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 NWWX500-12-04164 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 2005-60. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334611 with a small business size standard of 500.00 employees.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 2012-08-31 14:30:00.0 Eastern Time or as otherwise displayed at www.FedBid.com.FOB Destination shall be College Park, MD 20740 The DOC NOAALink requires the following items, Brand Name or Equal, to the following: LI 001, JetStor 42bay FC 8Gb Dual Controller Array: 42-Bat 8GB Fibre Channel RAID array with Dual Raid Controllers., 1, EA; LI 002, 3TB, Enterprise, 7,200PRM SAS Disk Drive w/Hot-Swappable Disk Cainster, 42, 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. 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. All bid prices must include shipping FOB Destination CONUS (Continental U.S.). No partial shipments are permitted, unless otherwise specified by Contracting Officer at time of award. Agencies may require registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to receipt of order, pursuant to FAR 4.1102 and other applicable regulations and guidelines. Information can be found at 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. To be considered for award, all Sellers must be manufacturer/ Federally authorized distributors of the equipment/services they are offering with a demonstrated capability of delivering the entire order within the time frames specified by the Buyer on the award. Sellers may be required to provide documentation as proof of authorization to be considered for award. The Government intends to make award to the responsive offeror that provides the Best Value to the Government based on Technical Acceptability, Price, Delivery Timeframe and Past Performance. Award will be made to the offeror quoting fair and reasonable prices who meet ALL required technical specifications and who comply with ALL solicitation requirements. 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. The objective of the award is to select the offer that represents the best value to the Government meeting technical requirements and the price