SOLE SOURCE ASTM COMPASS SUBSCRIPTION

What the buyer wrote

This is a combined synopsis and solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

Request for Quote (RFQ) number is N6660427Q0001.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) intends to award a purchase order to American Society For Testing And Materials on a Sole Source basis for Annual ASTM Compass Subscriptions detailed in the CLIN description below.

ASTM is the only qualified source capable of providing these subscriptions to meet all the functional and performance parameters required within the Government’s infrastructure.

The notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. Information received will normally be considered for the purposes of determining whether to conduct a competitive requirement in the future.  

This procurement is 100% Small Business Set-Aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 519210. The Small Business Size Standard is $20.5 Million. 

Required delivery is 30 after date of contract (ADC) or sooner.

Delivery shall be FOB Destination, Newport, RI.

CLIN 0001 – ASTM Annual Compass Subscriptions

                        QTY: 1

                        POP: 01/01/27-12/31/27

Incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the most current Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC). 

The following clauses and provisions apply to this solicitation:

- FAR 52.209-11, Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law (FEB 2016)

-           FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors--Commercial Products and Commercial Services

-           FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items;-     

-           FAR 52.212-3 ALT 1 – Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items Alternate 1

-           FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items;

-The following DFARS clauses apply to this solicitation:

252.204-7008, Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls

252.204- 7009, Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Third-Party Contractor Reported Cyber Incident  Information

252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting  252.204-7015, Notice of Authorized Disclosure of Information for Litigation Support

252.204-7018, Prohibition on the Acquisition of Covered Defense Telecommunications Equipment or Services apply to this solicitation. 

252.204-7021, Contractor Compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level Requirements.

252.204-7025, Notice of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level Requirements.

Full text of incorporated FAR/DFARS clauses and provisions are may be accessed electronically at https://acquisition.gov/far/ and https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/dfarspgi/current/index.html.

The use in this solicitation of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of “(Deviation)” after the date of the clause.

Additional Terms and Conditions:

In accordance with DFARS Clause 252.211-7003, the contractor shall provide a unique item identifier (IUD) for all delivered items for which the Government’s unit acquisition cost is $5,000 or more. 

Payment will be via Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE).

This solicitation requires an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information can be found at www.sam.gov. 

For information on this acquisition contact Gazmine Mason at gazmine.s.mason.civ@us.navy.mil.

SOLE SOURCE SPECIFICATION:

ASTM Compass is a copyrighted product solely owned, licensed, and provided by ASTM International.

This subscription to ASTM Compass is a renewal of a previously held annual license, which is essential and frequently utilized by Warfare Center Research Commons users from NUWC Newport, NSWC Carderock and NSWC Corona.

Without continued access to this online content, Navy researchers would experience delays in staying current with the latest scientific and technical advancements in key fields. Failure to maintain this subscription would result in a loss of critical services relied upon annually and a weakening of mission attainment.

We evaluated one leading technical standards provider to determine its ability to deliver comprehensive access to ASTM standards: ANSI Webstore, which serves as an aggregator offering access to content from various publishers. While this provider includes select ASTM standards through an existing licensing agreement with ASTM International, it does not offer the complete set required. Full access to the entire collection of ASTM technical standards is available exclusively through ASTM Compass, a proprietary platform managed by ASTM International. This platform is the only source that provides comprehensive online access to ASTM standards across all publication years. To meet the needs of its users, the Warfare Center Research Commons must ensure on-demand access to electronic, non-DRM copies of engineering standards and specifications.

In addition to full online access to the aforementioned standards, the database is required to meet the following criteria:

Desktop: The contractor’s services shall be fully compliant with Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) operational requirements and networking structure. The services shall be desktop capable, requiring no client software.

Access: The service shall be accessible via a high-speed internet connection on Government owned computers. It shall be accessible via Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge browsers. Users shall be able to access the subscription via OpenAthens federated authentication. Users shall be able to download and print copies of articles.

Usage Reports: The contractor shall provide Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources (COUNTER)-compliant usage statistics, aggregated on a monthly basis. Library staff shall be able to access and download usage statistics on demand.

Technical Support: The contractor shall provide toll free telephone and online technical support Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm.

Based on the above, it is not reasonable to conclude the potential savings from competition can offset the significant duplicative cost and schedule and mission impact associated with purchasing a different brand product. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Government to solicit and award this requirement on a sole source only basis.