Connecting Suppliers with DLA

THELINK

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Issue 16

April 2020

2020 TKO 

Mark Your Calendars!

TKO Seminars are 

FREE!

Learn how to do business with 

the Government

May 12—13

September 8—9

November 3—4

Register at: https://tko.dla.mil/

All seminars are held in 

Columbus, OH 

8AM—4:30 PM EST

www.dla.mil

www.facebook.com/dla.mil

www.twitter.com/dlamil

www.youtube.com/user/

dodlogisticsagency

COVID-19 UPDATES

FOR ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION FOR 

DLA SUPPLIERS REGARDING COVID-19, 

PLEASE SEE THE DIBBS NOTICES AT: https://

www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/default.aspx

A special note within one of the notices:

DLA has created a new PAR reason code -- VR 14 COVID-19 -- to highlight any 

contracts where problems may exist due to coronavirus impacts. PAR reason 

code VR 14 shall only be used if performance is directly impacted/delayed based 

on an employee’s or employees’ confirmed case(s) of COVID-19 and/or local, 

state, or federal government imposed restrictions. Supporting documentation 

should be submitted with the PAR so an excusable 

delay determination can be made by a DLA contract 

administrator. The supporting documentation should 

be as thorough as possible to support an excusable 

delay, and should include mitigation efforts to overcome disruptions in the supplier’s supply chain. If a 

PAR is not possible, email your contract administrator 

to discuss any concerns. 

DLA has also created a Request for Information (RFI), which was available on 

March 23, 2020, located at https://www.research.net/r/DLACOVID19RFI that we 

are encouraging suppliers to answer. This will keep DLA informed of potential 

impacts to the welfare and safety of your workforce and/or overall contract performance. DLA will also use RFI responses to help assess the current status of the 

supplier base.
AUTOMATED INDEFINITE DELIVERY 

CONTRACTS - (AIDC) 

This is a reminder to suppliers that solicitations with a “U” in the 9th position are 

Automated Indefinite Delivery Contracts (AIDCs). Upon award, basic contracts for AIDCs are 

issued to the awardee to establish the terms, conditions and price. The quantity on the 

basic contract is an estimated quantity for the duration of the contract (up to one year). 

THIS IS NOT A FIRM QUANTITY. The actual quantity and shipping details will follow 

within subsequent delivery orders as demand for the item occurs. The basic contracts for 

AIDCs are identified with a “D6”, “D7”, or “D8” in the 9th and 10th positions of the contract 

award number. 

For additional details regarding AIDCs, please see below or page 3 of “The Link” newsletter 

posted at: https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/InformationOperations/EBS%20Supplier%20Information/

TheLink_Issue15_January%202020.pdf?ver=2020-01-10-154409-410

On the evening of November 21, 2019, DLA implemented a new process allowing the issuance of Automated Indefinite 

Delivery Contracts (AIDC) below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold under DLAD Subpart 13.390. A limited number of 

AIDC solicitations (designated by a “U” in the ninth position of the solicitation number) were issued on 26 Nov 2019. A 

second round of AIDC solicitations posted on 13 Jan 2019. An AIDC is a long-term contract for a single material that 

DLA stocks and generally plans to order multiple times per year. These contracts will have a coverage period of one 

year and will include a guaranteed contract minimum quantity. The solicitation will contain our estimated annual buy 

quantity. This is our best estimate of what we believe we will order over the next year; however, our customers’ 

demands do change so the quantity is not a guarantee. The total value of all orders placed against the contract will not 

exceed the contract maximum of $250,000 (Simplified Acquisition Threshold). Solicitations will be open for 14 days 

(initial population was 21 days), have no phased delivery, and no quantity ranges. Evaluation will be based on a single 

price decision. Surplus offers and alternate offers will not be allowed (they will be considered a bid with exception). 

AIDCs will cause a number of changes to DIBBS. Here is a summary of changes suppliers will see: 

AIDC solicitations only: 

• An AIDC indicator on the search results screen 

• An AIDC search filter 

• A new required question related to the minimum buy quantity of each order when quoting on AIDC solicitations 

• Quotes on AIDC solicitations must be valid a minimum of 90 days to be a bid without exception and considered for 

automated award. 

• Quoting surplus on an AIDC solicitation is a bid with exception and will not be considered. 

• Quantity price break ranges were removed and must be null in batch/EDI for AIDC 

solicitations. 

