JOCFOC_Redacted..pdf

General Services Administration Justification For Other than Full and Open Competition

FAR 6.302-1

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY

Contracting Activity: General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Southwest Supply Acquisition Center, Large SOP 819 Taylor St., Fort Worth, TX 76102

Requiring Activity and Address: The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Navy’s Common Aviation Support Equipment Program Office (PMA- 260) 47123 Buse RD BLDG 2272 Patuxent River, MD 20670-1547

Description of Requirement: Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) Family of Testers (FoT) National Instruments (NI) Parts

Brand Name(s): National Instruments Corporation (NI)

GSA’s Acquisition PIID # 47QSWC24K0007

Vendor’s Name and Address: National Instruments CORP (NI) 11500 N Mopac EXPY Austin, TX 78759-3504

Procurement Vehicle: Open Market, FAR 16.505 Ordering Procedures

Preponderant North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and Title:

Size Standard:

334515, titled: Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals, size standard 750 employees

750 Employees

Product Service Code (PSC) code and Title:

6625, titled: Electrical and Electronic Properties Measuring and Testing Instruments

Period of Performance (POP): Base year, plus four (4) one-year Options

Estimated IDIQ Value:

$65,000,000.00 NTE

2. NATURE OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED

This action is to request the approval of a single award, open market, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract under FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements and in accordance with FAR 16.504, Indefinite-Quantity Contracts.

PMA-260 has a recurring need for Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) Family of Testers (FoTs) parts.

The parts are needed components of the CASS FoTs which currently supports PMA-260’s Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). National Instruments CORP (NI)’s proprietary parts are components of FoTs that are under life cycle support by PMA-260. These FoTs are critical to PMA260’s overall mission to provide FoTs that provide performance and diagnostics testing capability for U.S. Navy and Marines naval aircraft and airborne weapons systems Fleet wide.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) serves to support the procurement as a sole-source award to National Instruments CORP (NI), the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for numerous CASS FoT parts.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S NEEDS:

The IDIQ contract is a firm-fixed price agreement with a Period of Performance (PoP) to include (1) base year and four (4) one-year options or until the anticipated award ceiling of $65,000,000.00 is reached.

This procurement will be for NI products that support PMA-260’s CASS Family of Testers. The NI hardware and software products are currently integrated into multiple ATE systems under life cycle support by PMA-260. These FoT are critical to PMA260’s overall mission to provide common Support Equipment (ATEs) that provides performance and diagnostics testing capability for U.S. Navy and Marines systems.

List of required parts:

Item # Manufacturer's Part Number Product Description 0001 777178-01 Remote Control Module for VXI 0002 777185-01 Device for PXI Remote Control 0003 777165-02 Chassis Remote Control Cable 0004 777164-02 Chassis Remote Control Cable 0005 782115-01 Chassis Remote Control Cable 0006 782002-01 Remote Control Module for VXI 0007 780063-01 PXI Synchronization Module 0008 781473-01 PXI Serial Interface Module 0009 778572-96 PXI RF Multiplexer Switch Module 0010 785673-01 Slot Filler 0011 785677-01 Drive Carrier 0012 781054-01 PXI Multifunction I/O Module 0013 778512-01 PXI Analog Output Module 0015 782114-01 External Controller for PXI 0016 784251-01 Touch Panel Computer 0017 785672-01 External Controller for PXI 0018 778969-01 PXI Digital I/O Module 0019 778967-01 PXI Digital I/O Module 0020 781472-01 PXI Serial Interface Module 0021 787313-01 PXI Ethernet Interface Module 0022 785675-01 Power Supply 0023 785674-01 Power Supply 0024 782545-01 Power Supply 0025 782544-01 Power Supply 0026 1109331 NHR Electronic Load 0027 1109358 NHR Electronic Load 0028 1109332 NHR Electronic Load 0029 785321-01 External Controller for PXI 0030 780935-01 PCIe IEEE-488 0031 777164-06 MXI-2 cable 6 meter

4. IDENTIFICATION OF THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION:

This acquisition will be conducted under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 (10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) or 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1)), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The CASS FoT equipment meets the definition of commercial products in accordance with FAR 2.101 as these items are customarily available in the commercial marketplace.

