Posting venue:    SAM.gov, eBuy.gov

Posting type: Special Notice (SAM) / Information “seeking sources” (eBuy)

Title: Notice of Brand Name NSN Awards

In accordance with (IAW) FAR 8.405-6(a)(2), GSA is making available a notice of Brand Name National Stock Number (NSN) award. 

GSA’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) Contracting Division is seeking feedback from industry regarding the Brand Name National Stock Numbers (NSNs) awarded and published with this notice.

The NSNs were established as Brand Name (BN) specific at the point they were created, and therefore the Item Purchase Descriptions (IPDs) are likewise written as BN specific.  Supporting information was provided at the point of NSN/IPD creation, however in some cases that information may no longer be available or may no longer be relevant (see FAR Part 10), and as Brand Name specific items (see FAR 8.405-6(b)), GSA is seeking to verify whether the need described by the IPDs can in fact only be met by the one particular manufacturer cited (the manufacturer and part number indicated in the IPD), or whether other manufacturers’ products (or brands) can be offered which can meet the requirement (see FAR 8.405-6(b)).  

In order to meet the continued need for these items on behalf of our DoD customers, GSA has added these items to contract.

Prior to taking the aforementioned contract add action, GSA sought industry feedback with a Request for Information (RFI) published from Apr-May 2023 for 299 BN NSNs. These NSNs were solicited in August 2023.  Of those solicited 109 NSNs were awarded (via post-award ‘Batch Add’ Modification action on the MRO Requisition Channel Generation Two BPA) in January 2024.

The same question initially asked at the RFI regarding these NSNs is therefore re-posited to industry again and shall remain open for continuous feedback:   

Are these manufacturer names and part numbers, as listed in the IPDs, the only manufacturers that will meet the requirement, or are there suitable substitute manufacturer names and part numbers that can be offered to meet the requirement?   

To respond to this feedback request, please complete the attached excel template in the highlighted columns designated for industry feedback, along with supporting documentation for all NSNs where you indicated a viable substitute, and email them to [email protected] with the following format: 

From: Vendor point of contact (official company email only)

To: [email protected]

Subject: BN NSN Feedback, [vendor name]

Email body: Please see attached feedback. 

Attachments:

NSN and Industry Feedback Template

Alternate Brand Supporting Literature (spec sheets)

NOTE: 

• The NSN Feedback template must be populated for each NSN for which feedback is being provided. 
• Supporting information must be provided by industry respondents by filling in accurately and completely, all of the designated columns, for all NSN(s) where you are providing feedback.
• All literature (the manufacturer specification sheets for the alternate part number proposed) must contain the NSN indicated on every page of that literature submitted so that the NSN association/reference being made is clear.