AWARD NOTICE 36C25226P0003_1.docx

SUBJECT*

VISN 12 Zeiss FORUM Software - Proaim Americias - 695C60010 - UCD 9/30/2031

GENERAL INFORMATION

BASE NOTICE TYPE

SET-ASIDE

Great Lakes Acquisition Center (GLAC) 3001 Green Bay Road North Chicago IL 60064

POINT OF CONTACT*

AWARD INFORMATION

LINE ITEM NUMBER

AWARDEE ADDRESS LINE 1*

AWARDEE ADDRESS LINE 2*

AWARDEE ADDRESS LINE 4*

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

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EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For Other Than Full and Open Competition (>SAT)

Acquisition Plan Action ID 36C252-25-AP-1731

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Great Lakes Acquisition Center, VISN 12, including all of its 8 Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC). The 2237 number to fund this Zeiss FORUM service contract is 695-26-1-133-0006.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This request is a follow up to a previous contract (36C10B22C0032) to award a new FFP service and maintenance contract to cover Zeiss FORUM software for all 8 VAMCs in the VISN. Contractor shall provide all necessary professional services, software maintenance, interface support, phone technical support, remote support, and software upgrades including bug fixes to existing VA-owned Zeiss FORUM servers with the Zeiss FORUM Viewer for all 8 sites in VISN 12 through a service contract with a base period of one (1) year and four (4) option-year periods of performance that are exercisable at the discretion of the government.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: VISN 12 has implemented a Zeiss FORUM platform as an Eye PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) for all of its 8 VAMCs under contract 36C10B22C0032 to manage the transmission of eye images from the various eye clinic modalities into the EMR (Electronic Medical Records) of record. The original purchase of the Zeiss FORUM platform has come with a warranty, which will be expiring on 9/30/2025. This request is to award a base plus 4 option year service contract to continue maintenance coverage of the platform and provide necessary software upgrades for a total of $718,636.56 including the base and 4 option years.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition:

( X ) (1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements per 41 USC §3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1;

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): From Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc. “Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc. employed Certified Field Service Engineers are approved to perform “service” “repair” services on Zeiss highly specialized products/ equipment. We do not authorize any other entity to perform repairs or service on these products. Where the end user has FORUM OPACS Solution installed to integrate the clinics modalities and devices only Zeiss personnel and team can ensure that the equipment and modalities are properly configured (after repair) to the customizes settings to ensure that the Zeiss devices are connected and communicating with Zeiss FORUM, Vista Imaging and or Cerner EMR. Only PROAIM representing Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc. is authorized to represent Zeiss related to Zeiss “OPTIME” Service Contracts, and/or ON-SITE Repair for Zeiss Products. Zeiss will not accept PO’s from other entities for service and or repair labor other than PROAIM. This is due to the PROAIM’s integration and knowledge with Zeiss Field Service Tech Support entities. This includes personnel and procedures of Zeiss tech support and Field Service teams providing efficiency to the end user customer of the Federal Government.”

Accordingly, Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Corporation through its only authorized contractor, PROAIM AMERICAS LLC, is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the Veteran’s Health Administration experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: Multiple other market searches were conducted and revealed that only PROAIM AMERICAS LLC is authorized to service VISN 12’s Zeiss FORUM software, a highly specialized software.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The contracting officer determined that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on prior acquisition history, the IGE for a basis of independent verification and current market rates, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index and inflation rates.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: Multiple Market Research (MR) engines, as documented in the MR document, were searched and showed that PROAIM Americas LLC is the vendor that was awarded service and maintenance contract. These results align with the OEM, Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc., letter provided that states that PROAIM Americas LLC is the only authorized contractor to service VISN 12 Zeiss FORUM proprietary software. FPDS yielded the following using the NAICS of 811210, 6590 results when narrowing down using the key words Zeiss 34 awarded contracts were found awarded only to Proaim America LLC. When querying DSBS it was found using the key words of Zeiss Forum software in all groups there were 0 results. When using the NAICS of 811210 it was found that it resulted in 1167 vendors when doing further research they did not have the required zeiss software to perform this contract. VetCert was found to have yielded 320 results when using the required NAICS of 811210. An intent to sole source 36C25226Q0003 was posted on 6/4/2025 and yielded 0 results.

While other software solutions from alternative manufacturers exist, none of these can meet VA’s requirements as no other product has access to the proprietary cutover and upgrade software that the Carl Zeiss FORUM PACS database uses at VAMCs currently in place across the VA. Only brand name Carl Zeiss FORUM software and services can be used to upgrade the existing system. Based on this market research, VA’s technical experts confirmed that only brand name Carl Zeiss FORUM PACS software, maintenance and support services can meet all of VA’s requirements for this effort. Additional Market Research was conducted in June 2025 to ascertain the ability of any other source, besides PROAIM, to provide the required Carl Zeiss FORUM PACS products and services. Only PROAIM representing Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc. is authorized to represent Zeiss related to Zeiss “OPTIME” Service Contracts, and/or ON-SITE Repair for Zeiss Products. Zeiss will not accept PO’s from other entities for service and or repair labor other than PROAIM. This is due to the PROAIM’s integration and knowledge with Zeiss Field Service Tech Support entities. This includes personnel and procedures of Zeiss tech support and Field Service teams providing efficiency to the end user customer of the Federal Government.

At this time the only qualified vendor available is Proaim Americas LLC.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: The Zeiss FORUM software is highly specialized and no other contractors are able to service it than Carl Zeiss Meditec USA Inc and its authorized contractor. Any other contractors than the OEM and/or their authorized contractor will hinder the servicing and software upgrades availability and support of VISN 12 Zeiss FORUM software deployed at all of its 8 VAMCs. The contracting officer determined that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on prior acquisition history, the IGE for a basis of independent verification and current market rates, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index and inflation rates.

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

PROAIM Americas, LLC. 16024 Manchester Road Suite 200 Saint Louis, MO 63011

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required: NA

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Digitally signed by STEVE MARCOUS Date: 2025.06.25 10:32:16 -05'00'STEVE MARCOUS

Name: Steve Marcous Date Title: VISN 12 Biomedical Engineer and COR Facility: VISN 12 HTM

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Digitally signed by LORI

LORI EASTMEAD

EASTMEAD

Date: 2025.06.26 07:43:01 -05'00'

Page 1 of

Lori Eastmead Date Contracting Officer GLAC

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $750K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Digitally signed by

MATTHEW ZAWADA MATTHEW ZAWADA

Date: 2025.07.10 13:08:45 -05'00'

Matthew Zawada Date NCO 12 Branch Chief GLAC