• LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

+1-571-223-6845

Bid Protest Weekly
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
    • WHAT is a bid protest?
    • WHO can file a bid protest
    • DO I need an Attorney?
    • WHY Should you file a bid protest?
    • WHEN Must you file a bid protest?
    • WHERE can you file a bid protest?
    • READING the RFP
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Spectrum Systems, Inc., B-401130, May 13, 2009

  • By GCPC GovCon Legal Team
  • May 13, 2009
  • CompliancePrice Evaluation

Link:   GAO Opinion

Agency:          Department of the Navy

Disposition:  Protest denied.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GAO Digest:

1. Agency properly accepted a quotation that complied with the solicitation’s requirements, where there was no significant countervailing evidence reasonably known to the agency evaluators that should have created doubt as to whether the vendor will or can comply with the solicitation’s requirements; whether the vendor, whose quotation agreed without exception to furnish a product in accordance with the terms of the solicitation, actually delivers a product compliant with the terms of the solicitation is a matter of contract administration, which is for consideration by the contracting agency, rather than GAO.

2. Agency, in calculating the vendors’ proposed prices and in its best value analysis, properly did not perform a life cycle cost analysis regarding the solicited software and associated maintenance, where the solicitation did not provide for the performance of a life cycle cost analysis.

General Counsel P.C. Highlight:

Spectrum first protests that the products offered by MTM do not have a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 validation, and as such do not meet a mandatory requirement set forth in the solicitation. The protester’s argument here is based upon Spectrum’s analysis of publicly-available information concerning MTM’s quoted product, and Spectrum’s understanding of the FIPS validation process.

Based upon a review of the record, the agency reasonably found that MTM’s quotation provided the information requested by the solicitation, and agreed without exception to furnish a product in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. While Spectrum contends that the agency could not accept MTM’s quotation representation without further investigation, an agency may accept a quotation’s representation that indicates compliance with the solicitation requirements, where there is no significant countervailing evidence reasonably known to the agency evaluators that should create doubt whether the offeror will or can comply with the requirement. Here, notwithstanding the detailed arguments by Spectrum as to why MTM’s quotation will not provide a product that meets the FIPS 140-2 certification requirement, the record does not indicate there was any countervailing evidence reasonably known to the agency evaluators before award that should have created doubt that MTM would or could honor its quotation. Whether MTM actually delivers a product compliant with the terms of the solicitation is a matter of contract administration, which is for consideration by the contracting agency, rather than GAO. GAO does not review matters of contract administration under the bid protest function.

The protester also argues that the agency failed to properly evaluate the vendor’s proposed prices, and as a consequence, to determine which quotation represented the best value to the government. Specifically, the protester complains that the agency calculated prices by considering only the prices on a per license basis, multiplied by an estimated 160,000 users, and the price for maintenance. The protester argues here that the agency was required by certain Navy and Office of Management and Budget guidelines to include, in arriving at the vendor’s evaluated prices, a “life-cycle cost analysis.” The protester further argues that the consideration of such an analysis in the agency’s price calculation and best value determination would be consistent with the terms of the solicitation. In this regard, the protester points out that as set forth in the solicitation, “the only exclusion from the competitive cost analysis were the training costs,” and as such, the agency was obligated to consider any costs that were not specifically excluded by the terms of the solicitation.

The agency’s price evaluation was consistent with the terms of the solicitation. The RFQ stated with regard to the price factor that “[l]icense and maintenance prices will be considered on a comparative per seat basis with other prices received in response to this solicitation,” and contained no provision for the evaluation of life cycle costs. Thus, the terms of the RFQ precluded the agency from conducting an evaluation that considered life cycle costs. The fact that the solicitation also included a provision stating that “[t]raining prices will be evaluated for compliance to the stated RFQ requirements but will not be included in the comparative analysis” cannot reasonably be read as requiring the consideration of every other aspect of cost associated with this program that could impact the agency. In this regard, to be reasonable, the interpretation of solicitation language must be consistent with the solicitation when read as a whole and in a manner that gives effect to all of its provisions, and Spectrum’s assertions here simply are not reasonable. To the extent that the protester now contends that the solicitation should have provided for the consideration of life cycle costs either as part of the price evaluation or the best value determination, its protest is untimely. The protest is denied.

