Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Administration, Division of Contracts and Property Management, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852-2738

T -- LIBRARY SERIAL SUBSCRIPTION AGENT SOL RS-CIO-00-171 DUE 110399 POC Mona Selden, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 415-7907, Fax (301) 415-8157, Email mcs1@nrc.gov -- Mona Selden, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 415-7907, Fax (301) 415-8157, Email mcs1@nrc.gov WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=P&;ProjID=RS-CIO-00-171 &LocID=2206. E-MAIL: Mona Selden, mcs1@nrc.gov. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial item, prepared in accordance with FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. Direct all questions or inquiries referencing this RFP to Mona C. Selden, Contract Specialist (301) 415-7907, (301) 415-8157(fax). Sealed offers must be received at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Division of Contracts and Property Management, T-7-I-2, Washington, DC 20555, by 3:30 P.M. on 11/3/99. All hand carried proposals including those delivered by private delivery services must be delivered to the loading dock security station located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 and received in the depository located in Room T-7I2. All offerors shall allow extra time for internal mail distribution. NRC is a secure facility with perimeter access control and NRC personnel are only available to receive hand carried proposals between 7:30 AM -- 3:30PM, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. Solicitation No. CIO-00-171 herein is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP is for full and open competition and the SIC code is 7389. The NRC intends to issue a Commercial Item, Fixed Price Requirements Type, Delivery Order Contract with a period of performance of one year with two one-year option periods. The NRC requires the SERVICES OF A SUBSCRIPTION AGENT in providing serial subscription services for the NRC Library. NOTE: THE ATTACHMENT CAN BE FOUND AT http://www.nrc.gov/ADM/CONTRACT/solcon.html BACKGROUND -- The NRC Technical Library currently subscribes to approximately 400 domestic and foreign serial titles. Most are scientific in nature, but general magazines and legal journals are also received. Subscriptions to these serials are necessary to provide current information on subjects of interest to NRC staff in performing their duties. Because of the large number of titles involved, the services of a subscription agent are required. BASIC SUBSCRIPTION ORDERING REQUIREMENTS -- The Contractor shall place the basic subscription orders for each calendar year in an expeditious manner in order to prevent subscriptions from lapsing and to avoid gaps in the Library's holdings. It is MANDATORY that the Contractor provide NRC with the titles on the NRC's Subscription Order List at the current publishers' prices. It is MANDATORY that the Contractor have sufficient capital funding on hand to prepay subscriptions, as necessary, before NRC makes its initial major payment. The Contractor shall order new subscriptions during the calendar year upon oral or written request of the NRC Project Officer. The order request for domestic titles shall be placed within 10 calendar days of receipt by the Contractor. The order request for foreign titles shall be placed within 20 calendar days of receipt by the Contractor. A written report on the status of all new orders shall be furnished to NRC's Project Officer on a monthly basis, on the date specified by the Project Officer . NRC may occasionally require that an order request be placed on a rush basis. For such orders, the Contractor shall advise the publisher of the request and place the order within 24 hours from notification by NRC. The Contractor shall immediately advise NRC of the estimated date for receipt of the first issue. The Contractor shall submit four copies of the Annual Renewal Lists for the next calendar year no later than August 1 of each year. Separate lists for each NRC Ship-To Address shall be provided in four copies, containing quotations of current publishers' list prices so that NRC can make any necessary additions, deletions, or corrections. BILL-TO AND SHIP-TO ADDRESS REQUIREMENTS -- The Contractor shall order subscriptions in multiple copies and ship them to multiple addresses, while maintaining one overall Bill-To Account. At the present time, NRC has approximately 11 Ship-To Addresses, including the Regional Offices, eachreceiving a separate list of serial titles. One of these Ship-To Address lists contains the names and mail-stops of NRC Headquarters Staff located in Rockville, MD, to whom serial issues are sent direct from the publisher. The Contractor shall ensure that the publishers receive the names and mail-stops of the Headquarters Staff and instruct them to send issues to their attention at the common Ship-To Address. The Contractor shall not treat each named staff member as a separate Ship-To Address. The Contractor shall advise the publisher of the change of address, either Ship-To Address or Headquarters Staff mail-stop, no later than five calendar days of receipt of the request from NRC, at no additional charge. The Contractor shall provide NRC, on a monthly basis, a written summary of address changes, showing the date of the request and the date the publisher was notified. CLAIMS AND CREDITS -- NRC will make an oral or written claim. (Contractor may provide a standard form) The Contractor shall handle claims for missing issues no later than five calendar days from the date of notification by NRC. The claim shall be resolved no later than 20 calendar days from the date of notification by NRC. The Contractor shall provide, on a