NB681110-23-02299 RFQ.pdf

Single-Axis Rate Table / NB681110-23-02299

(I) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation is being issued using simplified acquisition procedures for certain commercial items under the authority of FAR 13.

(II) The solicitation number is NB681110-23-02299 and this solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This acquisition is being solicited as a total small business set-aside.

(III) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-04 dated June 2, 2023.

(IV) The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees

(V) All offerors shall provide a firm-fixed-price quotation for the following line item(s):

Item Number

Supplies/Services Description QTY Unit of Issue

Unit Price Extended Price

0001 Single-axis rate table in accordance with Attachment 1 to include shipping (FOB Destination).

1 EA $ $

Total: $

(VI) The requirements for the line items to be acquired above are in the attached Statement of Work document, Attachment 1.

(VII) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance and FOB point are required in accordance with the attached Statement of Work document.

(VIII) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023), applies to this acquisition. Addenda to this provision is as follows:

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

Offerors shall submit their electronic quotations, via email, so that NIST receives them not later than 2:00 PM Eastern Time on 28-JUN-2023. E-mail quotations shall be submitted directly to the Contract Specialist at ian.robinson@nist.gov.

Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of email communications. Offerors quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox set forth above.

PRE-QUOTE INQUIRIES (CAR 1352.215-72):

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to the Contract Specialist Ian Robinson at ian.robinson@nist.gov. Questions should be received no later than 10 calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.

QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

All quotations shall conform to solicitation provisions/clauses and be prepared in accordance with this section. The quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as be neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. Note: The term “indexed” refers to a table of contents that lists sections and page numbers. In the event that the Offeror is unable to create an indexed quotation, an alternative approach such as a Table of Contents shall suffice. All pages of the quotation shall be appropriately numbered. A cover letter may be included in addition to Volumes I-IV discussed below.

In preparing the quotation, each volume shall stand on its own. For each given evaluation factor the Government will only evaluate the information provided in the corresponding section of the quotation. The Offeror’s quotation shall be clearly divided into the following distinct volumes:

Volume I – Technical Quotation Volume II – Price Quotation Volume III – Terms and Conditions

Volume I - Technical Quotation:

The offeror shall submit one (1) copy of their technical quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contract Specialist identified above. The technical quotation shall address the following:

Technical Capability:

The quoter shall submit technical approach and capability documentation which may include a narrative, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, product / service literature, and as applicable, demonstrated authority to provide the necessary items and perform the required services identified in the statement of work (Attachment 1). The documentation shall clearly describe, in sufficient detail, the vendor's authority, proposed items, resources and methods to successfully fulfill the requirements including specifications, performance capability requirements, delivery schedules, warranties, and all service requirements. The submission shall clearly identify each line item above. The submission must demonstrate that the proposed system meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described within the attached statement of work document by providing a citation between the statement of work paragraph and the relevant section of the technical description or product literature. The offeror must not simply state they will meet or exceed the requirement; evidence must be provided. If applicable, evidence that the offeror is authorized by the manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included. Quoters shall provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the quoter to perform the statement of work.

Volume II - Price Quotation:

The offeror shall submit one (1) copy of their entire quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer identified above. The pricing quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The offeror shall propose a firm-fixed-price quotation for each CLIN to include all shipping costs (FOB Destination). Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due.

Volume III - Terms and Conditions

Offerors shall provide a completed copy of all provisions listed below (See attachment 2):

1. FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and

Commercial Services (OCT 2022)

2. FAR 52.225-2 Buy American Certificate

3. FAR 52.225-18, Place of Manufacture

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1(b) (11)):

If the contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

[Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the contractor to identify in their quotation any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor's acceptance of the Government's terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order (PO).

Note: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an Offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the proposed price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant purchase order, not the terms and conditions of the Offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

NAICS Code If the Offeror’s representations and certifications do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, Offerors must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation.

(End of provision FAR 52.212-1)

(IX) Provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this procurement. The evaluation criteria included in paragraph (a) of the provision are as follows:

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Government intends to award a single firm fixed price purchase order (PO) from this solicitation utilizing simplified acquisitions procedures in accordance with FAR part 13. The

Government reserves the right not to award a PO and to make an award without exchanges based solely upon initial quotes. Contractors are strongly encouraged to submit their best technical solutions and price in response to this RFQ.

Basis for Award:

The Government will award a firm fixed price purchase order resulting from this solicitation once the Contractor is verified as responsible and the quotation conforming to the solicitation is found most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria factors: 1) Technical Capability and 2) Price. Technical Capability is more important than price. As non-price factors become more equal among offerors, price may become the determining factor.

