DHS/CBP Uniform III Follow-on Contract (CORRECTED NAICS)

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Contract Opportunity

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI), corrected NAICS

This RFI is being re-issued in order to account for a correction of the NAICS code associated with this requirement. If your company has already responded to the original RFI, there is no requirement to responnd again; however, this is being reissued in SAM Contract Opportunities in the event that the corrected NAICS code in this system will alert any new, interested companies who might wish to respond to this RFI.

The prior NAICS used for the original RFI was 424320. This number has been discontinued, and the replacement NAICS is 315210 - Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors (under which NAICS 315225 also belongs). If your company falls under these NAICS and you have not already responded to RFI ID: 70B01C25R00000001 or RFI ID: 70B01C25R00000001-V2, please submit a response to this notice by the deadline in this message to the Contract Specialist listed below.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Uniform Contract III

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   1. Description
   
   
   2. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is in the process of re-competing the requirement for the DHS National Uniform Strategic Sourcing Contract for agencies under its aegis. DHS is interested in incorporating commercial and industry logistics practices that support this type of procurement to ensure quality uniforms are delivered to uniformed employees in a timely manner. To accomplish this, DHS intends to make industry a partner in all facets of the acquisition process, specifically by considering existing market capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses for the acquisition of this indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will allow DHS to incorporate industry input into the initial stages of the procurement. CBP is considering a contract that would include a period of performance with a total of eight (8) years. This would be partitioned off into a base period of three (3) years, one (1) two-year, and three (1) one-year options, in support of the DHS National Uniform and Quartermaster Support Services Program. The following is the fundamental information on the Government’s contract vehicle format and service needs:
      
      
      
      • Contract Vehicle: IDIQ; Firm-Fixed Price Line-Item Basis, Mandatory Buy (with exceptions) for all components of DHS (Customs and Border Protection, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), United States Secret Service (USSS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Federal Air Marshal Service, (FAMS), Federal Protective Service (FPS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
      
      
      • Provide quality uniform items for approximately 150,000 employees both in the United States and overseas,
      
      
      • Manage a customer website for making uniform selections, managing employee allowance accounts and tracking reporting data,
      
      
      • Provide Quartermaster services as appropriate to specific components.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

Required capabilities for the Uniform Contract:

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    • Quality uniforms made to specifications with minimal defect rates,
    
    
    • Timely delivery to uniformed employees with little wait time between order and receipt,
    
    
    • Innovative uniform technologies to support DHS’s diverse mission needs in various environments and climates,
    
    
    • Must be capable of sourcing many COTS items,
    
    
    • Security of uniform items and DHS branded items,
    
    
    • Compliance with applicable laws such as Kissell Amendment and HOPR Act
    
    
    • Long return window, without charge to employees,
    
    
    • Emergency uniforms available when needed.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • The required solicitation will be synopsized later utilizing the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this website for additional information pertaining to this requirement.
  
  
  
  

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   1. Background and Requirements
   
   
   
   

The current DHS contract began in January 2020 and will likely continue through January 2027. DHS is seeking feedback with regards to requirements and the Request for Proposal (RFP) package to identify potential areas for modification to allow robust competition without sacrificing uniformed employees’ needs. By building industry partnerships early in the acquisition process, DHS hopes to improve the contract vehicle in the long run.

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   1. Delivery Date: Contract start is expected to begin by January 2027 and continue for an eight-year period. The proposed contract will likely include a base period of three years, a two-year option, and three one-year options.
   
   
   2. Delivery Period and Condition: Full delivery and uniform ordering website opening is expected approximately two weeks after Fiscal Year funding is received, which has historically been between November and January. (Note: Other components may only require a “read only” webpage for their line items. This allows for ease of ordering by those components.) Several contract deliverables may be due prior to the start of uniform deliveries, such as First Article prototypes.
   
   
   3. Limitations: Uniform/textile suppliers must meet applicable laws, including but not limited to the Homeland Procurement Reform (HOPR) Act, the Kissell Amendment, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and any future law or Trade Agreement changes or additions affecting DHS uniform policies.
   
   
   4. Security Requirements: DHS branded items are considered a security concern and must be accountable and always secured.
   
   
   5. Uniform Fulfillment Requirements: DHS will require that 90% of Allowance Account orders (for any component) must be shipped within seven (7) calendar days for primary duty uniforms (core items, such BDU and RDU pants and shirts with badges and emblems), up to twenty-one (21) calendar days for Fire Retardant (FR) items and up to fourteen (14) calendar days for non-primary/non-core items, such as t-shirts or other non-critical base uniform items.
   
   
   6. Backorder Requirements: Orders for items placed on backorder (those items not shipped within 14 days) must be shipped within 60 days. For orders that are partially backordered, in stock items should be shipped immediately, and backordered items should be shipped as soon as they become available or within 60 days, whichever is sooner.
   
