Symplicity Corporation, B-291902, April 29, 2003

B-291902 Apr 29, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Contracting agency's award of a task order to a firm pursuant to the firm's Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract is improper where the agency failed to consider whether the services offered by the firm are covered by its FSS contract. The record establishes that the firm's quotation was based on providing personnel under labor categories not contained in its FSS contract. 2. Agency's evaluation of quotations submitted in response to a competitive procurement under the Federal Supply Schedule program was unreasonable. For on-line federal employment information services. /1/ We sustain the protest because OPM did not adequately consider whether the services TMP identified in its quotation were covered by its FSS contract. View Decision Symplicity Corporation, B-291902, April 29, 2003 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Symplicity Corporation protests the award of a task order to TMP Worldwide, Inc. (d/b/a Monster Government Solutions) under TMP's Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, pursuant to request for quotations (RFQ) No. SOLO30000003, issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), for on-line federal employment information services. /1/ We sustain the protest because OPM did not adequately consider whether the services TMP identified in its quotation were covered by its FSS contract, and because OPM did not reasonably evaluate quotations with regard to the vendors' proposed prices for system integration. OPM currently operates and maintains USAJOBS, which is an automated federal employment information system providing notice of job opportunities in the federal government. The USAJOBS website "is accessed by over 10,000,000 unique visitors each year," and has available "[a]pproximately 16,000 to 18,000 vacancy announcements . . . each day." RFQ at 6. The RFQ sought "significant enhancements" to the federal government's employment information system to deliver "the best of the next generation of on-line Federal employment information services." For example, while under the current system "a job seeker who wishes to apply for 10 different jobs might be required to print a resume 10 times and send it to 10 separate addresses, even if all 10 jobs are in the same agency," the RFQ anticipates that job seekers will be able to "[c]reate their resumes in a common format, and send them to as many job openings as they wish via the [new] Recruitment One-Stop/USAJOBS website." RFQ at 5-6. The RFQ contained task descriptions for web-based services, telephone-based services, as well as other services, and listed nine "major" performance requirements as well as certain technical requirements. RFQ at 8-17, 24. For example, the solicitation provided that the "overall site design must continue to promote the idea of the Federal Government as a corporate brand, and convey to job seekers the diversity of Federal career opportunities and the values, rewards, and benefits of public service," and specified that the website and telephone systems be accessible 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. RFQ at 8, 13. Additionally, the solicitation included an appendix listing various functional requirements, but noted that these functional requirements were "generally described in terms of desired results, leaving open the approach by which the objective will be achieved." RFQ at 12-13, app. B. The RFQ provided for the award of a 1-year fixed-price task order, with four 1-year options, and stated that award would be made to the vendor whose quotation was determined "most advantageous to the Government considering primarily the contractor's demonstrated technical excellence." The solicitation set forth the following technical evaluation factors in descending order of importance: soundness of proposed technical approach, management capabilities, past performance, and value of enhancements. The solicitation added that the "[t]echnical evaluation factors, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price." RFQ at 26, 27. In response to the RFQ, vendors were to submit a "Technical Proposal" as well as a "Pricing Proposal." RFQ at 20. The RFQ specified that each vendor's "Technical Proposal" was to address the vendor's approach and methodology for accomplishing the work required, as well as the vendor's approach to meeting the nine "major" performance requirements set forth in the solicitation. RFQ at 23-24. The technical proposal section of each vendor's quotation was also to include the roles and resumes of the proposed key personnel, as well as past performance references.