CSS 1333ND26QNB680588.docx

High-performance computer 1333ND26QNB680588

(I) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested, and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

(II) The solicitation number is 1333ND26QNB680588 and this solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This acquisition is a small business set aside.

(III) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the RFO, supplemented by U.S. Department of Commerce Acquisition Policy.

(IV) The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334111, Electronic Computer Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees.

(V) All quoters shall provide a firm-fixed-price quotation for the following line item(s):

TOTAL:

(VI) The requirements for the line items to be acquired above are detailed in the attached Statement of Work (SOW) document.

Attachment #1: Statement of Work Attachment #2: Applicable Provisions and Clauses

(VII) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance and FOB point are required in accordance with the attached NIST Requirements document.

(VIII) Quoters/Contractors 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 shall 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.

(IX) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEVIATION Jan 2026), applies to this acquisition. Addenda to this provision is as follows:

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

Quoters shall submit their electronic quotations via email, so that NIST receives them not later than 4:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on September 15, 2026. E-mail quotations shall be submitted directly to the Contract Specialist, Junee Johnson, at junee.johnson@nist.gov and Contracting Officer, Forest Crumpler, at forest.crumpler@nist.gov.

Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of email communications. Quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is received in the e-mail inbox set forth above.

PRE-QUOTE INQUIRIES (CAR 1352.215-72)

Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to both the Contract Specialist, and the Contracting Officer through email. Questions should be received no later than 4 calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.

QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

All quotations shall conform to solicitation provisions/clauses and be prepared in accordance with this section. The quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as be neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. Note: The term “indexed” refers to a table of contents that lists sections and page numbers. In the event that the quoter is unable to create an indexed quotation, an alternative approach such as a Table of Contents shall suffice. All pages of the quotation shall be appropriately numbered. A cover letter may be included in addition to Volumes I-III discussed below. There are no page limits.

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 – Price Quotation Volume III- Terms and Conditions

Volume I - Technical Quotation:

The quoter shall submit one (1) copy of their technical quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer identified above. The technical quotation shall address the following:

The quoter shall submit technical approach and capability documentation which may include a narrative, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, product / service literature, and as applicable, demonstrated authority to provide the necessary items and perform the required services identified in the NIST Requirements document (Attachment 1). The documentation shall clearly describe, in sufficient detail, the quoter's authority, proposed items, resources and methods to successfully fulfill the requirements including specifications, performance capability requirements, delivery schedules, warranties, and all service requirements. The submission shall clearly identify each line item above. The submission must demonstrate that the proposed system meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described within the attached NIST Requirements document by providing a citation between the NIST Requirements paragraph and the relevant section of the technical description or product literature. 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.

Volume II - Price Quotation:

The pricing quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The quoter shall propose a firm-fixed-price quotation for each line item in Section V to include all shipping costs (FOB Destination) and tariffs, if applicable. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due.

Offerors that are proposing products manufactured outside of the United States must identify any other or unknown charges that may be applicable to the sale of these products (here indicated as CLIN 0002) as a separate line item on price quotes/proposals. This price element may be listed as part of the cost of the product or as a sub-total element but must be clearly identified. This price element must only apply to the total value of the goods identified for customs processing. Only include the country of origin and the tariff percentage currently in place or the expected amount at time of delivery for that country. Price quotes shall clearly identify the relevant tariffs in terms of percentage and total cost. If there are multiple countries of origins and associated tariffs, identify each separately.

Volume III – Terms and Conditions:

The quoter shall review Attachment 2, Applicable Provision and Clauses and complete any required information as record via a separate volume response to this solicitation.

Note: System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in this solicitation. Contracting officers will rely on representations from offers based on provisions in the solicitation. Entities are not required to, nor are they able to, update their entity registration to remove these representations in SAM.

(X) The provision at FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEVIATION Jan 2026), applies to this acquisition. Addenda to this provision is as follows:

The Government intends to award a single firm fixed price purchase order (PO) from this solicitation utilizing simplified acquisitions procedures in accordance with RFO part 12. The Government reserves the right not to award a PO and to make an award without discussions based solely upon initial quotes.

BASIS FOR AWARD

Award shall be made to the responsible quoter who: (1) Meets all required technical specifications as determined by a review of documentation submitted in accordance with this solicitation; (2) proposes the lowest price. Award shall be made to the lowest priced, technically acceptable quoter.

The Government will evaluate quotations, beginning with the lowest-priced quotation, for technical acceptability. If the lowest-priced quotation is found to be 'Acceptable,' no further technical evaluations of other quotations will be performed, and the award will be made to that quoter. If the lowest-priced quotation is deemed 'Unacceptable,' the Government will evaluate the next lowest-priced quotation, repeating this process until a technically acceptable quotation is identified. Therefore, the Government may not evaluate the technical quotations of all quoters.

A 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

Technical Capability: No prototypes, demonstration models, used or refurbished instruments will be considered. Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the quoter has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed equipment meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If a quoters 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 requirements.

Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be entirely compatible with the technical portion of the quotation.