CHS-6 Request For Information

Solicitation Number: W15P7T-20-R-CHS6 Classification Code: D -- Information technology services, including telecommunications services NAICS Code: 334 -- Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing / 334111 -- Electronic Computer Manufacturing This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an Invitation for Bid, Request for Quotation, or Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described herein. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of a contractor's submission of responses to this announcement or the Government's use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated or received for this RFI. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing its acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement (PWS) and/or Performance Specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI. Background: The US Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC APG), MD is seeking feedback from industry concerning the planned competitive follow-on to Contract Number W15P7T-18-D-0008 for the Common Hardware Systems-5th Generation (CHS-5) contract. The CHS-5 contract provides commercial information technology (IT) hardware [e.g. Non-Developmental, modified commercial off the shelf (COTS) items (i.e. ruggedized and militarized)] and services to a variety of Army, Department of Defense (DoD), and Federal Government organizations utilizing Firm Fixed Price Delivery Orders and Firm Fixed Price and Cost Plus Fixed Fee (Term and Completion Type) Task Orders issued against a single award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. CHS-5 is a five-year contract awarded in August 2018 consisting of a three-year base ordering period and two, one-year option periods. Purpose: The purpose of this RFI is three-fold: Educate industry about the CHS program office and the CHS-5 contract. Gauge industry interest in a competitive follow-on to the CHS-5 contract. Use industry feedback to shape development of an acquisition strategy and contract requirements. CHS Program Office & CHS-5 Contract Background: The following information and attachments to this RFI are provided to enhance industry's understanding of Common Hardware Systems (CHS). The U.S. Army's CHS program office and the corresponding CHS-5 contract provide value-added support to Army, Department of Defense (DoD), and Federal Government organizations to continuously add and procure new commercial IT hardware and associated services to meet tactical requirements. Examples of the types of commercial IT hardware commonly procured via CHS-5 include laptops, servers, routers, switches, storage appliances, radios, displays, Operational Transit Cases (OTCs), vehicular intercommunication systems, storage cases, installation kits, associated cables, batteries, and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). At any given point in time, the CHS-5 contract may include products from several hundred commercial IT hardware Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The CHS-5 contract allows commercial IT hardware to be procured with one of multiple warranty options, including a standard OEM warranty or a CHS-5 Hardware Warranty (described later). End users of CHS-5 equipment are located across the Continental United States (CONUS), as well as most US Army Outside Continental United States (OCONUS) locations - to include active theaters of operations. To fully appreciate the scope and magnitude of CHS, the following information is provided and should be considered when responding to this RFI. Some of the key value aspects of the CHS program office and the CHS-5 contract include the following: Hardware Configuration Management: Products added to the CHS-5 contract remain orderable through the CHS-5 prime contractor for the life of the contract or until the product goes end-of-sale. End-of-Sale Support: The CHS-5 contract includes a formal process through which the Government receives notification from the CHS-5 prime contractor that a product will be going end-of-sale. CHS-5 includes a requirement to provide at least 90 days notice prior to the end-of-sale date in order to facilitate last-time procurements. Hardware Integration and Design: In conjunction with the CHS-5 prime contractor, CHS collaborates with supported organizations to make minor modifications (in accordance with FAR Part 2) to commercial IT hardware to meet the Government's requirements. In addition to product ruggedization, examples of minor modifications include product integration within an OTC configuration or product kitting to facilitate storage and/or transportability. Product Ruggedization: CHS-5 includes the ability to ruggedize and test commercial IT hardware to meet predefined survivability criteria tailored for CHS and based on the latest versions of military standards including MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and MIL-STD-464. Warranty Support: The CHS-5 contract includes multiple warranty options available for each product that gets added to the contract via a Technology Insertion process. Standard OEM Warranty - end-user coordinates all warranty support, and the