This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 - Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested, and a separate written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued under the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures.
This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2019-01 effective December 20, 2018.
The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 with a small business size standard of 1000 Employees. This acquisition is being procured as a Brand Name only competition.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Material Measurements Laboratory requests to have data-comparability between existing NIST owned spectrophotometers and the new ones being purchased within this action. NIST currently utilizes Biotek EPOCH2NS spectrophotometers to measure the density of bacterial cultures during growth. That measurement is an optical scattering measurement, and the results depend on the details of the spectrophotometer optical geometry and the shape and index of refraction of the bacteria being grown. The current laboratory experiment to duplicate these results over more than two units at a time, the new spectrophotometers being procured must be identical units.

Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for the following Line Item:
Line Item 0001: Two (2) Biotek EPOCH2NS Microplate Spectrophotometers in accordance with all the salient characteristics within the attached Requirements document.
DELIVERY
Delivery shall be within 30 days of the date of award.

The items shall be shipped F.O.B. Destination to:

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
100 Bureau Drive
Gaithersburg MD 20899-0001

FOB DESTINATION MEANS: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD
The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, is the lowest price, technically acceptable quotation.

Technically acceptable means that the Contractor provides a Biotek EPOCH2NS system that meets salient characteristics in the requirements document.

Price will be evaluated for all quoters whose quotations are determined technically acceptable. Price will be evaluated to determine that total price is consistent with the technical portion of the quotation and is a fair and reasonable overall price to the Government.

REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS
All Contractors shall submit the following:
1. For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Acceptability:
Quoters shall provide documentation that demonstrates the quoted instrument's ability to meet or exceed the minimum specifications in accordance with the requirements document.
For the purpose of Price:
Quoters shall provide firm-fixed price quotations for Line Item 0001.

2. Quoters shall include a completed copy of all required solicitation provisions contained in the attached Applicable Provisions/Clauses document (required provisions are highlighted)

3. Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: "The Government's terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government's and contractor's terms and conditions, the Government's terms and conditions take precedence." If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the Contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor's acceptance of the Government's terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order as prevailing.

4. Quoters shall provide an active DUNS # for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to be considered for award.

Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation;

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:
The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/.

ATTACHMENTS:
The following attachments apply to this solicitation:
1. The Requirements Document
2. Applicable Clauses & Provisions