B-296602; B-296617, Encompass Group LLC, August 10, 2005

B-296602; B-296617, Encompass Group LLC, August 10, 2005 TITLE: B-296602; B-296617, Encompass Group LLC, August 10, 2005 BNUMBER: B-296602; B-296617 DATE: August 10, 2005 ******************************************************** B-296602; B-296617, Encompass Group LLC, August 10, 2005 Decision Matter of: Encompass Group LLC File: B-296602; B-296617 Date: August 10, 2005 H. K. Tyler, Jr., for the protester. Maura C. Brown, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, and Laura Mann Eyester, Esq., and John W. Klein, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Guy R. Pietrovito, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that solicitations for linens and blankets should not be set aside for small business concerns because there are no small business manufacturers of bulk fabric from which the linens and blankets will be made is denied, where agency found from its market research two or more small business concerns that could provide the linens and blankets manufactured by small businesses and provided at fair market prices. DECISION Encompass Group LLC protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) Nos. 797-NC-05-0044 and 797-NC-05-0045, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs for linen and blankets. We deny the protests. The RFPs were each issued as a total small business set-aside under a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12.6.[1] Offerors were informed that North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 314129 (a small business size standard of 500 employees) applied to each procurement. In addition, offerors were warned that if they were not the manufacturer of the product, the end product provided must be manufactured in the United States by a small business manufacturer.[2] See, e.g., RFP-0044 at 2. Each solicitation provided for the award of a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract: RFP-0044 for sheets, pillow cases and operating room linen, and RFP-0045 for general purpose blankets. Offerors were informed that the basis for award would be the lowest-priced, technically acceptable offer, and that offers would be evaluated under the following criteria: technical acceptability, price, and past performance. Encompass, which does not satisfy the small business standard applied to these procurements, first protests that the RFPs should not be set aside for small business concerns, because there are no small business manufacturers for the supplies sought and therefore VA will not receive offers from any qualified small business concerns under the RFPs. An acquisition with an anticipated dollar value of more than $100,000 must be set aside for small business concerns if the agency determines that there is a reasonable expectation that offers will be received from two or more responsible small business concerns, and that award will be made at a fair market price.[3] FAR sect. 19.502-2(b). Generally, our Office regards such a determination as a matter of business judgment within the agency's discretion, which we will not disturb absent a clear showing that it has been abused. White Storage & Retrieval Sys., Inc., B-256952, July 20, 1994, 94-2 CPD para. 35 at 2-3. Here, VA determined from its market research that it could expect to receive offers from two or more responsible small businesses at a fair and reasonable price.[4] For both procurements, VA identified potential small business sources by reviewing past performance history within the agency and identifying potential small business sources from the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS). Potential small business sources were contacted and interviewed from which it was verified that some had manufacturing capability. In addition, VA consulted a variety of other databases and sources, including the Contractor's Central Registration, SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search (formerly called PRO-Net), and VA's National Acquisition Center's database.