36C24E24Q0072_2.docx

Special Notice Special Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

Regional Procurement Office East Building 32 Suite 1A1111 1010 Delafield Road Pittsburgh PA 15215-1802

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Officer Ms. Millicent Covert millicent.covert@va.gov (Call shall not be accepted)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

Regional Procurement Office (RPO) - East intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with NEWCO Distributors, Inc., 9060 Rochester Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, California, to purchase animal feed and bedding for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. These brand name supplies are necessary for use in on-going research studies conducted by the VA Cooperative Studies Program at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.

Due to the need for consistent interpretation and reproducibility of study results in research animals, the following items are needed to ensure ongoing research data validity. Items provided cannot be equivalent and must be directly delivered to the research facility locations noted in the SOW by the distributor. Any change in product, risks the data validity of past and future experiments.

The following feed, enrichments/supplements, and bedding will be purchased:

ITEM INFORMATION

STATEMENT OF WORK

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Project: Research Laboratory Animal Food and Bedding, Direct Delivery

2. Background:

This is a multi-year (5 years) contract for research laboratory animal food, bedding, and other necessary care items for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) Research and Development Service. To maintain the necessary integrity and consistency of research, using a distributor that can furnish the exact items listed in the quote is imperative. Items provided cannot be equivalent and must be directly delivered to the VAGLAHS facilities by the distributor. Any change in product, risks the data validity of past and future experiments.

3. Scope:

The contractor shall provide all labor, packaging, and transportation necessary to provide animal feed and bedding in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC).

4. Period of Performance:

The period of performance (POP) shall be for five (5) years, Date of award – 7/31/2029.

5. Type of Contract:

Five (5) year / Multi-year, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Firm Fixed Price Contract

6. Place of Performance:

The supplies described above are to be provided to the following facilities:

· West LA (WLA) Campus Research Facility Building 117 11301 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90073

· Sepulveda (SEP) Campus Research Facility Building 47 16111 Plummer Street North Hills, CA 91343

The delivery location is subject to change as required by the designated authority or authorized personnel from Research and Development Service. The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will notify the Contractor when delivery location changes.

B. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Packaging and Marking

a. Milling date and product composition must be indicated on all containers of feed. Milling date shall be no more than six (6) months prior to delivery, with a goal to ship all laboratory diets within sixty (60) days of the milling date.

b. All supplies shall be adequately packaged to prevent damage during shipping, handling and storage. Bags or packages shall be whole, intact, and not otherwise torn or damaged. Upon delivery, the Government shall examine all packages. The Contractor shall be required to replace unacceptable or damaged products.

c. Each package shall be certified by the manufacturer to have met quality standards prior to shipment, in accordance with the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practices requirements.

2. Bedding

a. Contractor shall be required to provide laboratory bedding that contains no hydrocarbons.

3. Brand Name Only

a. Contractor shall be required to provide brand name only as specified in the schedule of supplies of this package for all required animal feed and bedding supplies. Alternations of the ingredients make-up shall not be allowed under any circumstance, as any changes could affect the outcome of research project(s). The same diet, with no changes, shall be required throughout the research term; therefore, no substitutions shall be accepted.

4. Hours of Delivery/Service

a. All deliveries will be made during normal business hours, with the exception of National Holidays. Each facility will specify their delivery hours. All deliveries are F.O.B. Destination. All deliveries must be accompanied with a packing slip with the contract number, obligation number, shipping address, delivery location, items/quantity ordered, and items/quantity shipped.

5. Placing Orders

a. Orders shall be placed on a weekly or as needed basis by the designated official from the Animal Research Facility or COR. All orders are to be delivered within five (5) working days from the time the order is placed. Emergency deliveries may be necessary on occasions. During these occasions, deliveries shall be made within or no more than two (2) days.

6. Quarterly Usage Report

a. The contractor shall provide the COR a usage report on a quarterly basis at minimum.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Any responsible sources who wish to identify their interest and capability to provide BRAND NAME/EXACT supplies for this requirement must notify this Contracting Officer at Millicent.Covert@va.gov NLT Friday, August 9, 2021 by 11:59 AM EST. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the interested parties' notification, the Contracting Officer will determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement or proceed with sole source negotiations.

Special Notice