THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MS VIRGINIA (GINNY) SLAYTON @ 706-787-2019 OR [email protected] 65-Medical Supplies-Potential Sources Sought

A. General Information.

The Southeast Region (TRBO Reg. 3 & 4), a military integrated delivery network, comprised of 46 Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and affiliated MTFs in the countries of Honduras and Cuba, and the territory of Puerto Rico announces a Request for Regional Incentive Agreement Quotation (RFRIAQ) for the standardization of HOT AND COLD THERAPY PACKS. The primary objective of this program is to standardize the quality of care across this region based on a best value determination that represents the clinically preferred product or source(s) at the best possible price. It is also intended that standardized product be obtained through the DoD Prime Vendor Program. The major facilities in the Southeast Region include, but are not limited to, Eisenhower Army Medical Center (FT Gordon, GA), Winn Army Community Hospital (FT Stewart, GA), Martin Army Community Hospital (FT Benning, GA), Naval Hospital Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville, FL), 96th Medical Group (Eglin AFB, FL), Naval Hospital Pensacola (Pensacola, FL), Naval Hospital Beaufort (Beaufort, SC), 81st Medical Group (Keesler AFB, MS) and the 6th Medical Group (MacDill AFB, FL). This standardization action is part of the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor program executed by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Directorate of Medical Materiel. In order to participate, your company MUST have a Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA) and a separate commercial agreement with the Prime Vendors for the program. This is pursuant to the DAPA clause by which DAPA holders agree to the Standardization process and to allow Prime Vendors to distribute their products. This RFRIAQ will result in Regional Incentive Agreements (RIAs) that supplement the Prime Vendor Program. The RFQ will not result in a contract award. For additional information regarding DSCPs Prime vendor program please access their web site at https://dmmonline.dscp.dla.mil.
The resulting Regional Incentive Agreement (RIA) will be for a base period of two year(s) (24 months) from date of selection with three 12-month option periods (not to exceed 5 years.) Anticipated selection date is October 2009. The evaluation will be based on clinical, technical, and pricing factors. Clinical/performance and technical/company factors will be weighted more heavily than price. The Technical/Company and Clinical/Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than cost or price. As the technical and clinical evaluation results become more equal, price will become more important. The selection will be determined utilizing Best value/ trade-off criteria. The selection of a single vendor is anticipated. However, if no single vendor can meet the total requirement of the Southeast region, the government reserves the right to make two or more selections for RIAs. In this event, selection would be based on a combination of MTF preference and product availability.
Point of Contact: Ginny Slayton, (706) 787-2019, [email protected]

B. Products & Performance Required.
The Southeast Region is seeking product line items in the category of HOT AND COLD THERAPY PACKS, which at a minimum includes the high volume lines below. Within this region, this product line has an estimated annual dollar requirement of $60,976.17. This forecast is based on historical prime vendor sales during a recent 12-month period. The top high volume usage lines for this project are shown in the Technical/Company Criteria below. At the request of the Southeast Regional MTFs, vendors will provide on-site support and in-servicing during implementation, conversion information, prime vendor order numbers, and itemization of the brands, types and packaging information of the products supplied by the vendor.

C. Instructions to Vendors.
DAPA holders interested in participating in this standardization initiative should email their detailed responses to the technical/company criteria and (1) Company name and address, (2) Company POC (Name and Phone Number, Fax Number, and E-mail address) to Ginny Slayton, (706) 787-2019, [email protected]. Submissions must be received by COB 5:00 PM EDT on the specified closing date/time of this sources sought notice. Vendors that fail to meet this submittal deadline will be disqualified from participating in the standardization process.
This process will include vendor requirements to provide electronic responses to technical criteria, no charge samples for clinical evaluation, and submission of electronic best price quotes. Due to the potential for email to be lost in transmission, from network security, etc., vendors are strongly encouraged to confirm with the Region that its initial submission, quote and literature actually arrived at the Region via email. Each submitting vendor is advised to confirm receipt, allowing adequate time for resubmission before the due date/time, should a problem occur with the first submission. Vendors that do not meet the deadline of COB 5:00PM EST on the date listed for closing (per the FBO RFQ), will be disqualified from further consideration in the standardization initiative. All email communications between vendors and the Region should be digitally signed by the issuer.