For sole source purchases exceeding $7.5 million, the requirements at FAR 15.002(a) apply. The need for a sole source requirement is justified in writing utilizing the format at FAR 6.303-2 properly modified to reflect that the procedures at FAR 15.1 were used. This justification will be approved at the levels specified in accordance with FAR

6.304 and posted to SAM.gov within fourteen (14) days of contract award in accordance with FAR 6.305(a).

5. DEMONSTRATION OF PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED:

National Instruments (NI) is the manufacturer of the required deliverables. The use of any other brand name would require the Government to redesign via major Engineering Change Packages (ECPs) the underlying system architecture to produce an initial test baseline. Additional costs would be incurred to deploy new solutions into PMA- 260’s fielded FoTs comprising approximately 500 or more systems. Significant costs will also be incurred to re-integrate and test these systems on numerous fielded systems in the Fleet. This rework would be significant and cost the Government an estimated $5-$10M. In addition to these costs impacts delays will occur to redesign, test and employ new systems. These will ultimately impact the ability of PMA260 to support their Fleet support mission. It is not anticipated that these additional costs would be recouped through competition.

NI’s website features a global list of distributors; however, only four are designated for the United States. One exclusively manages online orders leaving three alternative sources of supply. Upon further examination, all three remaining distributors are small businesses. Since the applicable NAICS code is not on the SBA Nonmanufacturer Rule Class Waiver List and there are no small business products capable of meeting the Government's needs, a small business set-aside is not an option. Upon further market research, the Contracting Officer was not able to locate any distributors of the required items who could be considered "responsible", having the financial means and capability to successfully complete the contract. Results revealed the following:

1. North American distributors, TestForce USA Inc. (a United States subsidiary of TestForce which is based out of Canada) was registered in SAM.gov. Testforce USA Inc. was awarded 42 orders totaling $4.2M in value during FY 2023 and a total of $18.5M in Government awards and subcontract awards over the last seven (7) years. It is anticipated the first delivery order against this contract will be $17.5M. Therefore, it is not feasible to expect TestForce USA, Inc. to have the means and ability to complete a single order that is almost equal in value to all of the Government business the supplier has been awarded to date.

2. CythSystems, Inc. does not have an active registration in SAM and has not been awarded an order by the Federal Government since 2015 at which time they were awarded a single order for $19.9K. CythSystems, Inc.'s annual revenue is less than $5M.

3. Newark Electronics Corporation, DBA Newark does not have an active registration in SAM. Newark’s annual review is less than $84K.

A contracting officer is responsible for ensuring any potential vendor has the means and ability to successfully perform the contract in question. Based upon this market research, competing this requirement to include NI’s distributors would involve an unacceptable level of performance risk. Furthermore, directly negotiating with the manufacturer will allow privy of contract, reduce the risk of counterfeit products, and provide better visibility into the supply chain. Additionally, direct relationships may enhance transparency and traceability, helping to mitigate supply chain disruptions and ensure the authenticity of products. Lastly, negotiating directly with the manufacturer provides more control over contractual terms, allowing for customization and specific agreements tailored to the Government’s needs, to include cost efficiencies from intermediary markups that distributors may apply.

6. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE 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 OR IF AN EXCEPTION UNDER 5.202 APPLIES:

The market research conducted by the Contracting Officer and information submitted by the customer for review indicates that only one (1) source is available. Additionally, as required by FAR 5.201, the Government published a synopsis of the Government’s intent to solicit and negotiate with only one source. This notice, 47QSWC23K0037, was published to SAM.gov on January 3, 2024, closed on January 17, 2024, and is more than fifteen (15) days prior to the issuance of the solicitation IAW FAR 5.203(a). No responses were received to the Government’s intended acquisition strategy.

