89--Pre-solicitation notice for prime vendor program.

The Tennessee National Guard (TNNG) requires a subsistence prime vendor program for the supply and distribution of food items directly to end users within the State of Tennessee as well as nearby out-ofstate Annual Training sites. The prime vendor m ay be required to deliver rations to the full time dining facilities at Smyrna, Tennessee and the dining facility at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base near Knoxville, Tennessee. The prime vendor will also deliver to unit armory and base locations throug hout the state on the Thursday prior to the units monthly drill. Each unit will have a different account number and the vendor should be able to provide some statistical data on each account or group of accounts. The prime vendor must provide the TNNG a c ustomized web-based ordering program where the end user will enter the number of soldiers to be fed and program will compute the specific items and quantities needed based on a pre-planned menu; This web based program must be compatible with Windows XP and allow the end user to submit their request through an approving official at the United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO) who will approve the order prior to the vendor delivering the requested items. Due to the different number of personnel in eac h unit, the vendor should be able to supply less than case lots when required. Non food items will not be included in this contract. Subsistence items ordered will be mostly raw or uncooked requiring food preparation and or cooking by National Guard person nel. In addition to the monthly drills, called Inactive Duty Training (IDT) each unit normally has two weeks of Annual Training (AT) each year. Some units conduct AT in-state, while most units go out of state to places such as Fort Stewart, GA, Fort Knox, KY, Camp Shelby, MS or Fort Chaffee, AR. The prime vendor should be prepared to support both nearby out-of-state and in-state AT periods. Historically the Tennessee National Guard has purchased approximately $370,000.00 per year in subsistence items based on previous contracts of this type. Award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors. The evaluation factors are price, technical, and past performance. PRICE Offeror shall propose: 1. Unit and extended pricing for each item specified in Appendix D. 2.A single, fixed mark-up rate for the life of the contract to be applied to all products currently identified and any future product addition. This rate shall be proposed in the form of a percentage (i.e. 15%) To determine the lowest evaluated price, the extended amount, which includes the proposed mark-up, for each of the items in Appendix D shall be totaled to arrive at a total amount. TECHNICAL 1.Offerors distribution system is of a capacity which will enable the offeror to deliver subsistence to the locations listed at Appendix C within the timeframes established by this solicitation. To be determined acceptable, the offeror shall pro vide substantive evidence in the form of a diagram which shows the distribution network and how distribution will be effected throughout the state. 2. Offerors shall provide information on their internet based ordering system. To be determined acceptable, the internet based ordering system must have the following capabilities: a. Must be able to be accessed at units across the state. b. The USPFO Ordering official must be able to approve all orders prior to the order being forwarded to the offeror. c. Must be pre-loaded with the 15-day menu listed at Appendix A. d. Must be compatible with Windows XP. e. In case of connectivity issues, offeror shall describe how orders can be placed manually. 3. Offeror shall describe their compliance with Federal, State, a nd Local industry standards, regulations, and guidelines regarding health and sanitation. PAST PERFORMANCE To be determined acceptable, the offeror shall demonstrate a history of above average past performance within the past three (3) years providing subsistence items to various locations at a level anticipated by this solicitation. Offeror shall provide a minimum of three (3) performance references to include point of contact and tele phone number. In addition, the offeror may provide a maximum of two (2) letters of recommendation from customers if the level of effort is the same or exceeds the level of effort anticipated by this solicitation. All prospective offerors interested in su bmitting a proposal, please request a solicitation on company letterhead from USPFO for Tennessee, Attention: Purchasing and Contracting, Randal Halbrooks PO Box 41502, Nashville, TN 37204-0748. Please include your companys DUNS Number, CAGE code, Tax ID Number and fax number and the size of your business relative to NAICS code 424410. This information is required to register your company in our contracting database vendor files. The acquisition will be awarded for a base year period plus four (4) option years. The estimated range of the five year contract is $140,000.00 to $5,000,000.00. The Government estimates this solicitation will be posted on or around February 5, 2007.