Microscopes & Accessories

The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of General Services, Division of Purchases and Supplies, is requesting sealed bids to establish a contract for microscopes and accessories for use by all Virginia executive branch agencies, institutions of higher education, and other authorized public bodies, with bids due August 3, 2026, and a virtual pre-bid conference on July 20. A small business subcontracting participation goal of 42% applies; offerors certified by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (DSBSD) as small or micro businesses need only declare their certification to receive maximum points, while uncertified offerors must commit to specific DSBSD-certified subcontractors.

The solicitation spans 23 lots organized by manufacturer, including Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Zeiss, Swift, Wolfe, and others. Bidders must be authorized distributors of the brands they propose, submit current manufacturer catalogs and price lists, provide letters of manufacturer authorization, and quote minimum discount percentages off published catalog prices for each product line. The Commonwealth will award each product line to the responsive and responsible bidder offering the highest discount percentage.

Contractors must maintain full-time sales, consultative, and service operations with field-adjustment and repair capabilities, warehouse facilities for statewide service distribution, and inventory to support orders placed through eVA. All contract awards will be mandatory-use for Commonwealth executive branch agencies and optional-use for other public bodies.

The contract will run one year from the award date with four optional one-year renewal periods. The Commonwealth's historical five-year microscope contract included seven vendors with approximately $3 million in collective spending. Contractors must submit quarterly sales reports and pay a 2% surcharge adjustment fee on quarterly invoiced sales. All bidders must be registered in eVA and comply with Commonwealth standard terms and conditions, including State Corporation Commission registration requirements and vendor data sheet submission. Written questions are due July 24 at 4:00 p.m. EST to Tonya Tucker at tonya.tucker@dgs.virginia.gov. Public bid opening is August 4 at 10:00 a.m. EST via Microsoft Teams.