PTAG Intent to Sole Source � Tango �On-the-Spot� Award Cards
Commerce (all) · DEPT OF COMMERCE PTO
Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.
Where this opportunity stands
Every notice posted under solicitation ACQ-27-0160 in this department, oldest first.
- Aug 18, 2026 · this noticeSpecial Notice
Next steps for this stage
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
- Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
- Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
- Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.
What the notice says
PTAG Intent to Sole Source � Tango �On-the-Spot� Award Cards (ACQ-27-0160) PTAG Part 6.1.1 Synopsis � Intent to Sole Source The USPTO is conducting this procurement using its unique procurement authority under the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. � 2(b)(4)(A) and the implementing guidelines of the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG). https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-24316. Specifically, the USPTO is using the Alternative Competition Method. When using its unique procurement authority, the USPTO is exempted from a large number of procurement statutes … (show all)
and various FAR parts. As an integral part of �The Employee On-The-Spot Award� program (EOTSAP), The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), /Office of Human Resources (OCAO/OHR), intends to award on a sole source basis a FAR 12 Purchase Order to TANGO CARD, INC. of 4700 42ND AVE SW STE 430A Seattle, WA 981164589. UEI: D872VAJFUCN5. to provide electronic/virtual gift cards and allow the individual employee to select the gift card of their choice from a wide variety of options (merchants), allow for distribution of the gift cards virtually/electronically and allow Human Capital program administrators the ability to administer the overall purchase and distribution of the gift cards on-line. EOTSAP is an employee recognition program where the employee is awarded a gift card from the available selection on hand, for the specified award dollar amount to recognize the specified employee for day-to-day efforts that exceed their normal performance and is not connected to their annual performance appraisal. Tango Card, Inc. is the only vendor identified with the capability to permit employee selection of the specific gift card from a variety of businesses and electronically transmit that selected gift card to the employee via email Tango Card Inc. previously provided gift cards in support of EOTSAP. Through that effort, a centralized administrative portal was established to track all gift card activity, including issuance dates, access dates, and balance changes. Procuring additional cards through Tango Card will allow the new purchases to be incorporated into the existing portal without the need incur associated setup costs. Using the current active portal also preserves continuity of data across which is critical for consistent tracking, reporting, and oversight. The portal�s existing administrative capabilities, including real-time activation, immediate digital delivery, and automated audit trail generation, are necessary to support strict federal accounting requirements for participant incentives. Market research indicates that alternative vendors do not offer the same integrated tracking functionality needed to mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse without significant manual workarounds. Transitioning to another vendor would require duplicative administrative setup, creation of redundant tracking systems, and additional transition-related costs. In addition, the contractor�s proprietary portal has already been reviewed and authorized for use. As a result, Tango Card is uniquely positioned to fulfill this requirement efficiently and without disruption to ongoing operations. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals, nor will a solicitation be issued to the public. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to the following point of contact (POC) and alternate point of contact no later than 9:00 AM ET on Thursday, August 27, 2026. POC: Kendall Jones at Kendall.jones1@uspto.gov Alternate POC: Christopher Ward at Christopher.ward@uspto.gov NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE PTAG SYNOPSIS STATEMENT The subject requirement is being procured using the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A) DISCLAIMER All information received in response to this Special Notice that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this special notice. ###
Recent Agency Awards (Loose Match)
775 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (Commerce (all)), any industry: a loose match.
Loose match: same agency, any industry. Read the titles before treating these as competitors.
Single-winner award sizes (744): middle half $39K to $458K, median $100K; range $3K to $8.0B.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| GROUND LEVEL SERVICES LLC | 15 | $22.5M | Sep 23, 2026 |
| TECHNICAL COMMUNITIES, INC. | 12 | $2.4M | Oct 7, 2026 |
| GOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC SOURCE INC | 7 | $411K | Sep 22, 2026 |
| TOPTICA PHOTONICS INC | 6 | $614K | Oct 7, 2026 |
| TITANIUM LOGISTIC SERVICES, LLC | 6 | $558K | Feb 24, 2026 |
| PARYMON CORP | 5 | $3.5M | Sep 21, 2026 |
| Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC | 4 | $2.7M | Sep 24, 2026 |
| AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC · $A · $7.4B | 4 | $1.5M | Sep 23, 2025 |
| Rohde & Schwarz USA, Inc. | 4 | $1.0M | Sep 30, 2026 |
| GOVAGE, INC. | 4 | $898K | Oct 1, 2026 |
Value counts new single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling (same contract, or the same office, day and amount); that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Contract modifications are not new awards and are not added in either (1 here). Revenue next to a ticker is the company's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings.
- $A reported $7.4B revenue (12 months to Jul 31, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 744 past awards, $100K, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Oct 14, 2026CASTAGNOLA TUG SERVICE, INC.$21KV--Vessel Charter - Buoy Recovery and Deployment - SaNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 14, 2026THE GORDIAN GROUP, INC.$72K14 RS Means License RenewalNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 13, 2026SANGUINE BIOSCIENCES, INC.$200KBlood Bank Sample ServicesNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 13, 2026YOKOGAWA FLUID IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.$147KFlow Imaging Microscopy combined with Light Obscuration CapabilitiesNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 8, 2026SCIENTA OMICRON, INC.$1.2MHigh-pressure XPS SystemNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 7, 2026TECHNICAL COMMUNITIES, INC.$410KANRITSU FREQUENCY EXTENSION SYSTEM BRAND NAME ONLYNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 7, 2026AVANTES, INC$41KNLIR IR SPECTROMETER SYSTEM MODEL S-MIDWAVE-2050-400-2K-F (BRAND NAME ONLY)No listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 7, 2026SPINNER ICT INC$98KPrimary S-Parameter Standards for Plasma Etching RecordNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 7, 2026PC VISION INC$104KOpto-Isolated High Voltage Switch, G3VM-101LRNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 7, 2026TELEDYNE LECROY, INC.$102KArbitrary Waveform GeneratorNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
Competitive landscape
For the 8 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
- 0 of these past winners lobbied Commerce, Dept of (DOC) since 2024 (0 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Commerce, Dept of (DOC) job
- No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
- 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
Policy around it
Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.
- 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 373 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
Market
For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 1 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.
Companies are matched to tickers by exact name, including the subsidiaries a company lists in its SEC filings. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.