J_&_A_nChannel_Inc..pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FAR 6.302-1

For: nChannel Software Maintenance

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity.

This requirement is in support of GSA IT, QI, 1800 F Street, NW Washington, D.C.

20005, for the GECO2 application managed by QS. The contracting activity is Office of Internal Acquisitions, 1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is implemented by FAR 6.302-1 and approval is sought herein to purchase and annual maintenance for 50 licenses.

The license number for GSA licenses is: NCEMCM02151502090519D

● Contemplated Contract Type: A firm fixed-price purchase order

● Proposed Approach under Consideration: GSA intends to make a sole source award to nChannel, Inc. Thus far, we were able to determine nChannel, Inc. as the only known source that can meet the government’s minimum needs.

No other capable sources were found during market Research. However, GSA intends to solicit quotes by posting an RFQ on FedBizOpps to see if other capable vendors exist.

● Period of Performance is: June 1, 2017 through 3/31/2018

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs

This procurement is for annual maintenance for nChannel software for 50 licenses for the GSA Enhanced Check-Out (GECO) system.

The nChannel multichannel (multi-store) software is used for the GSA GECO2 system that provides GSA customers with access to GSA's catalogs of commercial supplies and products at competitive prices. This application is deployed throughout the USA and Asia. It provides simplified acquisition and competitive pricing options for GSA’s customers.

Estimated value is: $99,960

ITEM MFR P/N: MFR DESCRIPTION

UNIT OF

ISSUE QTY

UNIT

PRICE

EXTENDED

PRICE

1 SW-NC-

REINSTATEMENT

FEES

nChannel, Inc nChannel Enterprise Edition – Maintenance Pack for 2 months (4/1/2017 – 5/31/2017)

Note: (Reinstatement Fees) - The annual maintenance agreement expired on March 31, 2017 and your quote should include any applicable reinstatement fees to bring it current.

The period of performance is:

4/1/2017 – 5/31/2017 only applies to the lapsed/reinstatement period.

Month 2 $8,330 $16,660

2 SW-NC-MAINT nChannel, Inc.

nChannel Enterprise Edition

– Maintenance Pack

Period of Performance is:

6/1/2017 – 3/31/2018

Month 10 $8,330 $83,300

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 USC- 253(C)(l)and GSA has determined that there is only one responsible source and no other source will satisfy agency requirements. Specifically, the basis for other than full and open competition is that the minimum need can only be satisfied by one supplier with unique capabilities in accordance with FAR 6.302-l(b)(l)(i).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

• nChannel, Inc. is the only vendor with the nChannel Enterprise license. This is an annual maintenance contract for the license currently in production at GSA. There is no alternative other than to utilize these systems already in place.

• nChannel, Inc. is the only operating system software that can meet GSA’s requirements and no other similar software can be modified to meet these requirements in GSA’s existing IT environment.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, A Google search was conducted to see if other vendors could possibly provide nChannel maintenance; none were found.

At this time, the software it is not available on GSA Schedule or on any Government- Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). Therefore, a notice/Request for Quote will be publicized IAW FAR 5.2 on FedBizOpps with the intent to sole source to nChannel, Inc.

and to see if other capable vendors exist.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

Pricing will be determined fair and reasonable based on adequate price competition if received from two or more responsible offers, competing independently submit priced offers that satisfy the Government’s expressed requirement.

Pricing can/will also be compared to the vendor’s commercial price list, previous procurements, and to the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE).

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research concluded that nChannel, Inc. is the only known provider of nChannel Enterprise Edition software maintenance and support. The GECO2 functionality is based on nChannel, and the technical teams are subject matter experts for nChannel and its processes. The nChannel Enterprise License for up to 25 stores was purchased 2 years ago (2014) for the GSA Enhanced Check Out (GECO) application and for 25 additional stores May of 2016, for a total of 50 licenses.

Steve Weber, nChannel President and CEO, informed GSA that no other companies provide nChannel licenses or maintenance.

A Google search for “nChannel Enterprise Edition License” returned only nChannel the company, or other companies that use nChannel. In addition, a search was also conducted in GSA Advantage of the 2 part numbers, and “no matches were found”

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

No other known sources are available in the marketplace today for the requirements GSA needs.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

nChannel, Inc. (incumbent)

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

There are no plans to discontinue with the existing nChannel GECO application, which means recurring maintenance will be required on an annual basis.

12. The contracting officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

By signing this justification the Contracting Officer certifies that the facts and statements made are accurate and complete.

Certification and Approvals

Program/Technical Official Certification

I hereby certify and accept the responsibility that any and all supporting data provided above or used to justify the above requested for a sole source procurement (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs, schedule requirements, and/or other rationale for other than full and open competition) is accurate and complete to the best of my personal knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer’s Certification:

I hereby certify that the information contained in this Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition, for the purchase of specific brand name nChannel maintenance renewal is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

X Denise D. Young Contracting Officer

VICKIE

SZEWCZYK

Digitally signed by VICKIE SZEWCZYK DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=General Services Administration, cn=VICKIE SZEWCZYK, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=47001001144897 Date: 2017.05.03 08:50:39 -04'00'