J and A Sole.pdf

Justification for Other than Full & Open Competition

1. Identification of the agency and contracting agency:

Contracting activity Customer agency Department of Labor Department of Labor

OSPE BLS/OPLC, PPI

200 Constitution Ave NW 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE.

Washington, DC 20210 Washington, DC 20212

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

This justification authorizes and approves the issuance of a contract with a 12-month base period and one, 12-month option period. The Producer Program Indexes PPI Program Office has a need to purchase aggregated current month chicken egg and seafood price data to accurately calculate price indexes. Within the agriculture sector, the BLS has historically relied on nontraditional data sources and has not collected price data directly from respondents.

3. Description of supplies/services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The vendor will provide access for three users (the minimum number) to both its poultry and eggs and seafood platform for one year. Accurate and timely price data for the following commodities can only be found using the Comtell platform:

Chicken eggs, jumbo Chicken eggs, extra large Chicken eggs, large Chicken eggs, medium Chicken eggs, small Chicken eggs, breaker stock Tuna Shrimp Crabs Lobsters Clams Oysters Sea scallops Mussels

The Independent Government Cost Estimate for the two year’s access to the poultry and eggs platform is $56,156.00. The estimated Base Period is $26,741.00 and for Option Period 1 $29,415.00.

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

Identification of the justification rationale is 6.302-1, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” Market research showed that Urner Barry Publications, Inc. is the only vendor that will be able to provide this data.

A RFI (OAA-24-00216) for these services was published on sam.gov and eBuy in May 2024. No responses were received.

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

Urner Barry Publications, Inc. is the only firm with the capability to provide the requested services.

Urner Barry Publications, Inc. is the only provider of this price data for all the commodities, regions, and sizes requested while also excluding imports from their data that is not part of the scope for the Producer Price Index. Urner Barry Publications, Inc. is the only provider that would be able to provide current month data in a timely manner each month and is the only firm to provide data for the commodities listed above in number 3 above.

6. A description of efforts to obtain competition to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

The OPLC has surveyed the market through internet searches over the last year and from other government agencies (USDA, NOAA, NMFS) and has been unsuccessful in finding other sources that could provide the unique and highly specialized data that meets PPI requirements. See number 8 below. A notice will be posted publicized in accordance with FAR 5.2.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will ensure that the anticipated cost is fair and reasonable based upon historical purchases, market research and other various methods to determine price reasonableness.

The following is the acquisition history for Urner Barry data subscription, which were purchased using a purchase card:

1625-OPL-23-NAT-0041 $7,368.00 Urner Barry 2023 Current Poultry and Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-23-NAT-0042 $4,685.00 Urner Barry 2023 Current West Coast Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-23-NAT-0042 $1,489.00 Urner Barry 2023 Current Seafood Subscription 1625-OPL-22-NAT-0059 $4,146.00 Urner Barry 2022 Current West Coast Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-22-NAT-0060 $6,520.00 Urner Barry 2022 Current Poultry and Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-22-NAT-0069 $1,318.00 Urner Barry 2022 Current Seafood Subscription 1625-OPL-21-NAT-0057 $9,697.00 Urner Barry 2021 Current Poultry Egg and West Coast Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-21-NAT-0058 $1,198.00 Urner Barry 2021 Current Seafood Subscription

1625-OPL-20-NAT-0097 $8,896.00 Urner Barry 2020 Current Poultry Egg and West Coast Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-20-NAT-0127 $1,099.00 Urner Barry 2020 Current Seafood Subscription 1625-OPL-19-NAT-0173 $8,088.00 Urner Barry 2019 Current Poultry Egg and West Coast Egg Subscription 1625-OPL-19-NAT-0138 $ 999.00 Urner Barry 2019 Current Seafood Subscription

8. A description of market research conducted (part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

The BLS/OPLC reviewed 3 potential data sources to determine the most accurate and detailed data set. The potential sources include U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and The Jacobsen. The USDA does have data on chicken egg prices but does provide the national coverage that Urner Barry Publications, Inc. provides nor does it have coverage for all the sizes of chicken eggs that are produced. The USDA does not collect data on wild caught finfish or shellfish. NOAA does not collect data on chicken eggs but does collect data on shrimp prices that are lagged 3-4 months and represents only 30 percent of the producer value of shrimp. The Jacobsen, a trusted data source for oilseed prices was also investigated as a possible source. They do not collect price data on either chicken eggs or seafood. The Urner Barry Publications, Inc. data is the most comprehensive price data set available as it includes micro level transaction price data for all the impacted commodities on a national scale and can be accessed monthly in a timely manner to publish the BLS monthly indexes without the need for revisions. The other data sets could not meet these same requirements. An RFI (OAA-24-00216) for these services was published on SAM.gov and eBuy in May 2024 and zero responses were received. Therefore, the identified vendor, remains the only source of data that can be utilized by PPI.

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

N/A

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

N/A

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:

BLS will continue to perform market research and survey the market to determine if there are any capable vendors that can provide the required services.

12. Signature blocks:

The program/technical official further certifies that no conflict of interest exists in awarding a sole source contract to the contractor identified herein.

Technical certification:

I certify 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.

Signature: _________________________ Date: _____________________________

Type name: __Dinis Leal_____________

Title: ___COR____________

Contracting officer certification:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

signature: _________________________ date: _________07/29/24___________

Type name: __Rachael Vargas__

Title: ____Contracting Officer_______