Redacted Brand Name DnF for OTFOC (AMENDMENT 0001).pdf

Template last updated 4/23/2018

DETERMINATION & FINDINGS FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

(ACTIONS SAT AND BELOW)

BRAND NAME SOLE SOURCE

1. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROCUREMENT: Three (3) Tektronix-brand Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes (MSOs) (model number MSO46B - MSO46B 4-BW-500), required for in support of Army Research Laboratory (ARL) mission programs.

2. PROPOSED CONTRACTOR/MANUFACTURER:

Manufacturer:

Tektronix, Inc.

13725 SW Karl Braun Dr PO Box 500 Beaverton, OR 97077 CAGE Code: 80009 Unique Entity ID: K9G2C434ARK8 Large Business

Potential Authorized Resellers:

Electro Rent Corporation 8511 Fallbrook Ave, Ste 200 West Hills, CA 91304-3264 CAGE Code: 1K4J0 Unique Entity ID: TJL9EA8H9XF5 Large Business

Fortronic Corporation Doing Business As (DBA): Test Equipment Depot 5 Commonwealth Ave, Unit 6 Woburn, MA 01801-1069 CAGE Code: 1EZE9 Unique Entity ID: FUN1ZFUJ3GM9 Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)

Mouser Electronics, Inc 1000 North Main Street Mansfield, TX 76063-1514 CAGE Code: 1JN02 Unique Entity ID: KNACWPW812J7 Large Business

Transcat, Inc.

35 Vantage Point Drive Rochester, NY 14624-1151 CAGE Code: 0ACA5 Unique Entity ID: NAA7LGTT6WA4 Large Business

Value-Tronics International LLC

1675 Cambridge Dr Elgin, IL 60123-1144 CAGE Code: 4AAA0 Unique Entity ID: T2V2BJ4RWQD7 Small Business

Testforce USA, Inc.

4552 Sunbelt Dr Addison, TX 75001-5131 CAGE Code: 7VPU9 Unique Entity ID: PG22HN3Q3JM6 Small Business

Technical Communities, Inc.

1840 Gateway Dr, Ste 150 San Mateo, CA 94404-4028 CAGE Code: 1RPN6 Unique Entity ID: MCQUYM6GHNJ5 Small Business

TestEquity LLC 6100 Condor Dr Moorpark, CA 93021-2608 CAGE Code: 4JZC3 Unique Entity ID: NSDHS6ECR633 Large Business

TEVET LLC

1113 Tusculum Blvd, Ste 108 Greenville, TN 37745-4038 CAGE Code: 34SR4 Unique Entity ID: CQLFMKPGRUQ3 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) HUBZone Small Business

3. ESTIMATED TOTAL VALUE:

4. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL

AND OPEN COMPETITION: The statutory authority permitting sole source is RFO 12.102(a) Restricting Competition:

_X_ Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

___ Unusual and Compelling Urgency ___ Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert

Services ___ International Agreement ___ Authorized or Required by Statute ___ National Security ___ Public Interest

3. System and Spare Parts Interchangeability: Various laboratories within ARL use similar Tektronix oscilloscopes for their research. Procuring the same brand ensures that high-value peripheral components, probes, interfaces, and critical spare parts can be immediately shared, swapped, and interchanged between different laboratories as testing requirements dictate. It is critical to ensure interchangeability of systems and spare parts with other laboratories within ARL, which simplifies maintenance and support.

Tektronix, Inc., the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), is the only source available that meets each of the Government’s three (3) primary requirements:

1. Only Tektronix-branded systems can ensure full compatibility with the existing oscilloscopes. Because the new oscilloscopes must operate in tandem with the

’s established suite of hardware, any new equipment must seamlessly interface with the native communication protocols and hardware architectures of the existing fleet. Since these protocols and architectures are proprietary, no other brand of oscilloscopes are capable of achieving the necessary integration with the pre-existing Tektronix hardware configuration.

2. Only Tektronix-branded systems have access to the existing fleet’s proprietary Tektronix software suite. Since multiple Tektronix systems are used simultaneously for the , any new equipment must be able to communicate with and utilize the same software to meet the Government’s critical requirements for time synchronization and live, multi-unit data analysis.

• Time synchronization relies on a proprietary protocol within the Tektronix software and hardware ecosystem, ensuring that the internal clocks of all connected units are aligned to the microsecond or nanosecond level. A non-Tektronix oscilloscope lacks the specific hardware and software receptors to receive, interpret, and align its internal clock with these proprietary Tektronix timing signals. Therefore, it is impossible to guarantee that its measurements are taken at the exact same instant as those from the Tektronix units, which would make the combined data unreliable and scientifically useless for reconstructing a rapid sequence of events.

