Sole Source for Orders Exceeding MPT up to SAT_Redacted.pdf

www.uscis.gov

Rev: 10/13/2023

Sole Source (including brand name) Justification, using Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Exceeding the Micro-purchase Threshold and up to the Simplified

Acquisition Threshold, Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Directorate OPEX Falcon Scanner Maintenance & Software Licenses

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting, proposes to enter into a contract on behalf of Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Directorate for OPEX Falcon Scanner Maintenance and associated licenses on a noncompetitive basis.

2. Nature and/or description of the item/service being procured and anticipated cost.

USCIS intends to procure on a sole source basis post warranty maintenance service for OPEX Falcon+ scanners and applicable licenses for five (5) Falcon scanners. Required maintenance includes on-call service and preventative maintenance including parts and labor for normal wear and tear. This requirement is to provide maintenance services for five (5) existing OPEX Falcon+ scanners that are supporting the USCIS Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Directorate. The scanners were awarded under contract 70SBUR22F00000292 which included one-year of maintenance, through December 31, 2023. The scanners are located at the California Service Center (CSC), Nebraska Service Center (NSC) and Texas Service Center (TSC). The maintenance service includes six preventative maintenance visits/inspections per scanner per year and replacement of all parts necessitated by normal wear and tear. Replacement parts are OPEX certified parts. The service also includes unlimited calls with a 4-hour response time. The purpose is to ensure the scanners remain operational and experience little or no downtime as a result of requiring repair. In addition annual license fees are included as follows:

a. Barcode annual license

b. VRS Technology annual license

c. Scanlink annual license

d. CertainScan Edit and Transform annual license

e. Certain Scan annual software license (for customer PC)

f. MICR+ annual license (beginning in Option Year 1)

g. Certain Scan PDF24 annual license (beginning in Option Year 1)

Sole Source (including brand name) Justification, using SAP, Exceeding the MPT and up to the SAT, OPEX Falcon Scanner Maintenance & Software Licenses

The contractor is OPEX Corporation, 305 Commerce Drive, Moorestown, NJ 08057. The contract type is firm-fixed-price. OPEX provided a market research quote for the price of maintenance and associated licenses as follows:

Period Total

Base Year

12 mo.

$69,260

Option Year 1 12 mo. $88,020 $157,280

3. Identification of the authority and rationale.

The proposed procurement will utilize simplified acquisition procedures and will be awarded on a sole source basis in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and as specified below.

The proposed procurement will utilize simplified acquisition procedures and will be awarded on a sole source basis in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) only one source reasonably available.

The proposed action is for a firm fixed-price purchase order issued directly to OPE Corporation.

Only one source reasonably available:

☐ Urgent and compelling circumstances exists. The nature of the requirement has been deemed urgent due to unusual and compelling circumstances. Following competitive procedures would result in unacceptable delays resulting in serious injury to the Government.

☐ Exclusive licensing agreement or restrictive rights exists. The source has one or more of the following: an established exclusive licensing agreement, proprietary data, limited rights in data, patent rights, OEM required certifications or OEM authorized reseller, copyrights or secret processes with regard to the supplies or services required.

☐ Brand name. The source has one or more of the following: an established exclusive licensing agreement, proprietary data, limited rights in data, patent rights, OEM required certifications or OEM authorized reseller, copyrights or secret processes with regard to the supplies or services required.

☐ Compatibility to existing systems or equipment. The required supplies or service must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing systems or equipment and the source is uniquely qualified to meet the requirement.

☒ Other. Only one source is capable.

Rationale:

OPEX Corporation authorizes resellers and third parties to sell their equipment and maintenance agreements on their behalf. The contract which procured the scanners which included the first year

Sole Source (including brand name) Justification, using SAP, Exceeding the MPT and up to the SAT, OPEX of maintenance was awarded to a third party. OPEX has not authorized a third party to act on their behalf to perform maintenance on OPEX equipment and they are the sole authorized source for parts and service on its equipment. The scanners requiring maintenance are high-speed digital scanners used for the intake and processing of immigration applications/petitions and play an important role in the SCOPS mission. The scanners use proprietary service diagnostic software that OPEX has not released or licensed to third parties. Without the proper diagnostic tools other contractors would likely not be able to diagnose issues as quickly, resulting in longer downtime and increased costs to the agency. The replacement parts that OPEX uses are OPEX certified parts that are pre-tested to quality standards and meet the manufacturer’s specifications. OPEX does not distribute parts through third parties. Other contractors would not have access to these parts and as a result would not be able to repair the scanners if replacement parts are required. Any downtime of the scanners would limit SCOPS’ ability to scan the applications/petitions which would cause a delay in processing, potentially creating a backlog of applications/petitions. It is imperative that the scanners experience as limited downtime as possible.

Market research was conducted by searching the internet for OPEX Falcon maintenance. No sources were found other than OPEX. OPEX Corporation confirmed that they do not authorize third parties to perform maintenance on OPEX equipment. In addition the only OPEX maintenance requirements found on SAM.gov were procured on a sole source basis to OPEX.

4. The anticipated price will be determined fair and reasonable based on one or more of the price analysis techniques described below in accordance with FAR Part 13.106-3(a)(2).

☐ Market Research;

☐ Comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases;

☐ Current price list;

☐ Comparison with similar items in a related industry;

☒ Comparison to Independent Government estimate;

☐ Contracting Officer’s personal knowledge; or ☐ Other reasonable basis.

The contracting officer determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on a comparison of prices to contracts for similar services. USCIS has existing contracts for scanner maintenance.

5. Other Information.

• USCIS intends to comply with the public display and synopsis requirements in FAR 13.105(a) unless an exception in FAR 5.202 applies.

• USCIS will post the justification with the solicitation as required in FAR 13.106-1(b)(3) and 5.102(a)(6).)

Sole Source (including brand name) Justification, using SAP, Exceeding the MPT and up to the SAT, OPEX