Purpose: The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy's Direct Delivery Post, Camps, and Stations (PC&S) Supplier Pathway outlines the steps a Direct Delivery Fuel Supplier can take to work with DLA Energy.
Objectives:
- Provide instruction on how Direct Delivery PC&S Fuel Suppliers can do business with DLA Energy
- Give an overview of how suppliers can conduct market research
- Provide step-by-step guidance on submitting proposals to DLA Energy
Revised: 4/14/2026
This is a general overview of the process; the specific solicitation will always take precedence. Solicitations are written on a case-by-case basis due to unique requirements provided by the customer to DLA (most often, the Military Services).
Navigate This Process:
Introduction to Energy Direct Delivery PC&S
- Reach out to your Local APEX Accelerator for Assistance
- Register in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov)
- Have Basic Certifications and Compliance Standards in Place such as: CMMC, 804 Compliance, etc.
- Search Solicitations in SAM.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside Opportunities
- Research Past Performance on Energy Contracts in PC&S CIS
- Find Solicitations that Meet Your Capabilities
- Establish AMPS Account and Role for Offer Entry Tool (OET)
- Is it a Domestic Procurement?
- Establish PC&S Offer Entry Tool (OET) Account Setup
- Submit Offer with SF1449 Package with Attachments
- Responsible Officer May Perform a Pre-Award Survey
- Offer Accepted for Award by Contract Administrator?
- Restart Process at Market Research
- Begin Performing and Delivering on Contract
- Material Receipted and Confirmed by Responsible Officer (RO) on Site (Typically)
- RO Notifies Appropriate Parties After Inspection of Material
- Is the Supplier Submitting the ERR & Invoice in the Same WAWF Session?
- Perform Energy Combo Invoicing
- Perform Energy Invoice and Energy Receiving Report (EI/ERR) Separately
- Receive Payment from DFAS
Resources and Terms Glossary
DLA Energy Direct Delivery Overview
The DLA Energy Direct Delivery program provides worldwide acquisition and integrated materiel management of commercial fuels delivered directly from a supplier to military and federal civilian customers. This includes procuring:
- Aviation fuel at commercial airports
- Ship propulsion fuels at commercial seaports
- Ground fuels (e.g., diesel, gasoline) at posts, camps, and stations
The Direct Delivery business unit supports three primary functional areas:
- Posts, Camps, & Stations (PC&S) - Supplying commercial ground fuels to customer tanks at military and federal locations worldwide.
- Into Plane (IP) - Supplying aviation fuels at commercial airports worldwide.
- Bunkers - Supplying ship propulsion fuels at commercial seaports worldwide.
Each of these supply streams supports domestic customers across the United States, which is divided into different Customer Organized Groups (COGs).
COG 2 States:
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
COG 3 States:
- Delaware
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
COG 4 States:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
COG 6 States:
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
COG 7 States:
- Arizona
- California
- Nevada
- Utah
COG 8 States:
- Idaho
- Montana
- Oregon
- Washington
The Supplier Pathway steps in this article are focused on working with the Post, Camps, and Stations (PC&S) division. For others see:
- DLA Energy Direct Delivery Into Plane Supplier Pathway - COMING SOON
- DLA Energy Direct Delivery Bunkers Supplier Pathway - COMING SOON
APEX Accelerators, formerly known as Procurement Technical Assistance Programs, assist businesses pursuing federal government contracts. They provide education and training to ensure that all businesses become capable of participating in federal, state, and local government contracts, including those with DLA. Some education and training topics include:
- How to register and use Department of War (DOW)/DLA applications, like the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which is required to acquire a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code.
- Helping small businesses navigate solicitations and potential funding opportunities.
The System for Award Management (previously known as Central Contractor Registration) is a database that requires registration when submitting an offer or quotation in response to a solicitation for a federal government contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchase agreement.
During the entity validation step when registering in SAM.gov, suppliers will be assigned a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code which is needed to do business with the DOW and DLA.
Registration in SAM.gov is free.
In order to become a Direct Delivery Supplier for DLA, certain basic certifications and adherence to compliance are needed.
Certifications
Compliance
- In accordance with 804 Compliance, see restrictions on fuel sourcing and affiliations.
- Trade Agreement Act (TAA) Compliance (see details from GSA) - Fuel must be sourced from approved countries.
- Any Quality Management Systems such as International Standards Organization 9001.
- Product adheres to established Safety Data Sheets.
- Ensure compliance with the Iran Sanctions Act - Suppliers shall not source nor blend any portion of the fuel destined for DLA Energy with refined fuel products sourced from Iran.
