Justification for Other Than Full and Open EUCOM Sole Source Award_REDACTED.pdf

JUSTIFICATION

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FAR 6.302-1

EUCOM OCONUS LOGISTICS SUPPORT SERVICES

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) General Supplies and Services (GSS)

Special Contracting Branch B/Internal Acquisitions Branch (QSCBB) 1800 F St NW Washington, DC 20405

2. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED:

This justification invokes the statutory authority allowing other than full and open competition under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This approval supports the issuance of a short-term Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) bridge contract with Noble Supply and Logistics (“Noble”) for up to 12 months (18 months with the inclusion of FAR Clause 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services), providing a comprehensive supply chain solution encompassing sourcing, procurement, warehousing, transportation, and delivery to customers or locations specified in each delivery order (DO). This contract is essential for customers located outside the continental United States (OCONUS) within the United States European Command (EUCOM) area, ensuring logistics and supply items are sourced, procured, and delivered within 3 to 5 business days after receipt of order. All supply items must adhere to the specifications of National Stock Number (NSN) or Local Stock Number (LSN) items provided by the Government.

Current Contract:

47QSCC25D0001

Period of Performance: March 22, 2025 - March 21, 2026 Noble Supply and Logistics, LLC 302 Weymouth Street Rockland MA, 02370

As further described below, the action being approved is for a sole source, single award, IDIQ contract.

The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), General Supplies and Services (GSS) Portfolio, Office of Supply Chain Management (SCM) has a requirement for Global Supply OCONUS Logistics Operations Solutions Support to better support its customers in the EUCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR). The purpose of this requirement is to provide logistics support services for GSS SCM to provide global supply OCONUS logistics operations solutions within

EUCOM during a protest of the recently awarded contract. The contractor is required to provide a total supply chain solution from sourcing, procurement, warehousing, transporting or arranging for transportation and delivery to the customer or other location identified in each delivery order (DO).

The contractor would also be responsible for sourcing and delivering products within 3 - 5 business days after receipt of order. The contractor is also responsible for providing items that conform to the specifications of National Stock Number (NSN) or Local Stock Number (LSN) items. Below is the procurement history detailed below.

GSA awarded a competitive, five-year $87 million contract to Noble on March 22, 2018, with a performance period ending March 21, 2023. Due to delays in awarding a follow-on competitive contract, the performance period was extended to September 21, 2023, under FAR 52.217-8. To ensure continuity of service, GSA issued a sole-source bridge contract 47QSCC23D0004 in July 2023, approved by GSS legal, with a six-month base period and two three-month options, extending performance through September 21, 2024. An additional six-month extension under FAR 52.217-8 further extended the bridge contract to March 21, 2025.

A best-value competition was conducted, resulting in a contract award to Noble with a performance start date of March 22, 2025 for an estimated $173 million. The contract consists of a one (1)-year base period with four (4) twelve (12)-month options. The base period of performance is from March 22, 2025, to March 21, 2026. Option Year One period of performance would be from March 22, 2026, to March 21, 2027. Option Year Two period of performance would be from March 22, 2027, to March 21, 2028. Option Year Three period of performance would be from March 22, 2028, to March 21, 2029. Option Year Four period of performance would be from March 22, 2029, to March 21, 2030.

However, with the expiration of the previous bridge contract and a stop-work order in place due to a protest, GSA must establish a new bridge contract to maintain continued services.

The EUCOM Global Supply mission has been deemed critical to military operations, necessitating uninterrupted support. With the previous contract having been extended utilizing the maximum six-month period permitted under FAR 52.217-8 and now being expired, it is ineligible for further extension. Given the bid protest of the new award to Noble Supply and Logistics, LLC, there is a need for a bridge contract to avoid the interruption of support.

The Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal civilian agencies operating in Europe require logistical supply support to sustain critical operations and ensure mission readiness. A stop-work order issued due to the protest against the competitively awarded contract will halt the delivery of essential materials identified by NSNs and LSNs. The DoD constitutes approximately 80% of the customer base in this region, making the timely fulfillment of supply orders critical to sustaining force readiness.

Readiness rates are directly tied to a unit’s ability to deploy and participate in field exercises within the EUCOM region. Delays in supply delivery can severely impact readiness metrics, hindering units from meeting deployment timelines or effectively engaging in training and operational exercises. This degradation in readiness compromises strategic objectives and weakens the overall operational posture in a region where rapid response capability is essential.

