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**IMPORTANT:Â Please read this email notice in full BEFORE responding!**
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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is in the process of planning a requirement in which a contractor will be required to provide Vital Sign Monitors, for use in the new VA Akaka, HI., outpatient clinic (see salient characteristics, delivery specifications, and warranty specifications in attached SOW).

The VA is conducting market research and is seeking written responses with information to assist with identifying potential sources that are interested in, and capable of, providing the products described. Please review the information contained herein and identify whether your company has the capability and interest to provide the brand name items listed or equivalent items that possess the salient characteristics as described. Please see section titled SUBMITTAL OF RFI RESPONSE below for what information to include in your company s response.
SET-ASIDE

Complete responses to this notice will assist the VA in determining any potential set-aside for the requirement. Not providing all information requested in response to this notice may result in the VA being unable to determine a vendor potentially capable of satisfying the requirement and, subsequently, if the rule of two criteria is not met, a specific set-aside category may not be decided by the Contracting Officer. To qualify as a small business under a small business set-aside contract, the offeror must be considered a small business under the NAICS code assigned to the procurement. In addition, the small business must either (1) be the manufacturer of the end item being produced (and the end item must be produced in the US) or (2) comply with the non-manufacturing regulations in 13 CFR 121.406.

Summary of Non-Manufacturing regulations:
The small business cannot exceed 500 employees;
The small business is primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied;
The small business takes ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment, or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practices; and
The small business will supply the end item of a small business manufacturer, processor, or producer made in the United States, unless the SBA has issued a waiver to this requirement. When multiple items are being acquired, a waiver is not required if at least 50% of the estimated contract value is composed of items that are manufactured by small businesses.Â

Additional information can be found on SBA s website (www.sba.gov) and in SBA s Contracting Guide (https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide).

AUTHORIZED DEALER/DISTRIBUTOR VERIFICATION

This requirement is for new equipment ONLY; remanufactured or gray market items will not be accepted. Gray market, also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer.

Gray market items are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) goods sold through unauthorized channels in direct competition with authorized distributors. This procurement is for new OEM medical supplies, medical equipment and/or services contracts for maintenance of medical equipment (i.e. replacement parts) for VA Medical Centers. No remanufactures or gray market items will be acceptable.

Vendor shall be an OEM, authorized dealer, authorized distributor or authorized reseller for the proposed medical supplies, medical equipment and/or services contracts for maintenance of medical equipment (i.e. replacement parts), verified by an authorization letter or other documents from the OEM, such that the OEM s warranty and service are provided and maintained by the OEM. All software licensing, warranty and service associated with the medical supplies, medical equipment and/or services contracts for maintenance of medical equipment shall be in accordance with the OEM terms and conditions.

The delivery of gray market items to the VA in the fulfillment of an order/award constitutes a breach of contract. Accordingly, the VA reserves the right enforce any of its contractual remedies. This includes termination of the contract or, solely at the VA s election, allowing the Vendor to replace, at no cost to the Government, any remanufactured or gray market item(s) delivered to a VA medical facility upon discovery of such items.

To assist the VA in determining any potential set-aside, we are requesting vendors provide the authorized dealer/distributor letter (or similar) in response to this Request for Information (RFI). Any future solicitation will include the requirement for vendors to provide authorized distributor verification for all items of equipment.  The documentation must verify that the OEM s warranty and services are provided and maintained by the OEM.  To satisfy this requirement, the vendor shall provide the original documentation from the manufacturer stating they are an authorized dealer/distributor for the items being procured. This letter shall be on the manufacturers official letter head or from an official manufacturer email and guarantees the products are safe, are not counterfeit or adulterated devices, have maintained adequate storage conditions, and that:

All product warranties and service and/or preventative maintenance agreements transfer to the VA and will be honored by the OEM or
Guarantees that the OEM gives authorization to the vendor to fulfill all warranty, service, and/or preventative maintenance obligations for the equipment.Â

BUY AMERICAN STATUE
For solicitations where FAR 52.225-1 Buy American-Supplies is applicable, the Government may be required to evaluate price in accordance with FAR 25.205(b) Determining Reasonableness of Cost.
AUTHORIZED DEALER/DISTRIBUTOR VERIFICATION

This requirement is for new equipment ONLY; remanufactured or gray market items will not be accepted. Gray market, also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer.
SUBMITTAL OF RFI RESPONSEÂ

If you believe you are capable of meeting this requirement, please provide a complete response no later than January 11, 2023. A complete response satisfies the information requested below.

The Government requests responders provide the following information:

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF MANUFACTURED PRODUCT-ANY RESPONSES WITHOUT THIS INFORMATION WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM MARKET RESEARCH AND COULD CONSEQUENTLY AFFECT THE RESULTANT SOLICITATION.
LEAD TIME FOR DELIVERY- ANY RESPONSES WITHOUT THIS INFORMATION WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM MARKET RESEARCH AND COULD CONSEQUENTLY AFFECT THE RESULTANT SOLICITATION.
Are there any salient characteristics that you consider overly restrictive or are there any requirements in the SOW that would prohibit you from responding to a solicitation?
Company information including name, address, point of contact, and UEI Number
The make and model information for each item,
Authorized dealer verification (see below),
The contract number of any applicable GSA schedule if one exists from which these items can be procured.
Answers to government questions

Further, if you believe a different NAICS code or Product Service Code (PSC) is a better fit for the subject requirement, please provide that information to us as well.

NAICS:Â 339112
PSC:Â 6517

NOTE: This posting is solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or obligation on the part of the Government. Per FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers, shall not be used as a proposal, and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kinds of offers will be considered in response to this notice. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents; however, the Government does reserve the right to contact any respondent and/or respondent reference to obtain additional information. At this time, no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. Any resulting procurement action will be the subject of a separate, future announcement. The information is provided for discussion purposes and any potential strategy for this acquisition may change prior to any solicitation release. The acquisition strategy, evaluation methodology, contract type, and any other acquisition decisions are to be determined.
Thank you!

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