Flowlogic, B-289173, January 22, 2002

B-289173 Jan 22, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Is without merit. Were not overstated. That protester's quotation would have been unacceptable even under relaxed requirements. The RFQ specified that vendors were to deliver the software no later than September 5. Quotations were to be evaluated based on technical capability and price. Was most advantageous to the government. Six quotations were received by the August 13 due date. Were unacceptable and. Flowlogic's quotation was determined to be unacceptable because it did not address the survey reporting requirements. Because it was aware of at least two companies which could meet the RFQ requirements. Determined that the requirements were not overly restrictive of competition or overstated. View Decision Flowlogic, B-289173, January 22, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Workflow Systems, Inc. d/b/a Flowlogic protests the decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue a sole-source purchase order to Training Technologies, Inc. (TTI) for software, technical support, training and maintenance to administer 360-degree performance review surveys and organizational surveys at the Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama. We deny the protest. On August 2, 2001, the agency issued request for quotations (RFQ) No. DACW87-01-Q-0012 using simplified acquisition procedures, for a commercial software package to administer the performance review and organizational surveys for a base year, with three 1-year options. The RFQ set forth specific requirements for the software, including, for example, that the surveys be accessible through an Internet browser, that responses to the surveys be anonymous, and that the software support a minimum of 50 concurrent users. The RFQ also specified that the software had to allow users to write comments for each survey question and that each comment field allow a minimum of 2,000 characters. The RFQ specified that vendors were to deliver the software no later than September 5, 2001, and load the software and train the systems and technical administrators during the week of September 5-12. Quotations were to be evaluated based on technical capability and price, with award to be made to the responsible vendor whose quotation, conforming to the RFQ, was most advantageous to the government. Six quotations were received by the August 13 due date. In its initial review, the technical evaluation board (TEB) determined that four of the six quotations, including Flowlogic's, were unacceptable and, after discussions with the remaining two vendors, the TEB determined that none of the quotations met the minimum requirements of the RFQ. Agency Report (AR), Tab A, Contracting Officer's Statement (COS), at 5-6. Flowlogic's quotation was determined to be unacceptable because it did not address the survey reporting requirements, and because it stated that Flowlogic could not meet the September 5-12 training delivery date. In this regard, the quotation stated that "due to the customization effort required to develop the reports needed by [the agency] training of the systems and technical administrators cannot be accomplished until on or about the first week in October." AR, Tab E, Flowlogic Quotation, at 5. In early September, the agency determined to cancel the solicitation, since none of the quotations met its requirements. /1/ The agency re-examined its needs and, because it was aware of at least two companies which could meet the RFQ requirements, determined that the requirements were not overly restrictive of competition or overstated. AR, Tab A, COS, at 6-7. Because the agency needed to have the software in place in early September, the agency determined that it did not have sufficient time to resolicit. Instead, based on prior market research and knowledge that TTI's software was used at another Corps office, the agency reviewed TTI's products on the Internet, contacted the vendor on September 6, and requested an oral quotation. After a technical and price review of TTI's Survey Tracker software and training program, the agency issued a purchase order to TTI that same day, for 1 year, with no options. TTI delivered the software to the agency on September 7. The training for agency personnel was scheduled for September 13 and 14, but, because of the terrorist attacks of September 11, it was delayed until September 17-20. AR, Tab A, COS, at 8. The agency provided Flowlogic an informal debriefing by telephone on October 3, informing the protester why its quotation was unacceptable. Flowlogic filed this protest with our Office on October 15. Flowlogic maintains that the requirements under the RFQ were overly restrictive, as evidenced by the agency's alleged waiver of certain requirements for TTI. In particular, the protester cites the RFQ's September 5 installation date as a requirement that TTI was not required to meet.