This Sources Sought Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. Your response to this Sources Sought Notice will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise because of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs in developing its acquisition approach, statement of work/statement of objectives and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this Sources Sought Notice or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice. The purpose of this sources sought announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, 8(a), HubZone and other Small Businesses interested and capable of providing the services described below. IMPORTANT Documentation of technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name (b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) UIE number (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned small Business, Veteran-owned small business, 8(a), HUBZone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business HUBZone business (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organizations qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below. Work to be performed: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT: The Government will award a Firm Fixed Price estimated requirement contract to a single Contractor for molecular testing and extraction supplies which are used to for the detection and extraction of nucleic acid. These supplies must be able to be used on the BD MAX instrument. Site will provide an estimated yearly volume by reagent as reflected below. The Government estimates the volumes listed but does not guarantee volumes as listed; they are estimates ONLY. Item # Description/Part Number* Qty 1 442827 Kit BD MAX ExK TNA 3 220 2 44500301 Kit BD SARS-CoV-2 1 3 437519 Cartridge BD MAX PCR 24 EA 1 4 Shipping & Handling 1 This will be a single award, firm-fixed price BPA with one base year and four, one-year ordering periods. If the Contractor fails to perform in a manner satisfactory to the CO, this BPA may be canceled with thirty (30) days written notice to the Contractor by the CO. The Contractor shall also reserve the right to terminate this contract with 30 days notification to the CO. This BPA shall be reviewed annually. St. Louis intends to establish the base year of the agreement for the period of 11/01/2024 to 10/31/2029. The desired reagents shall have the capability of performing as defined in this statement of requirements. The Contractor is required to provide a continuously stocked inventory of reagents, controls, and supplies required to ensure that patient care operations are not interrupted. These items shall be of the highest quality, sensitivity, specificity and be tested to assure precision and accuracy. Expiration date must be clearly marked on reagent, standards, and control containers. Alert/Notification of any delays in shipment as well as any or all technical advisory/recalls/alerts, prior to or simultaneously with field alerts should be forwarded to the designated individuals. Special handling for emergency orders of supplies: In the event that the supplies are found to be defective and unsuitable for use with the Contractor s equipment, or the Contractor has failed to comply with the requirements for routine supply delivery, the Contractor is required to deliver the supplies within 24 hours of receipt of a verbal order for emergency delivery. If either circumstance has occurred, the Contractor shall deliver to the Government site in the most expeditious manner possible without additional cost to the Government, the necessary consumables in sufficient quantity as required to allow operation of the Contractor s equipment for one week (under normal Government test load volume). If additional requests for emergency supply delivery are required by the Government, they shall be honored by the Contractor until the arrival at the laboratory of the monthly standing order/routine supplies delivery. ORDERING METHOD: The participating facilities may order products via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), telephone, facsimile, or other written communication, identifying the products by number, quantity, purchase price, address for delivery, and any special instructions. DELIVERY TERMS: The delivery terms for all items ordered under the BPA will be FOB Destination. Contractor will make shipping arrangements and prepay all shipping and handling costs. Contractor will promptly replace all Products lost or damaged in shipment. Contractor will be responsible for all disputes with the shipper and all insurance claims related to the shipment. RETURNS: Contractor will accept return of erroneously shipped Products, in accordance with the following: Contractor will credit Customer 100% of the Purchase Price for Products returned due to shipping errors, provided that Customer requests a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number from the Contractor in its notice to Contractor of a shipping error, and that Customer returns the Products within (30) days after its receipt of an RMA number. Returns will have RMA number written clearly on the outside of the shipping container. Contractor will not accept returns of Products ordered in error by Customer. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: Technical Features: The desired reagents shall have the capability of performing as defined in the statement of work. The following products should be available Kit BD MAX ExK TNA 3, Product # 442827 Kit BD MAX ExK TNA 3, Product #44500301 Cartridge BD MAX PCR 24 EA, Product # 437519 Products must work on the BD MAX instrument that is currently in use at VA St. Louis Medical Center. PARTICIPATING MEDICAL CENTERS Participating Medical Centers: The following medical centers shall be authorized to place delivery orders against the BPA. VA Medical Center, 915 North Grand Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri, 63106 Important information: The Government is not obligated to, nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this source sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to an acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Currently a total set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms is anticipated based on the Veterans Administration requirement with Public Law 109-461, Section 8127 Veterans Benefit Act. However, if response by Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms proves inadequate, an alternate set-aside or full and open. Any response to this source selection from Interested parties must be received NLT 09/20/2024, 3:00 PM CST. Attention: Michael Murphy, Contracting Specialist. Email: Michael.murphy7@va.gov Please reference 36C255-24-Q-0606 BD MAX Reagents in the subject line. Please provide your Unique Entity ID so that your organization can be identified in SAM.GOV and VetBiz if organization is claiming SDVOSB preference. Only organizations with an active SAM.GOV account can be considered. Utilize this link to either start a new registration or to renew the organization s registration. https://sam.gov/content/home
