Computer & Hi-Tech Management, Inc., B-293235.4, March 2, 2004

B-293235.4 Mar 02, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest of exclusion of protester's proposal from the competitive range is denied where the agency's evaluation was conducted in accordance with announced evaluation criteria and the record supports the evaluators' conclusions. 2. Agency's determination in this regard is unobjectionable where protester fails to show the determination was unreasonable. CHM contends that exclusion of its proposal was based on the agency's improper evaluation. This procurement is a follow-on to an earlier procurement. Will create a pool of small business firms certified under multiple North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes to meet the demands of federal agencies for IT solutions. The COMMITS NexGen solicitation will use a three-tier process for submission of proposals as well as for task order competition among the ultimate contract awardees. View Decision Computer & Hi-Tech Management, Inc., B-293235.4, March 2, 2004 * REDACTED DECISION DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Computer & Hi-Tech Management, Inc. (CHM) protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. CM1301-03-RP-0019, a total small business set-aside, issued by the Department of Commerce (DOC), for information technology (IT) services. CHM contends that exclusion of its proposal was based on the agency's improper evaluation. We deny the protest. This procurement is a follow-on to an earlier procurement, known as the Commerce Information Technology Solutions (COMMITS) program. The current procurement, referred to as the Commerce Information Technology Solutions Next Generation (COMMITS NexGen) program, will create a pool of small business firms certified under multiple North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes to meet the demands of federal agencies for IT solutions. RFP amend. 6, Sec. B.1 at 2. The COMMITS NexGen solicitation will use a three-tier process for submission of proposals as well as for task order competition among the ultimate contract awardees. The tiers are defined by a firm's annual level of revenue and the associated NAICS code under which they qualified. RFP amend. 3, Sec. C.2 at 6. On August 18, 2003, the agency issued the solicitation for this procurement, which contemplates the award of multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity task order contracts with a 5-year ordering period. RFP amend. 6, Sec. B.3 at 2. As amended, the RFP provided that the procurement would be conducted in three phases and may encompass several competitive range determinations in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 15.306(c)(2). /1/ RFP amend. 6, Cover Letter at 1. Phase I is a down-select process in which DOC intends to select the offerors that will proceed to the next phase of the competition. In Phase II, qualified offerors will submit a more detailed technical and price proposal in accordance with the Phase II solicitation instructions. Under Phase III (which is optional) offerors would be invited to make oral presentations. RFP amend. 5, Sec. L.11.1 at 64-65. This protest concerns the Phase I competition for Tier III offerors only. /2/ As relevant here, the RFP Phase I proposal instructions specified as follows: Offerors shall respond to the request for information identified as an attachment to the solicitation cover letter. This will include responses to the pertinent questions for the offeror [referred to in the record as the "down-select questions"] as well as past performance information and pricing information. The government will evaluate responses to questions as they relate to the offeror's overall experience and quality of services provided and pricing information. The criteria used will include the offeror[']s technical capabilities, experience in providing similar work, and quality of completed work as determined by past performance information. Offerors shall also submit pricing information in accordance with Section L.11.2.1.2. RFP amend. 6, Sec. L.11.2.1 at 65. Under price, the RFP required offerors to complete a pricing matrix included as an attachment to the solicitation and provide rates for designated standard labor categories on both an hourly and annual basis. The RFP directed offerors to assume that the work would be performed at a Washington, DC location and reflect government-site labor rates, and were instructed to use 1,800 annual hours for purposes of calculating the total price over a 5-year period. RFP attach. J-6, Pricing Matrix; RFP amend. 6, Sec. L.11.2.1.2 at 65a. The RFP advised that the purpose of the pricing matrix was to allow the agency to compare pricing among all offerors and further advised in section L.11.2.1.2 as follows: Prices should be tied into an existing contract arrangement such as a [General Services Administration] Schedule contract or another [government-wide acquisition contract].