Cleo Communications US, LLC

B-410552 Jan 06, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Cleo Communications US, LLC, of Chesapeake, Virginia, protests the Department of Veterans Affairs' issuance of a task order to Ricoh USA, Inc., of Malvern, Pennsylvania, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. VA118-14-Q-0631, for a fax and document management system. Cleo asserts that the task order was issued to an entity that did not submit a quotation. In addition, Cleo asserts that the agency unreasonably determined that Ricoh's quotation was technically acceptable. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:      Cleo Communications US, LLC File:                B-410552 Date:              January 6, 2015 Tenley A. Carp, Esq., Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, for the protester. Dal Booth, Ricoh USA, Inc. for the intervenor. Frank V. DiNicola, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Mary G. Curcio, Esq., and David A. Ashen, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that vendor issued a task order was not capable of providing all required items from its General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule contract is denied where agency reasonably determined that vendor in conjunction with its proposed teaming partners could supply all requirements from their schedule contracts.  DECISION Cleo Communications US, LLC, of Chesapeake, Virginia, protests the Department of Veterans Affairs’ issuance of a task order to Ricoh USA, Inc., of Malvern, Pennsylvania, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. VA118-14-Q-0631, for a fax and document management system.  Cleo asserts that the task order was issued to an entity that did not submit a quotation.  In addition, Cleo asserts that the agency unreasonably determined that Ricoh’s quotation was technically acceptable.   We deny the protest. The solicitation sought a contractor to provide a secure network facsimile solution at specified VA medical centers and to support the rollout of a secure document management system for storage and searching of faxed documents.  The solicitation provided that a task order would be issued to the offeror that submitted the lowest-priced, technically acceptable quotation.  The competition was limited to vendors holding General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts under schedule number 70, Special Item Number 132-8, by the time quotations were due on September 17, 2014.  RFQ at 35.  Ricoh submitted the lowest-priced quotation ($2,311,665.19) of the three that the agency received, and was issued the task order.  This protest followed. Cleo asserts that the agency improperly issued the task order to Ricoh Americas Corporation under GSA FSS schedule contract No. GS-35F-0196V when, according to the protester, this schedule contract is actually held by Ricoh USA, Inc., a different business entity and the entity that actually submitted the quotation.  Where, as here, an agency issues an RFQ to FSS contractors under Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 8.4 and conducts a competition, we will review the record to ensure that the agency's evaluation is reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.  Digital Solutions, Inc., B-402067, Jan. 12, 2010, 2010 CPD ¶ 26 at 3-4; DEI Consulting, B-401258, July 13, 2009, 2009 CPD ¶ 151 at 2. Cleo’s argument is without merit.  In this regard, the agency explains that solicitations are posted to specific GSA schedules and only holders of a contract under the specific schedule have direct access to that solicitation.  Agency Email, Dec. 13, 2014.  When an offeror posts a response the agency sees the offeror’s identifying information, including the name, DUNS number, and schedule contract it holds.  Id.  Here, the record indicates that the GSA eBuy portal identified Ricoh Americas Corporation as the sender and listed it as the holder of schedule contract No. GS-35F-0196V.  Supplemental Agency Report (SAR) (Dec. 11, 2014) at 5.  The agency used the GSA Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) to produce the contract documentation, which resulted in the order being issued with the name Ricoh Americas Corporation.  Id. However, the quotation that the agency printed out had Ricoh USA, Inc., not Ricoh Americas Corporation, as the vendor.  Agency Email, Dec. 19, 2014.  In this regard, Ricoh USA had signed a novation agreement with Ricoh Americas Corporation that transferred GSA FSS contract No.