B--A Study to calculate Replacement Factors found in SB 10-496.

This is not a solicitation announcement. This is a sources sought synopsis only. The purpose of this sources sought synopsis is to gain knowledge of potential contractors that could fulfill the following requirement. The US Army Tank & Automotive-A rmaments Command (TACOM), Clothing and Heraldry Product Support Integration Directorate has a requirement for a study to determine a valid and easily executable method to calculate the replacement factors found in Section I to III in SB 10-496. The Army Su pply Bulletin SB 10-496 can be found in the Natick Contracting Division web page at https://www3.natick.army.mil under Business Opportunities/Upcoming Acquisitions/W911QY-04-R-XLZ6/Files available for download. The Clothing and Heraldry PSID, TACOM, has th e responsibility to update replacement factors annually. However, replacement factors have not been updated since 1997 because the Clothing and Heraldry PSID no longer has the resources and expertise to calculate new replacement factors. A replacement f actor is the estimated percentage of clothing and equipment in use that will need to be replaced each month due to wear and tear, enemy action, pilferage, abandonment, and other causes except separation of personnel from services. Replacement factors are c alculated for three environmental conditions (tropical, temperate, and arctic) and for training. For example, a replacement factor of .056 would mean that for every 1,000 items in use, an estimated 56 items would need to be replaced every month. Replaceme nt factors are used to calculate Army War Reserve requirements for clothing and textiles and also to calculate the cost to introduce new clothing bag items, among other uses. Small changes in replacement factors could potentially have a very large funding impact. Additional information on the definition and use of replacement factors is found in Chapter 1 of SB 10-496. Replacement factors have historically been calculated using the demand data of similar items. However, historical demand data will not ref lect the changes in materials and manufacturing processes used in new items. Demand data analysis, which is primarily based on peacetime consumption, also suffers from the difficulty of defining the correct size of the population of users. The method sele cted to calculate replacement factors will be based on the proven validity of the results and the resources needed to gather the data and perform the calculations. The Government is looking for future contractors that would develop and validate a process t o calculate replacement factors, not to calculate them. For purposes of this acquisition, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541330 and the small business definition is not to exceed $23,000,000. Firms responding to this syno psis must submit white papers to include in general terms: how the company proposes to calculate replacement factors and validate the results and/or indicate previous work or studies that indicate some expertise in this area. It should also include an esti mate of the cost and time needed to complete the project. Firms should also include company name, address, point of contact and size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). This is not a request for proposal and in no way obligates the Government to award any contract. Responses to this notice can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the attention of Xinia Llovet-Zurinaga, US Army RDEC Acquisition Center, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, MA 01760. Fax number is 508 -233-5286 and e-mail is contact@example.gov . Telephone responses will not be accepted. For technical questions related to this announcement please call Mr. Gregory Schech at +1 (555) 000-0000. White papers must be received no later than 3:00 PM EST on 7 July 2004. This notice is to help TACOM, Clothing and Heraldry Product Support Integration Directorate, in determining if there are potential sour ces for this potential future acquisition. All firms responding to this sources sought notice are advised that their responses to this notice are not a request to be considered for a contract award. If a solicitation is used, it will be announced separat ely from the responses to this announcement.