DESIGN, SALES/MARKETING AND INSTALLATION OF OFFICE CASEGOODS AND SEATING The following is a Request for Comment (RFC), a synopsis of information for planning purposes, and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). UNICOR, Federal Prison Industries is seeking industry information/comments for the purpose of soliciting and award of a single contract for the design, installation, comprehensive sales, customer services and marketing services for UNICOR's office furniture case goods and seating. The scope of work proposes three levels of design service, sales and installation, and marketing services. The scope of work of services required are outlined as follows: (1) Contact Service -- A customer request for assistance in design, layout, ordering, and installation of UNICOR office case goods and seating will normally be referred to the contractor by Marketing Services, Project Management or Program Management. The contractor will contact the customer telephonically within 24 hours after referral and will arrange an on-site visit, if necessary, within the following 72 hours. During contacts with the customer the contractor should be prepared to offer the following contact services; Provide product literature, Demonstrate products ( UNICOR will provide product training to the contractor ), Provide product comparisons ( requires knowledge of private sector seating and case goods ), Provide product lead time / delivery quotations, Review and develop product definition and selection, Provide product price quotations, Facilitate strategic planning for design and purchase scheduling, Provide installation service lead-time/ delivery quotation, Provide installation price quotation, Provide design price quotation, Interface with with UNICOR Project Management to develop a single point of contact for project. (2) Small Project Design Service ( 5 to 30 0ffice settings ) -- The contractor will offer on-site design services for 5 to 30 office settings of case goods, and/or seating. Services provided will include the following; A client interview to document requirements, Design andspecification conversion, Inventory of existing furniture, Verification of site conditions and measurement of office areas ( required for most customer sites ), Architectural programming, Design concept and price quote, Furniture layout drawing and bill of materials, Design consultation during purchasing and installation, Price quotation. It should be recognized that UNICOR customers are not obligated to use our installation service. Marketing this service as a turnkey package solution to our customers should function to limit customers choosing someone other than UNICOR, as long as the contractor's reputation for good service remains intact. (3) Large Project Design Service ( 31 office settings and above ). Design service for large projects of 31 offices or above will be on a customer fee basis and will be quoted based on an hourly rate. The contractor will quote the design fee and installation fee as part of the initial contact phase of the project. Large project design services will include the following—Client interviews to document requirements, Design and specification conversion, Inventory of existing furniture, Verification of site conditions and site measurements, Provide architectural programming, Initial design concept and initial cost estimate, Design concept at 30% CID completion, Furniture floor plan and interim cost estimate, Full graphic presentation of design at 60% CID completion, Revision and finalization of design, (a space plan, a bill of materials, and a cost quotation ), Purchase and installation instructions and detail/working drawings, Final design proposal at 90% CID completion, Design consultation during purchase and installation. (4) Sales and Marketing Service -- UNICOR is seeking assistance in sales and marketing of our case goods and seating lines of furniture to Federal customers. The increased sales UNICOR is seeking would be in addition to sales generated by our in-house sales and marketing branch. The offeror would be required to provide a plan to explain how the interface between UNICOR sales staff and the contractor's sales staff would work. The contractor will develop leads and contact Federal customers to present all UNICOR office case good and seating furniture line as well as FPI's schedule of products on behalf of UNICOR. Sales and marketing materials will be provided to the contractor free of charge to assist in the sales effort. UNICOR is extremely sensitive to negative perceptions from customers concerning the use of high pressure sales tactics. Under no circumstances is the offeror authorized to use the mandatory source provision as a pressure tactic. The contractor will rely on salesmanship of features and benefits of the product to gain and close a customer sale. Reports documenting sales leads and orders gained will be required to be submitted weekly to Program Management. (5) Installation Services ( all project sizes ) -- The contractor will provide installation services for customer orders of all quantities upon referral from the Customer Service Centeror UNICOR Project Management. These services will be customer-fee based and will be quoted as a separate line item on the bill of materials. These installation services do not include line haul transportation from the UNICOR factory to the