XTec, Inc.

B-410778.3 Oct 01, 2015 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights XTec, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, protests the General Services Administration's (GSA) cancellation of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 858797 for products and services related to personal identification verification (PIV) for government employees and contractors, as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive No. 12 (HSPD-12). XTec also protests the GSA's extension of a sole-source task order previously awarded to HP Enterprise Services, LLC (HPES) to provide the products and services contemplated by the cancelled solicitation. XTec asserts that the cancellation was improper because the solicitation reasonably reflected all of the agency's needs; alternatively, XTec asserts that the solicitation's flaws were caused by GSA's failure to engage in reasonable advance planning. XTec also asserts that extension of HPES's task order was caused by GSA's failure to engage in reasonable advance planning, and that the task order extension was improperly justified. We sustain the protest based on the agency's failure to engage in reasonable advance planning. We sustain the protest based on the agency's failure to engage in reasonable advance planning. 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:  XTec, Inc. File:  B-410778.3 Date:  October 1, 2015 David S. Cohen, Esq., John J. O’Brien, Esq., and Gabriel E. Kennon, Esq., Cohen Mohr LLP, for the protester. Richard J. Conway, Esq., Michael J. Slattery, Esq., and Christian N. Curran, Esq., Dickstein Shapiro LLP, for HP Enterprise Services, LLC, an intervenor. Christine L. Krell, Esq., and Adam C. Supple, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Glenn G. Wolcott, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest challenging agency’s cancellation of solicitation is denied where record shows that the agency reasonably concluded that the solicitation failed to contain adequately detailed information regarding various contract performance requirements.  2.  Protest is sustained for agency’s lack of adequate and reasonable advance planning where, despite knowing of and documenting the need for detailed solicitation requirements nearly 4 years prior to cancellation, the agency issued the solicitation containing only “high level” requirements and conducted the procurement, then cancelled the solicitation because it failed to include sufficiently detailed requirements. DECISION XTec, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, protests the General Services Administration’s (GSA) cancellation of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 858797 for products and services related to personal identification verification (PIV) for government employees and contractors, as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive No. 12 (HSPD‑12).  XTec also protests the GSA’s extension of a sole‑source task order previously awarded to HP Enterprise Services, LLC (HPES) to provide the products and services contemplated by the cancelled solicitation. XTec asserts that the cancellation was improper because the solicitation reasonably reflected all of the agency’s needs; alternatively, XTec asserts that the solicitation’s flaws were caused by GSA’s failure to engage in reasonable advance planning.  XTec also asserts that extension of HPES’s task order was caused by GSA’s failure to engage in reasonable advance planning, and that the task order extension was improperly justified. We sustain the protest based on the agency’s failure to engage in reasonable advance planning. BACKGROUND In August 2004, President George W. Bush issued HSPD-12, directing the development of a new standard for secure and reliable forms of identification for federal employees and contractors.  In February 2005, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) responded by publishing Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201, which established specific personal identification verification (PIV) requirements.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Contracting Officer’s Statement, July 27, 2015, at 1.  Thereafter, GSA established the HSPD-12 Managed Services Office (MSO) to provide “turn-key” HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 compliance services for other federal agencies.[1]  Id. Previous Awards to HPES In January 2007, GSA issued a competitive solicitation under its federal supply schedule (FSS) program, requesting quotations from contractors for “end-to-end” HSPD-12 services and explaining that the subsequent task order would be used as a shared service solution by various federal agencies.  In April 2007, GSA awarded a task order to Electronic Data Systems, Inc.