warranty terms vary by OEM and by OEM product Standard OEM Warranty facilitated by CHS-5 contractor logistics infrastructure CHS-5 Hardware Warranty: Available in three, five, and eight year options Provides 72-hour turnaround time of the repaired item or a matching specification replacement item 24/7/365 operator hotline Inbound and Outbound Shipping costs are covered for products procured with the CHS-5 Hardware Warranty - No Fault repair / replacement - includes all damage with the exception of malicious damage, willful neglect, or Acts of God. ** There are four equipment turn-in points known as Regional Support Centers (RSCs) ** ** Note: - No Fault repair / replacement support was not a CHS-5 PWS requirement. The establishment of specific turn-in points known as Regional Support Centers (RSC) was also not a CHS-5 PWS requirement. Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM): Currently available via the CHS-5 contract via a task order, SCRM-related activities continue to gain increasing visibility and importance within the Federal Government. CHS-5 follows commercial best practices to mitigate risk of malicious activity including minimizing the risk of counterfeit parts entering the military's supply chain. The CHS program office partners with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and, when necessary, law enforcement agencies in order to assess risk on behalf of all supported Army, DoD, and Federal Government organizations. Pricing: Each product added to the CHS-5 contract is priced for all years of the contract and receives quantity range pricing. Typical quantity ranges are as follows: 1-5 6-12 13-50 51-100 101-250 251-500 At the time of need the Government requests special pricing for product procurements exceeding the maximum pricing range, typically above quantity 500. The following tasks are not separately priced on the CHS-5 contract. Design and integration support First Article Testing (i.e. survivability testing for ruggedized products) Weekly and ad hoc meetings including the CHS-5 prime contractor Biannual program reviews Product-Related Data: The CHS-5 contract includes Contract Deliverable Requirements List (CDRLs) which are listed in the PWS. A key data requirement includes the daily submission of data tables captured in PWS Appendix B. The CHS program office retrieves this data via an Information Portal established and maintained by the CHS-5 prime contractor. The CHS program office uses this data for various purposes, including but not limited to: Creating and maintaining a CHS-5 item catalog containing product attribute data Providing supported organizations with a capability to submit orders via a Government-managed website Tracking the status of order award and delivery fulfillment Managing CHS-5 product configuration changes Managing product end-of-sale activity Tracking the status of product repair actions Identifying product failure trends Technical Assistance and Support Services (TASS): The CHS-5 contract allows supported organizations to procure services for the equipment procured via the contract. TASS efforts are awarded via the CHS Task Order process. Examples of TASS efforts include, but are not limited to, new equipment training, development of technical manuals, support to training events, hardware/software integration services, and the establishment of remote repair facilities. Additional examples of TASS efforts can be found in the CHS-5 PWS. Rapid Acquisition: Each CHS-5 contract action (i.e. Technology Insertion, Delivery Order for hardware, or Task Order for services) is processed via a collaborative effort among several stakeholders: Supported Government organization CHS program office ACC APG CHS-5 prime contractor Effective, frequent communication among all stakeholders is a critical aspect to ensuring the timely award of each CHS-5 contract action. The CHS-5 PWS requires the CHS-5 prime contractor to provide the Government with Technology Insertion and Task Order proposal submissions within 14 calendar days of the issuance of a corresponding Request for Proposal. The CHS program office publishes the following timelines as planning guidance for supported organizations: Technology Insertions: 45-60 calendar days after completion of an Acquisition Requirements Package (ARP) Delivery Orders for Hardware: 15-30 calendar days Task Orders for Services: 45-60 calendar days after completion of an ARP Contract Action Throughput: During the period FY2014 through FY2018 the CHS-4 and CHS-5 contract averaged the following unique number of contract actions on an annual basis: Technology Insertions: 82 Delivery Orders for Hardware: 238 Task Orders for Services: 32 Items Shipped: 84,615 During this same period there was approximately $367M in average annual awards. In addition to the CHS program office and CHS-5 contract information supplied above, the CHS-5 PWS (including CDRLs and Appendices) is included with this RFI to further an understanding of CHS. Instructions: The Government requests industry feedback on the current CHS-5 contract strategy and requirements documents in order to better understand what actions the Government could take to establish a