- Quality Assurance Standards (QARs) outlined in Solicitation as discussed in step 7 - Find Solicitations that Meet Your Capabilities - Standards.
- For suppliers submitting offers on solicitations that will deliver in CENTCOM (Middle East) and/or AFRICOM (Africa), suppliers must register and use the Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS).
The above are general certifications and regulations that must be met.
However, for the full listing of all certifications that are needed and all regulations that must be followed, review all Solicitation sections.
For more information, see Understanding a Solicitation Using Uniform Contract Format.
Back to Top
Suppliers should review current and previous solicitations in SAM.gov to understand the needs of DLA Energy Direct Delivery.
To find Direct Delivery solicitations, search in SAM.gov's Contracting based on the DoD Activity Address Code (DoDAAC):
- Posts, Camps & Stations search SPE605
Begin reviewing Notice Types labeled Solicitation or Updated Solicitation.
Review solicitations present in listing on SAM.gov. There are typically four phases to a solicitation you will see in Direct Delivery PC&S:
- Sources Sought - Provides basic information on
- Specification requirements for needed items
- Location
- Anticipated period of performance
- Estimated quantities
- Instructions for suppliers on how to submit their capability statements if interested
- Pre-solicitation/Synopsis (usually a Request For Information or RFI) - Used to provide vendors an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the requirement and submit their capability statements
- Solicitation - Standard solicitation to make official bids
- Original Award Notice - SAM.gov notice stating the successful Offeror, contract price, and other available contract information
See the example below of different Notice Types:
Note: As time progresses, the above documents can be amended (updated) to reflect the newest changes, such as requirement updates or extra clarifications needed within the documents themselves.
For more information on SAM.gov Solicitation Notice Types see: What are the notice types for Contract Opportunities in SAM.gov?
After looking at active listings that have the notice type as Original or Updated Award Notice, switch to inactive (old listings) Award Notices to see which offers and bids succeeded in the past.
Under the Status section located in the Filter By section, select the checkbox for Inactive and de-select the checkbox for Active to see old solicitations.
Typical information that can be found in the Award Notices includes:
- Total quantity
- Product to be supplied
- Supplier name
- Total contract price
Example of an Award Notice on SAM.gov
Suppliers can also use the advanced search filter on SAM.gov to save searches and then receive notifications by email every time a new solicitation is released with the saved criteria.
If the solicitation states that small business statuses will be taken into account, determine if Small Business requirements are met:
- Supplier has the NAICS code classification listed in the solicitation; most often it is NAICS code 324110 - Petroleum Refineries.
- Supplier meets the size standard for that NAICS code classification. For example, for NAICS code 324110, the supplier must meet the size standard of at or below 1,500 employees. See more about size standards on SBA's Table of Size Standards.
Typical Small Business Socio-Economic considerations that may be available (for domestic procurement only):
- 8(a) Reservations
- HUBZone Premium Program
- Small Business Set-Asides
Set-Asides
Small Business set asides are determined by the responses gathered from any Request For Information's/ Sources Sought and previous responses to solicitations. If there is a determination that two or more of the same socio-economic group will offer on the same requirements, those requirements can be set aside for that socio-economic group. The amount of competition is determined by how many Small Businesses were technically acceptable and eligible for Small Business set-asides that were evaluated at each requirement location.
Note: If the Nonmanufacturer Rule is incorporated into the solicitation, a Small Business that is a nonmanufacturer must receive its product from a Small Business manufacturer to be considered Small Business eligible for set-asides.
Determine if the solicitation states "Small Business Set-Aside" is available. The solicitation will directly state whether set-asides will be available for small businesses or not.
Example of a solicitation having Small Business set-aside opportunity regulation guidance in the continuation page section.
FAR 52.219-6 – NOTICE OF TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE (NOV 2020)
(a) Definition. Small business concern, as used in this clause—
(1) Means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the size standards in this solicitation.
(2) Affiliates, as used in paragraph (a)(1) of this clause, means business concerns, one of whom directly or indirectly controls or has the power to control the others, or a third party or parties control or have the power to control the others. In determining whether affiliation exists, consideration is given to all appropriate factors including common ownership, common management, and contractual relationships. SBA determines affiliation based on the factors set forth at 13 CFR 121.103.
(b) Applicability. This clause applies only to—
(1) Contracts that have been totally set aside for small business concerns; and
(2) Orders set aside for small business concerns under multiple-award contracts as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F).
