SEC response to questions (Serial subscription support)

SEC Response to Questions

RFQ: 50310227Q0004

Serial Subscription Support

1. Attachment 2, pricing total: On the “SEC Renewals ” worksheet, cell H26 uses =SUM(H9:H23), which excludes GIR in row 24 and Grant’s Interest Rate Observer in row 25. Please confirm that the total must include all 17 subscriptions in H9:H25. Will SEC issue a corrected spreadsheet, or may offerors correct H26 to =SUM(H9:H25)? SEC Response: Attachment 2 has been corrected and is reattached to RFQ Posting. However, companies may make the correction to the spreadsheet if they have already began preparing a response. Additionally, the SEC will ensure that the total price is calculated based on all subscriptions when evaluating responses from each offeror.
2. Attachment 1, ordering timelines: Sections 3.1 and 3.2 require orders within five business days of receiving SEC’s delivery lists. Section 3.4.1 requires rush orders within 24 hours, but also requires license terms to be provided at least 14 days before ordering and SEC preapproval before any order is placed. Please clarify how these requirements apply together. Do the five-business-day and 24-hour clocks begin after SEC approves the applicable license terms? How should an order be handled if approval is pending or a rush request arrives before the 14-day review period has elapsed? SEC Response: To clarify, the clock for orders begins once the license terms have been reviewed.
3. Management platform: May a prime contractor meet the web-based serialsmanagement system requirement in Section 3.4.5 through a proposed subcontractor or third-party platform? Must the system already be available when the quote is submitted, or by award or the first order? What supporting documentation or demonstration should be included in the technical quote? SEC Response: Yes, a prime contractor may meet the web-based serialsmanagement system requirement through a proposed subcontractor or third-party platform. The system must be available when the quote is submitted. A description of the system must be provided in the technical quote.

4. Publisher arrangements: May the prime use an authorized subscription-services subcontractor to place and manage publisher orders? What evidence of publisher authorization or renewal arrangements, if any, must accompany the quote, and must those arrangements be in the prime contractor’s name? SEC Response: The SEC requires that the prime contractor place and manage publication orders. Publisher authorization or renewal agreements are not required to be accompanied