Carl Zeiss EVO System Maintenance

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT.The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate a contract on asole source basis with Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC., Thornwood, NY. The purpose of the contract is for the contractor to provide all labor, materials, and equipment needed for service maintenance for government-owned EVO System (EVO MA10 - Serial # 10-33-34). This will be a 12-month contract with Options for additional four (4) years.Carl Zeiss (the manufacturer) owns the proprietary data, and Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC is the only entity in the US authorized by Carl Zeiss to provide comprehensive service and support for the Carl Zeiss instruments. Only Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC has technical service representatives who receive comprehensive and on-going factory training and regular technical updates, as well as having direct access to original manufacturer's parts to help maintain the instruments in optimal condition. Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC can engage

directly with the engineers that designed the instruments, to help resolve challenging technical support needs. These instruments by virtue of their complex nature containing multiple individual components require regular maintenance as well as alignment and calibrations which can only be carried out by dedicated knowledgeable engineers trained specifically by the manufacturer Carl Zeiss. In addition, Carl Zeiss alone owns the rights to all component parts required during the maintenance of these instruments. No other vendor has either access or has to ability to provide these specialized parts. These microscopes are mission critical for the scientific experiments undertaken in the individual laboratories where these devices are maintained in the NEI laboratories. These sophisticated microscopes contain component parts that are both electronics components as well as optical components which have been specifically engineered and incorporated and integrated in a single functioning unit. Furthermore, Carl Zeiss trains only their engineers on the functions and system control of all these integrated devices. Carl Zeiss does not offer this training to anyone outside of their personnel resources. Also, a service/support maintenance support directly through Carl Zeiss has numerous advantages such as: Factory Trained Engineers, Prioritized/Preferred scheduling for service appointments, unlimited collaborative service visits, unlimited repair service visits, unlimited labor and travel expenses, unlimited certified Zeiss parts, unlimited application and technical phone support w/in business hours, instant remote support, free software and firmware updates, proactively schedule preventative maintenance visits, discounts on upgrades, loaner equipment, fixed cost budgeting, forward deployment of parts and locals service engineers at key institutions. The priority scheduling is very important for the proper upkeep and functionality of these complex microscopes/instruments. Thus, timely service is crucial in the functioning of core facilities and stand-alone research microscopes that student and postdoctoral scientists rely on for their day-to-day work. Acquisition of service contract from other entities/third parties providers can lead to substantive problems getting timely service engineer dispatched and can lead to down times on devices. ResponsesThe proposed acquisition action is for items and/or services for which theGovernment intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under theauthority of FAR 13.106-1 (b). A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract acquisition based upon responses to the notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will beannounced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities in accordance withthe FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be consideredadequate responses to a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, orsensitive information should be included in your response. The Governmentreserves the right to use any nonproprietary technical information in anyresultant solicitation(s).Contact Information: John Alozie, Contract Specialist, Phone 3014968413, Email john.alozie@nih.gov Office Address :6011 Executive Blvd5th Floor Rockville MD 20852-3804 Location: Office of Acquisition Set Aside: N/A