(c) General. (1) Offers are solicited only from small business concerns. Offers received from concerns that are not small business concerns shall be considered nonresponsive and will be rejected.
(2) Any award resulting from this solicitation will be made to a small business concern.
(End of clause)
Important Points:
- If it is an overseas procurement, small business set-asides will not be available.
-
Should any portion of the set-aside quantity remain unawarded after all eligible Small Business offers have been evaluated, that quantity will then be moved to the unrestricted portion of the procurement. This makes the remaining fuel available for award to any qualified supplier, including large businesses.
Research past industry performance in DLA Energy's PC&S Contract Information System (CIS) to gather market information on:
- What other suppliers have charged and are currently charging
- How much product is available and is currently being supplied to regions/locations (i.e., COGs)
- In-demand products from various suppliers
Generally speaking a Purchase Program is the procurement program that is solicited by the government to suppliers based on location requirements to which the locations can be CONUS (e.g. COGs) or International (e.g. Kuwait).
To extract useful market research data from the PC&S Contract Information System, a user can:
- Focus on contract data from a particular Continental US or International Location
- Obtain a global search report aggregating data from all suppliers and customer organized groups (COGs)
Contract Data by COGs
There are two query categories for the contract data within PC&S CIS: CONUS/Domestic and International. Each category can then be filtered via additional query criteria selections to produce the desired Requirement Report.
On the main screen users can select locations in either:
- CONUS (Continental United States) locations
- International (i.e., OCONUS - Outside Continental United States)
After a location is selected, a "Create Report for" location screen will show options for date range filtering, report data filtering, and sorting.
- Select the desired beginning and ending date ranges
Note: Review any messages that may be pertinent to the location and data.
- From the Report Data section, select the following dropdowns that you want filtered:
- Location
- Supplier
- State
- Service
- Contract Number
- Contract Lineitem
- Solicitation Number
- TSW Location
- Product
- Mode
- From the Report Sort Order section, rank the data to be sorted based on the report data column. A user can have up to nine sorting levels.
- From the "Report Format Options," select one of the following options:
- Display Report in Narrative Format
- Display Report in Tabular Format
- Download Excel Spreadsheet
- Email Report in Narrative Format
Narrative Format
The Narrative Format report gives various display screens with more detailed information, and may include:
- Line Item Data
- Product Data
- Lift History
- Price Escalation Data
- Supplier Data
Example of Narrative Report with Price Escalation Details
Tabular Format
The Tabular Requirement Grid will show data in an online spreadsheet table view with detailed information that may include:
- Location
- Supplier Information
- Line Item Data
- Product Data
- Price Escalation Data
- Lift History
Example of Tabular Report
Excel Spreadsheet
This allows the user to fully download the filtered dataset into an Excel spreadsheet with mainly the same columns as in the Tabular Format.
Example of Downloaded Excel Spreadsheet
Email Report in Narrative Format
Users can email the Narrative Format requirement report to a specified email; however, there will not be any embedded hyperlinks to provide additional details.
Example of Emailing a Narrative Format with Confirmation Pop-Up
Global Search
Global Search provides a different way to query the CIS data to create a Requirement Report, as it begins with a selection of current/future Purchase Programs (regions) through all time periods.
Energy CIS Manual for PC&S Energy CIS Manual for PC&S
- Select the Programs (associated with location) you want to search
- User can search and select individual programs or "Select All"
- Select OK button
Create Report For: Multiple or individual programs that were selected in the previous step. The top bar has the following options:
- From the Report Data section, select the following dropdowns that you want filtered:
- Location
- Supplier
- State
- Service
- Contract Number
- Contract Line Item
- Solicitation Number
- TSW Location
- Product
- Mode
- From the Report Sort Order section, rank the data to be sorted based on the report data column. A user can have up to nine sorting levels.
- From the "Report Format Options," select one of the following options:
- Display Report in Narrative Format
- Display Report in Tabular Format
- Download Excel Spreadsheet
- Email Report in Narrative Format
Narrative Format
The Narrative Requirement Format gives various display screens with more detailed information, and may include:
- Line Item Data
- Product Data
- Lift History
- Price Escalation Data
- Supplier Data
Example of Narrative Report with Price Escalation Details
Tabular Format
The Tabular Requirement grid will show data in an online spreadsheet table view with detailed information that may include:
- Location
- Supplier Information
- Line Item Data
- Product Data
- Price Escalation Data
- Lift History
Example of Tabular Report
Excel Spreadsheet
This allows the user to fully download the filtered dataset into an Excel spreadsheet with mainly the same columns as in the Tabular Format.