D. Evaluation Criteria.
The Tri-Service Product Review Board (TPRB) is the governing body of the standardization process. This board includes clinicians and logisticians from the Military Treatment Facilities within the Southeast Region. They are the deciding officials for this initiative.
The Region intends to evaluate quotes and select a vendor or vendors, on initial submissions/quotes. Vendor quotes should contain the vendor's best product matches for the products or product lines requested in this announcement. Vendor quotes should contain the vendor's best tiered-pricing discounts off of the vendor's DAPA pricing (based on committed volume of 80% of the total requirements of the MTFs in the Region). (Note: vendors that fail to submit a discount from DAPA will be disqualified. Note: Where lower FSS prices are available, DAPA holders are required by previous agreement to provide the FSS price as the DAPA price. Vendors shall not quote FSS prices as the discounted price for purposes of this standardization initiative.) However, the Region reserves the right to conduct discussions and request revised quotes, if determined necessary. The Region reserves the right to limit the number of quotes to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among vendors. The Region reserves the right to make a down-selection during the evaluation process based on considerations of efficient competition.
Phase I Technical/Company Evaluation Process. Interested vendors are to respond to this FBO announcement by emailing their detailed responses and required documentation to [email protected] by the required response date. Vendors are required to meet/provide responses to the technical/company criteria stated below. All technical/company criteria are weighted equally. The responses will be reviewed by the Clinical Product Team (CPT) to determine the acceptability of each vendor. After the review of the technical/company criteria, those vendors who meet the following technical/company criteria will be qualified / invited to participate in the clinical/performance evaluation process as well as the price analysis process and will be requested to submit their best product/price discount quotes via an email communication with each vendor.
In general, acceptability for the purposes of validation of technical/company criteria is defined as follows: Generally, responses to all questions in the technical/company criteria demonstrate that: (1) based on the vendors responses, the evaluators have reasonable confidence that the line of products and /or services submitted meet the medical standards of care of the community, applicable to such products and services; (2) the vendors information provided is factually correct. Any misrepresentation of information will disqualify the vendor from further consideration. NOTE: Specific technical/company criteria will require an additional, more-specific definition of technical acceptability. The specific standard for technical acceptability will be set forth with the individual statement of each criterion, as required.

The following equally weighted Technical/Company Evaluation Criteria have been established for this standardization initiative:
1. Vendor MUST provide a complete line of Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products. A complete line of product is defined as the MTFs requirements for usage items in the product line. Usage items are defined in the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor contract statement of work, as DAPA items ordered at least once per month, and at least one unit per order.
a. At a minimum the vendor must provide the following Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products: Hot Therapy Packs - Instant, Disposable, Single-Use in the following sizes-4x10in, 6X9in, 6X10in, 7X9IN, and 6x7 1/2in. Cold Therapy Packs- Instant, Disposable, Single-Use in the following sizes-6X9 in, 6X8in, 4x11in, 6X10IN, 5X7IN, 7X9IN, 4 1/4x10 1/2in, 4X6IN, and 5 3/4x9 1/8in.
2. Vendor MUST also provide a complete itemized list of items supplied (manufactured and/or distributed by brands) via excel sheet, and product catalog & literature in response to this RFQ with initial submittal. Vendors are required to supply all items listed in all sizes and device type. (Vendors who do not have a complete product line as above will be disqualified in Phase I).
3. Vendor MUST provide a cross reference and their equivalence (to include your part number, brand name distributed under and Description) in Microsoft Excel format for the following items in response to this RFQ with initial submittal. HOT THERAPY PACKS Instant, Disposable: PN11443512, 4x10in; PN6001047-6X9in; PNMDS139005-6X10in; PN1480069901-6X9in; PN6001043-6x9in; PN11443012-7X9IN; PNMDS138005-6X9IN; PN30104-6X9IN; PN11450040-6x7 1/2in. COLD THERAPY PACKS Instant, Disposable: PN 10104- 6X9 in; PN1480069904- 6X9 in; PN59688-6X8in; PN6000019-6X9in; PN11440512-4x11in; PN6627-6X10IN; PN1480069903-5X7IN; PN11440012-7X9IN; PN11440900-6X10IN; PN IBAG411-4 1/4x10 1/2in; PN MDS138000-6X10IN; PN 103B-4X6IN; PNMDS137000-5 3/4x9 1/8in; PN10450-4 1/2x5 1/2in; PN42991-6X8IN. (Vendors who do not have a complete product line as above OR do not provide a full cross reference will be disqualified in Phase I).
4. Vendor MUST have a DAPA for the Hot and Cold Therapy Pack product line. Vendor MUST provide DAPA number with initial submittal. (Note that vendors without a DAPA number will be disqualified in Phase I).
5. Vendor MUST have a separate agreement with the Med/Surg prime vendor in the Southeast Region for Hot and Cold Therapy Packs (currently, the prime vendor is Owens & Minor). Vendor MUST provide prime vendor conversion number with initial submittal. (Note that vendors whose products are not available through the Southeast Region PV (Owens & Minor) will be disqualified in Phase I.)
6. Vendors MUST submit discounts off DAPA for all products included in this standardization initiative. (Note: vendors that fail to submit a discount from DAPA will be disqualified. Note: Where lower FSS prices are available, DAPA holders are required by previous agreement to provide the FSS price as the DAPA price. Vendors shall not quote FSS prices as the discounted price for purposes of this standardization initiative.) Note vendors who do not provide discounts off DAPA for ALL products in Phase II will be disqualified.

