Kloppenburg Enterprises, Inc., B-294709, December 10, 2004

B-294709 Dec 10, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Kloppenburg Enterprises, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Alutiiq Management Services, LLC under request for proposals (RFP) No. HE1254-04-R-0020, issued by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for school bus drivers and safety attendants in Guam. We deny the protest. View Decision B-294709, Kloppenburg Enterprises, Inc., December 10, 2004 Decision Matter of: Kloppenburg Enterprises, Inc. File: B-294709 Date: December 10, 2004 Bruce Kloppenburg for the protester. William K. Walker, Esq., Walker Reausaw, for Alutiiq Management Services, LLC, the intervenor. Robert Schildkraut, Esq., Department of Defense Education Activity, for the agency. Charles W. Morrow, Esq., and Guy R. Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protester is not prejudiced by the award of a contract to a contractor whose office for the administration of the contract was not registered in the central contractor registration (CCR) database at the time of the award, where the contractor's corporate office was registered in the CCR database before award, the contracting officer confirmed before award that the contractor would promptly register its administering office, and the awardee did so. 2. In a negotiated procurement in which technical merit was stated to be more important than price, selection of the lower priced proposal was proper where the protester's and the awardee's proposals were found technically equal. DECISION Kloppenburg Enterprises, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Alutiiq Management Services, LLC under request for proposals (RFP) No. HE1254-04-R-0020, issued by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for school bus drivers and safety attendants in Guam. We deny the protest. The RFP provided for the award of a fixed-price contract for a base year with 2option years for school bus drivers and safety attendants to transport students from schools operated by DoDEA for dependents of military service members and civilian employees in Guam. See RFP amend. A001, at 7. Among other things, the RFP required that offerors furnish a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the central contractor registration (CCR) database. Id. at 113. A DUNS number (used as the Contractor Identification Number in federal contracts) is assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services, and different DUNS numbers are assigned for each of a contractor's differing locations or addresses or legal divisions. [1] The CCR is a database used to collect and manage contractor information, including taxpayer identification numbers and electronic fund transfer information. [2] See Central Contractor Registration Handbook (May2004) at 3. Offerors were informed that award would be made on a best-value basis considering technical, past performance, and price. The RFP stated that the technical and past performance factors were equally important and together were more important than price. See RFP amend.A001, at 114-18. The agency received four proposals, including those of Kloppenburg and Alutiiq (the incumbent contractor and an Alaskan Native Corporation). Alutiiq's proposal of2,420,502 was the lowest-priced offer, and Kloppenburg's proposal of $2,865,076 was next lowest-priced offer. [3] The agency's technical evaluation team evaluated the proposals against the evaluation factors, by identifying strengths and weaknesses in each proposal and assigning a rating to each technical proposal. Kloppenburg's and Alutiiq's proposals were both rated exceptional under the technical factor and good under the past performance factor, and were considered technically equal. Agency Report (AR), Tab 20, Technical Evaluation Report, at 2. In addition, the firms' proposed prices were determined to be fair and reasonable. See AR, Tab 21, Source Selection Memorandum, at 2. Award was made to Alutiiq on the basis of that firm's low price, and Kloppenburg protested the award to the agency, complaining, among other things, that Alutiiq did not have a DUNS number and was not registered in the CCR database at the time of award and that the RFP should have provided for electronic submission of proposals. DoDEA denied Kloppenburg's agency-level protest, and Kloppenburg filed this protest with our Office. With respect to Kloppenburg's complaint that Alutiiq did not have a DUNS number and was not registered in the CCR database before award, the record shows that Alutiiq, the incumbent contractor, did in fact have a DUNS number for its main corporate office in Anchorage, Alaska and that office was registered in the CCR database. AR, Tab 23, Alutiiq CCR Registration. Alutiiq proposed to use its Chesapeake, Virginia office to administer the contract and receive contract payments. See Intervenor's Comments at 1.