Example of Downloaded Excel Spreadsheet
Email Report in Narrative Format
Users can email the Narrative Format requirement report to a specified email; however, there will not be any embedded hyperlinks to provide additional details.
Example of Emailing a Narrative Format with Confirmation Pop-Up
Resources
Identify solicitations that you can deliver and perform on, especially as it concerns:
- Delivery methods, hours, and equipment
- Quantities
- Location
- Standards, whether Quality Assurance Provisions (QAPs), Supplemental Quality Assurance Provisions (SQAPs), or other tech/fuel specifications
- Any other details in "Schedule of Supplies" section (typically Section B) in the continuation pages of the SF1449 solicitation or on a separate attachment on SAM.gov
Delivery Methods
Many times delivery and logistics instructions are mentioned in the SAM.gov solicitation outright. For example:
- Delivery hours
- Delivery address(es)
- Delivery dates
- Specific delivery site instructions
- Special delivery notes or instructions to follow
- Delivery method (e.g., tank truck)
- Lead time needed for canceling order deliveries
Suppliers must ensure they can meet the delivery requirements stated in the solicitation.
Offerors are expected to thoroughly inspect the delivery site and obtain all reasonably available information about any conditions, both general and local, that might affect delivery or the overall cost of the contract. This is to ensure they are fully informed before submitting their offer.
Common delivery methods are:
- Tanker
- Barge
- Shallow Draft Tanker
- Railcar
- Truck
- Pipeline
- Both FOB Origin and Destination (depending on the specific requirement and location)
Example of stated delivery instructions:
Standards
Solicitations often state the specifications that the product being procured must meet. Most commonly, they are MIL and ASTM standards; however, commercial standards may be stated and required.
Some of the standards may be directly stated on the solicitation on SAM.gov; however, they will always be stated in the Quality Assurance Provisions (QAPs), which will be attached in the Attachments or Continuation Page section on the solicitation.
Example of Quality Assurance Provisions (QAPs) from Section E of a solicitation
Example of Supplemental Quality Assurance Provisions (SQAPs) in solicitation:
In addition to standards, instructions for points of inspection will be outlined; become familiar with what is stated to prepare for your product's point of inspection.
Supplier will define company’s physical shipping location capabilities (e.g., physical location, SPLC (Standard Point Location Code), available product(s), available fuel additive(s), and available modes of transportation).
Suppliers making offers on solicitations Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) will not use the Offer Entry Tool. Instead, they will submit their Offer Submission Packages by email to the DLA Energy Contracting Officer (KO) listed. If the procurement is OCONUS, Suppliers can skip to Step 11, Submit Offer with SF1449 Package with Attachments.
The Account Management Provisioning System (AMPS) is DLA's centralized account application that allows users to access other DLA systems and tools, such as DLA Energy's Offer Entry Tool. For more information on AMPS, see AMPS - DLA Account Management and Provisioning System.
To establish your DLA Account Management and Provisioning System Account, follow the instructions on How To Register in DLA's Account Management Provisioning System (AMPS).
After your AMPS account has been set up, a new AMPS role must be acquired in order to gain access to OET.
- Log into your AMPS account to request the OET.
- Select Energy Applications on the Browse Roles by Application tab.
- Select Energy OET.
- Select Energy OET Prod – Supplier Offer Submissions Role OET – 100.
- Complete all information and submit request.
For more information on the AMPS role request process, see the Requesting the OET Supplier Role in AMPS.
Note: An OET temporary username and password will be sent to you via email from the EPST Provisioner. User ID and password for AMPS are NOT the same as for OET.
What is the PC&S Offer Entry Tool (OET)?
The OET, which is required, allows prospective Fuel Suppliers to securely enter and submit complex offers on a DLA Energy fuel solicitation. Any documents not submitted in the OET cannot be rated as part of the supplier’s Offer Submission Package (OSP).
After receiving your temporary password, you must log on to OET within 48 hours and change the provided temporary password to a password that you create and is known only to you. Once your password has been changed, the temporary password is invalid. The password you create during the password change is the one that you will use to access OET.
Concerning access to the OET:
- Allow 3-5 business days after submission for OET access
- Log in every 30 days per DOW policy
- Ensure account is tied to your CAGE code
- Do not share your username or password
- Only the account holder can submit for a reset of the account/password.
