Zeiss Axio Scanner Service Agreement Renewal

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

SOLICITATION NUMBER:

75N95023Q00017

TITLE:

Zeiss Axio Scanner Service Agreement Renewal

CLASSIFICATION CODE:

J066 - MAINT/REPAIR/REBUILD OF EQUIPMENT-INSTRUMENTS AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

NAICS CODE:

811210 Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance

RESPONSE DEADLINE:

11/14/2022

PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:

Evan Feely, Contracting Officer                                                                                                                  NIDA Office of Acquisition, NINDS Section                                                                                    evan.feely@nih.gov

PUROSE AND BACKGROUND OF REQUIREMENT

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS.  THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE/PROPOSALS.

The purpose of this requirement is to provide the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) with a renewal of its service agreement for an Axio Scan.Z1 Scanner (Serial Number 4646000280)  used in the Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility. The scanner is critical to carrying out the NINDS mission and must be operational when needed to support the time phased/time sensitive aspects of ongoing experiments and research. The failure of the system being operational could result in the loss of extensive research efforts, and the current and future needs of NINDS investigators. It is thus essential that the scanner remain operational and able to perform in accordance with the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) specifications.

SET ASIDE STATUS

This acquisition is NOT set aside for small businesses.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses of the Federal acquisition Regulation (FAR) in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-08, effective October 28, 2022.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The Government intends to issue a sole source award to the following organization:

Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC (Carl Zeiss),                                                                                                          1 North Broadway,                                                                                                                                            White Plains, NY 10601                                                                                                                                Tel: 1-800 233-2443                                                                                          http://www.zeiss.com/microscopy/us

Carl Zeiss is the only authorized service provider for its Axio Scan.Z1 Scanner. Specifically, Carl Zeiss has proprietary rights to the design and software utilized in this equipment and is the only company with access to proprietary performance verified component parts, spare parts, software, technical support, upgrades, and engineering resources to maintain the original operating specifications. Additionally, Carl Zeiss has the only company-certified and factory-trained engineers available to service this instrument.

Given how much the program office has invested in this system, using an un-authorized service provider would pose too much risk to the Government. Additionally, procuring new equipment through a competitive solicitation is not financially feasible at this point in time and would not represent the best value to the Government. As a result, the Government intends to award this requirement to Carl Zeiss without providing full and open competition.

Contract Type:

The Government intends to award a firm-fixed price type contract for these services, consistent with commercial practices.

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A SOLE-SOURCE BASIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.  All responses must provide evidence that they can provide equipment that meets all of the requirements in this announcement.

All responses must be received by 11/14/2022 AT 1:00 PM EST and must reference the solicitation number, 75N95023Q00017. Responses must be submitted electronically to Evan Feely, Contracting Officer, at evan.feely@nih.gov.  U.S. Mail and Fax responses will NOT be accepted.