Both AIDC and non-AIDC solicitations: 

•Quotes will be able to be submitted as a “Bid With Exception” where remarks are 

the only exception taken; however, a quote that is a “Bid With Exception” is not considered for an automated award. 

• Trade Agreements (FAR Subpart 25.4) certifications will be added to the quote form 

when applicable. 

• Quoting any change to the inspection point from the solicitation requirement will 

now be a bid with exception and the quote will not be considered for an automated award. If you have questions, 

please email the DIBBS Helpdesk at DIBBSBSM@DLA.mil. Page 2

AIDC 

I
On 31 January 2020, the Defense Logistics Agency activated a robotic process automation (RPA) technology to notify 

suppliers when nonconforming supplies received at DLA Distribution Centers are remediated in accordance with DLAD 

Procurement Note C14, Repackaging or Relabeling to Correct Deficiencies (AUG 2017). 

These notices are limited to preservation, packaging, packing, and marking (PPP&M) discrepancies only. 

The notice letter includes a description of the discrepancy, DLA’s cost for remediation, and 

resources to prevent reoccurrence. Suppliers are encouraged to closely review these notices and implement corrective actions to prevent future PPP&M discrepancies. Continued 

negligence will impact suppliers’ past performance rating and may result in monetary penalties. Please use these notices to develop adequate quality controls ensuring PPP&M compliance.

Notices originate from a central e-mail address: DLA Vendor Notifications VendorRepackagingNotification@dla.mil.

Please include this address on your safe senders list to avoid spam routing.

If you have questions, please contact your contract administration office via the Post-Award Request (PAR) tool on 

DIBBS.

VENDOR NOTIFICATION FOR PACKAGING AND MARKING 

DISCREPANCIES THAT ARE LESS THAN $1,000

DIGITAL CAC SIGNATURE ON PDF AWARD DOCUMENTS IN DIBBS 

On 08 February 2020, DLA moved to a digital signature on our PDF award documents posted to 

DIBBS. On these digitally signed PDFs you will notice a blue banner appearing on the upper left corner stating, “At least one signature has problems.” This does not mean the signature is invalid. This 

is a normal Adobe message displayed when Adobe Reader does not know whether to trust the certificate or not.

In order to add the “DoD Root CA 3” certificate as a trusted certificate in Adobe Reader when opening a digitally signed 

PDF, follow the steps in the job aid posted at: https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/InformationOperations/

EBS%20Supplier%20Information/Digital%20Signature_Vendor_%20PDF%20add%20Trusted%20DoD%20Root%

20Cert%20Process.docx?ver=2020-02-03-084823-270

Once this is completed, the blue banner will no longer appear on any digitally signed PDFs posted to DIBBS. 

We highly recommend that you download the latest version of Adobe Reader before following the instructions in the 

job aid. Please go to https://get.adobe.com/reader/ in order to download the latest version. 

Note that adding the “DoD Root CA 3” certificate as a trusted one is not a requirement, as the digitally signed signatures are valid, but if you do not wish the banner to be displayed on every award document you open, you will need to 

add the certificate as trusted. Questions should be directed to Adobe support. 

Page 3
Suppliers are reminded to always check the Quantity Unit Pack (QUP) along with the Unit of Issue (UOI) on new solicitations, even if they have supplied the item in the past. The use of different UOI’s has expanded since the implementation of the First Destination Transportation Packaging Initiative (FDTPI) in 2006 and recent DLA HQ packaging analysis 

projects, which were focused on material savings and reduction in unit price for our troops. DLA’s implementation of 

the Unit of Issue Change initiative supports government changes in UOI from EA to PG, FV, TE, or HD to maximize savings.

Both the QUP and UOI define quantities within the unit package, which can change from procurement to procurement. 

Suppliers need to check both the QUP and UOI on solicitations prior to quoting to avoid the material being placed in 

litigation upon delivery, which may result in delayed payment of invoices. Checking the procurement's QUP and UOI 

will also ensure that the supplier is providing the required quantity for the procurement. Incorrectly packaged and 

marked material will be repackaged and re-marked by DLA at the supplier’s expense based on the QUP and UOI called 

out in the solicitation/award.

