Combined Synopsis-Solicitation .pdf

SUBJECT: MALDI TOF system for microbial identification

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 1333ND24QNB640550

RESPONSE DATE: August 20, 2024

CONTACT POINTS: Sadaf Afkhami

DESCRIPTION

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL

ITEMS 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 DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE

SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION

PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PARTS 12 AND 13.

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) FAC 2024-05 effective May 22, 2024.

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 1000 Employees. This acquisition is being procured using full and open competition.

Quoters 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 quoters 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.

BACKGROUND

The Material Measurement Laboratory’s Biosystems and Biomaterials Division within the

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops and provides methods, reference materials, and reference data for characterizing biological systems. To fulfill this mission, robust characterization of microorganisms is required. The acquisition of an instrument to identify microorganism accurately and rapidly is needed. The measurement capability is critical to ongoing and future work in the division. Accurately identifying

Microorganisms is challenging and the acquisition of the MALDI TOF system will increase confidence in identify pure and complex microorganisms in various samples. This instrument will enable NIST to acquire a vast library of pure and known organisms at a faster rate, saving the group and the division time and money and promoting research.

The objective of this solicitation is to establish a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order based on the specifications described in the attached Statement of Requirements (SOR).

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Responsible quoters shall provide a 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.:

Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) QTY UNIT UNIT

PRICE

APPLICABLE

DISCOUNTS

TOTAL

CLIN 0001- MALDI-TOF system that meets the minimum technical requirements, inclusive of delivery, installation, training, and warranty, in accordance with the Statement of

Requirement.

1 Each

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.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All quotations must be submitted, via e-mail, to Sadaf Afkhami, Contracting Officer, at

Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov. Submissions must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern

Time on August 20, 2024 FAX quotations will not be accepted. Quoters must reference the

Solicitation 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 Sadaf

Afkhami, at Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov, no later than 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on August 9, 2024.

QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

All quoters shall submit four (4) separate volumes in response to this solicitation. In preparing the quotation, each volume shall stand on its own. For each given evaluation factor the Government will only evaluate the information provided in the corresponding section of the quotation. The Quoter’s quotation shall be clearly divided into the following distinct volumes:

Volume I – Technical Quotation

Volume II – Past Performance

Volume III – Price Quotation

Volume IV – Terms and Conditions mailto:Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov mailto:Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov

Each volume shall be a separate electronic file. Incomplete quotations may be considered non-compliant and removed from further consideration. Quotations shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the quoter, the date, and the solicitation number. Each quotation shall be on 8.5” x

11” paper, in a commercially standard font, not smaller than 12-point font. Each page in the quotation shall be separately numbered. The quotation shall be limited to twenty-five (25) single-sided, single-spaced pages.

The contents of each volume shall include the following:

Volume I - Technical Quotation:

The Quoter shall submit one (1) copy of their technical quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the

Contracting Officer identified above. The technical quotation shall address the following:

Technical Capability:

(1) Technical description and/or product literature. Quoters 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 or exceed all specifications outlined in the statement of requirements. It is the responsibility of the quoter 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 quoter 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.

(4) A description of the quoted warranty, delivery, installation, and training (as applicable).

The Quoter must not simply state they will meet or exceed the requirement; evidence must be provided. If applicable, evidence that the Quoter is authorized by the manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included.

Stronger consideration will be given to the following specifications:

Specification Submission Requirement

10. Stronger consideration will be given to systems that are compatible with both single-use sample target plates and re-usable target plates.

Specifically, re-usability includes the ability for the plate to be cleaned of all samples and all sample positions re-used.

If this specification is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

Specification Submission Requirement

13. Stronger consideration will be given to systems with library databases that contain the greatest number of unique microbial species and/or strains.

If this specification is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to a complete list of microbial species and strains included in the library database(s) offered, technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

17. Stronger consideration will be given to systems that support at least two of the following advanced statistical methods: (1) principal component analysis, (2) clustering, and (3) correlation analysis using composite correlation index matrices.

