Solicitation_1333ND26QNB640414-8-20-26.docx

BLOOD BANK SAMPLE SERVICES– 1333ND26QNB640414

(I) This is a solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2026-01 dated March 13, 2026 and the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), supplemented by the Department of Commerce Acquisition Policy.

(II) The solicitation number is 1333ND26QNB640414 and this solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This acquisition is being solicited as 100% Small Business Set-aside.

(III) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the RFO.

(IV) The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 621511 with a small business size standard of $41.5 Million,

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

TOTAL:

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

Attachment #1: STATEMENT OF WORK/REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT Attachment #2: Applicable Provisions and Clauses

(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) Quoters/Contractors must possess an ACTIVE registration in the System for Award Management, www.SAM.gov, when submitting a quotation and shall continue to hold an active registration until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any purchase order or contract resulting from this solicitation. This acquisition office will verify that quoters have an active registration through www.sam.gov upon receipt of the quotation. If the SAM.gov registration is not active, the quotation will not be considered for award.

(IX) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, 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 11:00am Eastern Time, August 28, 2026. E-mail quotations shall be submitted directly to the Contract Specialist at rene.edwards@nist.gov and the Contracting Officer at robert.singman@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 both the Contract Specialist, and the Contracting Officer, listed above. Questions should be received no later than 3 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-III discussed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Quoter’s name, UEI number, and CAGE code in the cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location.

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

The quotation shall be typed, with one inch margins, using a fixed font (Times New Roman preferred), a minimum 12 point type (or equivalent), unreduced in size, on 8-1/2" by 11" paper, not exceeding 10 pages, single sided, exclusive of Volume I and III, resumes, representations and certifications, past performance references, and other administrative documentation such as a one-page cover page and table of contents or list of tables/figures. Actual tables/graphics/figures are included in the page limit. Any pages more than 10 will be disregarded and will not be included in the quotation evaluation. If the Quoter uses a different format (font size, margin, etc.), the government reserves the right to adjust the proposal to fit the parameters of the format as stated in the RFQ, and if this results in the proposal exceeding the page limitations in any one area, the government will not consider those excess pages.

Volume I - Technical Quotation:

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

Factor 1: 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). In addition, the contractor needs to address their ability to collect, screen, and deliver samples within the 72-hour window. How the vendor will verify the informed consent protocols meet NIST requirements for forensic data sharing and SRM redistribution. Additional Consideration will be provided based on the offeror’s has established current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) processes or "GMP-like" quality management systems for the collection and handling of human biological specimens will be rated more favorably.

Factor 2: Experience

The offeror will provide the organizational experience in providing high-quality human biological specimens (Leukopaks and Whole Blood) to federal, academic, or forensic research institutions. The offeror should focus on the depth and breadth of experience in maintaining cold-chain integrity and donor data management.

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.

Factor 3: Past Performance

The Government will review the offeror’s record of performing similar services/providing similar products. NIST will assess the quality of product, timeliness of delivery, and business relations. The Government may use information obtained from the offeror's quote, CPARS, or other sources. Offerors without a record of relevant past performance will receive a "Neutral" rating.

Volume II - Price Quotation:

Factor 4: Price 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) and tariffs, if applicable. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due.

Volume III – Terms and Conditions:

The offeror shall review the provision and clauses attachment and complete any required information as record via a separate volume response to this solicitation.

Note: System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in this solicitation. Contracting officers will rely on representations from offers based on provisions in the solicitation. Entities are not required to, nor are they able to, update their entity registration to remove these representations in SAM.

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions:

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

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.

(X) 52.212-2 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 RFO Part 12. The Government reserves the right not to award a PO and to make an award without discussions based solely upon initial quotes.

Basis for Award:

The Government intends to award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) task order resulting from this solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein to the responsible offeror whose quotation is conforming to the solicitation, results in the best value to the Government, non-price and price factors considered. NIST reserves the right to make award to other than the lowest-priced offeror or to the offeror ranked highest technically, if it determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government.

The Government intends to make a single award and reserves the right to make no award as a result of this solicitation.

Non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance demonstration, technical capabilities of the web platform and data output and reports. The non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. However, price remains a significant factor and will increase in importance if technical ratings become more equal.

An offeror’s failure to quote a price for base period and option period may be considered indicative of the offerors lack of understanding of the Government’s requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

An offers failure to quote all of the part numbers listed above may be considered indicative of the offerors lack of understanding of the Government’s requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

The Government does not intend to enter discussion and may award a task order on the basis of initial offers received, without discussions. Therefore, each initial quotation shall contain the offeror’s best terms. Nonetheless, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is in the best interest of the Government.

Evaluation Factors:

Factor 1: Technical Capability

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s technical approach to fulfilling the requirements in the Statement of Work (SOW). This includes:

· Demonstrated ability to collect, screen, and deliver samples within the 72-hour window.

· Verification that informed consent protocols meet NIST requirements for forensic data sharing and SRM redistribution.

· Additional Consideration: Offerors that demonstrate established current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) processes or "GMP-like" quality management systems for the collection and handling of human biological specimens will be rated more favorably.

Factor 2: Experience

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s organizational experience in providing high-quality human biological specimens (Leukopaks and Whole Blood) to federal, academic, or forensic research institutions. The evaluation will focus on the depth and breadth of experience in maintaining cold-chain integrity and donor data management.

Factor 3: Past Performance

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s record of performing similar services/providing similar products. NIST will assess the quality of product, timeliness of delivery, and business relations. The Government may use information obtained from the offeror's quote, CPARS, or other sources. Offerors without a record of relevant past performance will receive a "Neutral" rating.

Factor4 Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be entirely compatible with the technical portion of the quotation.

(End of provision)