for Quote for Dairy Products and Fruit Flavored Drink for delivery to the Hampton and Salem VA Medical Centers Nutrition and Food Service. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Government reserves the right to make no award from this solicitation. This is a Request for Quote (RFQ). The government anticipates awarding a firm-fixed price contract resulting from this solicitation. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-95. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 311511 with a small business size standard of 1000 employees. This solicitation is an Unrestricted for Large and Small Businesses. Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 6, is soliciting offers from Large and Small Businesses to provide Milk & Dairy Products to the Multiple VISN 6 VA Medical Centers. Respondents to this solicitation must fully demonstrate their capability by supplying detailed quote information along with any other documents necessary to support the requirements below. The deadline for quotes is 12 Noon EST, September 22, 2020. They shall be submitted to [email protected]. DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/WORK STATEMENT This is an estimated yearly quantity order for delivery of fresh Milk and Dairy Products to the VA Medical Centers Nutrition and Food Services, at Hampton, Richmond, and Salem, Virginia (VAMC). Delivery addresses may be found in Section D of this solicitation. Deliveries are estimated at four to five times weekly to each VAMC. Period of performance for the base year is 10/01/2020 through 09/30/2021; two (2) renewal option years are anticipated, however, not guaranteed. Method of payment will be a Certified Invoice billed monthly, submitted electronically in arrears. Nutrition and Food Services staff at each VAMC will phone in delivery orders to Contractor. Contractor shall indicate cut-off time for calling in normal deliveries; normal to be determined by the Contractor and the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR). Deliveries will be made on Monday through Friday of each week, depending upon the individual order placed. NOTE: All prices submitted shall be inclusive of delivery charges. Delivery charges shall not be separately priced. A. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS FOR MILK/DAIRY PRODUCTS 1. All fluid Milk and Dairy products shall comply with State and local laws, regulations or requirements, and have sufficient remaining shelf life commensurate with the Commercial Item Descriptions (CID). Salient Characteristics, Regulatory Requirements, Quality Assurance Provisions, and Packaging, shall be as specified in Commercial Item Descriptions A-A-20338, available upon request to Contracting Officer or at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/fvqual.htm (type CID A-A-20338 into the search box). Delivery Orders will be placed by personnel from Nutrition & Food Services, all of whom will be designated at time of award. B. PACKAGING, PACKING, AND LABELING All packaging and packing shall be in accordance with good commercial practice. Labeling shall be in accordance with commercial labeling complying with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder. All items shall be identified with readable dates (open code dates), or coded dates. Contractors who do not use open dating will provide a product code number key listing to the facility. The product code number key listing shall explain the actual date of production or processing. Copies of key-codes will be furnished to the destination receiving officer and destination inspection agency with the first delivery. Failure to comply with this requirement will render a contract in default and grounds for termination. Unless otherwise specified, preservation, packaging, and packing shall be to a degree of protection to preclude damage to containers and/or contents thereof under normal shipping conditions, handling, etc., and shall conform to normal commercial practices and applicable carrier rules and regulations involving shipment from the contractor to the receiving activity for storage. Shipping containers shall be in compliance with National Motor Freight Classification and Uniform Freight classification (issue in effect at time of shipment). C. SANITATION AND WORKMANSHIP Items shall be prepared, processed and packed under sanitary conditions and in accordance with good commercial practice. All containers shall be clean, sound, and securely covered or sealed to provide adequate protection from dirt or other contamination. 1. Compliance with Federal Laws and Regulations: All deliveries shall conform in every respect to the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder. 2. All items furnished under this contract shall be prepared, processed and packed under sanitary conditions in accordance with good commercial practice and approved standards established by the Food and Drug Administration. All containers shall be clean, sound and securely covered or sealed to provide adequate protection from dirt, filth, and all other contamination. Chilled and frozen items shall be maintained at temperatures necessary for the preservation of the product. D. INSPECTION OF PLANTS An inspection may be made of the premises and employees of the offeror, prior to award of contract, and conditions found will be considered in awarding the contract. Inspection may also be made at any time during the life of the contract and, if it is found that the contractor is not complying with specifications, deliveries will be rejected and products covered by this contractor will be procured in the open market. Additional cost incurred by this action will be charged against the contractor s account. The VA Contracting Officer or his/her designee reserves the right to inspect the Contractors premises at any time during the life of the contract. A pre-award, on-site visit to inspect the manufacturing plant, personnel, process and packaging equipment and premises in order to verify compliance with all applicable Federal and State mandatory requirements and regulations relating to the preparation, packaging, labeling, storage, distribution, and sales of the products with the commercial marketplace may be performed by the Government prior to the contract award. If the plant of the apparent lowest price offeror does not meet specification or is not acceptable, the offer will be rejected. Contractor must provide a copy of last inspection report with offer package and provide updates as inspections occur during period of performance. E. REPORTS Contractor shall provide a report summarizing the total amount by line item delivered, the unit cost of each line item, and the total dollars delivered each quarter, specific to each Medical Center. The report shall be provided to the Contracting Officer and his/her Representative (COR). In the event that the Contractor utilizes the services of a sub-contractor(s) for deliveries, the Prime Contractor will be responsible for gathering the required information for submission to the Contracting Officer at each respective VA Medical Center. This solicitation requires registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information is at www.sam.gov. This is an open-market combined synopsis/solicitation for services as defined herein. The government intends to award a purchase order as a result of this combined synopsis/solicitation that will include the terms and conditions set forth herein. To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s). Evaluation of Quotes: The Government will select the quote that represents the best benefit to the Government at a price that can be determined reasonable. The Government will evaluate price, technical capabilities, and past performance. Following receipt of quotes, the Government will perform an evaluation using a comparative analysis of the services quoted. The Government will compare quotes to one another to select the service that best benefits the Government by fulfilling the requirement. The evaluation of Government requirements outlined in this request for quote will determine suitability. Contractors may submit more than one quote; however, contractors are strongly encouraged to submit their best technical solutions and prices in response to this request for quote. Once the Government determines there is/are a contractor(s) that can provide a service that meet(s) the requirements of this request for quote, the Government reserves the right to communicate with only those contractors quoting the best-suited service to address any remaining issues. The Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that a quote is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). END OF SOW The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) clauses and provisions are applicable to this acquisition and are available for view at: http://farsite.hill.af.mil/. The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov FAR and VAAR Clauses / Solicitation Provisions: 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting 52.204-17 Ownership or Control of Offeror 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items Addendum to 52.212-1 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items Addendum to 52.212-4 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising 852.232-70 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests 852.237-78 Performance and Delivery Performance and Delivery (OCT 2019) (a) The Contractor shall furnish the material ordered and perform the services specified as promptly as possible, but not later than 36 hours after receiving notification to remove the remains, excluding the time necessary for the Government to inspect and check results of preparation. (b) The Government may, at no additional charge, require the Contractor to hold the remains for an additional period not to exceed 72 hours from the time the remains are casketed, and final inspection is completed. 852.246.70 Guarantee 852.246-71 Inspection (End of Clause)