CAO-24-0213 - IMPETUS_JA Sole Source FAR Part 13 (CLEAN 1JUL2024)_Redacted.pdf

Control Number:

SEPT2021v2

Option Period 4: month 49 to month 60 Value:

Total Estimated Value (base plus options):

4. Authority Cited: 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a)(1)(ii), sole source (including brand name) under the authority of the simplified procedures for certain commercial items.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: ACC-NJ intends to procure a brand name specification for IMPETUS software in accordance with FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii) because this product and its features are essential to the Government's requirements. As described at FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii), acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures are exempt from the requirements in FAR Part 6. However, contracting officers must prepare sole source (including brand name) justifications using the format at FAR 6.303-2, modified to reflect Tthat the procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 were used in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901.

(a) CertaSIM, is the only contractor identified through market research that could provide the necessary software and software licenses to meet the Government's requirements for finite element analysis software to support DEVCOM-AC’s modeling and simulation needs. CertaSIM is the sole authorized reseller of IMPETUS software. Historically, and have been used by DEVCOM-AC to satisfy finite element analysis requirements. However, and utilize Legacy codes, and lack the ability to complete high order elements and GPU acceleration. Since lack of ability to run higher fidelity models they cannot meet the requirement and support the DEVCOM-AC programs. The additional features within IMPETUS allow for more advanced models to be completed in faster times than on legacy codes. IMPETUS software offers several advancements that are not available in either of these other commercial software packages. High order elements allow for increased model fidelity when compared with these codes and GPU acceleration results in faster computational time. Currently, there is no other existing software that is technically capable of meeting the Government's requirements. Should the Government use software and in lieu of IMPETUS the Government would lose computing ability resulting in undue Government programmatic delays at a minimum of 6 months per program. Programmatic delays are associated with modules / simulations not being completed in a timely manner because the and software cannot perform at the same bandwidth of simulation as the IMPETUS. This causes downstream delays as simulations for one program cannot be completed on time moving future program simulation milestones to the right.

(b) The authority cited is appropriate for this requirement as CertaSIM is the only source that is capable of providing the required equipment. CertaSIM remains the only authorized reseller of IMPETUS software. This was confirmed by Market Research that was completed between November 2023 through January 2024.

(c) If a software other than IMPETUS is procured, the Government would incur substantial duplication of costs that are not expected to be recovered through competition. IMPETUS is being used by the Government for 3D finite element analysis software to run explicit dynamic models and simulation with high order elements and GPU acceleration. Additional token-based licensing would have to be procured in order to achieve the same output. This correlates to 16-17 concurrent simulations at a cost approximately $1.5 million per year or $6 Million over the life of this contract due to the lack of modules and simulations that can be completed in a year.

The Government would need to add substantial capability to legacy codes to keep the same modeling bandwidth it would achieve with IMPETUS.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Office shall publish the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received shall be considered. However, no other opportunities exist as IMPETUS Software only has one authorized reseller, CertaSIM.

(a) Effective Competition: Effective competition is not anticipated for this action.

(b) Subcontracting Competition: Due to the nature of the requirement, the Government does not anticipate subcontracting opportunities.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Full and Open competition is not feasible at this time due to the lack of capable sources. The Government will continue to conduct market research on an annual basis in an effort to find viable competition and in accordance with FAR 5.201(b), future requirements will be synopsized. If other authorized IMPETUS sellers are found, or an alternate software application has emerged with the capability to meet the Government's requirement for dynamic models with high order elements and GPU acceleration, competition will be provided to the greatest extent possible.

8. Market Research: Market Research was completed from November 2023 through January 2024. As a mandatory source of hardware and software, a Request for Quote (RFQ) #471894 was released under the Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) vehicle. The RFQ resulted in 26 "no bids".

Therefore, CHESS granted a Statement of Non-Availability, Request ID: 216802933, on 20 December 2023. Following the CHESS RFQ, a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) W15QKN-23-X-0YIX was posted on sam.gov on 21 December 2023 through 12 January 2024. The results of the SSN yielded only one response from CertaSIM. A letter was received on 15 March 2024 from CertaSIM confirming that they remain the only authorized reseller of IMPETUS software. This was also confirmed by a review of the OEM’s website, which states a list of distributors available in the U.S. Further, it was confirmed that IMPETUS software cannot be obtained through the General Services Administration (GSA) vehicle as CertaSIM does not have a GSA schedule contract.

9. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

(1) Contract Number: , awarded to on

(2) Competitive Status: Other than Full and Open Competition.

(3) Previous J&A Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, exclusive licensing agreements.

(4) Previous J&A Paragraph 7, Actions to Increase Competition: Full and open competition was not practical at the time as CertaSIM was the sole reseller for IMPETUS software. IMPETUS had the only finite element package with the capability to perform faster completion of simulations using explicit high order tetrahedral and hexahedral elements.

(5) No prior contracts for this requirement have been accomplished using Full and Open Competition.

(6) There are no unusual patterns or urgent buys throughout the history of this program.