State Dept. Gears Up To Release RFP for $5B IT Opportunity for Small Businesses

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The State Department is planning to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) within the next five months for a $5 billion blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for IT hardware products.

The opportunity, known as Access, will provide multiple awards with a 5-year base period of performance and five additional one-year options. The BPAs are subject to the terms and conditions of GSA Schedule 70 for IT hardware, software, services, and solutions.

The State Department’s Global IT Modernization program (GITM) will be the primary user of the BPAs, but the overall goal of the opportunity is to create a “total solution one-stop-shop in the Information Technology market to meet the needs of the U.S. Department of State,” according to the draft RFP released in May 2021.

Vendors will be expected to cost effectively procure all required equipment, any associated software/licenses and warranty support to: 1) maintain DOS networks’ operation and maintenance, 2) maintain the existing IT infrastructure, and 3) add, move, or upgrade/change the networks.

BPAs will include, but are not limited to:

  • Laptops and associated equipment
  • Tablets and associated equipment
  • Desktops and associated equipment
  • Printers and associated equipment
  • Monitors and Smart TVs
  • Video teleconferencing equipment
  • Cellular phones and other handheld communications equipment
  • KVM Consoles, Switches, and associated equipment
  • Webcams, Headsets, and other telecommuting supplies
  • Uninterruptible Power Supplies – Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI), servers and associated equipment

Vendors should have the capability to deliver large volumes of these products to multiple locations around the world as GITM serves approximately 617 locations domestically and overseas.

Officials have not announced the number of awards they plan to issue, but all awards will be reserved for small businesses. The NAICS code for this opportunity is 334111 – Electronic Computer Manufacturing — with a size standard of 1,250 employees.

The Government will use a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract structure for this procurement but reserves the right to employ a combination of Fixed Price Economic Price Adjustment (FPEPA), Labor-hour (LH), or Time & Materials (T&M) contracts.

Open-market items, or those not included in the Holder’s GSA Schedule 70 contract, will be proposed and negotiated at the order level. These items may include other direct costs and costs for materials.

Bidders will be evaluated on four non-price factors:

  1. Past Performance – The Government will evaluate the contractor’s past performance over the past five years, based on responses to surveys and questionnaires.
  2. Supply Chain Risk Management Plan – Bidders must describe processes in place to manage the risks of tampering or unexpected events; in place training to identify and report potential problems; strategies and practices to protect information systems from attacks; and processes in place to guard against insider threats.
  3. Technical Expertise with Scope – The Government will evaluate the bidder’s ability to provide the required products, as well as their methodology to identify new technologies.
  4. Technical Expertise with Converged and Hyperconverged Solutions – The Government will also evaluate the bidder’s response to the sample HCI task order and their proposed modular solution for completeness, correctness, and feasibility.

Contact OST Global Solutions if you are considering bidding and need capture or proposal support.

OST Global Solutions is a professional business development consulting firm. We support large, strategic bids by providing capture and proposal teams to develop a complete, winning proposal. We can also provide consultants to fill gaps or provide surge support on your business development team. Our services related to the Access BPA consist of capture management, proposal management, orals coaching, proposal writing, graphics support, editing, desktop publishing, and cost volume development.

service@ostglobalsolutions.com

(301) 384-3350

 

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