Phase II Plan Clinical/Performance Evaluations and Pricing Analysis Process:
Clinical/Performance Evaluations
1. Following acceptability of the technical/company criteria, the TRBO, on behalf of the CPT, will request product sample sets from the product group to be sent directly to the TRBO point of contact and will be allowed fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of notification to complete the delivery. Product samples must be shipped to arrive at the TRBO location by COB, 5:00 PM EDT, on the (14th) calendar day after the notice to ship. Vendors failing to deliver the product sample sets by the deadline will be disqualified from this standardization initiative. Note: all vendors must send the TRBO verification regarding the date of shipment from the vendor and final delivery date of the product sample sets.
2. Specific MTFs will evaluate the vendors product sample sets against the clinical/performance criteria in a non-clinical/non-patient care setting using a Likert scale, with a one to five scoring range. The scale descriptors are: one (1)-not acceptable, two (2)-minimally acceptable, three (3)-acceptable, four (4)-more acceptable, and five (5)-highly acceptable.
3. All clinical/performance criteria are weighted equally. The clinical/performance evaluation period will last for one (1) calendar day. The CPT has established a target threshold of 3.00 for the Clinical Acceptability of products for standardization. The CPT will determine the actual Acceptability threshold for this standardization initiative -- at or near 3.00 -- depending on the location of any break in vendors average scores (i.e., a gap between vendors average scores). In addition, the CPT may consider how closely scores are clustered near the Acceptability target threshold of 3.00, in determining the actual Acceptability threshold. Vendors scoring below the actual Acceptability threshold will be determined to be clinically Unacceptable, and be disqualified from further consideration for this standardization initiative. Vendors that have been disqualified will be notified in writing at the conclusion of the evaluation process (DSCP final approval).
4. Vendor will provide no cost product samples for clinical/performance evaluation. Vendors will ONLY provide sample products of the items that are requested and being evaluated. (Unused samples will not be returned). Vendors WILL NOT be required for in-servicing prior to or during the evaluations. Vendors WILL NOT be allowed to be present during the actual evaluation process of their products OR THEIR COMPETITORS PRODUCTS.
5. To determine acceptability, the CPT, comprised of medical professionals from multiple disciplines from the Southeast Region will evaluate the products based on the evaluation criteria below in a non-clinical/non-patient care setting.