• Live, multi-unit data analysis relies on a proprietary language of specific command sets and data formats that only Tektronix devices are designed to understand and respond to. An oscilloscope from another brand would not recognize these commands and therefore could not be integrated into the live-viewing session, rendering it invisible to the analysis software and preventing its data from being plotted alongside the others.

3. Third, only Tektronix-branded systems provide system and spare parts interchangeability within the existing fleet of oscilloscopes. Multiple research divisions and laboratories across ARL have standardized their experimental setups on similar Tektronix oscilloscope architectures. Due to Tektronix’s proprietary hardware and software configurations, only Tektronix-branded systems can ensure full interchangeability and compatibility with the existing oscilloscopes.

Failure to procure the Tektronix MSO46B - MSO46B 4-BW-500 oscilloscopes would severely degrade the Government’s testing capabilities, resulting in compromised data integrity, the waste of high-value materials, and unacceptable schedule delays. If the Government were to procure a different brand of oscilloscope, the would face the following critical mission failures and negative outcomes:

1. Compromised Data Integrity and Loss of Synchronization: The core mission of the requires

This is only possible if all data points are flawlessly time-synchronized across the entire fleet of test equipment. Because non-Tektronix oscilloscopes cannot communicate with the existing Tektronix proprietary software, introducing a different brand would break this synchronization. Researchers would be unable to align timestamps perfectly between the existing hardware and the new units, rendering multi-point test data disjointed, inaccurate, and ultimately useless for

2. Waste of Resources and High-Value Materials: Currently, Tektronix's proprietary software allows personnel to plot and analyze data live across multiple units as experiments are being conducted. If non-Tektronix equipment is procured, this real-time feedback loop would be severed. Researchers would be forced to rely on offline, post-test analysis to determine if sensors functioned properly or if the test setup was valid. Discovering an invalid trial or sensor failure after an experiment has concluded means that the time, effort, and expensive, high-value target materials consumed during that are wasted.

3. Severe Operational and Schedule Delays: Attempting to integrate an incompatible, non-Tektronix brand into the existing hardware architecture would cause immediate and persistent data measurement delays. The Government estimates that the inability to utilize automated multi-unit software capabilities, combined with the need to manually reconcile disjointed data from mismatched systems, would cost researchers over the lifecycle of the equipment. This would directly delay the delivery of

4. Creation of Maintenance Silos and Increased Support Costs: Procuring non- Tektronix equipment would completely negate the requirement for system and spare parts interchangeability. ARL laboratories have standardized on Tektronix systems to allow for the rapid sharing of expensive probes, interfaces, and spare parts. To maintain the current level of operational capability and synchronization with a different brand, the Government would be forced to replace s entire existing fleet of functional Tektronix oscilloscopes, an inventory valued at . Introducing a disparate brand would isolate the into a hardware silo. When a component fails, researchers would no longer be able to swap parts with neighboring ARL labs to maintain operational uptime. This would force the Government to build a separate repository of proprietary spare parts and accessories for the non-standard oscilloscopes, thus increasing maintenance downtime and incurring duplicative costs.

As the OEM, Tektronix is the only manufacturer that produces oscilloscopes capable of meeting the Government’s precise compatibility and technical requirements. However, multiple authorized resellers of the Tektronix MSO46B - MSO46B 4-BW-500 oscilloscopes have been identified, including Electro Rent Corporation, Fortronic Corporation, Mouser Electronics, Inc., Transcat, Inc., Value-Tronics International LLC, Testforce USA, Inc., Technical Communities, Inc., TestEquity LLC, and TEVET LLC. As such, competition among the OEM and its authorized resellers will be facilitated. If the is required to replace its entire fleet of oscilloscopes in the future, full and open competition will be utilized to determine a vendor that can fulfill the Government's technical requirements.

___ Proprietary: A patent, copyright, or proprietary data limits competition. The proprietary data are described as follows:

___ Experimental Continuity: The item(s) must be consistent with prior materials in order to ensure experimental continuity. Describe the conditions that necessitate the use of experimental continuity:

___ Warranty: Purchasing item(s) from another manufacturer/provider would void existing warranty. Provide a brief explanation for the use of this reason and the impact that would occur if the item was purchased from another manufacturer/provider:

___ Direct Replacement: These are “direct replacement” parts/components for existing equipment and no substitutes exist.

___ Other reasoning to support a sole-source buy:

6. FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE DETERMINATION:

It has been determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable and that approval of this recommendation is in the best interest of the government. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.