65--Industry Day Invitation – Custom Power Wheelchairs Group 3 & Group 4 Build

This RFI is issued solely for Industry Day Announcement and does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP). This notice 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 sources sought notice. 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. Subject: Industry Day Invitation Custom Power Wheelchairs Group 3 & Group 4 Build This is in follow up to our Request for Information 36C79119Q0004 of November 20, 2018. Thank you for agreeing to participate in an important initiative to assist Department of Veteran Affairs in performing market research related to the Custom-Built Power Wheelchairs. Industry has been asked to participate in the federal marketplace in providing Custom Power Wheelchairs Group 3 & Group 4 Build. I would like to personally thank you for agreeing to take part in this effort. 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. A joint meeting, with representatives from Department of Veteran Affairs and your company has been scheduled for July 23, 2019 to July 24, 2019 at the Denver Logistic Center located in Golden, Colorado. Given the operations focus of the market research being conducted, we request that your team be comprised primarily of program management, information technology specialist or technical expert and operations personnel. Of course, business development and sales personnel are welcome at your discretion. However, we do request that the majority of the team attending have operational expertise. We encourage you to bring new innovative manufactured samples of the past 6 months or any samples or examples of best practices and performance metrics and measurements that you feel would be pertinent to the project. To assist you in preparing for this market research session, I am attaching an overview of the upcoming requirement. I do want to emphasize that these market research sessions are not competitions. The information obtained from the sessions will be used to improve the government s knowledge of private industry s capabilities. No evaluation of participating contractors will occur and your participation in the sessions is not a promise of future business with Department of Veteran Affairs. No contract will be awarded from these meetings. It is our intent that formal competitive packages will be developed using information gathered from these market research sessions. The government will evaluate proposals and award any contractual documents in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation processes and procedures. Please RSVP with the contract specialist Star Yeo (contact@example.gov) and the number of attendees. If you would like to have a one on one session with VA Team please indicate in the response, a time will be scheduled for Wednesday for a 30 minute block. Again, I appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a meaningful and very productive session. If you have any questions regarding the meeting, please contact me at contact@example.gov