NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE FOR GAMS/CONOPT, GAMS/BASE MODULE, AND GAMS/CPLEX

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE: USDA Forest Service intends to award a sole source, firm-fixed price contract for GAMS/CONOPT, GAMS/Base Module, and GAMS/CPLEX to General Algebraic Model System Development Corporation (GAMS) located in Washington, DC using other than full and open competition procedures pursuant to authority of FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This contract will update GAMS/CPLEX software. The applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 511210. Persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. The General Algebraic Modeling System GAMS/CPLEX is specifically designed for modeling linear, nonlinear and mixed integer optimization problems. GAMS Development Corporation is the only vendor licensed to provide GAMS products, product enhancement or other maintenance support. Both the maintenance and the upgrades are provided only by the GAMS Development Corporation. Since CPLEX is integrated into the GAMS software, it is not practical to purchase annual updates from another company. CPLEX is a general algebraic modeling language required to build and execute transportation models. This software is fully integrated into current operations and maintains thousands of vital models. The system takes care of the time-consuming details of the specific machine and system software implementation. The user can change the formulation quickly and easily, can change from one solver to another, and can convert from linear to nonlinear quickly. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, the Government will consider all responses received by May 21, 2014 at 1400 Central Standard Time. The Government will not be responsible for any cost incurred in preparation of quotations. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a subsequent competitive procurement. All interested parties may submit a response for consideration via email to David Easter, Purchasing Agent, [email protected]