RE: GR8 NOTICE OF MARKET RESEARCH Grade 8 Market Research Special Notice: dated 3/27/98 The Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC) intends to issue a solicitation and award one or possibly multiple firm fixed price contracts to acquire commercial items included in the CBU-N FSC 5305 Hex Head Cap Screws Grade 8 Catalog. We are issuing this Notice of Market Research as a vehicle for industry to provide recommendations/comments. For a list of the included NSN's, see our web site at: http://www.disc.dla.mil/cbu/n/grade8/grad8ndx.html or E Mail your request to lliss@disc.dla.mil; or FAX your request to Lynn Liss, DISC-NBC07 at (215) 697-0909. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CENTER 700 ROBBINS AVENUE PHILADELPHIA, PA 19111-5096 DISC-NB 27 March 1998 SUBJECT: NOTICE OF MARKET RESEARCH (NMR) REFERENCE NUMBER: 98NMR-N001 VALUED SUPPLIER: The Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC) intends to issue a solicitation and award one or possibly multiple firm fixed price contracts to acquire commercial items for all 600 plus NSN's included in the CBU-N FSC 5305 Hex Head Cap Screws Grade 8 Catalog. Our goal is to include a price list as part of our catalog to assist our customers when ordering these items. We are issuing this Notice of Market Research as a vehicle for industry to provide recommendations/comments and to find out if they would be willing to participate in a resulting contract. In calendar year 1997 we received over 51,000 requisitions with an approximate value of $2,146,649.00. Over 50,700,000 screws were issued to our customers. There is a possibility that more NSN's will be included and required quantities will increase. We expect that most material will be shipped directly to our customers. This will allow the government to increase customer support, as well as decrease administrative lead time. The government will compare industry proposals using Best Value, thus evaluating not only cost and/or price, but other factors as well. Interested parties should provide only pricing methodology for determining prices; price proposals should not be submitted at this time. You are invited to furnish written comments and recommendations regarding commercial practices in establishing a price list. The government will not pay for information received from this market research. After reviewing vendors comments, the government intends to issue a formal Request for Proposal (RFP). If further discussion with industry is needed, a pre-solicitation conference may be held. Vendors may address any or all categories with the NMR. It is requested that responses include, as a minimum, Pricing, Contract Type and Process. Essential Categories Pricing -- Recommend a pricing method (e.g., costs plus Incidental Handling Fee) which includes pricing verification audits and a plan to control costs over time. Contract Type- A fixed price contract would be issued. State the preferred contracting vehicle as well as the terms and conditions of same (e.g., Indefinite Quantity Contract [IQC], Basic Ordering Agreement [BOA], etc.). What type of guarantee, if any, would you require to enter into an IQC with the government? Process- Recommend a procedure from the onset of requirement to delivery of material to the customer, as well as invoicing, and other reporting issues. Related Issues Responsiveness- Provide a plan to supply all the catalog items. If there are some catalog items which require other than the customary commercial practice, please specify and suggest an alternate approach. Indicate procedures for processing Part Number changes, Drawing/Revision Verification and other technical/quality/packaging issues. Timeliness- Indicate your likely response time (indicating that you can or cannot supply the required item) from notification of the requirement. Cancellations- Describe the commercial practice that could be adopted to govern cancellations. Returns and Discrepancies- Describe the commercial practice that could be adopted to govern returns and discrepancies. EDI Capabilities- Identify requirement notification, award and reporting mechanisms. All interested parties are requested to submit written comments regarding the feasibility of the aforementioned and include a response to the attached questionnaire. Please include any other information which you might think appropriate. The Defense Industrial Supply Center strives to be our customer's supplier of choice by providing the best available support. We are confident that with your support and cooperation, we will attain that goal. All written responses to this NMR are to be submitted to the following by 5:00 P.M., DISC Local Time, 01 May 1998 via Email, FAX or mail. Responses received after this date will be evaluated as time permits. Defense Industrial Supply Center 700 Robbins Avenue ATTN: Lynn Liss, DISC-NBC07 Philadelphia, PA 19111-5096 FAX (215) 697-0909 E-mail: lliss@disc.dla.mil Additional Market research Questions for: Grade 8 Hex Head Cap Screws Name of contractor Address City State Zip code Phone # Fax # Point of contact(s): CAGE: Are you a Manufacturer / Dealer or Both? Are you a small/large/female/disadvantaged business? How is the commercial industry typically supplying Grade 8 Cap Screws? What are standard commercial terms and conditions found in industry contracts? Describe your procedures if different than above: Are you a qualified manufacturer / dealer for any OEM or gov't agency? Is your material obtained from or through? Manufacturers Approved distributors Intermediaries Other How are orders placed? Purchase / Delivery orders Credit card Phone Internet Fax What are your current electronic capabilities? Do you use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)? Are you willing and able to provide an electronic catalog? What are the current trends in technology? After an order is placed, what is your delivery time? Min Average Max How do you handle late shipments? (backorder items) How would you handle sudden increases in demand? Where do you ship material? Continental United States (CONUS) Overseas-commercial Overseas-Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Shipment carrier used? US MAIL UPS Overnight express Other How is material packaged? Type of commercial packaging? Type of information or marking placed on package? Do you have a commercial price list? If so, how often is it updated? Is the price list available to your customers? Do you provide discounts? If so, under what conditions? How long do you typically hold your prices? At what quantities are there quantity price breaks? Would range pricing of these items be standard commercial practice? What about pricing by similar characteristics? e.g.: size or manufacturing processes Is there a Min/Max per order by dollar or Qty? Is there a Min/Max Qty per Item or shipping location? What are your Commercial Grade 8 cap screw technical requirements? Do you mark or require marking of individual parts? e.g.: LOGO How do you ensure product quality? What quality systems do you currently have in place? Are you currently supplying Grade 8 Cap Screws to the government? If so, what would be your recommendations to reduce overall costs? If we have any questions, how would you like to exchange correspondence? Mail Fax E-mail Phone Call Please include any other additional comments or information which you might think appropriate:

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0458 19980417\SP-0006.MSC)