American Systems Consulting, Inc., B-294644, December 13, 2004

B-294644 Dec 13, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights American Systems Consulting, Inc. (ASCI) protests the award of blanket purchase agreement (BPA) No. HC1013-04-A-5001 to ManTech Advanced Systems International under a request for quotations (RFQ) issued by the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) for systems applications and support for the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA). The BPA resulted from a competition conducted among Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) vendors using Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 8 procedures. ASCI contends, among other things, that some of the purchased services are outside the scope of ManTech's FSS contract. We sustain the protest. View Decision B-294644, American Systems Consulting, Inc., December 13, 2004 Decision Matter of: American Systems Consulting, Inc. File: B-294644 Date: December 13, 2004 Daniel A. Bellman, Esq., and William R. Wernet, Esq., for the protester. Devon E. Hewitt, Esq., Daniel S. Herzfeld, Esq., and Orest J. Jowk, Esq., Shaw Pittman LLP, for ManTech Advanced Systems International, an intervenor. William Mayers, Esq., Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, and Robert D. Bourne, Jr., General Services Administration, for the agencies. Sharon L. Larkin, Esq., and Guy. R. Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Award of a blanket purchase agreement based on a competition among Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) vendors using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 8 procedures, is improper, where awardee's quotation contains services not identified on its FSS contract. DECISION American Systems Consulting, Inc. (ASCI) protests the award of blanket purchase agreement (BPA) No. HC1013-04-A-5001 to ManTech Advanced Systems International under a request for quotations (RFQ) issued by the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) for systems applications and support for the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA). The BPA resulted from a competition conducted among Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) vendors using Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 8 procedures. ASCIcontends, among other things, that some of the purchased services are outside the scope of ManTech's FSS contract. We sustain the protest. The RFQ sought quotations for software systems engineering support services for three of DCA's business systems [1] and the development of new business systems applications. These systems will be used to support worldwide commissary operations for the Department of Defense. The list of services to be provided are detailed in a performance work statement (PWS) incorporated into the RFQ, and include project management; systems analysis, evaluations, design, development and testing; systems maintenance; software quality assurance; user support (help desk services); systems deployment support; software configuration management; maintenance of on-line documentations; user training; and local support. PWS1.0, 2.0. The PWS stated that vendors are required to provide "highly skilled professional personnel" for the accomplishment of these tasks. Id. 5.0. In this regard, the PWS detailed the job and education requirements for each of the key and other personnel positions, id. , and required vendors, in their quotations, to identify the labor category from their FSS contract that "most nearly equat[ed]" to each PWS-defined position. RFQ, Quotation Preparation Instructions, D.4.b. Offerors were also required to list, for each labor category, their GSA schedule pricing, as well as any discounted hourly rates for this quotation. Id. , Table2. The RFQ provided for award of a fixed-price BPA for a 1-year phase-in period followed by a base year with four 1-year options, with time-and-material line items for labor and a reimbursable line item for travel. The RFQ stated that award would be made on a best-value basis, considering (in descending order of importance) technical and management capability, present and past performance, and cost/price. RFQ, Evaluation Factors for Award, 1.a. The price evaluation was to be based on a "discounted life cycle cost" for each proposal, based on the proposed prices and hours listed in the quotation over the entire 6-year contract period. Both ASCI and ManTech submitted quotations in response to the RFQ under their respective General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 (Information Technology) contracts. The agency held discussions with each vendor, and obtained revised quotations.