SOLICITATION NOTICE
84 -- Request for Information and Industry Conference Notice for Marine Corps Physical Training Uniform
- Notice Date
- 1/8/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- M67854 Quantico, VA
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- M6785407I3021
- Response Due
- 1/22/2007
- Archive Date
- 2/28/2007
- Description
- The full text of this announcement along with additional technical requirements are provided as attachment M6785407I3021.zip to this notice. Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM), Combat Equipment and Support Systems (CESS) will host a Physical Training Uniform Industry Conference during the Outdoor Retailer (OR) Show in Salt Lake City, Utah. Specifically, the conference will be held from 0800 to 1700 on 29 January 2007, at the Grand America Hotel located at 555 South Main St, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111, phone number 801-258-6000. The Industry Conference on 29 January will consist of a briefing, followed by an open question and answer session, and close with individual sessions no longer than 30 minutes in length. If your company is exhibiting at the OR Show, please schedule an appointment to meet at your booth on either 27 or 28 January in lieu of scheduling an appointment for 29 January. If companies are not able to attend the conference in Salt Lake City, an alternative date for meetings is set for individuals at Quantico on an appointment only basis. Details for scheduling all meetings will be prov ided at the end of this announcement. Participation in this Industry Conference, the OR Show or at MARCORSYSCOM, is totally voluntary and in no way obligates the government to award any contracts or pay any cost associated with such participation. This conference is part of MARCORSYSCOM?s effort to identify potential sources and best practice information regarding the availability, design and development of a Physical Training (PT) jacket and pant set that will provide protection from physical elements such as rain. At the conference, MARCORSYSCOM will provide an overview of current issues, uses, desired delivery schedule, capability needs and constraints, and provide other information and answers to written questions or concerns received before the conference date. A determination has not yet been made as to whether or not to set the requirement aside for small businesses. Therefore, the conference will also serve MARCORSYSCOM as a tool for surveying the marketplace t o determine the availability of qualified small businesses to fulfill the requirement. The Marine Corps would like to explore design capabilities and technologies available (to include commercial and modified commercial solutions) in a physical training running suit that will allow Marines to train and be comfortable in all types of weather. This suit must also be suitable for Marines to wear on liberty. Also important is the requirement that any design submitted be branded with the Marine Corps logo and name to facilitate the use of the uniform as a recruiting tool throughout the Marine Corps. Use of the Marine Corps logo shall be patent protected. The suit should also be compatible with the existing PT clothing system which includes the following: a synthetic olive drab t-shirt, olive drab physical training shorts, olive drab cotton sweatshirt and sweatpants. At a minimum, the contractor shall show improvements from the current sweat suit combination in improved fit, comfort, and reduced weight. The first layer of clothing the Marine w ears is the base layer to include a t-shirt and PT shorts, both of which have moisture wicking, quick drying and antimicrobial characteristics. Fabrics that possess a micro fiber hand are highly desirable so long as they meet durability requirements. For liners, moisture management, weight, antimicrobial characteristics and elasticity are all critical considerations. Additionally, the jacket and pant set must be breathable, quick drying, machine washable, possess anti-microbial properties, and be reflective, water resistant and durable. Appropriate industry standard testing during the source selection process will determine the quality of any offeror?s submittal with respect to the above listed properties. However, potential offerors should plan to present and submit results of any independent testing available that will provide proof that the submitted design conforms to the above properties. Berry Amendment restrictions will apply to any future procurement; therefore offerors will be required to certify proposed articles are Berry Amen dment compliant and may also be required to provide additional information confirming compliance. NOTE, THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS NOTICE AND AT THE INDUSTRY CONFERENCE IS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME. Detailed requirements and instructions will be provided through a formal solicitation. A formal solicitation has not yet been developed, however a solicitation is planned for release during fiscal year 2007. During the source selection process offerors may be limited to one prototype design per proposal. It is anticipated that the designs will go through an initial down select using stated requirements provided in the solicitation and the testing requirements provided below as the basis for selection of the top four designs. Designs proposed will be evaluated by actual Marine users in conjunction with government personnel and a determination will be made on desired design features. Fifty samples of the four semi-final designs selecte d will be purchased to enable Marines to proceed with the next phase of evaluation, for a combined total of 200 samples to be purchased. An in-depth web survey and field user evaluation of the four semi-final designs selected will then determine the final design slated for production. Production quantities for the final design are anticipated to be at least 40,000 sets with the intent to sustain equivalent quantities through Defense Supply Center Philadelphia . However, this is only a preliminary estimate and is subject to change at any time. In designing/developing a Physical Training Suit, companies are expected to apply best practice human-factors, and business analysis to meet the needs of Marines. For those interested parties unable to attend the Conference or OR Show, a limited number of individual sessions to be held at MARCORSYSCOM, Quantico, Virginia can be arranged with the acquisition team by appointment only to discuss company-specific ideas and concerns. Such one-on-one sessions will be conducted 1 February 2007, will not e xceed 30 minutes and should include company qualifications, samples of products and fabrics, as well as best practice ideas towards creating Physical Training items exhibiting innovative design. Firms must limit participation in one-on-one meetings to no more than three people. Companies wishing to schedule an appointment on any of the aforementioned dates should register no later than 22 January, 2007, 4:00 PM Eastern Time, by emailing a request to Portia Blunt at portia.blunt@usmc.mil with a copy to Lisandra Torres, Contract Specialist at lisandra.torres@usmc.mil. All e-mail requests, whether for a meeting at a booth or the Conference in Salt Lake City, or for an individual session at Quantico, shall at a minimum include the following information: attendees? name, business size, organization, position/title, e-mail address and telephone number. Offerors are also requested to provide a capabilities package no later than 22 January 2007. Packages shall be submitted to Commander, Marine Corps Systems Command, Contracts Directorate CT023, Attn: Lisandra Torres (Ref: RFI M67854-07-I-3021), 2201A Willis Street, Quantico, VA, 22134-5010. The capabilities package shall include any independent test results available showing that the submitted design conforms to the above properties, small fabric swatches, a statement as to Berry Amendment compliance for all items under consideration, and a brief summary of manufacturing capabilities, production capacities and schedules, and rough price point estimates. Compliances and summaries included in the package shall be limited to no more than 5 single-sided, type-written pages total. Questions regarding this notice should be submitted to the Contract Specialist, Lisandra Torres at lisandra.torres@usmc.mil. Answers to written questions submitted prior to the Industry Conference will be posted at a later date via notice on FEDBIZOPPS. Answers to questions brought up at or submitted after the Indust ry Conference will also be posted via notice on FEDBIZOPPS. Interested parties are advised that ALL QUESTIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING NO LATER THAN 7 FEBRUARY 2007 to the Contract Specialist at the e-mail address provided. No phone calls will be accepted. THE SUBMISSION OF THIS INFORMATION IS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO PROCURE ANY ITEMS/SERVICES, OR FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED. NO ENTITLEMENT TO PAYMENT OF DIRECT OR INDIRECT CHARGES BY THE GOVERNMENT WILL ARISE AS A RESULT OF SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES TO THIS RFI AND GOVERNMENT USE OF SUCH INFORMATION. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT EXISTS.
- Record
- SN01207487-W 20070110/070108221052 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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