United States Department of Agriculture
Limited Sources Justification for an Order/BPA
Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold
Federal Supply Schedules/Multiple Award Schedule Program
FAR 8.405
Control No. (if applicable) BPA 12639522A0021/ GS-07F-0559X
Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.
Requesting Agency:
USDA, FGIS, TSD
10383 North Ambassador Drive
Kansas City, MO 64153
Contracting Activity:
USDA, APHIS-AAMD Contracting
250 Marquette Ave Suite 410
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Nature and/or description of the action being approved.
Due to the circumstances described below, Technology and Science Division (TSD) requests to acquire using noncompetitive procurement in support of program mission requirements, maintenance and repair coverage for laboratory instrumentation from Waters Corporation for two ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and UHPLC/tandem mass spectrometry systems. These systems are used for analysis of mycotoxins and pesticide residues in the quality assessment of grain and grain-related commodities.
Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value).
Blanket Purchase Maintenance Agreement for Coverage for Two Waters Corporation Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy Systems Necessary to assure continuity of FGIS services for mycotoxin and pesticide residue analysis on monitoring programs, ESS and PAS. Pricing shall include all costs necessary to accomplish the services in the statement of work (including but not limited to: overhead, general and administrative, profit, insurance, transportation, labor hours, equipment and supplies). The period of performance is for approximately twelve months and four possible twelve month option periods. FAR 52.216-2 Economic Price Adjustment-Standard Supplies. (NOV 2021) applies for periods 2 thru 5.
The purchased maintenance agreement must include the following, at a minimum:
- Coverage of Waters instrumentation including the following components from June 1, 2021 May 31, 2023 per Water's Quotation No. 22866009. The option to pick up for more years of coverage through 2027 is also included.
- At least one preventative maintenance visit per year for each system (partial year may not include preventative maintenance visit; vendor quotation will specify)
- Unlimited priority telephone technical support (support takes precedence over non-plan customers)
Unlimited number of on-site service visits
Priority service response (Scheduling takes precedence over non-plan customers)
Service from Field Service Trained and Waters Certified Representatives with access to Waters Service Notes for effective maintenance and resolution of technical difficulties
Service engineer travel and labor
Use of Waters quality parts for ensuring compatibility and proper operation with existing instrumentation
Firmware and software upgrades and updates
Discounted instrument performance upgrades
Coverage of shipping charges for replacement or repaired equipment to and from customer
Discounted Waters educational services
Online access to software self-service support tools
The authority and supporting rationale.
Pursuant to FAR 8.405-6 (b), orders/BPAs under Federal Supply Schedule Contracts are exempt from the competition requirements of FAR Part 6; however, ordering activities may restrict consideration of Schedule Contractors. Circumstances justifying limiting the sources include:
Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required because they are unique or highly specialized
A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.
8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) is the proposed authority, explain the basis as to why the Government believes only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized. Explain the contractor's unique qualifications or specialized experience to provide the supplies or services that are not available elsewhere on the schedules.
Description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.
According to Timothy Brewer of the MRP-AMS-Technology and Science Division; FGIS made a number of contacts with potential service providers. None were found that were able to provide the needed services within the TSD laboratory's geographic region.
Contracting Officer published Sole Source Notice SAM.gov GSAPR1061814 and GSA eBuy RFQ1552249 on 4/14/2022 and closed on 5/16/2022
One Response
According to Adam Beard, Vice President, Global Support for Waters Corporation; The service and support that Waters provides to their systems is unique and should not be alternatively sourced. Waters service engineers are trained and certified by Waters factory-certified trainers who are kept up-to-date on all system updates and global customer feedback. This level of training and internal expertise cannot be matched by any other service organization. Waters certified customer training is only available from Waters. (See attached Sole Source Justification from Waters Corporation)
Any other facts supporting the justification.
None
Statement of actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated.
No actions will be taken to remove any barriers to competition unless Waters Corporation extends their training expertise and certifications to other service engineers not employed by Waters Corporation.
Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer (CO) that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).
Price reasonableness was accomplished by comparison of historical prices for the same requirement previously when and where both the validity of the comparison and the reasonableness of the price(s) can be established.
The current quote# 22866009 for the first year is a 2.20% increase over previous 12month order 12639521F0756 which is quite acceptable considering the fact that according to the current Consumer Price Index 63,842.48 on this Delivery Order in July of 2021 has the same purchasing power of $ 68,354.00 in May 2022 the most current CPI. This is a 7.07% increase in just one year.
Source: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=63842.48&year1=202107&year2=202205
If the current CPI index is any indication; The projected yearly increases of 3.57 % at the least to 4.0% at the most represents a reasonable price considering the Nations current inflationary circumstances.
