NOI

Notice of Intent to Sole Source for Scientific Equipment Maintenance 2 ION Chef Sequencers (ION S5 XL and ION S5 Prime)

(NIAAA-11737)

The National Institutes of Health intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order to Life Technologies Corporation. UEI is JXAKAG32BVN4.

In accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1, Life Technologies Corporation, the Contractor is the only known responsible source who can provide the item that meets our standards. No other source has been identified who can provide the requirements listed below.

As the sole manufacturer of the S5XL, S5 Prime and Ion Chef, ThermoFisher field service engineers (FSE’s) are trained through a multi-step factory certification program to work on their instrumentation and the software supporting it. The certification is renewed every two years to ensure the appropriate standard of excellence is maintained. The FSE’s have support of the company and are able to obtain the parts for the instruments that are built to original manufacturing standards. Because ThermoFisher does not sell parts, only ThermoFisher FSE’s can get the part needed to fix the equipment. The sequencers and Chef that are part of this requisition are used heavily in the laboratory and must be maintained in peak condition to keep the research going.

ThermoFisher Scientific is the sole manufacturer of the instruments listed above (S5XL, S5Prime and an IonChef). ThermoFisher has not issued a letter of assurance nor provided a manufacturer’s training certification to any third party for the servicing of its manufactured instruments. The ThermoFisher engineers (FSE’s) are trained through a multi-step factory certification program to work on their instrumentation and software supporting it. The certification is renewed every two years to ensure the appropriate standard of excellence is maintained. The FSE’s have full and exclusive access to the latest technical developments, repair processes, software application updates and planned maintenance procedures. They also have additional support within the company should they encounter something they have not seen before. The FSE’s carry a wide range of service parts with them and only use replacement parts that have been certified to the original manufacturing specifications. Additionally, major subassemblies for the instrument can only be ordered and obtained through an FSE from ThermoFisher and are not available for separate purchase. Without access to replacement parts, ThermoFisher is the only company that is able to adequately support our sequencers.