Without a contract in place, obtaining these critical supplies would take substantially longer, as procuring items individually or through ad hoc arrangements would introduce significant delays. The lack of a contract vehicle would impede the timely acquisition and delivery of mission-essential items, directly impacting force readiness and the ability to sustain ongoing operations.

This sole-source contract will have a six (6)-month base period with two (2) three (3)-month option periods, ensuring operational continuity as a protest has stopped work under the 2025 competitive contract. In addition, this contract will include FAR Clause 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services allowing for an additional 6 month period of performance.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET

AGENCY’S NEEDS:

GSA requires a total supply chain solution from sourcing, procurement, warehousing, transporting or arranging for transportation and delivery to the customer or other location identified in each delivery order (DO) that is placed under the IDIQ. Noble is currently performing this requirement under a newly awarded IDIQ contract, 47QSCC25D0001, with a one (1) year base and four (4) one-year options periods of which the base period expires on Mar 21, 2026. However, with a stop-work order in place due to a protest, GSA must establish a new bridge contract to maintain continued services.

The specific tasks involved in the delivery of supply chain services, which would be required for six months with additional optional performance periods, include the following:

1) Sourcing/Procurement

a. The procurement of commercially available items, including office supplies, janitorial and sanitation supplies and tools. The contractor shall be responsible for providing items that conform to the specifications of each National Stock Number (NSN) or Local Stock Number (LSN). The actual list of products will be dynamic during the life of the contract with additions, modifications and deletions identified by the government that are within the scope of this solicitation. The contractor as well as the government will be allowed to suggest these types of changes, but approval rests with the government.

b. The contractor shall be responsible for sourcing all products so long as the products meet the following requirements:

● Pursuant to the provisions of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, production facilities of the NIB and NISH items marked as AbilityOne are mandatory sources and the contractor must procure those items from AbilityOne distributors.Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.6, items marked as UNICOR are mandatory sources for the contractor and must procure those items from UNICOR.

● All other items not identified as AbilityOne must be TAA compliant per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 25.4. A list of countries with Trade Agreements with the United States is located at: https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free- trade-agreements.

2) Transportation and Delivery

a. Within three to five (3-5) business days of receiving the DO from GSA, the contractor will ship and deliver, and continuously monitor all shipments associated with the order to the destination identified in the DO. In most cases this will be the end user customer, but it could also be a government identified intermediate node, primarily the DLA Theater Consolidation and Shipping Point in Germersheim, Germany. Attachment 4 identifies forecasted volumes by locations in EUCOM.

b. The contractor must meet the Installation requirements.

c. The contractor will be responsible for fulfilling the DO generated by the GSA Order Management Services system (OMS). contractor shall be compliant with the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) requirements of GSA. Each DO will show the specific item, quantity, and delivery requirements for that order.

d. Consolidation of orders is allowed as long as the delivery time standard for all items in the shipment will be met. Additionally, consolidated shipments must only be consolidated to the end use customer as identified in the “Mark For” data field of the

DO.

e. Packaging, Packing, Marking, and Labeling. The contractor shall be responsible for the creation and application of supply and shipping documentation, shipping labels, and package markings meeting customer requirements. The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will ensure that all goods received conform to applicable regulations as well as agency requirements related to documentation, packaging, packing, marking and labeling. The primary references for this are:

● Defense Standard Practice for Military Packaging (MIL- STD-2073)

● Department of Defense Standard for Military Marking for Shipment and Storage

(MIL-STD-129).

f. Dangerous Goods/Hazardous Materials. The contractor shall be responsible for compliance with all dangerous goods/hazardous materials regulations. This will include certification, documentation, packing, packaging, marking and labeling.

g. Customs. All customs processes will be the responsibility of the contractor.

h. Vendor Portal (VP) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Requirements The contractor will be responsible for establishing EDI interfaces with GSA as the primary method for transmission of data associated with conducting business with GSA. The ability to provide order tracking that includes in-transit visibility up to the point of delivery is the desired end-state.

3) Warehousing

a. The contractor must have a warehouse(s) located within the EUCOM region. The warehouse spaces are to be used solely for the storage of items that support this initiative.

This contract will include 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract and 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. The purpose of including this clause is to give the Government the flexibility to further extend services to avoid a potential future break in service in case there are unforeseen delays in resuming the competitive contract: such as a lengthy protest, performing a new evaluation, or the necessity of conducting an entirely new competitive acquisition.

