DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

CONTRACTING SERVICES OFFICE

6090 STRATHMORE ROAD

RICHMOND, VA 23297

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION; SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE – SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION DCSO-R2-26-06

(1) Identification of the agency and contracting activity:

Requiring Activity: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Logistics Operations Directorate (J3)

Contracting Activity: DLA Contracting Services Office – Richmond 2 (DCSO-R2)

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

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 208.7402(a) requires departments and agencies to procure commercial software and commercial services such as software maintenance through the Department of Defense (DoD) enterprise software initiative (ESI). As such, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) requirement owner searched the DoD ESI website and identified a single source, Gartner, that offers the required Gartner brand name subscriptions. Blanket purchase agreement (BPA) N66001-19-A-0049 was awarded competitively to Gartner against their GSA schedule, 47QTCA-18-D-008L, as the sole provider of Gartner brand subscriptions. As ESI is a mandatory source, award will be made to Gartner for the required Gartner subscriptions.

This limited source justification documents approval to solicit on a limited source basis under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program. The acquisition will be conducted on a limited source basis pursuant to the following authorities:

FAR 8.405-6(b)(1) - The particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the government’s requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) - Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.

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

This requirement is for the purchase of Gartner brand name subscriptions as follows:

CLIN Item Name Version Quantity Period of Performance 0001 Global Chief Supply Chain Officers - Individual

Access Multi- User

1 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027

0002 Chief Supply Chain Officers - Individual Access Member

Multi- User

1 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027

0003 Enterprise Supply Chain Leaders Individual Access - RENEWAL ONLY

Multi- User

1 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027

0004 Chief Supply Chain Officers - Individual Access Member

Multi- User

1 1 June 2026 to 31 January

0005 Enterprise Supply Chain Leaders Individual Access - RENEWAL ONLY

Multi- User

1 1 June 2026 to 31 January solicitations or requests for quotes. Additionally, although DoD ESI is a mandatory source, several agreements require the completion of a brand-name limited source justification (LSJ).

In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(b)(1), and as discussed in detail below, the brand name description for this acquisition is specific to one manufacturer, Gartner, and is essential to the government’s requirement. Gartner is the only provider to offer decision intelligence license products that can provide decision intelligence and expertise for initiatives or projects spanning the entire DLA J3 enterprise, including in both classified and unclassified environments. Gartner employs a Facility Security Team that administers 190+ active DoD security clearances for cleared Gartner associates and currently supports 40+ classified contracts. These enhanced capabilities provide Gartner experts with the unique opportunity to engage with DLA J3 licensed users at a classified level when needed. Gartner’s unique capability in offering flexible access to cleared delivery teams and experts is a crucial component of DLA J3’s defined need. DLA J3 cannot invest in these types of decision intelligence license products unless the provider offers a Top-Secret facility clearance, allowing the provider to hold the Secret or higher clearances of the delivery teams and experts that will support DLA J3. Additionally, in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), Gartner’s subscriptions are only available from Gartner directly as the manufacturer.

(5) Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d):

The contracting officer determines the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable, and that the resulting order will represent the best value to the government by comparing proposed prices to the independent government cost estimate. Additionally, although the DoD ESI BPA rates/prices were determined fair and reasonable at award based on competition, the contracting officer will request a discount off these rates.

(6) Description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

Online market research was conducted for this acquisition in November 2025 to identify possible vendors to provide the required subscription. Based on the research, only one company was identified as a possible source. The company is registered in SAM.gov with an active commercial and government entity (CAGE) code and has an established blanket purchase agreement (BP) on ESI.

Per DoD ESI, “Gartner is an independent technology and market research company that focuses on delivering research-based services and expert guidance on a broad range of technical topics that specifically focus on industry and market trends. The company aligns research, data, advisory, and consulting services to its customers' agendas and helps them understand existing and potential impacts of technology. Further, it works with customers to create a customized package that fits their needs based on specific pre-established requirements”.

Per the customer’s review of the Gartner website, Gartner provides a range of services and resources tailored to the unique needs and challenges faced by DLA J3 Logistics Operations. As a leading supply chain organization, DLA needs to figure out what it should look like, what should be measured, and what technology strategy is needed to align to that. Currently, DLA is being inundated with technology companies in search of a problem and wants to discuss capabilities such as AI, digital interoperability, control towers, etc. DLA J3 does not have a way right now to distinguish between vendors and no strategy to choose how to leverage technology to reduce manpower and resources to meet the mission and leverage digital capabilities to make DLA better. A partnership with Gartner business and technology insights will provide DLA J3 with on-demand objective decision intelligence, tools, data, experts, and frameworks to in-source decisions by building critical knowledge and optimizing limited resources while avoiding unnecessary consulting spending. Services include:

Strategic partner to provide objective advice and contextualized guidance to provide view on what’s over the horizon and guidance on pragmatic execution

•Peer communities engage with what they are seeing success with and how they are executing Strategy sessions with key stakeholders to begin digital supply chain strategic plan priorities and creation Access to Gartner tools such as the End-to-End Supply Chain maturity assessment, AI maturity assessment, AI Use Case tool, and technology prioritization tool to name a few.

Analysts to fill in knowledge gaps on the team and provide subject matter expertise on-demand Conferences to improve the workforce and engage with peers around best practices in supply chain operations A Digital supply chain strategy and prioritized roadmap to execute on desired state AI strategy with guidance on pragmatic execution Gartner BUYSMART capability to objectively review potential technology vendors to meet your requirements and review contracts for potential cost savings

Although other companies provide similar information technology-related Supply Chain solution service to customers, the market research conducted by the customer indicates that Gartner is the only provider of decision intelligence license products capable of providing sufficient data-driven supply chain decision intelligence and experience-driven expertise to meet DLA J3’s defined needs.

(7) Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

Please note that the DoD ESI BPA was awarded competitively using FAR Part 8 procedures according to the redacted DD2579 posted to the DoD ESI website under the Gartner agreement. Based on the fact that the BPA was awarded competitively, delivery/task orders placed against this BPA are also considered to be competitively awarded.

(8) Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, DCSO has no plans at this time to compete future contacts for the types of supplies/services covered by this document provided that the subscription is performing to expectations and costs remain within budget. DCAA and DCSO will continue to conduct market research for this requirement, and if another potential solution emerges, DCAA and DCSO will assess whether additional competition for future requirements is feasible.