Request for Quotations (RFQ)
Storage and Transportation Services for Health Commodities and Other Items
Date of Issuance: March 22, 2024
Offers Closing date: April 5, 2024
Closing date for questions: March 29, 2024
Offers Basis: United States Dollar
The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) is soliciting proposals for a service to provide transportation of health commodities or other items as described in the attached Scope of Work. This purchase order will be awarded under the United States Government financed by United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This procurement is subject to all applicable USAID and US Federal Government procurement regulations.
Procurement Compliance & Ethics Notice
“No employee, officer or agent may participate in the selection, award or administration of a contract supported by a federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest. Such conflict of interest would arise when the employee, officer, or agent, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner, or an organization in which employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated herein, has a financial or other interest in or a tangible personal benefit from a firm considered for a contract. The officers, employees, and agents of the non-federal entity may neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or any of monetary value from contractors or parties to subcontracts,” as stated in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 2 CFR 200.318, General procurement standards.
The Johns Hopkins University seeks to conduct its purchasing through open and free competition and is committed to selecting the supplier which meets specific needs with a competitive price, lowest total-end-use cost, and best overall quality. Additionally, the University and CCP do not require nor accept payment for bid/proposal submission.
Conducting business in accordance with these principles will promote and engender productive, long term, successful business relationships between Johns Hopkins University and vendors.
Please submit your most competitive quotation for the services described in the RFQ in
accordance with the PART A: Instructions to Applicants, PART B: Terms and Conditions, and PART C: Statement of Work (SOW) of this RFQ. Responses that do not comply with all the instructions, terms and conditions, may be immediately disqualified.
PART A: Instructions to Applicants
1. QUOTE DEADLINE
Quotes must be received no later than 11:59 pm local Tanzania time on the closing date and at the address designated below. Late submissions will not be considered.
2. REPLY TO
Documents must be e-mailed with the RFQ number in the email subject line to ccptanzania@gmail.com.
OFFERS’ VALIDITY
Offers must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror to its provisions and be valid for a minimum of 90 days.
- FORM OF OFFER
The quote must be comprehensive and address all technical requirements included in this RFQ and SOW. The quote must reflect the vendor’s most competitive price and include all supplies, materials, labor, applicable taxes, duty and fees (e.g. bank fees) to accomplish the SOW.
- QUESTIONS OF CLARIFICATION
Interested companies/service providers should direct any questions about the RFQ via email to CCP at ccptanzania@gmail.com. All questions should be received no later than 11:59 pm Tanzania local time on March 29th, 2024. Questions should be sent to the email addresses indicated in Part A paragraph 2 of this RFQ. The electronic version of the RFQ will be updated by April 1st, 2024 with responses to questions.
- CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
All responses to the RFQ will be reviewed by a selection committee. To finalize the selection, it may be necessary to obtain additional clarification on quotes including an interview. If required, scores will be revised based on answers received during these final review processes.
BIDS THAT ARE NOT RESPONSIVE OR RESPONSIBLE MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AT THE CCP’S DISCRETION.
Each response will be evaluated based on the following (along with additional detailed criteria listed in Section C under Proposal Requirements):
| Selection Criteria |
Technical Requirements:
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Administrative requirements
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PART B: TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- NEGOTIATIONS
The Offeror’s most competitive quote is requested. It is anticipated that the contract will be awarded based on these quotes along with technical capacity. However, CCP reserves the right to conduct negotiations prior to awarding a contract.
- REJECTION OF OFFERS
CCP reserves the right to reject all offers received and or to cancel any or all the deliverables requested in this RFQ.
- INCURRING COSTS
CCP is not liable for any cost incurred by Offerors relating to the preparation, submission, and delivery of offers in response to this RFQ.
- ACCEPTANCE OF CONDITIONS
CCP reserves the right to request additional information from Offerors either in writing or verbally. CCP may cancel this RFQ without any cost or obligation at any time until certification of a purchase order. In the event agreement cannot be reached with the Awardee, CCP reserves the right to award an alternate Offeror.
- CONTRACT AWARD
CCP will obtain the service of the most responsible and responsive Offeror whose offer is determined to be the most advantageous based on the quality of work and cost. CCP will hold the right to exclusively select one partner or multiple partners for this scope.
- CONFIDENTIALITY/OWNERSHIP
The Vendor and his/her employees will not at any time, either during the term of the Purchase order or thereafter divulge, furnish or make available, either directly or indirectly, to any person, firm, corporation or other entity, any proprietary information used by CCP. The Vendor agrees that all such matters and information shall be kept strictly and absolutely confidential. The Vendor, upon cessation of the service, irrespective of the time, manner or reason of terminations, wilI immediately surrender and deliver to CCP all material and data of every kind belonging to CCP. All manuals or other products because of this activity shall remain under the ownership of CCP.
PART C: STATEMENT OF WORK
Background:
Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) is looking for reputable and qualified companies within Tanzania to express their interest in providing transportation services for health commodities to the last mile across specified destinations within Tanzania. Part of the services includes distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) facilities, primary schools in selected regions, and to issuing points across villages during targeted mass campaigns.
The distribution of ITNs through RCH and school channels are part of a broader National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) strategy to ensure that ITN coverage in Tanzania is sustained at 80% and beyond. Other elements of NMCP’s strategy include mass ITN distributions and commercial ITNs sales.
