The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) located on the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD has a requirement for weekly deliveries of dry ice pellets as detailed below.

Additional information regarding USUHS and its mission can be found at: www.usuhs.mil. Additional information regarding AFRRI and its mission can be found at: http://www.usuhs.mil/afrri/.

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This notice constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This request for quotes (RFQ) for commercial items is in accordance with FAR Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures. It will be the responsibility of the offeror to check the website http://www.fbo.gov for the issuance of any amendments to the solicitation. This RFQ incorporates all provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-61 (effective 15 October 2012) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement Publication Notice (DPN) 20120906 (effective 6 September 2012).

This solicitation is set aside for small businesses concerns under the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 325120 - Industrial Gas Manufacturing, with a Small Business Administration (SBA) small business size standard of 1,000 employees. All responsible small business sources may submit a quote, which will be considered by USUHS.

In order to be eligible for award of this purchase order, offerors must either be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/, with completed representations and certifications, or for those offerors not registered in SAM, FAR Provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items must be submitted with the quote package. Offerors not registered in SAM or who do not submit a completed copy of FAR Provision 52.212-3 will not be eligible for award. See attached for the full-text version of FAR Provision 52.212-3.

Offerors interested in responding to this requirement must provide a quote, at a minimum, for the CLINS identified in the attached document.

The quantities of dry ice pellets per year are approximate.

Offerors must be able to deliver on the following schedule:

a. USUHS and AFRRI on Monday and Thursday before 7:30am EST - USUHS receives 1,040lbs every other Monday; 1,120lbs every other Monday; 720lbs every Thursday. AFRRI receives 280lbs every Monday; 200lbs every Thursday.

     i. If Monday is a Federal Holiday, delivery will be made on Tuesday
     ii. If Thursday is a Federal Holiday, delivery will be made on Friday

b. Building 53 on Monday before 7:30am EST - 160lbs every Monday

     i. If Monday is a Federal Holiday, delivery will be made on Tuesday

All dry ice pellets must be placed in containers that may be easily and safely emptied to provide protection to the handler. Deliveries will be made to AFRRI and Building 53 before USUHS. Delivery tickets for AFRRI and Building 53 are to be given to USUHS Receiving when delivering dry ice to USUHS.

The Government intends to award a single firm fixed price (FFP) option year purchase order to the offeror representing the best value to the Government based upon the evaluation factors listed below. Evaluation factors are listed in order of importance, with most important listed first. The Government will conduct a trade-off between price and non-price factors. The Government is not required to award to the lowest priced offeror or the highest technically rated offeror.

The Government reserves the right to award without discussions.

Evaluation Factors (Listed in order of importance):

1. Price - Interested offerors are to provide a firm fixed price (FFP) quote on all CLINs identified above. All applicable costs must be included in the quote (example: delivery, fuel surcharge, etc.). The total quoted price, to include any surcharges, will be the evaluated price; that is, the unit price quoted must contain any surcharges or other costs.

2. Corporate Experience - Offerors are required to provide a narrative of their corporate experience in delivering dry ice to business customers.

3. Past Performance - The Government shall evaluate the offeror's present and past performance on similar tasks within the past three (3) years. Offerors must provide two (2) customer references for similar work performed. The Government reserves the right to select which reference(s) to contact. The following must be provided for each listed reference:
a. Name of client and address
b. Name of current point of contact including telephone number , e-mail address and title
c. Contract number
d. Contract value
e. Contract period of performance
f. A clear description of the supplies/services provided

USU may request additional information at any time.

Offerors will have an opportunity to address any adverse past performance history. Offerors who do not have any past performance history will not be rated favorably or unfavorably, but will instead receive a Neutral/Unknown rating for past performance. Offerors must clearly state in their quote if they do not have at least two (2) past performance references. Failure to provide this information may render an offeror's quote non-responsive and may not be considered for award.

A strong history of relevant past performance may be more advantageous to the Government than a less relevant record of favorable performance. The Government reserves the right to use data provided by the offeror and data provided by alternative sources in conducting its assessment of past performance history.

This RFQ is subject to the Availability of Funds clause located at FAR 52.232-18. See attached list for applicable provisions and clauses for this requirement.

Questions/clarifications regarding this solicitation must be submitted via email to [email protected] by 10:30am on 19 October 2012. Any question received after 19 October 2012 will not be answered. Questions will not be answered over the phone, nor will questions submitted via any means other than email be answered. All questions will be answered in an amendment to the solicitation posted on or around 24 October 2012.

Quote packages are due by 10:00pm EST on Friday, 26 October 2012. Quotes must be submitted via email to [email protected]. Quotes will not be accepted by any other means. Late quotes will not be considered. Quote packages should include a cover sheet that provides the following information:

• Company Name
• Point of Contact, to include email and phone number
• DUNS number
• Statement that includes acknowledgment of latest amendment number

Place of Performance:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
4301 Jones Bridge Road
Bethesda, MD 20814-4799

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
Building 42 and 53
8901 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20889-5603

Attachments:
Applicable Provisions & Clauses
FAR Provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications
CLIN Structure 

Bid Protests Not Available