An Offeror's failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the Offeror's lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

Once the government determines the apparent successful quoter, the government reserves the right to communicate with only that contractor to address any remaining issues, if necessary, and finalize a purchase order with that apparent successful quoter. These issues may include technical and price. If the parties cannot successfully address any remaining issues, as determined pertinent at the sole discretion of the Contracting Officer, the government reserves the right to communicate with the next best-suited contractor based on the original analysis and address any remaining issues.

Evaluation Factors:

Factor 1- Technical Capability:

This procurement is for commercial items. Therefore, prototypes or demonstration models will not be accepted. Additionally, used or refurbished instruments will not be considered.

Evaluation of technical capability shall be limited to the information provided in the quotation and will reflect the Government’s assessed level of confidence that the quoter will successfully perform the requirement.

Evaluation of this factor is a subjective evaluation of the vendor's demonstrated resources, capability, and methods to meet all requirements. This may include the authority to provide the required items (i.e. authorized dealer/seller/reseller), authority to provide maintenance and repair services, and the capability and method to successfully meet all the requirements in the statement of work. Quotations that do not demonstrate that the proposed equipment meets or exceeds all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offeror’s technical description and/or product literature does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not meet the requirement.

Evaluation Rating The evaluation of the non-price factor (Factors 1) may be done holistically with a rating scale of "high confidence," "some confidence," and "low confidence," representing the Government’s confidence that the Quoter is technically capable.

Confidence Ratings:

High Confidence The Government has high confidence that the

Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing with little or no Government intervention.

Some Confidence The Government has some confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing with some Government intervention.

Low Confidence The Government has low confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach or will be successful in performing even with Government intervention.

All quotes shall be evaluated by the Department in accordance with the factors and criteria established above.

Factor 2 - Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. A price realism analysis will not be conducted. Prices must be proportionate with the technical portion of the quotation.

(End of provision 52.212-2)

(X) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), with its offer. The offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) Web site accessed through http://www.sam.gov/portal. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (u) of this provision.

(XI) The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), applies to this acquisition.

(XIII) The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders -- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023), applies to this acquisition and the following additional FAR clauses cited are applicable to the acquisition:

52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application 52.209-6, Protecting the Government’s Interest when Subcontracting with Contractor’s Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation 52.219-33, Non-Manufacturer Rule 52.222-3, Convict Labor 52.222-19, Child Labor – Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities

52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (E.O. 13513) 52.225-1, Buy American Act - Supplies 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases 52.229-12, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors

(XIIV) The following additional contract requirement(s) and additional terms and conditions are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices:

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference.

All FAR clauses may be viewed at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far All Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clauses may be viewed at https://www.acquisition.gov/car

PROVISIONS

FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) at the time of quotation submission and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any resultant contract. Refusal to register shall forfeit award.

FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting FAR 52.204-22, Alternative Line Item Proposal FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services – Representation FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (OCT 2022)(DEVIATION DEC 2022) FAR 52.225-2, Buy American Certificate FAR 52.225-18, Place Of Manufacture FAR 52.225-25, Prohibition On Contracting With Entities Engaging In Certain Activities Or Transactions Relating To Iran-Representation And Certifications FAR 52.229-11, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation.

FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference FAR 52.252-5, Authorized Deviations in Provisions

CAR 1352.233-70, AGENCY PROTESTS

(a) An agency protest may be filed with either (1) the Contracting Officer, or (2) at a level above the Contracting Officer, with the agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg.

16,651 (April 6, 1999).

(b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: Angela Hitt, Contracting Officer 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(c) Agency protests filed with the Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO)

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(d) A complete copy of all agency protest, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.

(e) Service upon the Contract law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. , Washington, DC 20230. FAX: (202) 482-5858.

(End of provision)

CAR 1352.233-71, GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTEST

(a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed.

(b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims.

(c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20230

FAX: (202) 482-5858

(End of provision)

CLAUSES:

FAR 52.203-12, Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance FAR 52.204-21, Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems FAR 52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations FAR 52.247-34, FOB Destination FAR 52.247-48, F.O.B. Destination – Evidence of Shipment FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference

FAR 52.252-6 Authorized Deviations in Clauses CAR 1352.201-70, Contracting Officer’s Authority CAR 1352.201-72, Contracting Officer’s Representative CAR 1352.209-72 Restrictions Against Disclosure CAR 1352.209-73, Compliance with the Laws CAR 1352.209-74, Organizational Conflict of Interest

(End of clause)

CAR 1352.246-70 PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE (APR 2010)

(a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract.

