Appliances for US Air Force and Army Locations in Europe

Sources Sought Notice/Request for Information (RFI) for European Washers, Dryers, and Refrigerators/Freezers for United States (US) Air Force and Army Locations in Europe Introduction The US Air Force and Army locations in Europe have a recurring requirement to purchase appliances for personnel living and working in Germany, Italy, Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg (BeNELux) and the United Kingdom. The agencies spend $5M - $7M dollars per year on appliances such as washing machines, dryers, and refrigerator/freezers. We are seeking information from industry to help standardize appliances and consolidate purchases resulting in cost savings and reduced purchase cycle time. Disclaimer This RFI is issued for the purpose of market research only. This is not a Request For Quote (RFQ). It 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 award be made as a result of this RFI. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this RFI. Purpose This RFI is released to get feedback from the commercial appliances industry. Draft requirements listing salient characteristics for washing machines, dryers and refrigerator/freezers are attached. These requirements are for commercially available European-type appliances for use in households on the European economy and in some military housing. Given these requirements, please review the questions below and provide any feedback as applicable. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! Questions for Industry: 1. Are the requirements clearly specified and in line with commercial practices? 2. Do you see any issues that create excess cost or unreasonableness? 3. Do you have recommendations for distinguishing factors/characteristics to ensure we receive high-quality appliances? 4. Can one vendor provide and ship appliances to Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom? a. If not, please explain. b. Does consolidation across different countries provide better pricing? c. Can one order have multiple delivery locations/countries? 5. How far out can a pricelist be established/how often would we need to refresh the price list? a. Is consistent pricing over 5 years a possibility? b. How do we refresh the price list and models with a 5 year agreement? 6. Appliances may be ordered in largely varied quantities. (24 or 500 at a time). a. Due to the large quantities we may be ordering, is it possible to do a staggered delivery of items with a partial payment when delivery is made? b. Some installations require smaller quantities. Is there a minimum amount of appliances that would be appropriate? c. Is there a certain quantity of appliances to order to allow for best pricing? For example, by truck load of appliances to save on shipping. 7. Is 60 days a reasonable amount of time to deliver 500 washers and dryers? If not, what is? a. Does the size of an order effect the amount of time to deliver? 8. How long is the standard warranty? a. How do we best specify when warranty begins? b. Is it possible to have a delayed warranty? For example, warranty starts when delivery is made to the end user rather than to the Government warehouse. 9. Is it always possible to stack matching 8 kg washers and dryers? 10. Is a 12 kg dryer available to match a 12 kg washer? 11. Can you provide a condenser dryer without heat pump and a Euro Energy rating higher than B? a. Will production of condenser dryers without heat pumps continue over the next 5 years? 12. Is there a standard power cord length for washers/dryers (I.e., 140 cm)? Refrigerators (i.e., 220 cm)? 13. TUEV (Technischer Ueberwachungsverein) is the German certification. Do Italy, BeNELux, and U.K. have a similar requirement? 14. How long does it typically take (days) to respond to an appliance warranty repair? What is a good response time? 15. How long is the bench stock on spare parts available after end of production? 16. Are spare parts readily available in the respective countries and what is the delivery time at average market pricing? 17. Regarding the back of the refrigerator/freezer - is there fire resistant material (metal vs. plastic)? 18. Is there a future standard for the interior drum of washing machines and dryers? Is stainless steel a quality standard, or will it be changing? 19. Are your products Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliant? This refers to the Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. & 2501-2581), which is intended to foster fair and open international trade. TAA requires that the U.S. Government may acquire only "U.S. - made or designated country end products. Submission Instructions Responses to this RFI should be submitted by close of business 12 Dec 2018, 1630 hrs. All responses under this RFI should be emailed to: barbara.wafzig.de@us.af.mil and maria.kuper.de@us.af.mil. All email submissions should be less than 5MB. If larger files are required please use the AMERDEC SAFE system https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/safe/Welcome.aspx