- Passwords expire every 60 days (users will be prompted to change)
- Revalidate your Supplier Offer Submission Role OET - 100 AMPS role annually
Resources:
Logging in and Basic Account setup
Log into the EPST Offer Entry Tool. A supplier can also access the OET by clicking the link in an Invitation to Bid email notification sent by a Buyer based on the Supplier's Purchase Program selection and bid history.
Accept the DOW Access Warning pop-up by clicking OK.
On the EPST OET Splash Screen, enter username and password information, and click Log on
For further information on logging in to PC&S OET see pages 50-60 in the Post, Camps & Stations Offer Entry Tool User Manual.
CAGE and Business Unit
If you are logging on using a standard password (i.e., one you created via the Password Change function), the next step in the logon process depends on the number of CAGE Codes associated with your account and whether the account is active. Upon clicking Log On, a User Authentication screen with open, and if the account is inactive, a message will be displayed notifying that administrative assistance is required (via the link on the EPST OET Splash Page) to complete the logon process.
If you have multiple CAGE Codes associated with your active account, clicking Log On invokes the Select a CAGE Code screen displaying a list of the CAGE Codes associated with your account. Click the CAGE Code to be used during the current logon session, then click Select to proceed to the Select Business Unit screen
If you have a single CAGE Code associated with your active account, clicking Log On on the completed User Authentication screen invokes the Select Business Unit screen where you click the radio button associated with PC&S Fuels and then the Continue button.
Upon clicking Continue on the Select Business Unit screen, the Login Authentication Success screen, which displays navigation guidelines for the application and any other message that could be pertinent to the user, is produced.
Click Continue on the Login Authentication Success screen to display the PC&S OET Start screen.
For further information on setting up a supplier's personnel user account, see pages 11-16 in the Post, Camps & Stations Offer Entry Tool User Manual.
For Non-Domestic Procurements (i.e., International) offer packages will need to be submitted in accordance to the instructions of the solicitation; most times submitting direct to the Acquisition Specialist (Buyer) listed on the solicitation.
Complete all associated data and documentation requested in the solicitation. From the initial submission of the SF1449, there may be successive offer submission rounds depending on the procurement need.
See the following sections:
Requested Documents
Solicitation may ask for all or any of the following documents/data to be included (not all inclusive):
- Completed solicitation. Usually most pages will need the offeror to fill in information or initial pages confirming agreement with solicitation regulations and references.
- Certificate of Analysis (COA) or Certificate of Quality (COQ) is used for each line item offered verifying that the fuel delivered meets the government’s specifications.
- The Offeror must be able to demonstrate that the Offeror has secured arrangements that will enable it to support orders for the product specified, in accordance with the requirement schedule, and consistent with the delivery requirements and all other terms and conditions in the solicitation.
- Pricing Data Sheet usually giving details on item number, delivery location of item, base reference price and other pricing figures.
- Commitment Letter from the supplier for every item offered, submitted with the Offeror’s initial proposal.
- Source of Supply is the production capacity for each source, shipping points supplied by each refinery source.
- Compliance and Offer Letter ensures that all compliance requirements from special instruction and regulations are met with an attached signed offer letter on company letterhead.
Submitting Proposal in PC&S OET
Generally, the process to submit an offer in the OET is:
- A prospective vendor must be registered in OET as described in previous supplier pathway steps in order to enter/submit offers in the PCS OET application.
- Prospective fuel suppliers view DLA Energy solicitations from SAM.gov or may be notified by an Invitation to Bid.
- Supplier logs on through the EPST OET web entry point, selects the business unit Post, Camps & Stations (PC&S), and selects a solicitation, and opens the offer round to enter/submit offer information.
- Supplier selects line item(s) to be included in offer and enters the prices / offer data for each until all data have been entered.
- Supplier uploads pertinent offer submission documentation in support of offer, creating a complete offer submission.
- Supplier submits offer response.
- Supplier repeats the offer entry process for all offer rounds (Standard Initial / Interim / Final, etc., and Reverse Auction) that the DLA Buyer opens, via BEM, for a solicitation. The offer submission process is required on all Standard offer rounds; offer submission is not required on Reverse Auction rounds.
- For each offer round, the supplier is shown their previous bid for each line item. In a Reverse Auction round (either static or real-time), the supplier is also shown the current winning bid for each line item.
Important Notes:
- When editing in the OET, it is recommended that only ONE user edits at a time to ensure no data issues.
- A supplier can withdraw a previously submitted offer from consideration.
For more information on how to submit a PC&S proposal, see manual pages 16-17 in the Post, Camps & Stations Offer Entry Tool User Manual.