   
   7. Disincentives: The Government is considering methods to incentivize performance. If the vendor is unable to meet the key performance indicators (like those mentioned in 2.5 and 2.6), the Government will likely include language indicating decrements to any invoicing as part of any resultant contract.
   
   
   
   

2.8 Pricing Data: It is likely the Government will consider the use of a coefficient or other mechanism for price changes to the contract. Vendors are encouraged to provide data on projected price variables to make the contract economically viable while protecting the Government from excessive increases throughout the life of the contract. Consumer Price Index (CPI): The Government is considering capping CPI up to 3-4% for the option years pricing.

1. Requested Information

The requested information is sought to support the development of key Government pre-solicitation requirements including market research, cost, and implementation timelines; and identify available uniform providers and innovative logistics solutions to expand competition opportunities.

1. Responses

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with their Capability Statement and submit a request to set up a time to tour the CBP First Article Review Facility. The tour is likely a good way to familiarize a prospective vendor of the types of uniform items CBP uses. While not all-encompassing the number of items available for review are a sufficient sample of what DHS uses for its Officers/Agents.

4.1 RFI Capability Statement. The RFI Capability Statement should be in Microsoft Word for Office 2016 compatible format and due NLT 1 September 2024 at 4:00 PM EST. The Capability Statement response is limited to 15 single-sided pages and submitted via e-mail only to the Government Point of Contact (POC): CBP Contract Specialist, Camilla J. Schmidt at e-mail camilla.j.schmidt@cbp.dhs.gov., and a request to tour the CBP First Article Review Facility must be submitted at the time of submission of the required Capability Statement.

The RFI Capability Statement should address the following topics:

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      1. Plan to identify and obtain sufficient uniforms from law/ trade compliant sources,
      
      
      2. General Pricing Information (overall cost drivers, constraints and limitations),
      
      
      3. Delivery timeframe proposal and plan,
      
      
      4. Inventory stocking level and manufacturing plan; including core items, non-core items, customized items (name tags, hemmed items, items with badges added, etc.), and key specialty items (cold weather gear, maternity clothing, etc.),
      
      
      5. Initial phase in plan,
      
      
      6. Plan to identify and incorporate new and emerging technologies into uniform and textile design and improve quality standards,
      
      
      7. Plan to eliminate or reduce backordered items and improve ship times when stocking issues arise, and
      
      
      8. Data and account management plan and best practices employed; including a plan for sharing and exchanging data near real time (NRT) with Government and Government systems.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

Interested Parties must address the following questions in response to this RFI, as applicable:

1. What prevented you from submitting a proposal from previous DHS or CBP Uniform Contract RFPs?


2. What problems do you foresee with the requirements that may affect your decision to submit a proposal for an upcoming DHS Uniform Contract Strategic Sourcing IDIQ contract solicitation?


3. What ways could the DHS Uniform program make cost/benefit changes (policy, logistics, requirements, etc.) within current law that would allow for greater competition?


4. What action(s) has your organization taken to mitigate the use of harmful chemicals such as Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from your products?


5. The Government will allow the provision for a Change Management Process that allows items to be added to the resultant contract and utilize a predetermined contractual coefficient. What is a reasonable coefficient to determine the final price to the Government for each added item? The exception to the coefficient would be for opportunities the vendor has identified to save the Government money. In those cases, the vendor could maintain the same coefficient and not be limited by the coefficient cap contained in the contract, if the overall item price decreases.

Proprietary information, if any, should be kept to minimum and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. The Capability Statement should answer the questions addressed in this RFI but may provide other information as applicable.

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   1. Company Information. The RFI Capability Statement should provide the following information:
      
      
      
      1. Company Information. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact,
      
      
      2. Company Profile. Profile of company including major contracts similar in scope the company has participated in.
      
      
      3. Company Size and current or potential partners to support the contract effort.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

1. Questions

Questions and the Capability Statement regarding this RFI should be submitted in writing by e-mail (only) to the CBP Contract Specialist, Camilla J. Schmidt at camilla.j.schmidt@cbp.dhs.gov.

1. Summary

This RFI is only intended for the Government to identify sources and logistical methodologies that can provide quality uniforms to DHS in a timely manner. The intent is to allow potential offerors the opportunity to provide insight into factors that may impact the acquisition of Uniform items so that the Government can make educated cost/benefit decisions to open competition. If the Government can identify early in the acquisition process means in which to open competition prior to any official RFP, there could be cost, quality, and/or time savings or improvements in the final solicitation package.

1. Disclaimers

This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only – it does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The RFI interested parties are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding to the Government. The Government has not made a commitment to procure any of the RFI requirements discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. RFI responses will NOT be shared with other industry suppliers and will solely be used as part of the contract planning process. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

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