Defense Personnel Support Center, Attn: Dpsc-hfve, 2800 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19101

89 -- VIRTUAL WARTIME VENDOR CONCEPT SOL SP0300-98-R-7000 DUE 122397 POC Debbie O'Donnell, 215-737-7322, Contract Specialist, P.J. Carr, Contracting Officer The Defense Personnel Support Center is interested in developing and accessing commercial market information to maintain visibility over certain commercially available food components needed to support the military services wartime field feeding plan. The food items, which are referred to as Other War Reserve (OWR), consist of an estimated 250 items which fall into various food commodity groups. The food commodity groups consist of canned meat, poultry and fish; dairy foods and eggs; juices; canned fruit and vegetables; starches, cereals, bakery; jams, jellies and spreads; sugars and syrups; soups and gravy mixes; desserts and pie fillings; condiments and sauces; margarines and oils; spices; beverages and disposable items, such as paper cups and trays, plasticware and trash bags. These items are predominantly commercial food components which are part of the military group feeding system. According to the particular military service, the items either become part of an assembled ration or are shipped outindividually. The objectives of this solicitation are (1) to access market information on the availability of commercial inventories necessary to support the OWR program, (2) to improve the ability of the commercial sector to respond to the mobilization needs of the government in the event of a surge in military requirements, (3) to arrange options for the government to purchase some or all of the food items on indefinite quantity contracts, and (4) to reduce the overall costs to the government involved in planning and maintaining visibility over commercial inventory levels. The program focuses on two main areas: Virtual Inventory Management and Shared Supply Arrangements. Under Virtual Inventory Management the objective during normal peacetime operations is to maintain instant access to information on inventory levels at the distributor and/or the manufacturing level. The contractor will be responsible for providing this information to the government semi-annually in the form of a computer printout or report. As part of the semi-annual report, the contractor will included recommendations for item substitutions. The contractor will be required to assist the government in testing this new concept. Participation in government-industry process-review metting will be required semi-annually. The contract awarded under this solicitation will be a firm fixed-price contract for visibility over inventory levels (i.e., for market information) or for information technology to support the OWR program. However, the contract will contain an option for an indefinite-quantity contract which, if exercised, would entitle the government to buy from the contractor any or all of the food items on which information is reported. In general, the government's intent is to excise an option for purchase of food supplies only in the event of a surge in military requirements. Usually, such a surge occurs when the government pervceives a heightened risk of miliary conflict. However, the government might exercise a food-supply option occasionally in peacetime to test the efficiency of the supply system; i.e., to see how smoothly the inventory management system for providing market information can be transformed into an actual supply mechanism. Under the Shared Supply Concept, the contractor is required to establish long-term business arrangements with its major customers that will enable it to meet the potential food-supply requirements of this contract. These third-party customers will agree with the contractor and the government to give the government supply priority for the specified food items during surge situations or when the government has invoked an option to test the food-supply mechanism. The agreement would provide that the government's supply priority would end and the contractor would resume its normal business relationships with its customers, when the government's requirements, whether arising from a surge or a test, are satisfied. This is an unrestricted acquisition with an evaluation preference for small disadvantaged business concerns. Best-value source selection will be utilized in this acquisition, which will include a base year and four one-year options for renewal of the market-information element of the contract. An option for an indefinite quantity contract to buy food supplies will be included as part of the base year market-information contract award. Each one-year option for renewal of the market-information contract will also contain an option for an indefinite-quantity food-supply contract. All responsible sources may submit proposals which will be considered by this Agency. Interested sources can request a copy of the solicitation by faxing a request to Debbie O'Donnell at (215)737-9043. (0289)

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