customer site or contractor provided off- site warehouses. The cost of this transportation is included in the UNICOR destination pricing structure. Installation service can be generally considered to include, inside delivery, set up, assembly, removal and disposal of trash, and warranty repairs or replacement. Specific services included in installation service are as follows: Site verification, including, identification of access and staging areas and special customer needs and procedures, Pre-installation orientation to coordinate agency requirements and work plans, Temporary off-site warehousing of furniture and seating being delivered from multiple factories, Relocation and placement of existing furniture, Inside delivery and installation including coordination with building and trade services, Product assembly, Product quality inspection and damage documentation, Trash removal and disposal, site clean up, and furnishings cleaning, Furniture adjustment and leveling, user orientation, Close out of shipping and receiving documents, Punch list development and coordination, Product repair, touch-up, and maintenance, Product reconfiguration / relocation design and installation. (6) Project Coordination -- During the design and ordering phases of a case goods /seating project, the contractor will coordinate all work through the UNICOR Marketing Consultant based in the customers' region. After the customer actually places their order with UNICOR, a Project Manager will be assigned as the sole point of contact with the customer. The contractor will at that time coordinate all phases of delivery and installation with the assigned Project Manager. It is expected the contractor will assume a coordination role in monitoring and tracking shipments of shipments during the line haul so unexpected delays are avoided and the customer receives a smooth delivery and installation transition. The contractor, however, is prohibited from calling UNICOR factories directly, all coordination must be done through the Project Manager. This will ensure the integrity of the "customer sole point of contact process." The contractor will be required to provide, at minimum, a weekly report to the Project Manager updating installation plans, schedules and coordinating punch list and warranty work as required. It is critical that the contractor provides accurate and timely work order close out documentation for billing purposes. Sign-off should be obtained on all delivered and installed furniture with which the customer is satisfied. At the same time a punch list should be signed by the customer which lists all discrepancies. A final customer sign-off should be obtained upon completion of all punch list items, indicating the customer is completely satisfied with all furniture and seating. The final sign-off should be sent to the Project Manager and all factories involved. (7) Compensation Structure -- Pricing for various fee services in this contract should be submitted in matrix form under the headings listed. The prices in these categories may be arranged in groupings or on a sliding scale from small to large. Sales and Marketing, Small Project Design, Large Project Design, Installation Services. Proposed space plans must meet the accessibility standards, FED-STD 795 / 1988 Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards and 28 CFR-Part 36 / ADA Accessibility Guidelines. Contractors and FPI will conduct quarterly performance evaluation/reconciliation meetings to discuss operations and to resolve differences regarding sales and marketing issues and for fees earned. The Senior Program Manager will function as the Fee Determination official. FPI shall maintain a surveillance plan to facilitate the assessment of contractor performance and the use of performance incentives and dis-incentives, as well as cost control measures. UNICOR Program Management will maintain oversight of this contract. The contractor will not be authorized to speak for UNICOR except for advising the customer on standard price and availability of products. The contractor cannot issue discounts or waivers and cannot commit UNICOR to performance without prior specific authorization by the Project Manager or Program Management. A post contract award meeting will be held to review procedures and details relating to the performance of this contract. UNICOR is receptive to any and all ideas or feedback that would limit unnecessary constraining requirements, realize a cost savings, or highlight potential technical problem areas associated with this initiative. Comments, supportive or critical are earnestly solicited. Comments received by industry may or may not be used to revise the current statement of work. The government does not intend to pay for the information solicited and will not recognize any costs associated with the submission of the RFC. Responses to this RFC are due no later August 31, 1998. We request all responses be written and mailed to: UNICOR, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20534, Attn: John Carlock (202)305-7390 fax (202)305-7363, or e-mail: jcarlock@central.unicor.gov. WEB: No solicitation at this time, http://www.unicor.gov/procurement/furniture/index.html. E-MAIL: Click here to contact Contracting Officer via e-mail, jcarlock@central.unicor.gov. Posted 07/29/98 (W-SN229914).

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