Notice of Intent to Sole Source

This is a special notice is prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 5.2 - Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions. The contracting office for this notice is the 10th Contracting Squadron, USAF Academy, CO 80840. This requirement is for the purchase of the FY20 FEI scanning electron microscope warranty.

The US Air Force Academy (USAFA) intends to award a sole source commercial contract using simplified procedures in accordance with FAR parts 12 & 13 to FEI Company. FEI Company is a large business located at 5350 NE Dawson Creek Dr, Hillsboro, OR 97124-5793. The authority for this non-competitive award is 10 USC 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source. The NAICS code for this requirement is 334516. The size standard as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration is 1,000 employees. This notice incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2020-06 effective 6 May 2020. The Government has deemed FEI Company to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance.

a.   Only one responsible source and no other item will satisfy the USAFA requirement.

b.   FEI is the only approved source for this maintenance warranty. Authorized third-party providers of this maintenance are not allowed to provide this warranty.

c.   This request is issued for the US Air Force Academy.  Anticipated award on 6 June 2020 as a Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order. 

As such, there is only solution that meets USAFA’s requirement. Therefore, the contracting officer has determined that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available IAW FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE POSTED. Based on previous market research conducted, the Government intends to proceed with this sole source action. This synopsis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids or proposals.  DO NOT submit a bid/quote at this time.

All responsible sources may submit a capability statement. Interested concerns must show clear and convincing evidence that competition of this requirement would be advantageous to the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Responses and questions shall be submitted to [email protected] no later than 12:30pm, MDT on 15 May 2020. Responses received after this will be considered late IAW FAR 52.212-1(f) and will not be evaluated. Contractors must have a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://sam.gov/. The Government bears no legal liability for any costs incurred by responding to this notice.

Points of Contact are Melissa Staudacher, Contract Specialist, Email: [email protected]; or Ryan Mavis, Contracting Officer, Email: [email protected].

5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (JUN 2016)

(a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern.

(b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions).

(c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsmen,

James Anderson

8110 Industrial Drive, Ste 103

USAFA, CO 80840

Telephone number 719-333-3829

FAX 719-333-9018

Email:  [email protected]

Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/DRU or AFISRA level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2397, facsimile number (571) 256-2431.

(d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency.

(e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer.

(End of clause)