Additionally, Navy Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) were queried to identify alternative sources. The SMEs confirmed that without the technical data rights, no viable alternative exists for incorporation into existing FoT architecture. It is determined that only NI can fulfill the Government’s current requirements. NI is the original equipment manufacturer for required CASS FoT products that support current systems architectures and owns the technical data rights for their software and hardware products.

7. DETERMINATION THE ANTICIPATED COST TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND

REASONABLE TO THE GOVERNMENT:

Because competition for this requirement is restricted to a sole source, the Government will be utilizing at least two

(2) price analysis techniques outlined in FAR 15.404-1 by which to determine pricing submitted by National Instruments to be fair and reasonable. These techniques include, but are not limited to the following:

Requesting recent commercial and Government sales history Making indirect pricing comparisons to:

o the same or similar items in the marketplace, o competitive published price lists, and o Independent Government Estimates.

No certified cost or pricing data will be required to be submitted as these items have been determined to be commercial.

8. DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED

Market research was conducted in accordance with FAR Part 10 to determine the availability of products or vendors capable of meeting the Government’s requirement. A review of schedule contract vendors listed under the GSA Schedule program revealed NI does not hold a Schedule contract. However, some of NI products are sold on GSA Advantage!, but not for these required items.

The CO searched SBA’s Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS). Results revealed zero (0) companies offer ‘Electronic Consolidated Automated Support System Family of Testers’ and NAICS ‘334515’. In addition, the CO searched mandatory sources including AbilityOne and UNICOR as well as the Green Procurement Compilation List and Interagency Contract Directory (ICD) website. Zero results were found.

A Request for Information (RFI) or Industry Day was not conducted. Products are proprietary to NI�s life cycle support and requires use of current products. Alternative system(s) use will drive need for significant Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs) major redesign, integration, and test activities.

9. OTHER FACTS SUPPORT THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

For this acquisition, establishment of multiple-award IDIQ was considered however, it has been determined that establishment of a single award IDIQ is the best approach for this procurement for the following reasons:

(1) Only one source is qualified and capable of providing the required items at a reasonable price to the Government.

(2) Procuring requirements under a single award IDIQ will better leverage the Government's purchase power resulting in lower prices for these products. During performance of this IDIQ, however, informal market research will be conducted at the time of each option renewal period to confirm if any other products and/or vendors have been made available that could potentially meet the needs of NAVAIR.

(3) As multiple delivery orders are anticipated to meet the Government's needs, a single award IDIQ will allow the customer for the required items without having to draft multiple J&As and endure long procurement lead times with every order.

10. LIST ANY OTHER SOURCES THAT EXPRESSED INTEREST IN WRITING:

None.

11. STATEMENT OF ACTIONS TO OVERCOME BARRIERS OF COMPETITION

NI is currently the only source capable of meeting the Government�s needs. Prior to any subsequent procurement, the Government will once again review the market using various methods to assess whether any other qualified sources are available and are able to meet the Government�s requirements.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and presentations under my cognizance, which forms a basis for this justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

The Contracting Officer has determined that the appropriate actions taken under this acquisition meet the conditions described in FAR Subpart 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source. The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer, Large SOP (QSCBDA)

Date

One Level Above, Large SOP (QSCBD)

Director, Special and Assisted Contracting Division (QSC) Date

Operational Guidance Branch SME (QSA) Date

Assistant Regional Counsel (LD7) Date

Competition Advocate (QSA) Date

Contracting Executive (QSC) Date

HEAD OF CONTRACTING ACTIVITY CERTIFICATION

I, the approving authority, determine that the circumstances identified in this document are accurate; therefore, limiting competition to one source under FAR 6.302-1 is justified. The signature below also represents approval of this Justification and Approval.

HCA, Delegated to Contracting Executive (QSC) Date