Request for Quotations (RFQ)

RFQ Number:                KeG-NW-001

Issuance Date:             January 19, 2024

Deadline for Offers:     January 26, 2024

Description:                   Hardware Devices

For:                                  USAID/Kosovo e-Governance Activity

Funded By:                     United States Agency for International Development (USAID),

                                         Contract No. 7200AA21D00015/72016723F00001

Implemented By:           Chemonics International Inc.

Point of Contact:           Allma Bajrami, HR/Procurement Assistant

***** ETHICAL AND BUSINESS CONDUCT REQUIREMENTS *****

Chemonics is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects vendors based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit. Chemonics expects vendors to comply with our Standards of Business Conduct, available at https://www.chemonics.com/our-approach/standards-business-conduct/.  

Chemonics does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any firm or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this procurement, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to both USAID and the Office of the Inspector General.

Employees and agents of Chemonics are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation from current or potential vendors in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, Chemonics will inform USAID and the Office of the Inspector General of any vendor offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value, or compensation to obtain business.

Offerors responding to this RFQ must include the following as part of the proposal submission:

• Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with Chemonics or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
• Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting offers. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another offer, the offeror must state this.
• Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• Certify that all information in the offer and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
• Certify understanding and agreement to Chemonics’ prohibitions against fraud, bribery and kickbacks.

Please contact Burim Meholli, DCOP, [email protected], with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to Chemonics’ Washington office through the contact information listed on the website found at the hyperlink above.

Section 1: Instructions to Offerors

1. Introduction: The Kosovo e-Governance Activity Project is a USAID program implemented by Chemonics International in Kosovo. The goal of the Kosovo e-Governance Activity is to improve the Government of Kosovo’s digital service delivery and management of digital government systems by clarifying institutional roles and processes, strengthening institutional capacity to deliver services, and engaging civil society and the private sector. The activity will accelerate transformation into an agile digital government, which ensures that Kosovans receive high quality, efficient and accessible government services. As part of project activities, Kosovo Economic Governance Activity requires the Hardware Devices. The purpose of this RFQ is to solicit quotations for these devices.

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by Chemonics in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFQ.  Failure to adhere with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

2. Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than 3:00 PM local Pristina time on January 26, 2024, by email. Emailed offers must be emailed to: [email protected].

Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of Chemonics.

3. Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted no later than 3:00 PM local Pristina time on January 23, 2024 by email to [email protected]. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that Chemonics believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFQ recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding.

Only the written answers issued by Chemonics will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of Chemonics, or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.

4. Specifications: Section 3 contains the technical specifications of the required items. All commodities offered in response to this RFQ must be new and unused. In addition, all electrical commodities must operate on 240V, 50Hz.

Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, stated brand names or models are for illustrative description only. An equivalent substitute, as determined by the specifications, is acceptable.

5. Quotations: Quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed-price, all-inclusive basis, including delivery and all other costs. Pricing must be presented in Euros (€). Offers must remain valid for not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on their official quotation format or letterhead; in the event this is not possible, offerors may complete the table in Section 3.

In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:

• Organizations responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their official registration or business license.
• Individuals responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their identification card.

6. Delivery: The delivery location for the items described in this RFQ is Bedri Pejani Street No. 17/18, Floor 2, 10000, Pristina. As part of its response to this RFQ, each offeror is expected to provide an estimate (in calendar days) of the delivery timeframe (after receipt of order). The delivery estimate presented in an offer in response to this RFQ must be upheld in the performance of any resulting contract.
7. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 937 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Kosovo.

Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.

Any and all items that are made by Huawei Technology Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikivision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company will not be accepted. If offers include items from these entities please note that they will be deemed not technically responsive and excluded from competition.

