Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

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 COMMERC... 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 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. 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. This is a Brand Name Only, Total Small Business Setaside requirement. Quoters must provide the brand name identified within the Statement of Requirement (SOR). The brand name only justification is as follows: The Mass Spectrometry Data Center (MSDC), a component of the Biomolecular Measurement Division in MML, is responsible for the development of the NIST/NIH/EPA Mass Spectral Library, the NIST Peptide Databases, the NIST Tandem Library, and the NIST Tandem Glycan Library. To facilitate glycan analysis, the MSDC needs to acquire an instrument capable of fluorescent quantitative detection of labeled glycans. The instrument must be composed of a high pressure mixing binary pump, thermostatted autosampler, thermostatted column compartment, and fluorescence detector that can acquire data at up to 200 Hz. The instrument must have backpressure capability of 1034 bar for the entire system to accommodate an UHPLC separation to facilitate peak separation. The fast detection speed is required to adequately sample the sharp peaks expected to be obtained with an UHPLC separation. This is especially important for glycans because there are isomeric glycans that co-elute. In addition to these requirements, the instrument must also be completely compatible with the existing instrumentation in the MSDC (Thermo Fisher Orbitrap Fusion LUMOS mass spectrometers). Based on market research, the Vanquish LC with fluorescence detector from ThermoFisher is the only instrument that is fully compatible with mass spectrometers owned by MSDC. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS Responsible quoters shall provide a quotation for the following Contract Line Items (CLINs), in accordance with the 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) LC Instrument with Fluorescence Detector, inclusive of shipping and installation, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0002: (Quantity 1 Year) Warranty, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. OPTION LINE ITEMS: Line Item 0003: (Quantity 1 Year) Option Year 1: Maintenance, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0004: (Quantity 1 Year) Option Year 2: Maintenance, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0005: (Quantity 1 Year) Option Year 3: Maintenance, in accordance with the Statement of Requirements. Line Item 0006: (Quantity 1 Year) Option Year 4: Maintenance, 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 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 Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov. Submissions must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 3, 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 Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov, no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 24, 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 the brand name only 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) The quoted delivery timeline for the contract line item. (3) A description of the quoted warranty. Price Quotation: (1) All Quoters shall submit a firm fixed price, FOB Destination, price quotation for the contract line items. The quotation must include a unit price and total amount for each line item and the aggregate price for all contract line items. (2) The price quotation shall include a cover page with the following information: The solicitation number 1333ND21QNB640510; 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 60 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, 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