Maintenance Agreement: AxioScan. Z1 Microscopes

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ) / COMBINED SYNOPSIS Solicitation Number: 75N98027Q00037

Notice Type: Combined Synopsis

Posted Date: October 26, 2026

Response Date: November 4, 2026, 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Set-Aside: None NAICS Code: 811210 –Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance
PSC Code: J066

GENERAL INFORMATION: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products/services prepared in accordance with the FAR Part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation, and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute, intends to contract on a sole source basis with Carl Zeiss Microscopy – One North Broadway – White Plains, NY 10601 to procure a Protect Premium Service Agreement for the following (3) Carl Zeiss’s Microscopes:
1.AxioScan.Z1 - 4631000263 -
Consisting of:
Protect premium Axio Scan.Z1 BF/FL+
2.AxioScan.Z1 - 4631001084
Consisting of:
Protect premium Axio Scan.Z1 BF/FL+
3.AxioScan.Z1 - 4646000304
Consisting of:
Protect premium Axio Scan.Z1 BF/FL+
PROTECT PREMIUM SERVICE AGREEMENT INCLUDES:
• One (1)* preventative maintenance inspection per agreement year.
• All labor and travel charges associated with conducting the PM inspection visit.
All labor and travel charges associated with any repair service visit in addition to the PM visit as may be required during the contract period.
• All covered replacement parts
• Discount on Consumable Purchases
• Discount on Instrument Upgrades
• Phone Support and Priority Scheduling of service requests
Scheduled and emergency service performed between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday excluding Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC holidays
• Factory trained Field Service Engineers
• Access to remote diagnostics, service, and technical assistance
• Software updates

Period of Performance:
This will be a Base Year Plus Two Option Periods Firm Fixed Price procurement.
Base Year/Year 1: February 1, 2027 – January 31, 2028
Option Period 1/Year 2: February 1, 2028 - January 31, 2029
Option Period 2/Year 3: February 1, 2029 - January 31, 2030
Cost for the Base and Option Periods must be included in the quote/response.

The Government intends to solicit from a single source pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, all quotations received by the closing response date will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any non-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) offerors to this solicitation must include enough information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing all products and service (s) needed. Responses must be accompanied by descriptive literature, warranties and/or other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the foregoing requirements.

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROPOSED SOLE-SOURCE ACQUISITION:
Only Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC has technical service representatives who receive comprehensive and on-going factory training and regular technical updates, as well as having direct access to original manufacturer’s parts to help maintain Carl Zeiss instruments in optimal condition. Only Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC technical service representatives can engage directly with the engineers that designed your Carl Zeiss instruments, to help resolve the most challenging technical support needs. Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC is the sole source for this requirement because utilizing unauthorized third-party technicians to service the proprietary AxioScan.Z1 Slide Scanning Microscope will immediately void Carl Zeiss maintenance agreement, compromise critical optional calibrations, and result in costly
out-of-pocket recertification fee.
The Carl Zeiss AxioScan.Z1 Slide Scanning Microscope was designed by the firm Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC. It requires professional maintenance including scheduled service visits and periodic part replacement. Continuous service requires a renewable service contract. The internal components and mechanisms of this instrument are proprietary and Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC is the only known source capable of fulfilling the service contract on these instruments.
Zeiss service engineers have the highest qualification for repairing Zeiss confocal microscopes. They are factory trained and certified in Germany on the latest models of the instrument. No other firm is known to have the certifications that are required to work on the Carl Zeiss AxioScan.Z1 Slide Scanning Microscope. The micro-metric alignment, focus-drift tracking, and high-throughput multi-axis robotics of the Axio Scan.Z1 require specialized calibration fixtures only issued to factory-employed, certified ZEISS field service engineers. Third-party maintenance providers utilize generic biomedical or imaging technicians who lack the specific training and diagnostic tools required to bring the system back to verified Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications.
Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC holds multiple patents on this instrument, and it is the sole source for replacement parts. The parts of the confocal instrument require special handling, and this handling needs approval of Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC to get the warranty replacements.
The requesting lab is constantly upgrading these confocal systems with newest versions of the proprietary software and hardware. These new pieces require fine-tuning, which is more cost effective if done as part of the service contract. The Axio Scan.Z1 operates exclusively on proprietary ZEISS ZEN software. Software patches, operating system compatibility updates, and advanced internal diagnostic software tools are intellectual property closely guarded by ZEISS. Third-party maintenance administrators or independent service organizations do not possess the legal licenses or technical capability to update, patch, or troubleshoot this software architecture.
Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC gives priority scheduling for emergency service to instruments under a service maintenance agreement and can be onsite within 72 hours of the initial service request, as required by this requirement. With over 100 users, the requesting lab cannot afford any instrument downtime.
A service agreement enables unlimited phone support for troubleshooting and onsite training of users by certified technical support engineers and application specialists. This access is instrumental to the requesting lab who often needs to design and install macros for new experiments or to perform specific analyses or streamline data collection. This service can only be provided by Zeiss qualified application specialists.
It is critical to the smooth operation and research of the requesting lab that the three (3) Carl Zeiss AxioScan.Z1 Slide Scanning Microscopes continue to be calibrated accurately and maintained according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Any deviation from the specifications could jeopardize the use of the system and affect the Core Facilities throughput. Therefore, it is crucial that the system is properly maintained with OEM parts by factory-trained certified technicians.

DELIVERY / PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:
National Institutes of Health 9000 Rockville Pike
Bldg. 37, Room 1023B Bethesda, MD 20892
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS :

Quotations shall be submitted electronically to: Tina Robinson@ Robinsti@mail.nih.gov Quotations are due no later than: November 4, 2026, prior to 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time
Late submissions may be rejected and not considered for award.

Reponse to the solcitation and any questions must be sent via email to robinsti@mail.nih.gov and must include solicitation# 75N98027Q00037 in the subject line of email.

PRE-AWARD PROVISION:
52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors- Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

APPLICABLE FAR CLAUSES:
52.203-17 - Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights
52.204-9 - Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel
52.204-13 - System for Award Management Maintenance
52.209-6 - Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment
52.209-10 - Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations
52.212-4 - Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services
52.217-9 - Option to Extend the Term of the Contract
52.222-3 - Convict Labor
52.222-19 - Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies
52.222-36 - Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities
52.222-50 - Combating Trafficking in Persons
52.222-90 - Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors
52.223-23 - Sustainable Products and Services
52.226-8 - Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving
52.232-33 - Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management
52.232-40 - Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors
52.233-3 - Protest After Award
52.233-4 - Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim
52.240-91 - Security Prohibitions and Exclusions
52.244-6 - Subcontracts for Commercial Products and Commercial Services
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 agency solicitations, including 52.223-22, Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction Goals—Representation. Agencies will not consider or use these representations. Entities are not required to, nor are they able to, update their entity registration to remove these representations in SAM
This award incorporates only the Government provided provisions and clauses and terms and conditions as stated in the award. Contractor provided terms and conditions, or agreement are for reference only. Should the terms of the Governments award document and the terms of the Contractor provided terms and conditions or agreement conflict, the Government provided provisions and clauses and terms and conditions shall control.