Inactive

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A NON-COMPETITIVE BASIS. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE/PROPOSALS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Information Technology Ac... THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A NON-COMPETITIVE BASIS. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE/PROPOSALS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Information Technology Acquisition Division (ITAD) hereby submits a notice of intent to solicit on a sole-source basis a request for quotation to ChemAxon, LLC (ChemAxon), a small business, on or around August 4, 2022, with an award issued on or around September 1, 2022. The period of performance for this effort will be a 12- month base period with three (3) 12-month option periods. The total estimated value is less than the simplified acquisition threshold of $250,000.00. The purpose of the resultant firm-fixed-price purchase order will be to provide the US EPA with the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) annual renewal of EPA’s Instant JChem Network Service Plan by ChemAxon. This software license maintenance renewal of the ChemAxon cheminformatics software applications supports EPA’s This requirement supports EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics (OPPT). NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS. The intended procurement is classified under NAICS Code: 511210 Software Publishers – Applications software, computer packaged with a Size Standard of $41.5 million. This acquisition is unrestricted. The Government intends to award a sole source purchase order under Simplified Acquisition Procedures to Chemaxon LLC., 3511 Silverside Road Suite 105, Wilmington, DE 19810, for the maintenance renewal of Chemaxon Software and modules. Chemaxon LLC has exclusive copyrights, patents, and/or trade secret ownership to the above software. Also, The vendor does not allow resellers access to their software licenses. Based on these reasons with independent research through internet searches corroborate that the items are available only from a single source; ChemAxon LLC. The period of performance is expected to begin September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023. All interested parties who believe they can provide the required maintenance/services, should fully explain their capabilities and qualifications in writing within 15 days from the date of this announcement. The intent of this synopsis is to determine if any other source(s) exist; and, therefore, no solicitation (RFQ) is available. Consequently, any response(s) failing to provide the aforementioned data but instead choosing merely to submit a routine letter requesting a copy of the RFQ will not be honored. Type of Contract Contemplated. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting Officers may solicit from one source IF the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available to satisfy agency requirements. BACKGROUND, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF REQUIREMENT. REQUIREMENT. The EPA's OCSPPT requires a complete set of desktop software that houses the functionality of other Chemaxon tools including Document to Structure (Qty-2), Instant JChem Enterprise (Qty-70), JChem for Office (Qty-2), Standardizer (Qty-2) and Structure Checker (2). Instant JChem allows EPA chemists and biologists to create, manage and analyze hundreds of thousands of chemical structures in a database-conducive environment. It is also a platform on which other chemistry applications can be built. Instant JChem allows EPA end user scientists to easily create, connect and share local databases, and also connect to external ones. Structure files can be imported, exported and merged, their data tabulated, sorted and queried. There is support for 2D and 3D structure display, and relational data. EPA scientists can build or apply their own chemical business rules; the tool also allows for third-party functionality to be integrated. ChemAxon's proprietary software, which is presently in use by the EPA OPPT scientists, is the only software currently compatible with OPPT's customized database. For these reasons, it is believed that ChemAxon software is uniquely qualified and capable of meeting the needs of the OPPT scientists. ChemAxon shall provide all necessary support with the Instant JChem software suite licenses. The support will be provided by email, phone and their website. The support shall also include all software patch updates and upgrades for the life of the product. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION. The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, ChemAxon, LLC is the only known Vendor to provide the required Software License. CLOSING STATEMENT. THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability by responding 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 should include: 1) an explanation of the firm’s capabilities and qualifications in writing and submit same via FedConnect, a government web portal within 15 days from the date of this announcement; and 2) must submit itemized pricing, in US dollars to include unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, and 3) provide information on 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. The above information is necessary in order to determine if competition is feasible. Consequently, any responder(s) failing to provide the aforementioned data but instead choosing merely to submit a routine letter requesting a copy of the RFQ will not be honored. Offerors must submit all technical questions / responses concerning this synopsis electronically through FedConnect at ww.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. This notice and any amendments will be available via the Internet at the following URL: www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/ . Firms must register with FedConnect as an interested party to submit questions and to view responses. Vendors can register with FedConnect at ww.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect technical questions please call the FedConnect Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net. FedConnect is a web portal that connects agencies and vendors to streamline the process of doing business with the federal government. Through FedConnect contractors can receive, review and respond to contract pre- and post-award actions and documents such as correspondence, request for proposals, tasking instruments and contract modifications. The use of FedConnect also furthers the EPA commitment to moving towards a paperless acquisition environment by reducing its carbon footprint and conducting its business in an ecologically friendly manner. There is no charge to use FedConnect. In addition, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), as this facilitates registration for FedConnect. Please note that vendors MUST have their SAM profile set to Public otherwise FedConnect will not be able to access the SAM information required to validate vendor credentials. Registration may be completed and information regarding the registration process may be obtained at http://www.sam.gov. There is no charge for registration in SAM. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number 68HERD22Q0023. Responses must be submitted electronically to the U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park [RTP] Information Technology Acquisition Division [ITAD] Attn: Stephen L. Cannon via FedConnect and email at Cannon.Stephen@epa.gov. Contracting Office Address: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Solutions, Information Technology Acquisition Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. U.S. Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.