Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

DESCRIPTION: THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OR COMMERCIAL SERVICES PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AN... DESCRIPTION: THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OR COMMERCIAL SERVICES 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 WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS. 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) 2025-03 dated January 17, 2025. 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 1,000 employees. Contractors 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 Contractors 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 acquisition is being solicited as a brand name only, total small business set-aside. Contractors must provide the brand name identified within the Statement of Requirement (SOR). The brand name only justification is as follows: BACKGROUND: The Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group (STCAG) of the Materials Measurement Science Division (MMSD) of the Materials Measurement Laboratory (MML) has significant research efforts in the fields of analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry, targeting the forensic science, public health, and homeland security communities. These efforts revolve around the chemical classification, identification, and characterization of relevant compounds, including drugs, metabolites, and explosives. A major component of these efforts is the Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program. The RaDAR program provides comprehensive, near real-time analysis of drug residues collected from public safety and public health entities across the U.S. The core platform used to provide these measurements is high-resolution ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AI-MS). Over the last 12 months the RaDAR program has grown significantly and has begun to couple non-targeted qualitative analysis with quantitative analyses using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). It has also expanded to include an effort to provide laboratory-grade measurements to community partners at point of need via a mobile testing laboratory. The mobile testing laboratory is a 17-foot box van that has been customized with the necessary infrastructure to allow for on-site analysis of drug residues. To further enable our ability to provide high-quality data in the field, we require a high-resolution mass spectrometry system that can provide both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Therefore, a liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF) system is required. For the LC-QTOF system to be able to be used within the mobile laboratory, it must meet specific size requirements. Specifically, the mobile laboratory has built-in benches that are 30” in depth and a maximum of 72” in length that the LC-QTOF must be able to fit on. Given the height of the benches relative to the ceiling, the height of the system cannot exceed 50”. Given gross vehicle weight restrictions, the weight of the entire LC-QTOF system cannot exceed 600 pounds. There is no space in the mobile laboratory for a floor- based instrument. In addition to these requirements, the LC-QTOF system must be able to couple with a direct analysis in real time (DART) ambient ionization source to enable rapid qualitative analysis using existing methodologies. It must have a resolving power of at least 30,000 to be able to differentiate structurally similar compounds. All necessary data analysis software and a computer needs to also be provided. Based on NIST’s extensive market research, the Bruker Elute UHPLC coupled with the Bruker Compact QTOF mass spectrometer, manufactured by Bruker Daltonics, has the following unique qualifications that make this instrument the only viable solution to our requirement: The Bruker instrument was the only LC-QTOF instrument identified during market research that could fit on a laboratory bench that is 30” deep. This is important because there is no way to modify or replace existing benches with the mobile laboratory to enable installation of an instrument with a larger footprint or to enable installation of a floor-based instrument. Additionally, there are no available funds for the creation of a larger mobile laboratory. The objective of this solicitation is to establish a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order based on the brand name only specifications described in the attached Statement of Requirements. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS All Contractors shall provide a firm-fixed-price 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: Line Item 0001: (Quantity 1 Each) BRAND NAME complete ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) quadrupole time of flight mass (QTOF) spectrometry system (Bruker Elute UHPLC coupled with the Bruker Compact QTOF mass spectrometer), inclusive of delivery, operations and maintenance manual, installation, training and initial warranty; 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. PAYMENT SCHEDULE Partial payments will be authorized. The Government will negotiate a payment schedule with the successful Contractor. Contractors are invited to propose a payment schedule after noting all of the following: -All payments must be deliverable based; -The Government cannot pay more than 15% of the total amount of the award, upon acceptance of the award, or as a “deposit”; and -A significant percentage of the total amount of the award will be held until successful completion of delivery, installation, training, and demonstration of all specifications. 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: 1.) Meets or exceeds the brand name only minimum requirements listed within the Statement of Requirements; 2.) Meets training, warranty, and installation requirements as applicable; 3.) Meets the required delivery terms; and 4.) 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. NIST intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotes received. Therefore, the offerors initial quote should contain the offerors best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Contracting Officer anticipates awarding this requirement without discussions but reserves the right to enter discussions if it is deemed necessary. INSTRUCTIONS: Due Date for Quotations and Questions All quotations must be submitted, via e-mail, to the Contracting Officer, Sadaf Afkhami, at Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov. Submissions must be received no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 20, 2025. FAX quotations will not be accepted. Contractors 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 the Contracting Officer, Sadaf Afkhami, at Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov, no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 9, 2025. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. Please reference the solicitation number in the subject line of all email communications. Quotation Preparation Instructions: Each quotation shall consist of three (3) separate electronic files. In preparing the quotation, each electronic file shall stand on its own: Technical Quotation Price Quotation Completed copy of the Provisions and Clauses Technical Quotation: Shall include the following: (1) Technical description and/or product literature. Contractors 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 Contractor 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. Any modifications must be discussed. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that the discussion clearly addresses the modification and how the required specification(s) will be met with the quoted modification. If such information is not provided, the Government will conclude that the minimum specifications have not been met. (3) The quoted delivery timeline for the deliverables noted in the Statement of Requirement. (4) A description of the quoted installation, training, and warranty. Price Quotation: (1) All Contractors shall submit a firm fixed price, FOB Destination, price quotation for the contract line item(s). 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 1333ND25QNB640202; The name and address, of the Contractor; The name, phone number, and email address of the Contractor’s point of contact; Unique Entity Identifier # for Contractor’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 90 days from the response deadline of this solicitation. Completed Provisions and Clauses: The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation are identified in Attachment 2 titled “Provisions and Clauses”. Contractors shall provide a completed copy of all provisions highlighted in blue in the attached Provisions and Clauses document (Attachment 2). 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 https://www.acquisition.gov/car. 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. NOTIFICATION TO CONTRACTORS All Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology approvals relevant to Executive Order 14222 entitled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative” have not been secured for the work described in the statement of work. Award cannot be made until all required approvals are obtained. The Government reserves the right to cancel the solicitation if all required approvals cannot be obtained. The Government will not be responsible for bid and proposal costs, or any other costs incurred by any Contractor if the solicitation is cancelled relevant to the required approvals. ATTACHMENTS: The following attachments apply to this solicitation: Attachment 1: Statement of Requirements Attachment 2: Provisions and Clauses