Share

Related Posts

Matter of David Jones, CPA PC

October 13, 2017

CenturyLink QGS, B-408384, August 27, 2013

September 25, 2013

Contract Services, Inc., B-407894; B-407894.2, April 3, 2013

April 24, 2013

Burke Consortium, Inc., B-407273.3; B-407273.5, February 7, 2013

April 10, 2013

Comments are closed

Search Bid Protest Weekly

Need help with a bid protest?

Call us at: 703-556-0411 Or fill out this form:

Categories

  • 8(a) Sole Source Awards
  • Acknowledging Amendments
  • Adequately Written Proposal
  • Adverse Agency Action
  • Adverse Impact Analysis
  • Agency Tender
  • Alternate or Previously-Approved Product
  • Ambiguity in Solicitation
  • Attorney's Fees
  • Bad Faith in Evaluation
  • Below-Cost Offer
  • Best Value
  • Beyond the Scope
  • Bias
  • Bid and Proposal Costs
  • Bid Bond
  • Bid Compliance
  • Bid Protest Decisions
  • Bid Protest Jurisdiction
  • Bid Protests
  • Bidding Best Practices
  • Blanket Purchase Agreement
  • Blanket Purchase Order
  • Blog Articles
  • Bona Fide Needs Rule
  • Brand Name or Equal
  • Broad Agency Announcement
  • Brooks Act
  • Bundling or Consolidation
  • Buy American Act
  • Cancellation of a Solicitation
  • Capability of Contractor
  • CCR Registration
  • Certificate of Competency (COC)
  • Certification Requirements
  • Changes Clause
  • Clarifications
  • Clear and Convincing Evidence
  • Clearly Meritorious Protest
  • Clerical Error
  • Commercial Item Acquisition
  • Competitive Range
  • Compliance
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Construction Design-Build
  • Construction Services
  • Contract Administration
  • Contract Modifications
  • Contracting Preference
  • Contractor Responsibility
  • Corporate Capability
  • Corrective Action
  • Cost Accounting System
  • Cost Evaluation
  • Cost Realism
  • Cost Reimbursement Contract
  • Cost-Technical Trade-Off
  • Customary Commercial Practice
  • CVE
  • DCAA Audit
  • Debriefing
  • Default Termination
  • Deficient Price Proposal
  • Delivery Order jurisdiction
  • Delivery Schedule
  • Designated Employee Agent
  • Disclosure of Price
  • Disclosure of Source Selection-Sensitive Information
  • Discussions
  • Disqualification
  • Documentation of Evaluation
  • Domestic Production Requirement
  • Education Center Articles
  • Electronic Filing
  • Evaluation Criteria
  • Evaluations
  • Events
  • Executive Order Compliance
  • Experience of Contractor
  • Experience Requirement
  • Fair Market Price
  • FASA
  • FedBizOpps
  • Federal Prison Industries (FPI)
  • Filing Deadlines
  • Final Evaluation
  • Final Proposal Revisions
  • Financial Responsibility
  • Fixed Price Contract
  • Former Government Employees
  • FSS Contract
  • GAO Bid Protest Review
  • GAO Jurisdiction
  • GAO Standard of Review
  • Government Contracts
  • Government Office Closings
  • Government Surplus Material
  • GSA Lease
  • HUBZone
  • ID/IQ
  • In-Sourcing
  • Incentive Fee
  • Inclement Weather Delay
  • Incomplete Proposal
  • Incorporation by Reference
  • Incumbent Capture
  • Incumbent Status
  • Independent Government Estimate (IGE)
  • Individual Environmental Report
  • Industrial Mobilization
  • Innovations
  • Interested Party
  • Invitation for Bid
  • Invited Contractor
  • Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act
  • Joint Venture
  • Key Personnel
  • Labor Hours
  • Labor Rate Pricing
  • Late Proposals
  • Late Submissions
  • Level of Effort
  • Licensing Requirements
  • Limitation on Subcontracting
  • Liquidated Damages
  • Lost Proposal
  • Lowest Price Technically Acceptable
  • Mail-Box Rule
  • Management Planning
  • Market Research
  • MAS Contracts
  • Material Misrepresentation
  • Material Solicitation Amendment
  • Material Solicitation Terms
  • Meaningful Discussions