The EUCOM requirement has proven to be an important supply chain option for federal and DoD customers overseas, and an interruption would mean that customers would no longer have this supply source and would significantly increase customers’ wait and delivery times for items that this supply chain offering is providing within 3-5 business days. Customers have steadily come to rely on the EUCOM option for their supply needs. Any interruption of service would impact the ability of customers to purchase key items to support their military operations and supply chains.

The sales so far under the previous contract are as follows (purchase order total):

FY23

Purchase Order Total:

Number of Orders: 846

FY24

Purchase Order Total:

Number of Orders: 44,565

The Government estimates the bridge contract to have a value of approximately $45,313,542. This includes product sourcing, warehousing, and OCONUS delivery costs and award costs. With inclusion of FAR Clause 52.217-8 (PoP of 6 months and at an estimated value of $22,460,244) the total estimated maximum value becomes $67,773,785.

4. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. GSA has determined 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 6.302-1(b)(1)(i). There is no other contractor besides the incumbent, Noble, who would be able to provide the required services in the accelerated time frame required for the sole-source procurement.

5. SUPPORTING INFORMATION THAT THE CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRES THE USE OF ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE

SOURCE AUTHORITY:

Noble Supply and Logistics, LLC is the sole contractor capable of meeting the EUCOM logistics and supply chain requirements without interruption. As the incumbent, Noble possesses unique institutional knowledge and has an established infrastructure, including a robust supply chain, coordinated overseas transportation, and strategically positioned warehouses and staffing within the region. This enables them to deliver essential supplies promptly.

This contract encompasses intricate requirements necessitating that the performing contractor possesses an established supply chain, coordinated overseas transportation, and a well-stocked warehouse within the region. The contractor must maintain a prepositioned inventory of approximately 900 National Stock Numbers (NSNs), with about half sourced from mandatory suppliers such as AbilityOne and UNICOR. Additionally, the contractor must have secured access for deliveries to numerous military and federal installations across the region, each with unique logistical and regulatory requirements based on their respective host countries. To facilitate imports, the contractor and its subcontractors must be established entities within the European Union and the United Kingdom, ensuring compliance with local import regulations. Furthermore, the contractor is responsible for managing overseas shipments in strict adherence to Maritime Administration (MARAD) requirements, including the mandate that at least 50% of government-impelled cargo is transported on U.S.-flag vessels when available at fair and reasonable rates. Currently, Noble is performing under the existing contract, effectively fulfilling EUCOM’s intricate supply chain requirements.

Most importantly, the immediate need for these services necessitates a contractor with the capability to commence operations without delay. There is no other contractor besides the incumbent, Noble, who would be able to provide the required services in the accelerated time frame required for the sole-source procurement. Offerors who submitted proposals for the competitive award indicated in their submissions that a day transition period would be required to achieve full operational capability. This transition period would result in a lapse of critical services, which is not acceptable given the mission-critical nature of the supply chain support. Therefore, Noble’s established infrastructure and readiness uniquely position them as the only responsible source capable of meeting the immediate and complex demands of this contract without interruption.

Noble is currently performing in the EUCOM region, and has an established supply chain, coordinated overseas transportation, warehouse, inventory for NSN items, and other intricate requirements that are necessary under this contract. Noble is the only supplier which meets these qualifications, and also has the unique capability required to immediately deliver these supplies and services during this short time frame which does not provide the time for any contract transition efforts. No other supplier has the unique capability, specialized experience, or positioning necessary to ensure continued support and avoid a loss in service coverage. Noble is already in a position to perform the tasks required for the six (6) month base period, two (2) three (3) month option periods, and the FAR Clause 52.217-8 option period of six (6) months, if needed.

6. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS

ARE SOLICITED FROM AS MANY SOURCES AS PRACTICABLE:

Efforts have been made to ensure that this requirement will not be a non-competitive procurement in the future. The requirement was competitively solicited under RFP 47QSCC23R0008, resulting in the award of a competitive contract. There has been significant interest from industry, demonstrating a strong competitive market for these services. However, due to a protest filed against the recently awarded contract, the only viable option at this time to prevent a lapse in service is to issue a single-source contract. This temporary measure is necessary to maintain continuity while the protest is resolved.

