Commonwealth Industrial Specialties, Inc., B-277833, November

B-277833 Nov 25, 1997 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Requirement that responses to simplified acquisition request for quotations be submitted electronically through the agency's electronic bulletin board (EBB) is reasonable and consistent with the statutory requirement that competition for procurements using simplified acquisition procedures be promoted to the maximum extent practicable. The RFQ was issued under the agency's automated procurement procedures as a simplified acquisition pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. Where the acquisitions are not complex or urgent. Are not for weapons systems. RFQs are available only through the agency's electronic bulletin board (EBB) and quotations can be transmitted only in an electronic format using the agency's EBB. View Decision Matter of: Commonwealth Industrial Specialties, Inc. File: B-277833 Date: November 25, 1997 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Commonwealth Industrial Specialties, Inc. (CIS) protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. SPO400-97-T-L228, issued by the Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), for pressure gages. We deny the protest. The RFQ was issued under the agency's automated procurement procedures as a simplified acquisition pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2304(g) (Supp. II 1996), as implemented in part 13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Section 2304(g)(1) provides, in relevant part, as follows: In order to promote efficiency and economy in contracting and to avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall provide for . . . special simplified procedures for purchases of property and services for amounts not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold . . . . DSCR uses the automated procurement procedures for purchases of supplies of up to $25,000, where the acquisitions are not complex or urgent; are not for weapons systems, back-ordered, or rebuy items; and do not involve government-furnished property. Under these procedures, RFQs are available only through the agency's electronic bulletin board (EBB) and quotations can be transmitted only in an electronic format using the agency's EBB. Vendors can access the EBB through the vendor's personal computer by dialing a telephone number or logging on to the Internet. First time users must register with the agency before proceeding to the EBB menu screens that offer the option to download solicitations or submit quotes (or perform such functions as reviewing the vendor's Automated Best Value Model past performance score). CIS argues that the requirement that quotations submitted in response to the RFQ be transmitted through the agency's EBB violates the requirement under 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2304(g)(3) (1994) that "[i]n using simplified procedures, the head of the agency shall promote competition to the maximum extent practicable." We disagree. Where requiring electronic submission of quotations in a procurement using simplified acquisition procedures would increase efficiency and promote competition, without overly burdening prospective vendors, it is consistent with the statutory mandate that competition be promoted to the maximum extent practicable when simplified acquisition procedures are used. Arcy Mfg. Co., Inc. et al., B-261538 et al., Aug. 14, 1995, 95-2 CPD Para. 283 at 3-5. Here, DSCR reports that requiring vendors to use its EBB promotes efficiency and economy by reducing DSCR's administrative costs and burdens, accelerating the procurement cycle, and reducing vendors' overall costs of doing business with the government. Although CIS questions whether DSCR has adequately documented the claimed benefits of its EBB, in some respects these benefits are self-evident. Most important, CIS has not suggested how or why the agency's conclusions are unreasonable, even with respect to eligible vendors such as the protester itself or others in the protester's business. DSCR's reported experience is consistent with the experience of agencies generally, which have found that, with advances in information technology, the use of an electronic format can be more efficient than the use of a paper format and does not unduly restrict competition. NuWestern USA Contractors, Inc., B-275514, Feb. 27, 1997, 97-1 CPD Para. 90 (issuance of solicitation only in electronic form (CD-ROM) is not unduly restrictive of competition). Moreover, DSCR's approach is consistent with the regulations governing the use of simplified acquisition procedures, which provide that "[p]aper solicitations for contract actions not expected to exceed $25,000 should be issued only when obtaining electronic or oral quotations is not considered economical or practical." FAR Sec.