DESCRIPTION: This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) for furniture design/layout and related services, and is being released by the General Services Administration (GSA) Region 6 FAS Furniture Team (FFT). This RFI is being issued to identify Small Business sources for potential services. This RFI is being issued for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Requestor to acquire any products or services. If an RFP is issued, it will be officially issued by the appropriate government contracting office. The Requestor does not intend to pay for the information requested. All information provided is for government planning use only. If proprietary information is provided, please mark as Proprietary for Government Use Only. The exact dollar value of any RFP or subsequent award that will be issued as a result of the information received from this RFI is not known at this time. It is anticipated that the ceiling amount of any resulting RFP/award could be set at $100k, but it may be significantly less. This initiative is part of a pilot program and does not lend itself to the use of estimates based on historical data. 1. BACKGROUND: a. GSA is soliciting input from industry regarding furniture design/layout and related services, to support the GSA Region 6 FFT. The information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be utilized in the development of a future acquisition that may or may not require the services as described. b. Vendors are requested to submit the following information regarding technical capabilities, industry information and industry recommendations: i. Can your firm provide support services for all of the objectives, tasks, and deliverables outlined in section 1.7 of the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS)? ii. The GSA Region 6 FFT may require short response times on design/layout services, with the potential of - last minute meetings which may require attendance at the Contracting Office Address listed above. Does your firm posses the capability of providing these support services from an office within a sixty (60) mile radius of the Kansas City, MO, metro area? iii. In cases where your firm has provided these services on a long-distance basis, how have you addressed the need for short response times, and the benefit of - in-person meetings? iv. The main purpose of the attached PWS is to acquire support services from a contractor, who will in turn work with agencies in creating, defining, and refining furniture requirements. It is anticipated that a majority of these efforts will result in a procurement of furniture to be solicited and awarded by the GSA Region 6 FFT. In an effort to ensure fair competition in these efforts, can your firm confirm that it has no direct affiliation with any furniture manufacturer or dealer? If your firm does have a direct affiliation with a furniture dealer, how have you addressed issues such as these in the past, so as to ensure that all design/layout services can result in fair competition in the furniture procurement process? If awarded an IDIQ for furniture design/layout and related services, is your firm willing to be excluded from furniture procurements resulting from the services described in the attached PWS? 2. General Requirements: a. The general tasks to be provided under this requirement include: development/refinement of furniture requirements; development of draft/final generic furniture typicals including possible production of CAD drawings; assistance to the FFT in creating Statements of Work (SOW)/Bills of Materials (BOM) and cost estimates; consultation in executing direct buys; consultation to agencies in the development of furniture requirements; development of self help tools; determination of work flow and efficiencies; product line research; identification of electrical, power, and data components required for furniture and equipment; review of existing furniture designs for potential issues; assistance in preparation of packages to be used for solicitation or presentation to GSA's Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center (IWAC); participation in conference calls with, handle inquiries from, and communicate with the IWAC; attendance and/or request of meetings with the FFT and/or Project Team(s) as required; service as a non-voting member of an evaluation team during the evaluation process for furniture procurements; review of manufacturer's drawings for compliance with the approved final furniture design drawings. All Tasks are required to be performed under the same contract vehicle. b. The draft PWS is provided for industry comment. Request vendors make suggested changes to the document using - Track Changes for suggested enhancements and recommendations for changes. Submitted changes/additions may or may not be included in the final solicitation. Please contact Katie Doll, FFT Project Manager via email at katie.doll@gsa.gov for copies of the PWS and appendices. c. A pre-solicitation conference may be conducted at the discretion of the Government. Date and location TBD. d. Questions regarding this RFI should be addressed via e-mail to Katie Doll at Katie.doll@gsa.gov no later 12:00 PM EST on August 19, 2008. The Government response will be distributed on August 25, 2008. e. Interested parties shall submit their responses by email to dale.henderson@gsa.gov no later than August 25, 2008, with a copy furnished to katie.doll@gsa.gov . Acceptable file formats are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and/or .pdf. ALL inquiries and responses must be submitted as instructed above - Telephone and FAX inquiries will not be accepted.
