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 PARTS 12 AND 13. 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) FAC 2021-06 effective July 12, 2021. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1000 Employees. This acquisition is being procured as a Brand Name Only, Total Small Business Set Aside. The objective of the solicitation is to establish a Firm-Fixed- Price multi-year contract. Only quotes submitted by qualified small business concerns will be considered. If the Contractor’s representations and certifications in SAM.gov 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. Quoters must possess an ACTIVE registration in the System for Award Management system, www.SAM.gov, when submitting a quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. The Contracting Officer will confirm that quoters have an “active” registration at the www.sam.gov website upon receipt of the quotation. If the SAM.Gov registration is not active, the quotation will not be considered for award. Quoters must provide the brand name identified (Agilent GC-MS systems) within the Statement of Requirement (SOR). The brand name only justification is as follows: The Organic Chemical Measurement Science Group within the Chemical Sciences Division of the Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology is responsible for chemical measurements leading to the certification of many Standard Reference Materials (SRMs). Currently, the Organic Chemical Measurement Science Group (OCMSG) is focused on both the development of new methods and utilization of existing (legacy) analytical methods to prepare SRMs for the use in the clinical, food, and nutritional application areas. The OCMSG also develops analytical methods to assess the purity of organic compounds. One of the most commonly used assays for these methods and measurements is liquid chromatography (LC) with mass spectrometry (MS) detection based on a single quadrupole mass analyzer. Given the need for the instrument to meet a wide range of application needs, including the direct transfer of legacy methods as well as developing methods for current and emerging measurement areas, it is critical that an Agilent system is procured. This would allow NIST to transfer existing methods without the need for extensive, time-consuming revalidation, which would not only be costly but would result in unacceptable delays in completing measurement work that is critical to the issuance of SRMs. Furthermore, NIST would not lose the ability to read and analyze existing data that was generated on Agilent systems using Chemstation software that NIST currently has in its laboratory. As with the need to transfer existing methods, the preservation of the data is critical for our SRM projects and NIST quality system requirements. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS Responsible quoters shall provide a quotation for the following Contract Line Items (CLINs), in accordance with the brand name specifications outlined in the attached Statement of Requirement. All equipment must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award: BASE LINE ITEMS: Line Item 0001: (Quantity 1 Each) Liquid Chromatograph with a Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry Detector, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0002: (Quantity 1 Each) Installation, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0003: (Quantity 1 Job) Training, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0004: (Quantity 1 Year) Initial Warranty, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0005: (Quantity 4 Years) Extended Repair Service Agreement, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. DELIVERY TERMS Delivery terms shall be FOB Destination. 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. EVALUATION CRITERIA & BASIS FOR AWARD: The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, provides the lowest priced, technically acceptable quote. Technically acceptable means that the quote : Meets or exceeds the brand name only minimum equipment specifications listed within the Statement of Requirements; Meets training, warranty, and installation requirements as applicable; and Meets the required delivery schedule. Price: The price evaluation will determine whether the quoted prices are fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Quoted prices must be entirely compatible with the technical quotation. INSTRUCTIONS: 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, Contract Specialist, at
[email protected]. Submissions must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 9, 2021. FAX quotations will not be accepted. Quoters must reference the RFQ number in the subject line of the e-mail submission. Quotes 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], no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 31, 2021. Quotation Preparation Instructions Each quotation shall consist of two (2) separate electronic files: (1) Technical Quotation and (2) Pricing Quotation. Technical Quotation : (1) Technical description and/or product literature. Quoters shall include the manufacturer, make and model of the product, manufacturer sales literature or other product literature which CLEARLY DOCUMENTS that the offered products meet or exceed all brand name specifications outlined in the statement of requirements. It is the responsibility of the quoter to ensure that submitted documentation clearly addresses all specifications and requirements. (2) If product literature does not address any given specification, the Contractor must provide a discussion of how the Contractor will meet or exceed that required specification. If no such discussion is provided, the Government will deem that specification as not being met. (3) The quoted delivery timeline for the deliverables. (4) A description of the quoted training. (5) A description of the quoted installation. (6) A description of the quoted warranty. Price Quotation : (1) All Quoters shall submit a firm fixed price, FOB Destination, price quotation for the base and option line items. The quotation must include a unit price and the aggregate price for all line items. (2) The price quotation shall include a cover page with the following information: The solicitation number 1333ND21QNB640428; The name and address, of the Quoter; The name, phone number, and email address of the Quoter’s point of contact; DUNS # for Quoter’s active SAM.Gov registration. Any applicable discount terms. A statement that the Contractor agrees to all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. 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. A statement that the quotation is valid for a minimum of 30 days from the response deadline of this solicitation. 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. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation are identified in Attachment 2 titled “Applicable Clauses & Provisions”. The full text of a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a Department of Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) provision or clause may be accessed electronically at or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/. ATTACHMENTS: The following attachments apply to this solicitation: 1. Statement of Requirements 2. Applicable Clauses & Provisions