AMENDMENT NOTICE:This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.The solicitation number is NEEJ0000-13-00353 and is issued as an invitation for bids (IFB), unless otherwise indicated herein.The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-66. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541519 with a small business size standard of $25.50M.This requirement is a [ Small Business ] set-aside and only qualified offerors may submit bids.The solicitation pricing on www.FedBid.com will start on the date this solicitation is posted and will end on 2013-04-30 14:00:00.0 Eastern Time or as otherwise displayed at www.FedBid.com.FOB Destination shall be Lanham, MD 20771 The DOC NOAALink requires the following items, Exact Match Only, to the following: LI 001: Nessus Profession Feed Subscription - Product Info Support (renewal) 3 years for NESSUS Part #: SERV-NES-01-R3 End User ID: 51442, 2, EA; LI 002: Nessus Professional Feed Subscription - Product Info Support 3 years Part #: SERV-NES-01-N3 End User ID: 51442, 3, EA; Solicitation and Buy Attachments ***Question Submission: Interested offerors must submit any questions concerning the solicitation at the earliest time possible to enable the Buyer to respond. Questions must be submitted by using the 'Submit a Question' feature at www.fedbid.com. Questions not received within a reasonable time prior to close of the solicitation may not be considered.*** For this solicitation, DOC NOAALink intends to conduct an online competitive reverse auction to be facilitated by the third-party reverse auction provider, FedBid, Inc. FedBid has developed an online, anonymous, browser based application to conduct the reverse auction. An Offeror may submit a series of pricing bids, which descend in price during the specified period of time for the aforementioned reverse auction. DOC NOAALink is taking this action in an effort to improve both vendor access and awareness of requests and the agency's ability to gather multiple, competed, real-time bids.All responsible Offerors that respond to this solicitation MUST submit the pricing portion of their bid using the online exchange located at www.FedBid.com. There is no cost to register, review procurement data or make a bid on www.FedBid.com.Offerors that are not currently registered to use www.FedBid.com should proceed to www.FedBid.com to complete their free registration. Offerors that require special considerations or assistance may contact the FedBid Helpdesk at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or via email at
[email protected]. Offerors may not artificially manipulate the price of a transaction on www.FedBid.com by any means. It is unacceptable to place bad faith bids, to use decoys in the www.FedBid.com process or to collude with the intent or effect of hampering the competitive www.FedBid.com process.Should offerors require additional clarification, notify the point of contact or FedBid at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or
[email protected] of FedBid: Buyers and Sellers agree to conduct this transaction through FedBid in compliance with the FedBid Terms of Use. Failure to comply with the below terms and conditions may result in offer being determined as non-responsive. Contracting Officer's Authority. The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price. Insert the clause 1352.209?73, Compliance with the Laws, in all solicitations and contracts. As prescribed in 48 CFR 1309.507?2(c), insert the following clause: Compliance With the Laws (APR 2010) The contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations which deal with or relate to performance in accord with the terms of the contract. As prescribed in 48 CFR 1309.507?2(d), insert the following clause: Organizational Conflict of Interest (APR 2010) (a) Purpose. The purpose of this clause is to ensure that the contractor and its subcontractors: (1) Are not biased because of their financial, contractual, organizational, or other interests which relate to the work under this contract, and (2) Do not obtain any unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of their performance of this contract. (b) Scope. The restrictions described herein shall apply to performance or participation by the contractor, its parents, affiliates, divisions and subsidiaries, and successors in interest (hereinafter collectively referred to as ?contractor?) in the activities covered by this clause as a prime contractor, subcontractor, co-sponsor, joint venturer, consultant, or in any similar capacity. For the purpose of this clause, affiliation occurs when a business concern is controlled by or has the power to control another or when a third party has the power to control both. (c) Warrant and Disclosure. The warrant and disclosure requirements of this paragraph apply with full force to both the contractor and all subcontractors. The contractor warrants that, to the best of the contractor's knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which would give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, and that the contractor has disclosed all relevant information regarding any actual or potential conflict. The contractor agrees it shall make an immediate and full disclosure, in writing, to the Contracting Officer of any potential or actual organizational conflict of interest or the existence of any facts that may cause a reasonably prudent person to question the contractor's impartiality because of the appearance or existence of bias or an unfair competitive advantage. Such disclosure shall include a description of the actions the contractor has taken or proposes to take in order to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate any resulting conflict of interest. (d) Remedies. The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if the Contracting Officer deems such termination necessary to avoid, neutralize or mitigate an actual or apparent organizational conflict of interest. If the contractor fails to disclose facts pertaining to the existence of a potential or actual organizational conflict of interest or misrepresents relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, suspend or debar the contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. (e) Subcontracts. The contractor shall include a clause substantially similar to this clause, including paragraphs (f) and (g), in any subcontract or consultant agreement at any tier expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The terms ?contract,? ?contractor,? and ?Contracting Officer? shall be appropriately modified to preserve the Government's rights. (f) Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contractor shall obtain from its subcontractors