competitive environment for a planned follow-on contract. Specifically, please address the items listed below: Interested parties are requested to provide a description of current capabilities providing the types of commercial IT products and services described in this RFI and in the CHS-5 PWS, appendices, and corresponding CDRLs. Interested parties are requested to comment on and to identify any ambiguous requirements contained within the current CHS-5 PWS, appendices, and corresponding CDRLs. The Government anticipates requirements of similar scope for a planned CHS-5 follow-on competition. What additional information would enhance your understanding of the current CHS-5 contract scope? Please identify any perceived or actual obstacles that would impact your decision to participate in a planned CHS-5 follow-on competition. The Government emphasizes maximum use of organic depot support. Please indicate any current or planned partnerships your company has with Tobyhanna Army Depot, the Army's Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and Electronics, Avionics, and Missile Guidance and Control. Additionally, please indicate how your company could envision partnering with Tobyhanna Army Depot to provide global support for the repair of commercial IT hardware procured via the CHS contract. Please describe the feasibility of implementing a CHS Hardware Warranty consistent with the terms described earlier in this RFI for which a warranty start date does not commence until a product is received by an end-user, typically an Army unit. For reference, Army program offices may store unopened CHS equipment in a warehouse until such time as that new equipment is called forward in support of an Army fielding event. The Government is always exploring ways to increase competition. If your company considered responding to the CHS-5 solicitation, but ultimately didn't propose, why did your company decide to not propose? Additionally, how could a follow-on competition be solicited in such a way that your company would submit a proposal? What is your company's perspective regarding a single award or a multiple award acquisition strategy for a CHS-5 follow-on competition? Indicate the rationale for your perspective. If you advocate for a multiple award strategy, please describe a feasible approach for proposing new equipment to the contract and for awarding competitive delivery orders that: Maintains or exceeds published timeline planning guidance as described earlier in this RFI, Minimizes the personnel and administrative resourcing burden on the Government. Could you envision a hybrid contract strategy, one that includes a contract(s) for commercial IT hardware and a contract(s) for integration, ruggedization, warranty support, and product support services of the commercial IT hardware procured? If so, please describe a feasible approach that minimizes overall costs to the Government while maintaining the rapid acquisition timeline planning guidance described earlier in this RFI. Provide your company profile (i.e., company type, US or non-US ownership, Cage code, DUNs number, size and status as listed in the System for Award Management (SAM)). Responses to this RFI should be submitted within 21 days from release of this survey at 1600 hours Eastern Standard Time on 17 March 2020. Responses are to be sent via email to Lead Contract Specialist, Mr. Todd Strasavich at todd.m.strasavich.civ@mail.mil and copy furnished to Contracting Officer Mr. Phillip Vitakis at phillip.s.vitakis.civ@mail.mil. All material submitted in response to this RFI must be unclassified. Interested parties possessing the capacity to provide the requirements outlined above are requested to provide a response including: Name, telephone number, fax number, street address and e-mail address for Program and Technical points of contact information. The Government hereby notifies potential RFI responders that the Government intends to use contractor support in the collection of information and development of the acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement and/or Performance Specifications. The Government intends to allow contractors from Booz Allen Hamilton, Engineering Solutions & Products LLC, JANUS Research Group Inc., Bowhead, and Netwerx, performing advisory and assistance services, to view the RFI responses to aid in the development of this effort. By submitting a response to this RFI, responders understand and consent to the release of any and all data contained in RFI responses, to include proprietary data and other marked information, for development of this effort only, to the contractors performing those services for the Government. The Government will allow for Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) to be signed amongst the contractors and the responders at the responder's request. Contracting Office Address: ACC-APG - Aberdeen Division B, HQ CECOM CONTRACTING CENTER, 6001 COMBAT DRIVE, ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD 21005-1846 Place of Performance: ACC-APG - Aberdeen Division B HQ CECOM CONTRACTING CENTER, 6001 COMBAT DRIVE ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD 21005-1846 US