SAVES IT Software

The various SAVES contracts, DTFACT-12-D-00004 and DTFACT-13-D-0004 for COTS IT Software are nearing completion and the FAA is evaluating new strategies for one or more replacement contracts. The FAA is requesting industry feedback on the information provided in this posting. One of the major objectives in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is to control costs while delivering quality customer service. To help achieve this goal of controlling costs, the FAA embarked on an Agency-wide strategic sourcing initiative called the Strategic Sourcing for the Acquisition of Various Equipment and Supplies (SAVES) Program. This requirement may support the entire FAA and Department of Transportation (DOT). The objective of the SAVES Program is to enable the FAA to purchase selected commodities for less while maintaining or improving purchase quality and service levels. Industry participation in this market survey, while encouraged, is strictly voluntary. Failure to provide the requested information will not preclude a vendor's participation in future Agency activities related to this posting. At this time, the nature of the competition has not been determined. The FAA may decide to do a full and open competition or set aside all or part of the procurement for small business concerns. The purpose of this market survey is to solicit statements of capabilities from interested parties including, but not limited to, Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Businesses (SEDB/8(a)), Small Businesses, and/or Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), to assist the FAA in determining whether adequate competition exists to set aside the requirement, in full or partially, among small business concerns. Responses from large business are also requested and will be considered at this time. The principle North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes anticipated for this effort are: 423430-Software, computer, packaged, merchant wholesalers; and 334614-Prepackaged software, mass reproducing, where the small business size standard fluctuates from 250 to 1,500 employees. A Secondary NAICS code that may be considered for this effort is 511210-software publishers, with a small business size standard of $38.5 Million. A wholesale trade or retail trade business submitting a capability statement on a supply acquisition is categorized as a non-manufacturer and deemed small if it has 250 or fewer employees and meets the requirements of 13 CFR 121.406. SURVEY BACKGROUND INFORMATION The FAA SAVES contracts currently utilize contract line items (CLINs) that aggregate manufacturers' products into categories or suites of products. These categories are in direct relationship to the manufacturers' pricing to the resellers who hold the SAVES contract(s). For each of these categories, the contractor(s) is required to provide a minimum discount from the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). Higher discounts for items on sale, at end-of-life, or for volume purchases are required on the contracts. CLINs are also established for generalized professional services (e.g., training, installation) on a maximum rate per hour basis and for other direct costs (travel expenses, materials, etc.). The rationale for structuring the contracts in this manner is to ease the administrative burden of maintaining CLINs for products by part numbers. The contractor resellers are able to provide a wider range of products and can respond to frequent product changes. Contract modifications are only required in response to changes in pricing from the manufacturers (OEMs) to the resellers or to the product MSRPs. As an example of this methodology, consider a fictitious OEM called "ABC". The following CLINs (simplified for this example) might be established on a SAVES contract with reseller "Acme": CLIN OEM DESCRIPTION Acme's Minimum Discount from MSRP 100 ABC Software 30% 110 ABC Renewal Licenses 32% 120 ABC Maintenance & Updates 20% 130 ABC Software Subscriptions 15% The following are the top manufacturers from each of the current SAVES software contracts: Oracle, Adobe, IBM, Splunk, Symantec, Tanium, HPE, CA, Huddle, EMC and SAP. In previous years, the FAA has made purchases from the incumbents for the OEMs as low as $2,000.00 and as high as $10.1M. (a) The FAA requires the following preliminary information from interested vendors. 1. Is your firm currently listed on the General Service Administration's Federal Supply Schedule 70? 2. Does your firm currently have a similar IT software contract with another agency of the Federal Government? If yes, please provide the name, contract number, contract type and contract ceiling. 3. Is the CLIN structuring described above the most cost effective way of buying software? If not, please provide information and examples that would illustrate a better methodology. 4. Would the greatest value to the FAA occur if multiple contracts were awarded? 5. Please identify if your company provides installation, configuration management, maintenance, and/or training services, or if your company will rely on the OEM to provide these services. 6. Please provide the most cost effective industry standard/methodology for this type of requirement. All responses to the above questions must be provided on company letterhead and are restricted to no more than a total of five (5) pages. Response will only be accepted in Microsoft Word or PDF Format. Do not send corporate or sales promotion literature. Responses must be received no later than 10/15/2020 at 5:00pm CT. (b) Firms claiming certified 8(a) status are additionally required to submit a letter of 8(a) certification from the SBA, and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) claiming SDVOSB status must provide a certification letter and be registered as a SDVOSB on the Department of Veterans Affairs website (https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/). (c) Please provide information on the software license subscriptions your company is currently able to re-sell and the OEM certifications owned by your company and/or your distributors and teaming partners on the attached Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Responses will only be accepted in Microsoft Excel. The FAA prefers all submittals to be submitted electronically to the following e-mail address: contact@example.gov. The responses to this Market Survey will be used to determine competition level and develop a concise requirement. The FAA will not release or make public information deemed "Company Proprietary". This survey is not intended to guarantee procurement of a product and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract. This posting should not be interpreted as a Screening Information Request (SIR), a Request for Quote (RFQ), or Request for Proposal (RFP). The FAA is not liable for costs associated with a response to this informational announcement. This is not a request for competitive proposals and will not result in a contract award. No solicitation exists; therefore do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is issued, it will be synopsized on the beta.SAM.gov web site. It is the potential Offeror's responsibility to monitor the site (https://beta.sam.gov) for the release of any solicitation. The FAA is not seeking nor accepting unsolicited proposals.