8. Warranty: Warranty service and repair within the cooperating country is required for all commodities under this RFQ. The warranty coverage must be valid on all commodities for a minimum of twelve (12) months after delivery and acceptance of the commodities, unless otherwise specified in the technical specifications. At the time that any commodity is transferred to the Government of Kosovo, or another entity within the cooperating country, all rights to warranty support and service shall be transferred with the commodity to that entity’s end-user. 
9. Taxes and VAT: The agreement under which this procurement is financed does not permit the financing of any taxes, VAT, tariffs, duties, or other levies imposed by any laws in effect in the Cooperating Country. No such Cooperating Country taxes, VAT, charges, tariffs, duties, or levies will be paid under an order resulting from this RFQ.
10. UEI Number: Companies or organizations, whether for-profit or non-profit, shall be requested to provide a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number if selected to receive an award in response to this RFQ valued greater than or equal to $30,000 (or equivalent in other currency). If the Offeror does not have a UEI number and is unable to obtain one before the offer submission deadline, the Offeror shall include a statement noting their intention to register for a UEI number should it be selected as the successful offeror or explaining why registration for a UEI number is not possible. UEI numbers can be obtained online at SAM.gov. Further guidance on obtaining a UEI number is available from Chemonics upon request.
11. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. Chemonics will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.

12. Evaluation and Award: The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, and is determined via a trade-off analysis to be the best value based on application of the following evaluation criteria. The relative importance of each individual criterion is indicated by the number of points below:

• Price – 50 points: The overall cost presented in the offer.
• Quality – 30 points: Offerors must include a minimum of 3 past performance references of similar commodities provided (under contracts or subcontracts) previously implemented as well as contact information for the companies for which such work was completed.
• Delivery – 20 points: The speed of delivery.
• After-Sales Service – 10 points: The ability for the offeror to provide after-sales services, including warranty and routine maintenance.

Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. Chemonics reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.

Best-offer quotations are requested. It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations. However, Chemonics reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• Chemonics may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award.
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, Chemonics may issue a partial award or split the award among various vendors, if in the best interest of the Kosovo e-Governance Activity Project.
• Chemonics may cancel this RFQ at any time.

Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the Kosovo e-Governance Activity Project for consideration, as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. Chemonics, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.

13. Terms and Conditions: This is a Request for Quotations only. Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way obligate Chemonics, the Kosovo e-Governance Activity Project, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer.

This solicitation is subject to Chemonics’ standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

• Chemonics’ standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
• Any award resulting from this RFQ will be firm fixed price, in the form of a purchase order.
• No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.
• Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFQ must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels.
• United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The vendor under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
• The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall pass to Chemonics following delivery and acceptance of the goods by Chemonics. Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to Chemonics.

Section 2: Offer Checklist

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFQ:

• Cover letter, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (see Section 4 for template)
• Official quotation, including specifications of offered equipment (see Section 3 for example format)
• Copy of offeror’s registration or business license (see Section 1.5 for more details);
• At least 3 past performance references of similar commodities provided (under contracts or subcontracts) previously implemented as well as contact information for the companies for which such work was completed.
• Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward Reporting Questionnaire, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (see Section 5 for questionnaire) (not applicable for this RFQ)

Note: Failure to submit all above requested documents with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

Section 3: Specifications and Technical Requirements

The table below contains the technical requirements of the Hardware Devices. Offerors are requested to provide quotations containing the information below on official letterhead or official quotation format. In the event this is not possible, offerors may complete this Section 3 and submit a signed/stamped version to Chemonics.

End of live date of equipment’s listed above: ______________________.

The prices quoted above remain fixed for the next 12 months: ________Yes_________No

Delivery time (after receipt of order):                 calendar days.

Length of warranty on the offered equipment:                 years.

Location of service center(s) for after-sales service, including warranty repair:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Section 4: Offer Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:                   Kosovo e-Governance Activity

                        Bedri Pejani Str. No. 17/18, Floor 2, 10000, Pristina, Kosovo

Reference:        RFQ No. KeG-NW-001- Hardware Device

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFQ. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFQ. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFQ—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any Chemonics or Kosovo e-Governance Activity project staff members;
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting offers in response to the above-referenced RFQ; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• All information in our offer and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to Chemonics’ prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Authorized Signature:                                                                                                         

Name and Title of Signatory:                                                                                               

Date:                                                                                                                                 

Company Name:                                                                                                                

Company Address:                                                                                                            

Company Telephone and Website:                                                                                     

Company Registration or Taxpayer ID Number:                                                                 

Company UEI Number:                                                                                                      

Does the company have an active bank account (Yes/No)?                                                  

Official name associated with bank account (for payment):