Offerors may be required in the solicitation to agree to honor prices in their proposal for up to a set amount of days, such as 180 calendar days, from the Request For Proposal (RFP) closing date. The successful offeror’s proposal in response to the solicitation may be incorporated into the resultant contract, in whole or in part, at the time of award.
Unless otherwise stated in the solicitation, the offer price should include all costs arising from performance of the contract requirement. This includes applicable taxes and fees from which the U.S. government is not exempt. Offerors must submit pricing in unit/per USG (United States Gallons) format (United States American Dollar/USG); for example, ($0.0000/USG).
Most often, alternate offers for fuel supply will not be accepted and will be excluded from award evaluation. The ability to have escalator pricing is based on the solicitation.
Request For Proposal Addenda to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES states:
“If an offeror has a physical address in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), is submitting FOB Destination Offer(s) to CENTCOM, and/or is offering FOB Origin Shipping Point(s) in CENTCOM, then the offeror shall be registered in the Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS) to be considered for contract award. If awarded, active registration shall be maintained throughout the contract period of performance. Countries in CENTCOM include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Likewise, if an offeror has a physical address in the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM); is submitting FOB Destination Offer(s) to AFRICOM; and/or is offering FOB Origin Shipping Point(s) in AFRICOM, then the offeror shall be registered in JCCS to be considered for contract award.”
Offer Submission Rounds
Offer submissions may only have one round, in which the supplier should make its best offer upfront, or happen in a multi-round process depending on the needs of DLA. The solicitation will state the expected offer round(s). They typically occur in these rounds:
- Initial Offers
- Interim Offers
- Final Offers
- Final Price Reduction (e.g., Reverse Auctions)
Suppliers can find further Offer Round Submission information for the OET on pages 20-40 in the Post, Camps & Stations Offer Entry Tool User Manual.
Important: These rounds are typical of a DLA Energy Direct Delivery solicitation; HOWEVER, review the solicitation in its entirety for nuances in procurement. There may be changes in the number of rounds or in what information can be updated in the Offer Entry Tool (OET), depending on the circumstances of the procurement. Suppliers should check the Request For Proposal (RFP) Section M and any amendments to make sure they understand which rounds the Contracting Officer plans to use and what available fields can be changed in succeeding rounds.
For Non-Domestic Procurements (i.e., International) offer package rounds will need to be submitted in accordance to the instructions of the solicitation; most times submitting direct to the Acquisition Specialist (Buyer) listed on the solicitation.
After the solicitation has been posted to the SAM.gov website, it will be posted to the Offer Entry Tool (OET) as the Initial Standard Round.
Offerors must participate in the Initial Standard Round and be in the competitive range to be eligible to participate in any subsequent rounds.
In the Initial Round, offerors can edit all data fields in its Offer Submission Package (OSP) by adding shipping locations, origin and destination bid lines, quantities, prices, and offer conditions.
Offerors may change most data fields in their offer, including adding and removing shipping locations, adding or removing origin and destination bid lines, quantities, prices, and offer conditions.
The Interim Proposal Round is the last round Offerors are allowed to add new shipping points, products, modes of delivery, sources of supply, Free on Board (FOB) terms, exception requests, or new bid lines.
Interim OET round submittal is also the last opportunity for Offerors to request additional bid lines to propose tiered pricing.
Offerors will not be able to add new shipping points, products, modes of delivery, sources of supply, FOB, escalator(s) exception requests, or new bid lines.
Offerors will still be able to edit the other fields as needed.
If the Contracting Officer determines that a Price Reduction round will be held, Offerors will only be allowed to lower their offered price and may not make revisions to any other OET fields.
This report is limited to providing the solicitation line item, demand location, quantity currently in line for award, and the laid-down price for the quantity currently in line for award.
If there is no new offered price submitted during this round, then the previous submitted offered price will be used for evaluation.
Important: Revisions submitted after the close of a round will not be considered.
The KO may request that a Responsible Officer (RO), typically a DLA Energy Quality Assurance Representative (QAR), perform a Pre-Award Survey (PAS) in accordance with FAR Part 9.106-1. This ensures that the capabilities exist to support the requirement the Offeror bid against, mitigating the risk of non-performance due to lack of capability. An on-site review may be required for the Pre-Award Survey.
To assess capabilities and mitigate risk associated with new suppliers, organizations with limited past performance with DLA or other government entities or that have a new Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) can anticipate a Pre-Award Survey.
If requested, the Offeror and its employees, including those at the fill point and/or production facility, shall be required to participate fully in the PAS process.