If this specification is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

Volume II - Past Performance

The Quoter shall provide past performance information regarding relevant contracts over the past three (3) years with Federal, state, or local governments, or commercial customers. If the Quoter intends to subcontract with another firm(s) for part of this requirement, that firm’s past performance information shall also be provided. If the Quoter has no relevant past performance, it may include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the Quoter in its quotation.

The description of each contract/order described in this section shall not exceed one half page in length. For each contract/order, the Quoter shall provide the following information:

1. Contract number;

2. Product Number or Service provided.

3. Description and relevance to solicitation requirements including dollar value; Ability to meet the desired technical exceedance and minimum specifications in the offered past performance.

4. Period of Performance – indicate by month and year the state and completion (or

“ongoing”) dates for the contract;

5. Reference Contact – If a non-Government contract, identify the name and address of the client with current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for the contract;

6. Contracting Office – If a Government contract (Federal or state), identify the

Contracting Officer (CO), and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and their names, current telephone numbers and email addresses.

7. Problems Encountered – include information regarding information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems.

Volume III - Price Quotation:

The Quoter shall submit one (1) copy of their entire quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contracting Officer identified above. The pricing quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation and shall include the following:

(1) All Quoters shall submit a firm fixed price, FOB Destination, price quotation for the line items in the CLIN structure provided above. The quotation must include a unit price and the aggregate price for all line items.

(2) The price quotation shall include a cover page with the following information:

i. The solicitation number 1333ND24QNB640550;

ii. The name and address, of the Quoter;

iii. The name, phone number, and email address of the Quoter’s point of contact;

iv. The Unique Entity ID # for Quoter’s active SAM.Gov registration.

v. Any applicable discount terms.

vi. 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.

vii. A statement that the quotation is valid for a minimum of 90 days from the response deadline of this solicitation.

Volume IV - Terms and Conditions

Quoters shall provide a completed copy of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document – required submissions highlighted in blue).

EVALUATION CRITERIA & BASIS FOR AWARD:

The Government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, will provide the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The

Government intends to evaluate quotations and award a purchase order without discussions with quoters. Therefore, the quoter's initial quotation shall contain the quoter's best terms from a price and technical standpoint.

The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria factors:

1) Technical Capability 2) Past Performance and 3) Price. Technical Capability and Past

Performance when combined are equal to price. Technical capability is more important than

Past Performance and Price.

An Quoter's failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the Quoter's lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

Evaluation Factors:

Factor 1- Technical Capability:

This procurement is for commercial items. Therefore, prototypes or demonstration models will not be accepted. Additionally, used or refurbished instruments will not be considered. Evaluation of technical capability shall be limited to the information provided in the quotation.

Evaluation of this factor is a subjective evaluation of the Quoter's demonstrated resources, capability, and methods to meet all requirements. This may include the authority to provide the required items

(i.e. authorized dealer/seller/reseller), authority to provide maintenance and repair services, and the capability and method to successfully meet all the requirements in the statement of work. Quotations that do not demonstrate that the proposed equipment meets or exceeds all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an Quoter’s technical description and/or product literature does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not meet the requirement.

Factor 2- Past Performance

In assessing the Quoter's past performance information, NIST will evaluate, as appropriate, (b) successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, (c) communications between contracting parties, (d) proactive management and customer satisfaction.

Evaluation of this factor will be based on information contained in the technical portion of the proposal, CPARS, and information provided by references. The Government will evaluate past performance information by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references, if applicable. The Government may also consider other available information in evaluating the

Quoter’s past performance. The Government will assign a neutral rating if the Quoter has no relevant past performance information.

Factor 3- Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. A price realism analysis will not be conducted. Prices must be proportionate with the technical portion of the quotation.

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.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation are identified in Attachment 2 titled

“Applicable Clauses & Provisions”. 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 or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/.

ATTACHMENTS:

The following attachments apply to this solicitation:

1. Attachment 1: Statement of Requirements

2. Attachment 2: Provisions and Clauses http://www.acquisition.gov/far http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/