N66001-21-Q-6120 – Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source to IHS Markit.

This synopsis is hereby issued in accordance with FAR Part 5.201. The purpose of this synopsis is to announce the Department of the Navy, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific's intent to award a commercial, Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order on a noncompetitive basis with IHS Markit. (CAGE: 6A920) of 15 Inverness Way E, Englewood, Colorado.

The requirement is for IHS's online subscription platforms. These platforms include IHS's Engineering Workbench, Haystack BOM Intelligence and Parts Intelligence subscriptions. The required period of performance will be for a twelve month base period and three, 12-month options.

The Government intends to negotiate solely with IHS under the authority of FAR Part 13.5, Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The justification is as follows. IHS is the only source that meets the Government's critical requirements. IHS allows library staff to select a custom set of standards accessible from one platform, with the ability to download a PDF. There are hundreds of organizations that develop standards. Each organization can provide thousands of standards with updates. A custom central database is required so that users can save time accessing what they need to download and to reduce costs and administrative burden. If the Government were to purchase all of the required collections directly from each organization, there would be a significant cost increase due to the administrative work for each purchase. Library staff would have to maintain access to several platforms. In addition, engineers would have to search each platform for required standards, which would take time.

IHS is the only source that integrates standards into parts and logistics information. Haystack is used to locate sources of supply for required parts. To ensure compliance, it is required to review any specifications, drawings and standard data correlating to the part. A central database with the capability to easily link to the standards outline for the part is required to save users time. Without this feature, users would have to search multiple platforms for the required information, then go back to the standards collection to find what they need.

Based on the approved Justification and Approval (J&A) (which will be posted after award), the agency has identified only one responsible source and no other supplier will satisfy agency requirements.

The applicable NAICS Code is 519130 "Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals" and the business size standard is 1,000 employees. Awarded contract N66001-21-P-6120 to IHS Markit for 1634510.87 on 2021-03-15.