The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, NCO 15 Network Contracting Office, on behalf of Department of Veterans (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), is conducting market research through this sources sought notice to seek sources for furnish eyeglasses to those veterans who require them and for those who are eligible for assistance. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking potential sources to provide eyeglasses to Veteran beneficiaries at VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and Outpatient Clinics located in Wichita, KS, Topeka, KS, Leavenworth, KS, Kansas City, MO, Columbia, MO, Poplar Bluff, MO, St Louis, MO, Marion, IL, and Evansville, IN. Should a contract be awarded, the contractor will be provided a designated space for an Optical Shop within each VAMC/Clinic in order to provide services to eligible Veterans. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this acquisition is 339115. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes in accordance with FAR Part 10 only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal/Quotation; and, it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Failure to submit information in sufficient detail may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as deemed appropriated for this requirement. 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. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, Do Not Request a Copy of the Solicitation. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor FBO for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. However, responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to: (1) determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exists, (2) determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements, and (3) determine the commercial practices of company's engaged in providing the needed service or supply. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. Submission of Information: Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice including commercial market information and company information. Companies may respond to this Sources Sought Notice via e-mail
[email protected] no later than February 11, 2013 at 03:00 PM, CST with the following information/documentation: 1) Is your business large or small? 2) If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emerging business, or small disadvantaged business? 3) If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and if your firm is certified under Section 8 (a) of the Small Business Act? 4) Is your firm a certified HUBZone firm? 5) Is your firm a woman-owned or operated business? 6) Is your firm a certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small or veteran owned small business? 7) Include the DUNS number of your firm. 8) Is your firm registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov or VetBiz Registry at http://vip.vetbiz.gov ? If not, please register. NOTE: No award can be made to a contractor who is not registered in SAM.