Per MIL-STD-129R, there are definitive and non-definitive UOIs (see Table I, page 7 of the standard). Definitive UOIs are 

identifiable quantities based on the unit of measure applied, whereas non-definitive UOIs are units of measure that 

require additional information called quantitative expression (QE). These non-definitive UOIs typically have a QUP of 

one (001) based on MIL-STD-2073-1, Appendix B, paragraph B.3. Some examples of the changes to the UOIs are as follows:

Definitive UOI:

FV: 1 FV = 5 EA. Unit package contains five (5) and marked/labeled as 1 FV

TE: 1 TE = 10 EA. Unit package contains ten (10) and marked/labeled as 1 TE

HD: 1 HD = 100 EA. Unit package contains one hundred (100) and marked/labeled as 1 HD

Non-Definitive UOI:

PG: 1 PG = XX EA. Package to contain XX EA and marked/labeled as 1 PG (The XX EA for each NIIN is different and is 

found in the item description in the solicitation.)

There are also some procurements with a QUP of other than one (001) for which a specification requirement drives the 

QUP. For example, an acquisition's QUP may be five (QUP=005) and the UOI is "EA" (each). In this case, the unit package contains five each and is marked as 5 EA. With QUPs of other than one (001), the supplier should verify that the 

acquisition quantity is evenly divisible by the established QUP (if QUP =005, then the total quantity should be multiples 

of five only). If you discover an error, please consult your contracting officer for assistance to get it corrected. Direct 

any questions regarding QUP and/or UOI to your contracting officer(s).

GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE:

VERIFY QUANTITY UNIT PACK AND UNIT OF ISSUE ON ALL 

SOLICITATIONS AND CONTRACT AWARDS

SAVE THE DATE! 

AUGUST 25—26 SUPPLIERS CONFERENCE

Knowledge and Innovation: The Power of Partnerships

Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH

TO REGISTER GO TO : 

https://www.ndia.org/events/2020/8/25/0780-dla

Page 4
DLA Distribution Industry Day— CANCELLED

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/76e356f8f9784945b4bd560554deafec/view?keywords=SP3300-

20-SS-5012&sort=relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1&date_filter_index=0&inactive_filter_values=false

Please continue to check the website for more information and whether the event will be rescheduled.

Page 5

Class IX Realignment 

DLA has launched a focused series of reform initiatives to drive down costs for the taxpayer, 

while continuing to provide effective logistics support to the military services and federal 

government partners. DLA will realign the Industrial Hardware supply chain workload from 

DLA Troop Support to DLA Aviation and DLA Land and Maritime to realize efficiencies.

Seven Industrial Hardware Federal Supply Classes (FSCs) (5305, 5306, 5307, 5310, 5315, 5320, 

5325) will realign to Aviation, and five FSCs (5330, 5331, 5340, 5355, 5360) will realign to 

Land. Implementation will include a phased approach beginning this fiscal year anticipated to start 

in April 2020. While vendors may be interacting with buyers and administrators with whom they may not be familiar, we expect minimal impact to our 

supplier base and do not foresee any significant change in business opportunities for industry resulting from this initiative.

PROCESS FOR ACCESSING EXPORT-CONTROLLED TECHNICAL DATA IN CFOLDERS

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has instituted a single process for accessing technical data subject to export control under either the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). 

DLA maintains these data in its Collaboration Folders (cFolders). For automated solicitations issued on or after 14 February, 2020, the offeror and any source(s) of supply it will use for contract performance must have an active US/

Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP) certification; have completed the “Introduction to Proper Handling of DOD 

Export Controlled Technical Data Training” and the DLA “Export-Controlled Technical Data Questionnaire”; and have 

approval from the DLA controlling authority to access export-controlled technical data in cFolders. Prospective offerors can find detailed instructions for obtaining access to export-controlled technical data at: 

https://www.dla.mil/HQ/LogisticsOperations/EnhancedValidation/.

CORRECTION TO THE LINK NEWSLETTER - CUSTOMER DIRECT ORDERS GOING 

TO NAVY SHIPS

Subject: Correction to the article in Issue 15 of “The Link”, dated 13 January 2020, titled, 

“Customer Direct Orders Going to Navy Ships”

Suppliers should return to the previous practice of obtaining the shipping location along with labels 

and documentation through VSM. If there is a problem with the shipping location provided through 

VSM, suppliers should contact the contract administrator.

For reference, the newsletter can be viewed at: https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/InformationOperations/

EBS%20Supplier%20Information/TheLink_Issue15_January%202020.pdf?ver=2020-01-10-154409-410