Cornell University Cabinets, Drawers and Trays

(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, in conjunction with FAR 13.5, as applicable, and as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5 test program procedures for commercial items. Simplified acquisition procedures will be followed. (ii) This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (iii) This combined synopsis/solicitation will result in a firm fixed price purchase order. (iv) This combined synopsis/solicitation Request for Quote is being issued as a total small business set aside. The NAICS Code is 337124. The small business size standard is 500 employees, or less. (v) This requirement is for The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine Services (PPQ). The cabinets are used for insect collection at their Quarantine Center located in Miami, Florida. (vi) REQUIREMENT AND QUANTITIES: Contractor to provide Cornell University System Cabinets, drawers and trays. This requirement consists of eight (8) line items. See Attachment One (1) for the description of the line items and the Schedule of Items. All overhead and ancillary costs associated with providing the line items shall be assumed by the Contractor, and should be factored into the quote. The vendor must provide Cornell University drawers because the components of Cornell University and other System units are not interchangeable, and the current system used for insect collection at the Miami Inspection Station (MIS) facility is Cornell University cabinets, drawers, and trays. Also, the MIS already has numerous trays on hand that will only fit into the Cornell University drawers. In addition, the Cornell University system allows for storing larger specimens that would not fit in other system units. (vii) Shipping will be FOB destination; therefore, shipping of all items must be included in the price for the line item. (viii) Due to the difference in products between vendors, the selected contractor must be able to provide all the line items being requested, this will not be a split award. The selected contractor must be able to deliver all the requested line items by the dates listed on the attached Schedule of Items. Deliverables and acceptance of the deliverables for the reference materials will be FOB destination USDA, APHIS, PPQ, 6302 NW 36th Street, Miami, FL 33122. (ix) The effective date of the purchase order shall be date of award through delivery and acceptance of each of the line items. (x) SPECIFICATIONS: The vendor must meet ALL the specifications for the cabinets, drawers and trays as listed below AND in the Schedule of Items - Attachment One. The storage systems for institutional insect collections have three basic components: Insect Steel cabinets: Metal cabinets that allow airtight storage and snugly accommodate insect drawers. These cabinets should be constructed so as to support 25 individual wooden drawers and should generally conform in size, shape and color to the 14 insect cabinets already in place at the Miami Inspection Station. The dimensions must be exactly 86" high, 22-3/8" wide, 20" deep. Wooden drawers: Wooden drawers fit snugly into steel cabinets and must be airtight in order to exclude moisture and to prevent the entry of stored product pests which might damage valuable specimens. The outside dimensions of the drawers must be exactly 19 x 16-1/2 x 3" so as to accommodate already purchased items in the Cornell System. Unit trays: Unit trays fit inside the drawers to ensure proper insect orientation, labeling, and easy organization of specimens as well as safe handling and transfer of specimens. The unit trays vary in dimensions to accommodate specimens of different sizes and numbers. Unit trays are small cardboard boxes with foam bottoms that pinned insects are arranged in. For the system we have always used, they come in 3 sizes that we prefer, 4 3/8" X 1 1/8", 4 3/8 X 7 5/16, and 4 3/8 X 3 5/8 and the larger size (8-9/16 x 7-5/16") to accommodate larger specimens. These trays do not fit other System units since as noted above other System units drawers are smaller than Cornell University drawers. (xi) The provisions and clauses incorporated into this solicitation document are those in effect at the time of publication. Provisions and clauses incorporated by reference have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far/ (xii) The provision at 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial applies to this solicitation. (xiii) The provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items applies to this solicitation. The contractor shall either complete the on-line Offeror Representations and Certifications or return a completed copy of the Offeror Representations and Certifications with their quotation. The Online Reps and Certs Application Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) can be found at http://www.bpn.gov., or a hard copy of the provision may be attained from http://www.arnet.gov/far. (xiv) The clause at 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. (xv) The clause at 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following FAR clauses identified in FAR 52.212-5 are considered checked and are applicable to this acquisition: 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Aside; 52.219-28-Small Business Program Representation; 52.222-3-Convict Labor; 52.222-19-Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.222-21-Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26-Equal Opportunity; 52.222-50-Combating Trafficking of Persons; 52.225-1 Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.225-13-Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52.232-33-Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer -Central Contractor Registration. To be awarded this contract, the offeror must be registered in the CCR. CCR information may be found at http://www.ccr.gov; (xvi) EVALUATION OF OFFERS: Award will be made to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to this combined synopsis/solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. In this acquisition, the Government will obtain best value by using the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable source selection approach. Award will be made to the lowest price technically acceptable responsible offeror whose quote conforms to the specifications listed in this Request for Quote/solicitation. The Cornell University System cabinets, drawers and trays will be evaluated for technical capability as described in the Technical Specifications above. The vendor should provide information that shows they meet the technical specifications listed in the Schedule of Items - Attachment One and in (x) above. (xvii) Quotations are due to the United States Department of Agriculture, Minneapolis Contracting Office, 100 North Sixth Street, Butler Square, 5th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55403 by 4:00 PM CT on Tuesday, September 14, 2010. Please reference the solicitation number on your documents. Quotes may be submitted by email, fax or regular mail. Email quotes are the preferred method. (xviii) The Contracting Officer is Ms. Corinne Nygren. Ms. Nygren may be reached at contact@example.gov, +1 (555) 000-0000 or by fax at +1 (555) 000-0000. (xix) A COMPLETE QUOTE WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) Price for each line item, see the Schedule of Items - Attachment One. 2) Signature of the offeror on the page which lists the price. 3) Product literature or a narrative which addresses how your company's product meets the technical evaluation criteria described in (xvi) above, entitled Evaluation of Offers. Quotes should be of sufficient detail to determine their adequacy. THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS PORTION OF THE QUOTE MUST BE SEPARATE THAN THE PRICING. 4) A completed copy of the provisions at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items OR a statement indicating that this has been completed on-line. If an offerors quote does not contain all of the items listed above, the quote may be considered incomplete for evaluation purposes and no further consideration will be given to the offerors quote, thereby making an offeror ineligible for award.