BLADES, Industrial
This IS NOT a request for bids, quotes, or proposal.
This is a sources sought announcement only. The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and obtain information from qualified sources. No award may be issued from this Request for Information Notice.
Interested parties of any size may submit a response to this notice.
Description: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's mission is to develop and produce United States currency notes, trusted worldwide. BEP's vision is to be the world standard securities printer providing its customers and the public with superior products through excellence in manufacturing and innovation. As its primary function, the BEP prints billions of dollars - referred to as Federal Reserve notes - each year for delivery to the Federal Reserve System.
As part of manufacturing Federal Reserve notes the intaglio printing process is utilized. Intaglio printing presses require a series of metal blades throughout the wiping and inking units of the press as part of this process. These blades have a variety of dimensions and requirements. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is in search of a vendor(s) who can provide these blades to the manufacturing sites located in Washington, DC and Fort Worth, TX.
Please refer to the following attachments for additional information:
• Attachment A - Intaglio Blade Engineering Drawings
• Attachment B - Photographs of Blade Bundle
• DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW)
• DRAFT Technical Requirements Data Sheet (TRDS)
To respond, the BEP requests that vendors address all of the following:
• Order/Delivery:
o Can you provide what is your expected order lead time for these blades?
o Are the order fulfilment time expectations listed reasonable?
o Is order lead time significantly impacted by quantity ordered? If so, can you provide details?
o Are there any modifications to the requirements that could result in a shortened delivery timeframe?
o Should we expect different delivery timeframes for each blade type?
o How would you handle an emergency order?
o What could be expected as the minimum lead time in an emergency order situation?
o Are you capable of maintaining a minimum stock of each blade?
o What is your monthly manufacturing capability/limitation for each of the blade item numbers?
• Pricing:
o Can you provide a rough estimate on the cost of each blade?
o Are there volume discounts?
o Are there any modifications to the requirements that could result in a significant cost savings?
• Packaging:
o Is this typical of how you ship a product like this?
o Are we asking for something out of ordinary?
o Are there any modification to the requirements that could result in improved packaging or significant cost savings?
o What options are available for packaging?
• Inspection:
o What is your plan for inspection prior to shipment?
o Are you able to provide a certificate of inspection for each shipment? If yes,
o How do you test for nicks and burrs?
• Technical Requirements:
o Can you provide feedback on dimensions and tolerances outlined?
Responses shall be emailed to ramon.ramos@bep.gov or Gladys.wilks@bep.gov Telephone responses will NOT be accepted. Responses must be received no later than 5 April 2019, 3:00pm, EST.
AT THIS TIME NO SOLICITATION EXISTS. (DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF A SOLICITATION). A FUTURE NOTICE MAY BE POSTED IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED.
Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any interested party responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Interested parties are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback with respect to any information submitted.
No Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.
Ramon C Ramos, Contract Specialist, Email ramon.ramos@bep.gov
