PPE NIH Wide Requirement

This is a notice issued by the Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (OLAO), Office of Acquisitions, NIH, DHHS, UNITED STATES.

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. There is no solicitation available at this time.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding : (1) the availability and capability of small business sources who provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (see attached specifications for more details); (2) small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your response to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method.   

The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, with small business sizes in parentheses below are:

• 339112—Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing    (1,000 employees)
• 339113—Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing     (750 employees)
• 339114 – Dental Equipment and Supplies                             (750 employees)
• 423990  - Personal safety devices and supplies(e.g. eye shields, face shields, nonelectric respirators)    Merchant wholesalers                                                                     (100 employees)
• 423450 Medical, Dental and hospital Equipment and Supplies Wholesale, whose small business standard         (200 employees)

It is expected that the future requirement will be a multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for PPE.

Attached to this Sources Sought is a draft Specifications Document as well as Shipping, Packaging, Marking, and Inspection – Acceptance Guidance.

Responses must reference and include the following:

(1) Name and Address of the vendor,

(2) NAICS Code, Size and type of business (WOSB, 8(a), etc)

(3) Point of contact with name, title, phone, fax and email,

(4) UEI number,

(5) A statement whether the vendor is a manufacturer and/or reseller of the required PPE

(6) Listing of vendor’s GSA Schedule, VA Schedule and/or Governmentwide IDIQ (if available) that can meet the requirement

(7) Vendor's capability statement (no more than 5 pages) addressing the draft specifications.

(8) Vendor’s Product List.  Product list must state where the product is manufactured, as well as where the components of the product are from.  If the offeror is a reseller, please state the manufacturer of the product, as well as manufacturer business size under the NAICS Code.

(6) List of organizations to whom the same or similar type of service that have been previously (or currently) provided to include contract/order number, dollar value, brief description, and the phone number/email address of the customer and contracting specialist/officer (please include at least 3, but no more than 5),

(7) Questions/comments concerning the draft specifications (this will not count towards the 5-page limitation).  Please note - these will not be answered but will assist NIH in creating a solicitation for this requirement.

(8)  Fill out Sources Sought Attachment 3

This requirement is subject to the Make Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in America Act and will have HHSAR Clause 352.225-70 Made in America – Personal Protective Equipment:

MADE IN AMERICA-PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (FEB 2023)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

Component, as applied to an item described in subsection (b) of this clause, means an article, material, or supply incorporated directly into personal protective equipment.

Domestic personal protective equipment, as applied to an item described in subsection (b) of this clause, means personal protective equipment, including the materials and components thereof, that is grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States.

Foreign-made domestic personal protective equipment, as applied to an item described in subsection (b) of this clause, means personal protective equipment that is assembled outside the United States containing only materials and components that are grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States.

Foreign personal protective equipment means personal protective equipment other than domestic personal protective equipment or foreign-made domestic personal protective equipment.

Personal protective equipment, as applied to an item described in subsection (b) of this clause, means surgical masks, respirator masks and powered air purifying respirators and required filters, face shields and protective eyewear, gloves, disposable and reusable surgical and isolation gowns, head and foot coverings, and other gear or clothing used to protect an individual from the transmission of disease.

United States, as applied to an item described in subsection (b) of this clause, means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions of the United States.

(b) The Contractor shall deliver only domestic personal protective equipment, unless it specified delivery of foreign-made domestic personal protective equipment in the provision of the solicitation entitled “Made in America Certificate – Personal Protective Equipment."

(End of clause)

ALL INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE OF March 20, 2023, by 2PM EST. Please submit Capability Statements and/or comments/questions via email to Zedekiah J. Worsham at worshamz@od.nih.gov.   

THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE ACQUISITION STRATEGY SUCH AS INDIAN-OWNED ENTERPRISE SET ASIDES, TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE, ANY OTHER SOCIO-ECONOMIC SET ASIDE, OR UNRESTRICTED.

If this requirement is set-aside, FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting will apply.

Disclaimer and Important Notes.

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. This is not a Request for Proposals/Request for Quotes. The Government DOES NOT intend to award a contract based on responses under this announcement. Interested parties shall not be reimbursed for costs associated with preparation of their responses. Any proprietary information should be so marked. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed, to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the services.  Responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to any possible future solicitation.