  • Micro-Purchase Threshold
  • Minimum Requirements
  • Misleading Discussions
  • Mistake
  • Mitigation Strategy
  • Multiple Awards
  • NAICS Code
  • National Security
  • Negotiation
  • News
  • Non-Procurement Instruments
  • Novations
  • Offeror Representations
  • OMB Circular A-76
  • Option Exercise
  • Oral Presentations
  • Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)
  • Page Limitations
  • Past Performance
  • Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS)
  • Performance Based Standards
  • Permits and Responsibilities
  • Personal Conflicts of Interest
  • Post-Award Changes to the Contract
  • Post-Protest Re-Evaluations
  • Practicable Alternative
  • Pre-Award Protest
  • Pre-award vs. Post-award Requirements
  • Pre-Qualification of Offerors
  • Pre-Solicitation Notice
  • Prejudice
  • Price Calculation Error
  • Price Calculation Error
  • Price Evaluation
  • Price of FSS Task Order Quote
  • Price Realism
  • Price Reasonableness
  • Price Reduction
  • Procurement Announcement
  • Procurement Integrity
  • Product Testing
  • Proposal Acceptance Period
  • Proposal Detail
  • Proposal Evaluation
  • Proposal Extension
  • Proposal Standards
  • Proposals
  • Protest Terms of Solicitation
  • Protester Comments
  • Public-Private Competition
  • Randolph-Sheppard Act (RSA)
  • Rate Tenders
  • Re-Certification of Size Status
  • Reconsideration
  • Reevaluation
  • Reevaluation Standards
  • Reimbursement of Protest Costs
  • Rejection of Proposal
  • Relaxation or Waiver of Requirement
  • Relevancy of Past Performance
  • Reliance on the Proposal
  • Remedies
  • Requirements Contract
  • Responsibility
  • Responsiveness
  • Restricted Competition
  • Resumes
  • Revision of Proposal
  • Revision of Proposals
  • Risk
  • Rule of Two
  • SBA Status protest
  • Scope of GAO Review
  • SDVOSB Set-Asides
  • Significant Issue Exception
  • Simplified Acquisition Procedures
  • Site Visit
  • Size Determination
  • Size Protest
  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
  • Small Business Set-Asides
  • Small Business Subcontracting Goals
  • Sole-Source Award
  • Solicitation Amendment
  • Solicitation Requirements
  • Source Approval
  • Source Selection Authority
  • Source Selection Decision
  • Source Selection Plan
  • Sources Sought Notice
  • Staffing Plan
  • State and Local Requirements
  • Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
  • Subcontract Protest
  • Subcontractor Experience
  • Suspension and Debarment
  • Taking Exception to RFP Requirements
  • Task Orders
  • Teaming Agreement
  • Technical Acceptability
  • Technical Evaluation
  • Technical Evaluation
  • Termination of Award
  • Terms of the Solicitation
  • Timeliness of Protest
  • Timely Filing
  • Timely Performance
  • Timely Proposal Submission
  • Trade Agreement Act
  • Unbalanced Pricing
  • Unduly Restrictive Terms
  • Unequal Access to Information
  • Unequal Treatment of Offerors
  • Uniform Time Act of 1996
  • Unstated Evaluation Criteria
  • Unusual and Compelling Urgency
  • Use of Appropriated Funds
  • Veterans First
  • VIP Database
  • VOSB Set Asides
  • Wage Determination

Get Help


Talk to an
attorney who
specializes
in bid protests:

+1-571-223-6845
Email

Keep up to date
on bid protest
decisions and
policies:

© 2022 Bid Protest Weekly

  • LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Bid Protest Ed Center
    • WHAT is a bid protest?
    • WHO can file a bid protest
    • DO I need an Attorney?
    • WHY Should you file a bid protest?
    • WHEN Must you file a bid protest?
    • WHERE can you file a bid protest?
    • READING the RFP
  • Blog
  • Topics
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • LinkedIn
  • Google +
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

+1-571-223-6845