or consultants the disclosure required in FAR Part 9.507?1, and shall determine in writing whether the interests disclosed present an actual, or significant potential for, an organizational conflict of interest. The contractor shall identify and avoid, neutralize, or mitigate any subcontractor organizational conflict prior to award of the contract to the satisfaction of the Contracting Officer. If the subcontractor's organizational conflict cannot be avoided, neutralized, or mitigated, the contractor must obtain the written approval of the Contracting Officer prior to entering into the subcontract. If the contractor becomes aware of a subcontractor's potential or actual organizational conflict of interest after contract award, the contractor agrees that the Contractor may be required to eliminate the subcontractor from its team, at the contractor's own risk. (g) Waiver. The parties recognize that this clause has potential effects which will survive the performance of this contract and that it is impossible to foresee each circumstance to which it might be applied in the future. Accordingly, the contractor may at any time seek a waiver from the Head of the Contracting Activity by submitting such waiver request to the Contracting Officer, including a full written description of the requested waiver and the reasons in support thereof. As prescribed in 48 CFR 1313.106?2?70, insert the following provision: Evaluation Utilizing Simplified Acquisition Procedures (Date) All solicitations using simplified acquisition procedures in FAR Part 13 must include provision 1352.213?70, Evaluation Utilizing Simplified Acquisition Procedures, or similar language setting out evaluation criteria.The Government will issue an order resulting from this request for quotation to the responsible offeror whose quotation results in the best value to the Government, considering both price and non-price factors. Insert a clause substantially similar to 1352.246?70, Place of Acceptance, in contracts and solicitations to indicate where the acceptance of supplies and/or services will take place. As prescribed in 1346.503, insert the following clause: Place of Acceptance (APR 2010) (a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract. (b) The place of acceptance will be: New equipment ONLY, NO grey market or refurbished products. Items must be in original packaging, never used, and not altered in any way. Components of the requested equipment, to include memory, must be manufacturer-approved and may not be compatible, remanufactured, or refurbished equipment. All items must be covered by manufacturer?s warranty and procured through a manufacturer approved distribution channel. Sellers must be able to document their ability to provide items through manufacturer approved distribution channels upon request. The Seller confirms to have sourced all products submitted in this Bid from manufacturer-approved channels for Federal sales, in accordance with all applicable laws and manufacturer?s current applicable policies at the time of purchase. Seller must be able to support both the product sale and product pricing, in accordance with applicable manufacturer certification / specialization requirements. If software is provided or included, Seller shall, upon request, provide Buyer with a copy of the End User License Agreement. Seller certifies that all software is licensed originally to Buyer as the original licensee authorized to use the software. All Bids must be valid for 30 days from the closing date for this solicitation. No exceptions or qualifications. Shipping must be free on board (FOB) destination CONUS (Continental U.S.), which means that the seller must deliver the goods on its conveyance at the destination specified by the buyer, and the seller is responsible for the cost of shipping and risk of loss prior to actual delivery at the specified destination. Offeror must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database before an award can be made to them. If the offeror is not registered in the CCR, it may do so through the CCR website at http://www.ccr.gov. The selected Offeror must comply with the following commercial item terms and conditions. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial, applies to this acquisition. The selected Offeror must submit a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following FAR clauses in paragraph (b) of FAR clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, will apply: 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.225-13, 52.232-34. The full text of a FAR clause may be accessed electronically at http://www.acqnet.gov/far. The Buy American Act? (1) Restricts the purchase of supplies, that are not domestic end products, for use within the United States. A foreign end product may be purchased if it is determined that the price of the lowest domestic offer is unreasonable or if another exception applies, and (2) Requires, with some exceptions the use of only domestic construction materials in contracts for construction in the United States (3) Buy American Act uses a two-part test to define a domestic end product. (a) The article must be manufactured in the United States; and (b) The cost of domestic components must exceed 50 percent of the cost of all the components. Buy American Act Certificate (June 2003) 52.225-2 Buy American Act Certificate: (a) The offeror certifies that each end product, except those listed in paragraph (b) of this provision, is a domestic end product and that the offeror has considered components of unknown origin to have been mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States. The offeror shall list as foreign end products those end products manufactured in the United States that do not qualify as domestic end products. The terms ?component,? ?domestic end product,? ?end product,? ?foreign end product,? and ?United States? are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled ?Buy American Act?Supplies.? TO COMPLY, SELLERS MUST LIST THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IN EACH LINE ITEM. Bid prices for EACH line item must be accurate, fair, and reasonable, as determined by the contracting officer, using competitive price comparisons, market research, etc. Bundling multiple line item prices together (?materially unbalanced? pricing) is NOT acceptable, unless that exact bundle is listed as a single CLIN on the bidder?s contract. Any bid may be rejected if the prices for any line items are materially unbalanced. Any bid may be rejected if the contracting officer determines that it is unreasonable as to price. Unreasonableness of price includes not only the total price of the bid, but the prices for individual line items as well.