monthly basis (date specified by the NRC Project Officer), a written report on the status of all claims. The Contractor shall not charge an additional service fee for claiming missing issues. When a publisher credits the Contractor for any of NRC's orders, the Contractor shall immediately credit NRC's account in the full amount and inform NRC with a credit memorandum. When NRC cancels a subscription, the Contractor shall immediately credit NRC's account with any refund and inform the NRC with a credit memorandum. LISTS OF TITLES -- The Contractor shall provide a master computer list of titles in alphabetical order, showing the number of copies, frequency, subscription period, and price. The Contractor shall provide a computer list of titles in alphabetical order, showing the number of copies, frequency, subscription period, and price for each Ship-To Address. The Contractor shall provide a computer list of titles in alphabetical order, showing the number of copies, frequency, subscription period, and price for Headquarters Staff, including the name and mail stop. In the case of bill-later items, an estimated price shall be provided. The NRC may request a separate list of bill-later titles. All lists shall be provided to the Project Officer no later than ten calendar days from the date requested by the Project Officer. All lists shall be in either black type on standard 8-1/2" X 11" white paper or electronic format, or both. Titles shall be in a consistent, generally accepted form based on current serial cataloging practices. The lists shall be left-justified by title, with all related information, including the Headquarters Staff Ship-To Address, under a given title and indented to the right. FACILITIES, PERSONNEL, AND CATALOG -- The Contractor shall have sufficient computer facilities, operated and managed in-house, to generate required lists of titles and monthly reports that are accurate, timely, and properly formatted. The Contractor shall designate one primary and one alternate personnel for this contract. Each shall be qualified to provide all services of a serial subscription agent, including the resolution of any problems that may arise. Each shall have a minimum of two years experience in utilizing the Contractor's in-house computer facilities. Each shall be knowledgeable of current library cataloging practices for serials, in order to establish consistent entries in the Contractor's catalog and to facilitate searches for variant entries. The Contractor shall immediately advise the Project Officer of any change in the designated personnel. The Contractor's Annual Published Catalog shall serve as the basis for titles available from the Contractor. However, the Contractor shall provide new or obscure titles after bibliographic research. The Contractor shall provide all titles ordered byNRC. If for some reason the Contractor cannot provide a title, the Contractor shall immediately notify the NRC and provide a written explanation as to why the title cannot be ordered. The Contractor shall provide all of the titles on NRC's renewal lists. The Contractor shall send the Annual Catalog to the Project Officer no later than March 1 of each year. The Contractor shall inform the NRC of title changes and titles that have ceased publication, as soon as this information becomes available. The Contractor shall administer all subscriptions placed under this contract until the expiration of the subscription, even if the contract's period of performance has expired. PLACE OF DELIVERY -- The subscriptions to be furnished hereunder shall be delivered, with all charges paid by the Contractor, to the addresses listed on the "Ship To" List. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS -- The order request for domestic titles shall be placed within 10 calendar days of receipt by the Contractor. The order request for foreign titles shall be placed within 20 calendar days of receipt by the Contractor. The Contractor shall advise the publisher of the change of address, either Ship-To Address or Headquarters Staff mail-stop, no later than 5 calendar days of receipt of the request from NRC. The Contractor shall handle claims for missing issues no later than 5 calendar days from the date of notification by NRC. The claim shall be resolved no later than 20 calendar days from the date of notification by NRC. A written report on the status of all new orders shall be furnished to NRC on a monthly basis (date specified by the NRC Project Officer). The Contractor shall provide a written summary of address changes, showing the date of the request and the date the publisher was notified on a monthly basis (date specified by the NRC Project Officer). The Contractor shall provide a written report on the status of all claims on a monthly basis (date specified by the NRC Project Officer). The Contractor shall send the Annual Catalog to the NRC Project Officer no later than March 1 of each year. The Contractor shall submit four copies of the Annual Renewal Lists for the next calendar year no later than August 1 of each year. The Contractor shall provide the following lists, in alphabetical order, showing the number of copies, frequency, subscription period, and price, no later than 10 calendar days from the date requested by the NRC Project Officer: a master computer list of titles, a computer list of titles for each Ship-To Address, a computer list of titles for Headquarters Staff, including the name and mail stop. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS -- Proposals must be typed, legible and printed or reproduced on letter-size paper. PROPOSALS SHALL NOT EXCEED 50 PAGES (if both sides of a page are used, each side is counted as one page). ANY PAGES BEYOND THE FIRST 50 WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE EVALUATION. All charts, graphs and other information will be counted in the page limitation. Foldouts and sales brochures are prohibited. All technical questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing and must be faxed no later than 10/27/99. The Contracting Officer will not respond in writing to questions received after the deadline for receipt of questions. Proposals in response to this solicitation must be submitted in separate and distinct parts: 1 original and 3 copies of the "Cost Proposal" and 1 original and 3 copies of the "Technical and Management Proposal." Offerors are notified that all information provided in their proposals must be accurate, truthful, and complete to the best of the Offeror's knowledge and belief. The Commission will rely upon all such representations made by the Offeror both in the evaluation process and for the performance of the work by the Offeror selected for award. NRC intends to evaluate offers and award without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial proposal should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if laterdetermined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS -- PRICING -- This is a 1 year contract that includes 2 one-year options. The offeror shall submit an overall cost proposal for the entire period of performance (base period and option years). All Offerors shall submit on separate line items: 1)an estimated price of proposed renewal orders and a fixed fee that includes all costs for providing the services for the base year, 2) an estimated price of proposed renewal orders and a fixed fee that includes all costs for providing the services for each option year, and 3) a total estimated price for the base and option years. See the Attachment for a list of current Subscription Titles. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS -- TECHNICAL & MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL -- The Proposal shall not contain any reference to prices. The Offeror shall submit full and complete information, in the order set forth below, to permit the NRC to perform a thorough evaluation and make a sound determination of whether the offeror will have a reasonable likelihood of meeting the requirements and objectives of this procurement. The Proposal shall be fully self-contained, and shall specifically address the technical evaluation factors. EVALUATION FACTORS -- In accordance with FAR 52.212-2(a), the following factors will be used to evaluate offerors: PRICE-To be considered for an award, the proposed cost must be realistic and reasonable. Although cost is a factor in the evaluation of proposals, technical merit in the evaluation criteria set forth below is a more significant factor in the selection of a contractor. The TECHNICAL EVALUATION FACTORS are Corporate Experience (50 pts) and Past Performance (50 pts). To demonstrate CORPORATE EXPERIENCE the offeror should identify and discuss contracts similar in size (dollar value) and scope to this requirement that your firm has performed within the past 5 years; identify and discuss contracts with directly related experience in providing the services described in the SOW, particularly, the ability to fill new subscriptions with domestic titles within 10 days and foreign titles within 20 days; the ability to handle rush requests, to claim missing issues, and expedite change of addresses. Identify the type of contract, title (which includes a brief description of services provided), sponsoring agency (firm), and contract number. In addition, demonstrate that you have sufficient computer facilities, operated and managed in-house to generate the required lists of titles and monthly reports. Demonstrate your ability to provide qualified personnel and the quality control procedures for performance of work. Finally, demonstrate that you have sufficient corporate funds on hand to permit prepayment of renewal subscriptions prior to receiving initial payment from NRC. To demonstrate PAST PERFORMANCE, provide pertinent details regarding your firm's performance history (quality of services) on contracts similar in scope to this requirement. Demonstrate your ability to control costs and timeliness of performance. Include letters of commendation and any other available factual documentation to support your firm's performance history. Provide any other pertinent information that will aid in the evaluation of your performance record. Identify ALL contracts that your firm has been awarded that were terminated for convenience or default, or subject to any disputes. Provide the contract number, client's name, address, current telephone number for the technical representative and contracting officer, period of performance and description of services being provided for 5 contracts performed by your firm that are similar in scope to this procurement. NRC intends to contact these references and request the completion of a performance survey questionnaire. This information will be used in determining the Competitive Range. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES -- The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-13. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; 52.212-2, Evaluation Commercial Items; and 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items apply to this acquisition. Offerors must submit a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with its offer. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition with the following additional clauses: 52.203-6, 52.203-10, 52.216-18, 52.216-21, 52.217-9, 52.219-8, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.232-33, and 52.247-34. mmmm Posted 10/21/99 (D-SN393701). (0294)

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