Redacted FAR 13 - Sole Source - Brand Name Justification signed.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Eastern Region Acquisition Division Norfolk Federal Building 200 Granby Street, Room 815 Norfolk, VA 23510

(Tailor this determination for the specific requirement, as applicable; however the final product should not include any of the blue text, which is only included to guide document preparation.)

BRAND NAME/SINGLE SOURCE DETERMINATION USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP)

FOR AN ACTION NOT EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1))

NC-NJ2000-21-00189

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Marine Chart Division (MCD) and Office of Coast Survey (OCS).

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs (including the estimated value).

The requirement is to provide 35 concurrent licenses of SevenCs Analyzer S-58 validation software that will validate NOAA’s Electronic Navigational Charts to the International Hydrographic Organization’s S-58 and S-57 standard.

3. Identification of the single source or the brand name to be solicited.

SevenCs GmbH Atlantic Haus Zirkusweg 1 20359 Hamburg, Germany

4. Supporting rationale. Only one source or brand name is reasonably available as detailed below:

□ Brand Name – This particular brand name is essential to the requirement and market research indicates similar products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet agency needs.

This software package has been updated to the latest version of the IHO S-58 validation checks which has introduced a new error classification called “critical”. If an ENC is validated and returns a “critical” error it must be fixed prior to release to the public as it has been established by the International Hydrographic Organizations that ENCs having “critical” errors may not work properly within a navigation system.

The market for third party ENC validation software tools is limited to just two different types of software – dkart Inspector and SevenCs Analyzer. MCD has been using the dkart inspector package for over 10 years, but with the need for adding teleworking capabilities MCD has recognized that it needs to make the capital investment to switch to an ENC validation package that will allow for telework capabilities and the ability to transition the remainder of our cartographic workforce to ENC production. In addition, SevenCs has updated their software to the latest version of the IHO S-58 standard, thus enabling MCD to produce compliant ENCs. As noted above, S-58 has introduced a new classification that will enable MCD to catch “critical” errors that if un-caught may cause the data to load improperly in shipboard navigation systems.

The software that SevenCs produces meets MCDs requirements by having the ability to utilize a concurrent license structure – thus allowing MCD to reduce its license foot print and is updated to the latest IHO standards. SevenCs has developed this software and does not use a reseller network.

This software and license is proprietary and no other company has the source code to provide this product, licenses, or maintenance services.

5. Market Research.

Market research was conducted by the Marine Chart Division to identify available sources and to evaluate the availability of the marketplace to meet the requirement as follows:

• The marketplace for independent ENC Validation Software against S-58 is limited to two companies – Hydroservice dkart Inspector and SevenCs Analyzer

• MCD already utilizes dkart Inspector and has found that there are certain limitations to this software package.

The company is slow to update the software to conform to the latest release of

IHOstandards o The software is not conducive to telework

**Signatures shall remain on the final page.

6. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

BARBER.JOHN.EELLS.1105249574 Digitally signed by BARBER.JOHN.EELLS.1105249574

_ Date: 2020.11.30 13:42:40 -05'00' 11/30/2020 _

John Barber Date Office of Coast Survey/ COR

7. Determination (Required)

I hereby determine that the circumstances of this action deem only one source is reasonably available. This determination is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

PARR.KELLY.DENISE.1201231406 Digitally signed by PARR.KELLY.DENISE.1201231406

Date: 2020.12.04 12:42:38 -05'00' _ Contracting Officer Date