For the RCH channel, pregnant women visiting a public health facility receive a free ITN during their first ANC visit for each pregnancy. ITNs are provided during the first ANC visit to ensure that the benefits of protection to mother and unborn child begin early in the pregnancy. Similarly, a child receiving the first measles vaccination at a clinic or during outreach services receives a free ITN to ensure that the child’s sleeping space is covered; particularly when infants are no longer sleeping with their mothers. Whereas for the school-based channel, primary school students for both public and private schools will receive ITNs.
Given a scope to do so, implementation of RCH-based ITN distribution will require the private vendor to work closely with Medical Stored Department (Mainland) and Central Medical Store (Zanzibar) to ensure timely delivery of the ITNs from the warehouses to health facilities. Real time accountability of the ITN movement for both the RCH and school-based channels is the project’s top priority. In addition, the distribution mechanism must be optimized to ensure effectiveness and efficient flow of ITNs at the last mile.
ITNs distributions occur in targeted regions of Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar estimated ownership of ITNs falls below 40% in a district. Each household is registered to understand the number of residents, with the end goal of obtaining enough ITNs in a household so there is one ITN for every two people in the household. After household registration, community members are provided with a voucher to obtain a specific number of ITNs from a fixed distribution point.
Specific Tasks
- Transport ITNs and other commodities such as registration forms and other supplies for ITN distribution, to the targeted primary schools in various Tanzania regions, councils/districts, wards, and villages.
- Transport ITNs to targeted health facilities in Tanzania from a central source
- Transport ITNs to region, councils/districts, wards, and villages across Tanzania during targeted mass campaigns
Period of Service: January 2025, with option to renew annually through October 2029.
Place of Service: Tanzania, Mainland and Zanzibar. Possible focus regions are Morogoro, Pwani, Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Mwanza, Mara, Simiyu, Kigoma, Tabora, Katavi, Geita, Kagera, Shinyanga, and Zanzibar.
Technical specifications
ITN specifications:
1 bale = 50 pieces of ITNs
1 bale size = 180 (L) x 160 (W) x 170 (H) in cm Gross kg/bale = 27.8 kg
One 40ft container = 542 bales
Deliverables
1) Private vendor to timely document distribution reports for both school and health facility channels
2) Private vendor to provide access to the real time mobile and web-based tracking system for the ITNs deliveries
3) Proper documentation of ITNs in transactional records and proof of deliveries from health facilities and schools and facilities
4) Documentation of monthly performance reports on distribution of ITNs based on the agreed indicators
Performance Review:
To assess the performance of the services early in the process, the private distributor and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs will be conducting quarterly assessment to establish performance trends and improvement plan. Specific indicators will be developed for assessment of performance.
Proposal Requirements
Prospective bidders should submit their proposals with the following Information,
- Detailed description of the proposed transportation costs by itemizing cost breakdown for:
- Health facility ITNs distribution from MSD zone to health facilities in 14 regions and Zanzibar indicated above
- School-based ITNs distribution from private warehouse to respective schools in all 14 regions indicated above
- Mass replacement campaign from regional level to issuing points across villages in 14 regions and Zanzibar, as stated above
- Reference of projects of similar nature and complexity carried out by your company in the past and current projects including a brief summary of the scope of work and contact information (phone and email) for whom the vendor supplied the service for at least two of the projects.
- Bidder should demonstrate their existing electronic cargo tracking systems including provision of their existing consignment delivery systems and reports.
- Bidder should clearly provide evidence of their existing cargo handling procedures for the activity of similar nature including proof of delivery documentation.
- Bidder should demonstrate with evidence their experience on route optimization and managing just on time delivery.
- Bidder should demonstrate with evidence their existing experience in working with local government authority structures.
- Bidder should also provide evidence of their existing service level agreements of projects of a similar nature.
- Evidence of financial capability and capacity to undertake the assignment.
- A detailed financial quote and proposed payment schedule reflecting the vendor’s most competitive price and include all supplies, materials, labor, applicable taxes (e.g. VAT), duty, fees (e.g. bank fees) and any other explained costs to accomplish the SOW.
- List of key operational staff with their CVs demonstrating their ability to carry out the assignment.
Please note that, in assessing the submission, consideration will be given to the qualifications, experience on similar assignments and capacity to undertake the assignment. Only bidders with demonstrated experience and excellent track records on similar assignments will be highly considered.
Payment Terms/Deliverables
On a quarterly basis the private distributor will be required to invoice Johns Hopkins — Center for Communication Programs with proof of delivery attached as justification of payment for total distribution services rendered. Failure of not meeting the targets will lead Johns Hopkins to take the necessary measures. Payments terms will be discussion upon success of the signed contract. Payment schedule parameters are:
- Each payment amount/allocation must reflect the relative value of the deliverable or milestone.
- “Payment upon contract signature” is not acceptable as a payment deliverable or milestone.
- Any payment in advance of deliverable or milestone completion cannot exceed more than 20% of the total contract value and must be justified.
- The final payment installment must be at least 25% of the total contract value.
Deadline for submission 11:59 pm local Tanzania time on April 5, 2024
Quotes must be received no later than 11:59 pm Tanzania local time on April 5,2024 at the ccptz-hr@jh.edu Late submissions will not be considered.
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