(b) The place of acceptance will be:

Building 301 Shipping and Receiving 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

(End of clause)

NIST LOCAL-39 MARKING/PACKING INSTRUCTIONS

(1) If the total contract/order includes multiple quantities of the same or like item(s), segregated as separate CLIN/Item numbers, deliverables shall be packed accordingly. Each individual Package / container in the shipment shall include deliverables on a per-CLIN or Item basis.

(2) For each shipment made under this contract/order, the Contractor shall furnish itemized packing list(s), enumerating the specific contents of each shipping container and what specific individual components constitute a full and complete "unit" for each bid item. The packing list shall include the brief description of each item found in the Schedule. If more than one container is required for each unit, each container should be marked accordingly, e.g., "Box 1 of 2," "Box 2 of 2," and the boxes, where feasible, should be taped or shrink-wrapped together as an issuable unit.

(3) The contract number AND CONTRACT LINE-ITEM NUMBER (CLIN) OR ORDER ITEM NUMBER shall be placed on the exterior of all containers.

NIST LOCAL-53 CONTRACT PERFORMANCE DURING CHANGES IN NIST OPERATING

STATUS

All contractors performing work on active contracts at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campuses and/or working in NIST workspaces should go to the www.nist.gov website and under the “About NIST” tab, click on “Visit”. This site includes information about campus access and security information, identification requirements, parking information, and more.

Contractor personnel are quired to check the appropriate campus operating status and personnel requirements at https://www.nist.gov/campus-status daily prior to arriving on site. All personnel must adhere to the requirements set forth in the operating status.

Unless otherwise stated in the contract terms and conditions, normal days of business operations are Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. However, throughout the contract period of performance, there may be circumstances beyond the control of NIST that will impact normal days of business operations such as inclement weather, power outages, etc.

In circumstances such as these, the contractor must call the appropriate NIST campus status line to verify the operating status:

Gaithersburg Campus Operating Status Line:

(301) 975-8000

(800) 437-4385 x8000 (toll free)

Boulder Campus Operating Status Line:

(303) 497-4000

(303) 497-3000 option 2

In the event of a lapse in appropriates, access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems, will be limited to excepted personnel for both Federal employees and contractor personnel. If performance of the contract is onsite and/or requires Government interaction, unless the contractor has been, or is notified that it is required to work under an excepted status, the contractor must stop work. The work stoppage shall remain in effect until the lapse is resolved and notification is provided via the NIST website at www.nist.gov (banner on front page) and/or the NIST operating status line(s). Additionally, contractors are encouraged to monitor public broadcasts or the Officer of Personnel Management’s website at www.opm.gov for the Federal Government operating status.

NIST will provide notification to all contractors that are determined to have excepted status. All excepted contractors are required to continue performance and communicate with the appointed Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for further guidance, or NIST Contracting Officer is a COR is not appointed.

Contractors with active supply or service contracts that are fully funded at the time of the contract award and do not require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel in a manner that would not cause the Government to include additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue performance.

Please note that in all circumstances that impact operations on the NIST campuses, contractors are expected to follow all direction and guidance provided by NIST authorities.

NIST LOCAL-54 ELECTRONIC BILLING INSTRUCTIONS

NIST requires that Invoice/Voucher submissions are sent electronically via email to

INVOICE@NIST.GOV.

Each Invoice or Voucher submitted shall include the following:

(1) Contract number;

(2) Contractor name and address;

(3) Unique entity identifier (see www.sam.gov for the designated entity for establishing unique entity identifiers);

(4) Date of invoice;

(5) Invoice number;

(6) Amount of invoice and cumulative amount invoiced to-date;

(7) Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN);

(8) Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies/services delivered;

(9) Prompt payment discount terms, if offered; and

(10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS

FOR EXISTING CONTRACT ACTIONS INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM-

ALTERNATE I (DEC 2022)

Upon written notice from the contracting officer the following supersedes all other instructions for the submission of payment requests. Accordingly, following written notice payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP).

"Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable payment request or invoicing instructions, Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is https://www.ipp.gov.

Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice: SEE NIST LOCAL-54 for documentation requirements.

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register, access, and use IPP for submitting payment requests. If not already enrolled, the Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email within three to five business days of the addition of the contract award to IPP. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email:

IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov or phone (866) 973-3131.

If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting payment requests, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation. Contact the contracting officer for more information on submitting a waiver request.

(End of clause)

(XIV) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is NOT applicable.

(XV) All quotations shall be delivered electronically by the specified close date and time in paragraph VIII above to Ian Robinson, Contract Specialist, at ian.robinson@nist.gov and Contracting Officer Angela.Hitt@nist.gov.

(XVI) For information regarding this solicitation, contact the Contract Specialist, Ian Robinson at ian.robinson@nist.gov.