The DLA Energy Contracting Officer will discuss any PAS results recommended by the Responsible Officer that is other than "Recommend Full Award."
If this was not conducted for the solicitation and the KO did not notify the supplier, then skip this step.
After submissions, the Contract Administrator will determine the best offer, primarily based on the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection process.
The Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection process, in accordance with FAR 15.101-2—Lowest Price Technically Acceptable, takes into account factors such as (not all-inclusive):
- Volume restrictions
- Multiple transportation and delivery modes
- Injection capability
- Tiered or block pricing
The best overall value acquisition strategy can also be used but is more rare in implementation. It is in accordance with FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, which allows for a tradeoff between non-cost factors and cost/price and allows the government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal or other than the highest technically rated proposal to achieve a best-value contract award.
The Contract Administrator will evaluate the offeror's proposal by following the provisions and clauses stated in the solicitation.
Common Regulation references mentioned in Direct Delivery solicitations:
For help understanding or reading your contract, see Understanding Contract Basics.
Important: The government reserves the right to make an award on one line item, all line items, or no line items (i.e., no award).
If the offer is not accepted, a supplier can restart the process and begin researching DLA Energy Direct Delivery opportunities using Step 4 - Search Solicitations.
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Suppliers under contract may be required to use the DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) to receive orders. For more information on how to get started with DIBBS, see How to Register in DIBBS.
Performance and delivery will depend on the type of contract agreed to and if the government expects additional requirements/needs to emerge:
- For One Time Buys or Single Purchase Contracts the schedule of performance and needed delivery is already set in the schedule outlined from the Request for Proposal (RFP).
- For Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) or Long Term Contracts (LTCs) awards, outlined from the Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation, the government may issue an order for a specific delivery or a series of deliveries (e.g., several deliveries during a week). The government may also elect to issue an order covering a longer period (including monthly orders) and make periodic calls against these orders designating specific delivery dates, times, and quantities.
Only a DLA Energy warranted Contracting Officer can issue an order, either orally or in writing, against a contract. An oral order issued by the warranted Contracting Officer shall provide the required advance notice to the supplier and the following information: Interim order number, contract number, item number, ceiling price, quantity, delivery location, and the required delivery and/ or service date.
- For all product orders, the supplier will receive an electronically signed written order via DIBBS within 24 hours or one business day after the warranted Contracting Officer issues an oral order.
- For all service orders, the supplier will receive an electronically signed written order via DIBBS, within five business days after issuing the oral order.
- Interim order number is subject to change once the electronically signed written order is received by the contractor. The order number on the written order will take precedence over the interim order number, if different.
- Regardless of the unit price cited on the written order, the office designated to make payments on the written order will pay the applicable unit price in effect under the terms and conditions of the contract.
- Once the order has been issued, an email will be sent to the supplier to provide notice that the order is available on the contract-specific web page. The order will also be submitted to the payment office.
Calls against previously issued orders must be confirmed in writing within 24 hours or one business day via email. The email confirmation will reference the previously issued order number and item number and designate specific delivery location, dates, and quantity to be delivered against that order.
Important: Non-receipt of written or electronic confirmation does not excuse the supplier from its obligation to perform in accordance with an oral order or call, whether that order was initially an oral order, oral call, electronic, or in writing. The supplier should contact the DLA Energy Contracting Officer if problems are experienced with receipt of the electronic or written confirmation.
Begin to perform on contract adhering to all:
- Standards
- Contract delivery methods
- Contract delivery schedules
- Contract quantity
- Any other details mentioned in the SF1449
Who to Contact for Questions During Performance Period?
For contract-related questions and requests, reach out to the Contract Administrator assigned to your contract. Most often, it is the same Point of Contact (POC) as stated on the solicitation.
A Responsible Officer (RO) from the customer (usually from Military Services) ensures material was delivered in accordance with Quality Assurance Provisions (QAPs) outlined in the solicitation and contract as discussed in Step 10. Standards.
Example scenarios may include (not all inclusive):
- If delivered by truck with a tank, ensure the truck is properly clean and no residue or containments from other loads of different materials are present.
- If by pipeline, quality check will occur at Origin inspection.
The Responsible Officer (RO) will notify all appropriate parties after inspection of material, whether by pipeline, barge, tanker, etc.
If the quality inspection passes, the Acceptor will receive and process material.
If the quality inspection fails, the material is rejected onsite and the supplier will need to get with their Contract Administrator for resolution.
