71--Office Furniture

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PURSUANT TO FAR 15.201(e) INTRODUCTION The NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION (NAWCWD) CHINA LAKE, and POINT MUGU, CA. is developing requirements for modular furniture utilization over a period of five (5) years. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information to assist NAWCWD in formulating its requirements and identifying qualified sources who are able to provide valuable input as to process and industry standards. This RFI is issued for informational and planning purposes only. NAWCWD is conducting market research and desires input from industry to assist in requirements definition and planning. The information requested by this RFI may be used to facilitate a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a NAWCWD furniture contract by identifying requirements, standard industry terminology, and practices to aid in the decision making process. BACKGROUND The Weapons Division was established to provide full-spectrum Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation for Naval Aviation Systems. Our organization has a strong foundation with an outstanding workforce, many of who are internationally recognized. We have world class ranges and numerous one-of-a-kind laboratories and facilities that are national assets. China Lake is the Navy's largest single landholding. It represents 85 percent of the Navy's land for research, development, test, and evaluations use and 38 percent of the Navy's land holding worldwide. Located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately 150 miles north of Los Angeles, it covers more than 1.1-million acres - which is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Point Mugu is situated on the Pacific Ocean, midway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. Point Mugu has real-time control of all air traffic within its coastal area, which permits dynamic reallocation of flight paths in order to assure safe, secure, unhindered military operations. This enables the 36,000 sq. mile Pacific Sea Test Range to operate totally unencroached. This range has been a major asset in the test, training and operational readiness of the majority of the sub surface, surface and aerial weapon systems in the DOD strategic and tactical inventories.Between the two sites, there are over 2,000 buildings, 6 million square feet, and three airfields, with a replacement value of close to $3 billion. Many highly specialized facilities are not duplicated anywhere else in the free world. Annually, more than 32,000 official visitors come to conduct business or use the station's facilities and ranges. PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Previously NAWCWD has procured modular furniture under simplified acquisition as needed. This method has resulted in a myriad of modular furniture styles and manufacturers that are incompatible and limited in reconfiguration. It is the goal of NAWCWD to standardize furniture style and manufacturer in order to manage an inventory of similar component parts. NAWCWD is comprised of multiple facilities which are in need of retrofit with modern, ergonomic, and space-efficient modular furniture systems. NAWCWD is open to alternative ideas. Respondents are encouraged to provide information about alternatives that can help NAWCWD better define its requirements and obtain a contract management solution that meets its needs. The intent is to use information provided by this RFI to generate a Request for Proposal (RFP) that will address and provide all possible solutions for free standing, attached, and modular furniture systems in existing facilities of many construction types and functional categories over a period of five (5) years, approximately 400-500 workstations per year. NAWCWD is interested in the identification of capable sources to provide command-wide furnishings as executed at centralized levels. With this information, NAWCWD will shape buying behaviors that satisfy command-wide furnishings needs by: 1. Minimizing duplication of effort of multiple purchases. 2. Standardizing our corporate furniture procurement policy.3. Providing purchasing flexibility.4. Leveraging purchasing power.5. Implementing strategies to reduce the total lifecycle cost of procurement.6. Managing furniture assets and related services. 7. Standardization of products or furniture systems.8. Quick response time to tear down and reconfiguration efforts.9. Convenient easy to use ordering structure represented in contract line items.10. Ability to Accommodate Multiple Communication Lines. INFORMATION REQUESTED Respondents are asked to provide any information deemed useful in developing the most effective and efficient approach to procuring and managing furniture assets and related services. This includes business approach, contract type, performance risks, concerns and questions, and standard industry practices including but not limited to design, manufacturing, lead times, delivery, typical response time, installation, terms and conditions, billing schedules, and warranty. Respondents are also asked to provide a preliminary list of office furniture subcategories to include seating typically used such as engineering, secretary/office manager, conference rooms, closed office spaces, executive offices, lobbies, etc. These requirements will serve as a starting point to define workspace types and furnishings for varying support functions. For the purposes of establishing an interested sources list, respondents should submit company information including company name, address, telephone number, FAX number, point of contact(s) name(s), phone number, and e-mail address. Include a capability statement that demonstrates ability to provide the furniture and perform the services discussed in this RFI. Capability information should include a brief description of experience in providing the type of furniture and support discussed in this RFI, as well as experience in working with other large organizations to drive total lifecycle cost reductions in the procurement and management of furniture assets and related services. This should include life cycle support cost, interchangeability, and projected availability of product line in the out years. Additionally, include a list of contracts with any government agencies. Address ability to provide Auto CAD .dwg files released in 2000 or later. Information should be clear, concise, and complete and no more than 25 pages in length. Respondents should provide website information and indicate whether website is government only. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. 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. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Any information requiring confidential or proprietary treatment should be marked as such. Responses to this RFI will not be returned nor will respondents be notified of the result of the review. HOW TO RESPOND: Please submit responses to this RFI via e-mail to Kim Matsunaga at contact@example.gov. Mailed responses can be sent to Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (Code 254200D), Attention: Kim Matsunaga, 429 E. Bowen Road, Mail Stop 4015, China Lake, California 93555-6108. Responses must be received by this office by close of business 16 April 2008. NAICS Code = 337211Place of Performance = China Lake and Point Mugu, CASet Aside = N/A