Please note: This is a Sole Source Notification. Standing PO requested for FY24: Animal supply aggregation and local warehousing for Shepherd, NEPCO, and Clear H2O for animal bedding and various sources of feed, special animal diets and enrichment, and gels hydration and nutrient. Sole source for aggregating (brokering) our particular essential materials for animal care that fit our specific needs: o OCM uses a specific bedding material, Alpha-Dri, a Shepherd Specialty Papers product, for which we have a sole source designation. Until recently, Shepherd maintained stock in a local 3PL, and we purchased directly from Shepherd. Shepherd is discontinuing both the 3PL relationship and selling direct to the University of Utah. Lab Supply, a national distributor and sole provider for Shepherd products in Utah, is assuming the sales and 3PL relationships for Utah. This helps us maintain an acceptable level of locally accessible, critical supplies, allowing us to support the research at the University. o Similarly, we buy through Lab Supply: NEPCO’s aspen shavings products for animal bedding, as well as Clear H2O’s HydroGel hydration product and DietGel nutrition gel product. Lab Supply is the exclusive authorized distributor for NEPCO bedding products in Utah and for Clear H2O research laboratory animal products in several states including Utah. o Lab Supply is a very large, high volume, distributor of these supplies enabling volume pricing from the vendors keeping prices more consistent. o Lab Supply will buy in bulk from Shepherd Specialty Papers. Lab Supply will take over buying from Shepherd and we will stop buying direct from Shepherd. o Lab Supply will group our orders and maximize pallets; ship by full truckloads and save us money on freight and the current pallet charges we incur with Shepherd shipments. o Lab Supply serves as exclusive distributor for both NEPCO and Clear H2O products in Utah as well.