If consistent quality assurance issues occur, a DLA Regional Responsible Officer may be sent to investigate.
To submit an Invoice that DFAS can pay, the supplier must submit the Invoice and Energy Receiving Report (ERR) into WAWF.
To submit an Invoice, a user will need to have access to the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) in order to have access to Wide Area Workflow (WAWF), which is used to submit Invoices to DLA and then routes the information to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) for processing for payment.
There are two slightly different invoicing processes depending on whether the supplier already has an ERR in hand. Suppliers have different business practices based upon their priorities.
Combo Invoicing
If an ERR was not created during delivery, the supplier will need to perform an Energy Combo Invoice. With an Energy Combo Invoice, the supplier enters information into WAWF, and WAWF will generate both the Invoice and the ERR.
Energy Invoice / Energy Receiving Report
If an ERR was created by the acceptor of the material or by the supplier, then the supplier will need to enter data separately for the Energy Invoice and re-enter it again for the Energy Receiving Report.
When creating a Combo Invoicing Process, both the Invoice and Receiving report will be generated at the same time. Review the following guides:
Important: If a WAWF user attempts to create an Energy Combo Invoice with an Inspector or Acceptor DoDAAC that has no active users registered against it, the user will receive a pop-up message stating no active users are registered against the entered DoDAAC and advising them to submit a Stand-Alone Invoice (i.e., the EI and ERR).
Supplier will need to do two rounds of entering data into WAWF, the first round is entering data to create an Energy Receiving Report; the second time is to enter information to create an Invoice.
See the following WAWF guides to create separately, the EI and ERR:
Once the Invoice (typically with the receiving report) has been submitted in WAWF, it will be routed to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) for processing.
Typically, payment terms are 30 days, but this will be stated in the contract. DFAS evaluates the submitted Invoice and ERR by using a "3-Way Match," which seeks matching information across the Contract, Invoice, and ERR and then pre-validates the Invoice. After approval, the DFAS Disbursing Office will send a check or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to the supplier and update myInvoice.
To check Invoice payment status, a supplier can check myInvoice in WAWF or see if a Payment Official has done any action to the WAWF submitted Invoice.
MyInvoice is a web-based application developed specifically for supplier's and government users to obtain status of a supplier's invoices.
See the following DFAS video below to see how to check payment status in myInvoice.
Check for Payment Official Action
Another way to check the status of your Invoice in WAWF is to follow these steps:
- Log in to WAWF and select the Supplier tab.
- From the dropdown, select History folder.
- Use the search fields to locate the Combo Invoice.
- Click Submit.
- Locate the Invoice heading and then click on the linked document below.
- Your Invoice will open, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and under Action By: Payment Official you can view the status of your Invoice.
Resources:
Terms Glossary
Find meanings for acronyms, abbreviations, and codes used throughout the process article below in the table:
| Term Used |
Meaning/Definition |
| AMPS |
Account Management and Provisioning System |
| ASTM |
American Society for Testing and Materials |
| BEM |
Bid Evaluation Model |
| CAGE |
Commercial and Government Entity |
| CIS |
Contract Information System |
| CMMC |
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification |
| DFAS |
Defense Finance and Accounting Services |
| DLA |
Defense Logistics Agency |
| DoDAAC |
Department of Defense Activity Address Code |
| DOW |
Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) |
| ECombo |
Energy Combo |
| EI |
Energy Invoice |
| EPST |
DLA Energy Procurement System/Tool |
| ERR |
Energy Receiving Report |
| FAR |
Federal Acquisition Regulation |
| FOB |
Free on Board |
| GSA |
General Services Administration |
| HUB Zone |
Historically Underutilized Business Zone |
| IPR |
Initial Proposal Round |
| LCR |
Laid-Down Cost Report |
| MCBAS |
Minimum Cost Solution Bid Award Sheet |
| MCBEW |
Minimum Cost Bid Evaluation Worksheet |
| MCLS |
Minimum Laid-Down Cost Solution |
| MIL |
Military |
| OET |
Offer Entry Tool |
| OSBP |
Office of Small Business Programs |
| OSP |
Offer Submission Package |
| PIEE |
Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment |
| PQDR |
Product Quality Deficiency Report |
| QAPs |
Quality Assurance Provisions |
| QAR |
Quality Assurance Representative |
| SAM.gov |
System for Award Management |
| SF1449 |
Standard Form 1449 (Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items) |
| TAA |
Trade Agreement Act |
| USG |
United States Gallon |
| WAWF |
Wide Area Workflow |
| TIR |
Total Item Record |