Renewal of Leica Microsystems Maintenance for the Division of Intramural Research

Introduction
This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.

Project Summary
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)’s Division of Intramural Research (DIR), Laboratory of Viral Diseases (LVD) (collectively “Program”) requires a service plan for various instruments and equipment (e.g., microscopes) manufactured by Leica Microsystems Inc. (“Leica”). These Leica instruments are constantly in use, and if they were disabled due to lack of maintenance or mechanical failure then the ability of the investigators in the DIR to conduct their research would be severely handicapped. To this end, the DIR requires a service agreement in place in the event an instrument should fail. Instrument downtime has a significant, adverse impact on research that must be reduced as much as possible. These instruments are critical to LVD research efforts and must be maintained at a high standard operability which requires preventative maintenance, calibrations, parts replacement, and software updates.

Specifically, NIAID, LVD is seeking maintenance service for the Leica Stellaris 8 AND SP8 WLL2 TAN equipment. The service of the Stellaris 8 and SP8 WLL2 TAM must meet the following minimum requirements:

1. Full coverage for OEM replacement parts, labor, and travel. Coverage includes all fees associated with repairs (labor and replacement parts) for any service or repairs performed.
2. Priority scheduling and onsite response for all repairs during the period of performance. Priority is defined as giving priority scheduling equal to a direct contract and guaranteeing the equivalent manufacturer’s priority onsite response. If you are a third-party service provider, the priority scheduling and/or response time, must be listed on your response. OEM Trained Certified Technicians required.
3. One (1) Preventive Maintenance Inspection to be performed during a twelve-month period to ensure the instruments are performing to factory specifications.
4. 48-hour targeted response time for onsite applications support (troubleshooting and repairs)
5. 48-hour targeted response time for all emergency repairs and all on site visits
6. Instrument control software and hardware proprietary updates (can occur during scheduled firmware updates upon request, and in conjunction with a scheduled Preventive Maintenance or Corrective Maintenance visit, including software revision. Provide End User License Agreement (EULA) if applicable.
7. Unlimited service visits during normal business days and hours, excluding Federal holidays.
8. Unlimited telephone support for instruments and applications and Remote Technical Support during business hours.
9. Field service representative trained to provide service in biosafety level 2 (BSL-2).

Anticipated Period of Performance
It is anticipated that an award will be made on or about March 1, 2024. The estimate total period of performance is from date of award through February 29, 2025.

Capability Statement/Information Sought
If your organization has the potential capacity to provide maintenance services for a Stellaris 8 and SP8 WLL2 TAM which meets the minimum salient characteristics listed above, please provide the following information:
1. Organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, UEI number
2. Type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, Other than Small, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code
3. Identification of any Best-in-Class contract vehicles including Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) (e.g., GSA schedule, NITAAC) they may possess or are aware of that would support this possible requirement. If your organization does not provide the products/services under a GWAC, please identify availability as OPEN MARKET ONLY.
4. Tailored capability statement addressing the organization’s capability to provide maintenance services that meet NIAID’s minimum salient characteristics. Capability document shall be no more than six pages.
5. Evidence that the organization is an authorized service provider or manufacturer of the instruments. Only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products and OEM Trained Certified Technicians are acceptable.

Submission Instructions
Interested businesses who consider themselves qualified to provide the above listed maintenance service for this project are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by December 22, 2023, at 3:00 PM EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice shall be emailed to Hershea Vance at hershea.vance@nih.gov.

Disclaimer and Important Notes
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. 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 work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality
No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).