7. DETERMINATION THAT THE ANTICIPATED COST TO THE

GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE:

The Contracting Officer will consider the pricing from the three competitive proposals received for contract 47QSCC25D0001, which, although currently under protest, represent the most recent and relevant competitive pricing data. This evaluation approach aligns with FAR 15.404-1(b)(2), which outlines techniques for determining fair and reasonable pricing, including the comparison of proposed prices received in response to a solicitation and the comparison of proposed prices to historical contract prices. By employing this method, the Contracting Officer will ensure that the pricing for this bridge contract is fair and reasonable.

In addition, an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) was developed for this requirement and the Government's evaluation will also involve comparing the proposed price to the IGCE. Market research was performed using market pricing found on GSA Advantage and in the open market for CONUS delivery. A markup was then added to account for overseas warehousing, logistics, and delivery to bases overseas. The estimated price was then multiplied by the average demand under the previous EUCOM contract for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2023 and 2024. The IGCE breakdown for this requirement is as follows:

● Base Period (6 months) : $22,460,244

● Option Period 1 (3 months): $11,398,574

● Option Period 2 (3 months) : $11,454,724

Total Expected Value (including all options): $45,313,542

● FAR 52.217-8 (6 months if utilized): $22,460,244

Total Estimated Value (including all options + FAR 52.217-8 ): $67,773,785

While this IGCE is based on market information including GSA Advantage and knowledge of additional costs that would be required for OCONUS warehousing and other costs, the IGCE was compared to current pricing under Noble’s 47QSCC23D0004 contract, and the overall price is similar to what was negotiated on the recently awarded contract.

Therefore the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

8. DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED:

Market research was conducted to assess industry interest and competition for this requirement. A

Sources Sought Notice, 47QSCC22N0006, was issued, and multiple responses were received, indicating significant interest from potential vendors. Additionally, the requirement was formally competed under RFP 47QSCC23R0008, which resulted in the submission of five proposals. This strong response further confirmed the presence of a competitive market. These efforts demonstrate that multiple capable vendors are available, reinforcing that this requirement is not inherently a single source need but in this instance is only being awarded as a sole source contract due to a protest and stop-work order and the necessity to prevent a lapse in service, which would heavily impact troops in the EUCOM AOR.

9. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL

AND OPEN COMPETITION

None.

10. LIST OF SOURCES EXPRESSING WRITTEN INTEREST IN THIS

ACQUISITION, IF ANY:

No other known sources have expressed written interest in this acquisition. While several companies expressed interest in the competitive procurement now under protest, none possess the immediate capability to perform this specific sole-source contract due to its complex nature. The incumbent contractor, Noble, has an established supply chain, coordinated overseas transportation, and a stocked inventory within the region. In contrast, the companies that submitted proposals for the competitive contract would require an extended transition period, preventing them from meeting the immediate fulfillment needs of this requirement.

11. A STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO

REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE

MAKING ANY SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION FOR THE SUPPLIES OR

SERVICES REQUIRED:

As described above GSA has actively recompeted this requirement and this is solely to provide coverage during a protest. Ample competition is expected for subsequent acquisitions.

12. APPROVALS

This document was prepared by the Contract Specialist that certifies that the facts and statements made are accurate and complete.

Anita Kearse Date Contract Specialist Special Contracting Branch B/Internal Acquisitions Branch (QSCBB) Special and Assisted Contracting Division (QSCB) Office of Contract Operations (QSC) GSA FAS Office of General Supplies & Services (GSS)

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS PERSONNEL CERTIFICATION:

I hereby certify that any supporting data (e.g. verifying the Government’s minimum needs or scheduled requirements or other rationale for other than full and open competition), which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate.

Program Manager Office of Supply Chain Management (SCM) GSA FAS General Supplies and Services (GSS)

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION:

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

Heidi McFall Date Contracting Officer Special Contracting Branch B/Internal Acquisitions Branch (QSCBB) Special and Assisted Contracting Division (QSCB)

APPROVALS:

Branch Chief, Special Contracting Branch B (QSCBB) Special and Assisted Contracting Division (QSCB)

Director, Special and Assisted Contracting Division (QSCB)

Operational Guidance Branch SME (QSA)

Assistant General Counsel (LP)

COMPETITION ADVOCATE:

I certify to the accuracy and completeness of this justification to the best of my knowledge.

Acting Competition Advocate (QSA)

APPROVAL AUTHORITY CERTIFICATION:

I certify to the accuracy and completeness of this justification to the best of my knowledge.

Contracting Executive (QSC), Delegated HCA Authority