The following Clinical/Performance Evaluation Criteria have been established for this standardization initiative:
1. (National Patient Safety Goals, NPSG.16.01.01 (EP1)) - specifically Improve recognition and response to changes in a patients condition by placing emphasis on Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products that are effective during all aspects of usage) Hot/Cold Therapy Packs activate easily and begin heating/cooling instantly (less than 30) seconds after activation.
a. Hot / Cold Therapy Packs that do not activate easily and quickly may result in a delay of healing and proper therapy.
b. The evaluator follows package directions for activation and observes for ease of activation, manually feeling the Hot / Cold Therapy Packs for onset of heating/cooling effect within 30 seconds as timed on evaluators watch.
2. (National Patient Safety Goals, NPSG.16.01.01 (EP1)) - specifically Improve recognition and response to changes in a patients condition by placing emphasis on Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products that are effective during all aspects of usage) Hot / Cold Therapy Packs provide consistent temperature treatment over all surfaces of the Pack.
a. Hot and Cold Therapy Packs that do not provide consistent temperature treatment over all surfaces of the package do not provide effective or safe therapy.
b. After complete activation (30 seconds after activation) of the Hot/Cold Therapy Packs the evaluator feels all surfaces of Therapy Packs and assesses for any areas of inconsistent temperatures.
3. (National Patient Safety Goals, NPSG.16.01.01 (EP1)) - specifically Improve recognition and response to changes in a patients condition by placing emphasis on Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products that are effective during all aspects of usage) The Hot / Cold Therapy Packs do not leak during normal usage.
a. The Hot / Cold Therapy Packs that leak are ineffective, unsafe and could harm a patients skin.
b. The evaluator will observe for leaks of the Hot / Cold Therapy packs during the evaluation period of 20 minutes.
4. (National Patient Safety Goals, NPSG.16.01.01 (EP1)) - specifically Improve recognition and response to changes in a patients condition by placing emphasis on Hot and Cold Therapy Pack products that are effective during all aspects of usage) The Hot / Cold Therapy Packs provide the required effect (heating or cooling) for a minimum of 20 minutes.
a. To be effective, the Hot / Cold Therapy Packs must remain (Hot or Cold) as appropriate for a minimum of 20 minutes.
b. The evaluator will observe the Hot / Cold Therapy Packs for 20 minutes total time once activated.
Pricing Analysis Process. Upon completion of the Phase I Technical/Company Criteria Evaluation, vendors who are found technical acceptable will be qualified/invited to provide their product samples and price discount quotes concurrently. Vendors will be given 14 calendar days from the date of pricing requests, to submit RIA pricing quotes, in a prescribed electronic spreadsheet format, based upon the requirements of the Southeast Region. Pricing must be received at the TRBO by COB 5:00 PM (EDT), fourteen (14) calendar days after the issue date of the vendor notice to submit best product and price quotes. Failure to respond within this timeframe or failure to submit incentive discounts from their DAPA prices will result in the vendor being disqualified from further consideration/ participation. Vendor quotes should contain the vendor's best product matches for the products or product lines requested in this announcement. Vendor quotes should contain the vendor's best tiered-pricing discounts off of the vendor's DAPA pricing (based on committed volume of 80% of the total requirements of the MTFs in the Region).
The Region intends to evaluate quotes and select a vendor or vendor(s), without discussions as noted above. However, the Region reserves the right to conduct discussions and request revised quotes, if it is determined to be necessary. If a down-selection is made during the evaluation process, the Region may limit the number of quotes to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among vendors.
Clinical/performance and technical/company factors will be weighted more heavily than price. The Technical/Company and Clinical/Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than cost or price. As the technical and clinical evaluation results become more equal, price will become more important. Pricing will be evaluated based on best value to the government and will be based on a committed volume for a two year (24 months) period from date of selection with three 12-month option periods (not to exceed 5 years). The following elements will be considered in the pricing analysis and are listed in descending order of importance: (1) Impact of RIA prices on the Southeast Region, (Post-Standardization Costs). This represents the new estimated annual cost or the total cost post standardization and includes the vendors products, and the products that could not be matched. It reflects the amount the Southeast Region would pay the vendor using the RIA pricing. This is the most important pricing element. (2) Potential Cost Avoidance. Cost avoidance is calculated by subtracting the RIA price from the Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA) price and multiplying by 12-months of usage. This is included as a reporting Matrix. (3) Impact of Unmatched Lines. The unmatched lines make it difficult to compare the prices of the various vendors, because the evaluator cannot compare similar product lines for each vendor. Those items that are considered in the high usage category will have a higher impact to the Southeast Region for the unmatched product line and the end post-standardization costs. (4) Consideration of SKUs by each vendor. The Southeast Region intends to reduce the number of SKUs that must be handled per period. Vendors that can supply the complete range of clinically-required product, without unnecessary numbers of SKUs for minimally-differentiated products, will be more likely to provide the best-value solution for the Government in this standardization initiative. THE CLOSING DATE IS 11 SEPTEMBER 2009 5:00 PM EDT.

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