DESCRIPTION: THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. The Mass Spectrometry Data Center (MSDC) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Material Measurement Laboratory (MML), Biomolecular Measurement Division (BMD) is responsible for the development of the NIST, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mass Spectral Library and Tandem Mass Spectral Library. To carry out this responsibility, the MSDC has a requirement for a variety of natural products. These natural products are compounds that are predominantly plant metabolites. They are used to enhance NIST Mass Spectral Libraries and do not require special approval through NIST. The objective of this solicitation is to establish a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order to obtain the 1,076 natural products listed in the Statement of Requirements. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-07, effective August 3, 2020. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 325199 with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees. This acquisition is being procured as a Total Small Business Set-Aside. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS All Quoters shall provide a Firm-Fixed-Price quotation for the following line items: Line Item 0001: The Contractor shall provide the Natural Products in accordance with the Statement of Requirements and Attachment 1- Natural Products Spreadsheet. DELIVERY TERMS Delivery terms shall be FOB Destination. FOB DESTINATION MEANS: The Contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery INSTRUCTIONS: Quoters are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including representations and certifications, terms and conditions, and technical requirements. The submission shall consist of two (2) separate parts; Part I – Cover Letter and Part II – Price Quotation; discussed in more detail below. Quotation Preparation Instructions I. Cover Letter : The Contractor shall submit a cover letter that addresses all of the following: An affirmative statement confirming that the Contractor has provided a quote complying with all specifications of the Statement of Requirements; If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the Contractor shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:” [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the Contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the Contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order. The DUNS # for the Contractor’s active System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Contractors must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov to receive an award; If the Contractor’s representations and certifications do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, Contractors must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation or the size standard for a non-manufacturer. II. Price Quotation : The Contractor shall submit a Fixed-Firm-Price Quotation that addresses all of the following: Contractors shall use the Excel “Attachment 1- Natural Products Spreadsheet” provided, and shall not submit pricing in any other format, such as PDF or MS Word. Using the Excel “Attachment 1- Natural Products Spreadsheet,” quoters must submit a firm-fixed-price quotation for all Natural Products the quoter shall deliver. Quoters shall provide the quantity* and total price for each Natural Product it will be delivering, in the last two columns of Attachment 1, entitled “Quantity” and “Price.” * It is important to note that per the Statement of Requirements, the contractor shall deliver the natural products set forth in Attachment 1 in quantities not less than 1 mg. Larger quantities may be provided if sufficiently small quantities are not available, but not more than 1 g. In the event a Natural Product is no longer available, the Contractor shall highlight the row associated with the Natural Product in YELLOW to indicate that it is not providing a quote for that particular product. System for Award Management Registration In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, the awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management ( www.sam.gov ) prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award. Completed Solicitation Provisions A completed version of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document – required submissions highlighted in blue). Due Date for Quotations and Questions All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Sadaf Afkhami, at
[email protected] with a carbon copy to Donald Graham, at
[email protected]. Submissions must be received no later than 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on September 2, 2020. FAX quotations will not be accepted. Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of e-mail communications. Offerors’ quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation has entered the e-mail inbox of the individual(s) set forth above. Questions: All questions regarding this notice must be submitted via e-mail to Sadaf Afkhami, at
[email protected], with a carbon copy to Donald Graham, at
[email protected], no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 20, 2020. EVALUATION CRITERIA & BASIS FOR AWARD: Award shall be made on a technically acceptable/lowest price basis. Technically acceptable means that the quoter has quoted and shall provide at least 90% of the Natural Products identified in Attachment 1. Price The Government will compile a list of Natural Products, selected from Attachment 1. The list shall be comprised of Natural Products that all quoters, who have been determined technically acceptable, have provided a price quotation for. The aggregate value of the quoted Natural Product prices on the list will be utilized to evaluate price. Award will be made to the quoter with the lowest aggregate price. The awarded price will be the aggregate value of all Natural Products quoted by the successful quoter. Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or www.acquisition.gov/far . The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/ . ATTACHMENTS: The following attachments apply to this solicitation: 1. The Statement of Requirements 2. Applicable Clauses & Provisions 3. Attachment 1- Natural Products Spreadsheet