United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Contracts Management Division (CMD) 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314 The Government awarded a Labor Hour task order against a Federal Supply Schedule contract to Suntiva LLC, a whole owned subsidiary of the Logistics Management Institute (LMI), in accordance with GSA FSS Contract No. GS-10F-0474R for professional services to support the Special Nutrition and Safety's (SNAS) innovation efforts for the Women, Infants, Children (WIC) Program. The proposed order period of performance is one (1) base year. SNAS is working towards modernizing the WIC Program through improving the shopping experience for WIC participants. In support of this initiative, SNAS is procuring resources: a program manager and two subject matter experts; a WIC electronic benefit transfer (EBT) expert and an e-commerce (e.g., online shopping) expert, as a logical follow on from previous work where Suntiva LLC established themselves as experts on the WIC EBT Technical Standards Development, which this innovation work will heavily depend on. The following circumstance justifies limiting the source under FAR 8.405-6: FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C) - In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule. This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program, Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et seq.) and Title 40 U.S.C. 501 in accordance with FAR 8.405-6, - Limited-Sources Justification. This procurement is being conducted in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule BPA Order No. 12319820A0011/12319820F0097, already awarded to Suntiva LLC, GSA Schedule No. GS-10F-0474R. The original award was competitively solicited and awarded using the ordering procedures at FAR 8.405. By 2027, SNAS is working towards supporting all 89 WIC State agencies with the implementation of online shopping in WIC nationwide. Under the authority of the - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2), SNAS set aside funding to support this initiative, which is a White House Priority Project for WIC as a High Impact Service Provider (HISP). In support of this effort, SNAS is proposing to deploy a logical follow on to build off the already established partnership with Suntiva LLC, who currently have the necessary expertise to acquire resources through expired FNS Single BPA No. 12319820A0011. The acquired resources will be a logical follow on from Suntiva LLC's BPA Order No. 12319820F0097 for the WIC Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Technical Standard Development and Support. The WIC Program and WIC EBT policy is a very specific expertise, and entities with the necessary expertise, knowledge, and understanding of the program are limited. Through Suntiva LLC's work with the WIC EBT Technical Standard Development and Support contract, Suntiva LLC has the responsibility of facilitating, supporting, training, and developing the technical requirements and standards used to implement and operate EBT. This knowledge and overall management of the WIC technical standards will have a direct impact on the success of the WIC Online Shopping initiatives, and of the work done towards the WIC Online Shopping initiatives will directly affect these technical standards. Suntiva LLC, as managers of the technical standards and documentation, have the necessary, relevant, and current knowledge to support the work procured under this logical follow on to ensure the technical standards and the WIC Online Shopping initiatives are managed, considered, and revised consistently. All three proposed roles, the program manager, the WIC EBT expert, and the e-commerce expert, will require a deep understanding of the WIC technical documentation. Currently, there are 10 WIC State agencies actively working on online shopping projects, and SNAS is working to increase the number of online shopping projects. Delays with bringing on a contractor would lead to delays with SNAS being able to provide high quality technical support to WIC State agencies and may result in inefficiencies and undue costs. The services are essential to tensure WIC State agencies have the technical support when needed. SNAS is requesting to proceed with Suntiva LLC (currently LMI CONSULTING, LLC) through a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order under FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C) as they have established expertise in the technical areas identified, as demonstrated in their work with the contract previously noted. Awarding this follow-on work to a different contractor may result in additional charges to the Government and delays to program execution because a new contractor would have a significant learning curve. Although GSA-FSS has already determined prices under its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts to be fair and reasonable, the Contracting Officer ensured the proposed cost to the Government for the supplies or services covered by this justification are evaluated for price reasonableness and the contemplated order represents the best value to the Government. A best value determination wased based on a Government technical evaluation and price analysis of the contractor's quote, which included a comparison of the contractor's quote to the Independent Government Cost Estimate and other quotations. The market research was conducted using historical information. The estimated prices for this work are similar to comparable work conducted by Suntiva LLC under BPA Orders No. 12319820F0097 and 12319821F0037. The hourly rates charged by LMI CONSULTING, LLC for this work have already been determined to be fair and reasonable according to GSA FSS Contract No. GS-10F-0474R As SNAS continues to encourage WIC State agencies to work towards online shopping and other innovation by 2027, it is essential for SNAS to have the appropriate resources available to respond to technical assistance requests. Delays with bringing on a contractor would lead to delays with SNAS being able to provide high quality technical support to WIC State agencies and may result in undue costs. With LMI CONSULTING, LLC strong WIC expertise, knowledge, and understanding as previously demonstrated with contracts (12319820F0097) and (12319821F0037), it is in the Government best interest to award a logical follow on from their previous work and pursue a sole source award, as they can support SNAS when providing technical assistance to WIC State agencies working to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (PL 117-2, ARPA) authority. Subsequent actions are not anticipated. The Women, Infants, Children (WIC) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)and Management Information Systems (MIS) Support BPA is due to be publicly re-competed in FY2024.
