Link: GAO Opinion
Agency: General Services Administration
Disposition: Protest denied.
General Counsel P.C. Highlight:
GAO denied the protest of Teknion LLC, based on the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Kimball International, Inc., under a request for quotations (RFQ), issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) to supply benching style workstations for FBI offices nationwide.
The agency issued the RFQ to vendors holding GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts. Offerors were informed that the agency planned to establish a BPA with a one-year base period and three one-year options. A BPA was to be issued on a best-value basis, considering a technical and price quote. Technical quotes had to address reconfiguration, durability, management plan, and past performance. The agency determined that Teknion’s technical quote failed to “explain the timeliness of how assembly and disassembly of components are adapted to a new environment,” as required.
Teknion argued that it repeatedly addressed the flexibility of its workstations, which the firm states, “facilitates assembly and disassembly of components.” GAO agreed with the agency that none of the statements made by Teknion adequately addressed timeliness. Specifically, none of the statements highlighted by the protester focused on the ease of assembly and disassembly, rather than the speed with which it can be accomplished. Therefore, GAO found that Teknion did fail to meet the solicitation’s requirement to explain the timeliness of assembly and disassembly.