ERIMAX, Inc

B-410682 Jan 22, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ERIMAX, Inc., of Largo, Maryland, protests the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Veterans Management Services, Inc. (VMSI), of Sterling, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. ST-1330-14-RQ-0541, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for acquisition and grant management support services. The protester alleges that the awardee made a material misrepresentation regarding its authorization to use a subcontractor's name in its quotation. ERIMAX also challenges the agency's evaluation of the quotations and award decision. We deny the protest. 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 version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:      ERIMAX, Inc. File:                B-410682 Date:              January 22, 2015 Jerry A. Miles, Esq., Jennifer Banks, Esq., and Angeline Burke, Esq., Deale Services, LLC, for the protester. Rebecca E. Pearson, Esq., Robert A. Burton, Esq., and Elizabeth Ann Buehler, Esq., Venable LLP, for Veterans Management Services, Inc., an intervenor. Mark Langstein, Esq., and Shraddha A. Upadhyaya, Esq., Department of Commerce, for the agency. Peter D. Verchinski, Esq., and Nora K. Adkins, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest alleging that awardee’s quotation contained a material misrepresentation regarding authorization to use a proposed subcontractor’s name is denied where the protester has not demonstrated that the awardee’s representation was false. 2.  Protest challenging the agency’s price evaluation is denied where the solicitation did not provide for a price realism analysis and where the record demonstrates that the agency did not conduct such an assessment. DECISION ERIMAX, Inc., of Largo, Maryland, protests the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Veterans Management Services, Inc. (VMSI), of Sterling, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. ST-1330-14-RQ-0541, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for acquisition and grant management support services.  The protester alleges that the awardee made a material misrepresentation regarding its authorization to use a subcontractor’s name in its quotation.  ERIMAX also challenges the agency’s evaluation of the quotations and award decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFQ was issued on June 26, 2014, under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4 procedures, to interested small business vendors holding Federal Supply Schedule contracts under Schedule No. 874, mission oriented business integrated services (MOBIS).  RFQ at 8; Contracting Officer (CO) Statement at 1.  The RFQ anticipated the issuance of a single BPA for a base year and four 1-year options for acquisition and grants management support services to support NOAA’s acquisition and financial assistance activities.[1]  RFQ at 9, 12.  Vendors were informed that the BPA would be issued on a best-value basis, considering four evaluation factors (listed in descending order of importance):  technical approach; management plan; past performance; and price.  With respect to the price factor, the solicitation required vendors to complete a pricing matrix for a variety of labor categories at various NOAA locations.  RFP at 96.  Specifically, the solicitation required vendors to enter fully‑burdened fixed hourly labor rates for each labor category into a spreadsheet provided by the agency.  RFP attach. A, Pricing Matrix.  Once vendors’ prices were entered, the spreadsheet would automatically calculate total prices using the rates provided by the vendors.  Legal Memorandum at 14.  The solicitation stated that the agency would evaluate whether the proposed prices were fair and reasonable.  RFQ at 96.  NOAA received 10 quotations in response to the RFQ by the July 17 closing time, including quotations from ERIMAX and VMSI.  AR, Tab 20, Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) Final Report, at 75.  As relevant to this protest, ERIMAX’s quotation provided that the firm would perform the contract using “Team ERIMAX,” which consisted of ERIMAX and its subcontractor, ASI Government, Inc.