JA PAR Ex 36C10B26Q0516_Redacted.pdf

VA-26-00031677

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a firm-fixed-price contract to PAR Excellence System, Inc., located at 11500 Northlake Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249, to procure PAR Excellence Weight-Based Inventory Management system (WBIMS) software, hardware, installation, and support services.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center (VAMC) has a requirement for a PAR Excellence Weight Based Inventory Management System for the Medical Distribution Center within Supply Chain Management. Specifically, the Contractor shall provide and install a free standing, weight-based inventory management system, to include all bins, scales, accessories, parts, labor, hardware, software and training to interoperate and supplement the existing system within the accompanying Secondary Inventory Points throughout the Aleda E. Lutz VAMC in Saginaw, Michigan and its Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). . VA requires that this be interoperable with its existing infrastructure. In 2022, facility leadership completed installation of the PAR Excellence system throughout the Saginaw VAMC and as well as nine CBOCs Secondary Inventory points for medical and surgical supplies. The implementation of this system resulted in a reduction in overstocked supplies at secondary inventory points by providing accurate stock and usage data, discouraging hoarding, and reduced the quantity of expired stock. There were also significant efficiencies realized by eliminating extended travel time to geographically distant CBOCs to perform manual inventory management. It also assisted in managing other cost control factors, at the facility and CBOCs experienced fewer emergency orders and the associated costs of placing emergency orders. The PAR Ex WBIMS allowed nurses, clinicians, and supply chain personnel to focus on the core job responsibilities as opposed to manual inventory tasks.

The WBIMS produces accurate real-time readings of quantities on-hand and is accessible by web-based program. It also provides data mining capabilities that include at a minimum current stock level, recommended order points, average usage levels per item and ability to track medical supply usage per patient treated at the Aleda E. Lutz VAMC and its CBOC locations.

Specifically the Contractor shall provide associated PAR software licenses; PAR scale products which include small, medium, and large scales as well as controllers and setup kits; and third party storage products (PAR Bins) which include customized storage shelfs, panels, and bins specifically made to meet the specifications of the PAR Excellence WBIMS.

Med Surg Primary PAR Excellence Inventory System VA-26-00031677

As part of the WBIMS the PAR Bins identify out of balance on hand quantities and values, accounting for any due out or due ins. If the out of balance condition is caused by a pending due in or due out, the out of balance condition shall be displayed separately with the PAR Bins application to easily identify. PAR Bin due-ins and due-outs shall automatically be removed when Generic Inventory Package (GIP) due-in and due-outs are “cleared”. The PAR Bin software System shall be interfaced with the GIP, a Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) based system used to manage inventories. GIP ensures the proper storage of medical and surgical products and produces an accurate real-time accounting of quantities that is accessible through a web-based program. It also provides data mining capabilities that include minimum current stock level, recommended order points, average usage levels per item, and the ability to track medical supply usage per patient. GIP also allows for inter Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) communication and coordination of inventory stock levels which is critical for potential product recall management and manufacturer shortages. The primary purpose of the interface is to identify out of balance, on-hand quantities and values between GIP and the PAR Bins system. The Contractor shall integrate the solution with the VA VISTA/GIP inventory management system for both primary and secondary distribution points. The primary distribution point is a centralized stock location that feeds the secondary (or point of use) distribution points.

Installation shall begin no later than 90 days after contract award and shall be completed at the delivery location within 365 days after contract award. The vendor shall provide all associated support for 12 months upon successful completion of installation. The vendor shall also provide training for four VA Supply Chain Management personnel for the web-based program.

The Period of Performance shall consist of one 24-month period. The 12-month support will start upon the successful completion of installation and the VA COR verifies the system is ready for use.

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open as implemented by the Revolutionary Federal

Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) VA Deviation Part 6.103-1(d), “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The PAR Excellence WBIMS solution, consisting of software and hardware components, is the only system that is interoperable with the existing GIP software system which is capable of significantly increasing efficiency in on-hand inventory management of expendable supplies and in logistical support of clinicians. The system enhances the clinician’s ability to both accurately and timely provide medical supplies and improved healthcare to Veterans. It is essential that the WBIMS be interoperable with GIP because GIP enables the remote loading of information into VA systems without delays and work-around complexities that otherwise can attribute to transferring data that can result in corruption and/or improper manual entries. The PAR Excellence WBIMS logs the inflow and outflow of supplies and disposables enabling the real-time monitoring of changes in supply levels. It increases the VA’s ability to care for a greater number of patients in a shorter period by ensuring the necessary supplies are on hand and limiting the number of trips between inventory locations, while simultaneously reducing the risk of error due to stock outs and the double ordering of supplies. The PAR Excellence WBIMS system also minimizes the required level of human interaction and fosters reduced staffing levels, the volume of commodity items passing through the system, and supports the increasing number of patients being treated. The software is the only system capable of interfacing with every inventory location through and across the VISN who currently utilize the Par Excellence WBIMS, creating more visibility and efficiencies across inventory locations due to having a more centralized inventory system. It’s currently being utilized in several different locations including the required facility covered under this effort. There are currently no other products that are interoperable with GIP and the existing PAR Excellence system, as it is a unique system. Most other products on the market use some type of RFID or Kan-Ban process to track the inventory, both of which still require a human interaction that is prone to error whereas the PAR Excellence WBIMS greatly reduces staffing efforts and reduces manual efforts and potential errors associated with manual counting and tracking.

If the existing system were replaced then a new solution would need to be developed, installed and implemented to ensure interoperability with GIP. It is estimated that this would take approximately two years and cost $5 million to complete. These estimated duplicated costs would not be recovered through competition. The estimates of time and costs are based on previous acquisition history.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources which can meet the Government’s requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined there are no resellers for the brand name PAR Excellence system. In accordance with FAR 5. In accordance with RFO VA Deviation Part 5.101(d) a pre-solicitation notice shall be posted to SAM.gov, combined with the solicitation. Further, in accordance with RFO VA Deviation 5.301(d), an award notice will be posted to SAM.gov within 60 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research:. The Government technical experts conducted market research efforts in November 2025, and focused on reviewing whether other vendors could provide similar system capabilities that would interface with the existing PAR Excellence system. The two vendors reviewed were Omnicell, Inc., and WaveMark, Inc. Omnicell offers solutions that automate the dispensing of medicine within the VA pharmacy departments; however, no vendor provides the weight based inventory tracking method.

WaveMark delivers radio frequency identification real-time location system solutions.

Both vendors were contacted to determine if they offer any other inventory management systems; however, neither had a weight-based inventory management system which can meet the VA’s requirements.

In an attempt to identify other sources of a WBIMS, the following websites and search engines were utilized to bolster market research efforts: The SBA VetCert ), Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), Small Business Administration Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS), System for Award Management (SAM), and General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage. These aforementioned searches did not identify any additional sources of supply meeting the VA’s requirement.

Additional market research was conducted by the Contract Specialist February – May 2026, by utilizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) Provider Look-up Tool to determine whether there are authorized resellers of PAR Excellence that hold NASA SEWP V GWACs. The Contract Specialist searched for PAR Excellence and found that the search revealed zero sources. The Contract Specialist contacted PAR excellence directly to inquire about authorized resellers. The Director of Government Accounts responded on February 11, 2026, and stated, “PAR does not have any authorized resellers”

9. Other Facts: None.

Advocate for Competition Approval In my role as the procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of brand name PAR Excellence Weight- Based Inventory Management system (WBIMS) software, hardware, installation, and support services on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority cited in Section 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.