8 Consulting LLC

B-417471 Jul 09, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights 8 Consulting, LLC, a small business located in Alexandria, Virginia, protests the issuance of a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) task order to Creative IT Solutions, of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, under request for quotation (RFQ) No. 831813273, issued by the Department of Defense (DoD), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), for implementation functionality services. The protester challenges the evaluation of its quotation as unacceptable. 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:  8 Consulting, LLC File:  B-417471 Date:  July 9, 2019 William T. Welch, Esq., and Johana A. Reed, Esq., McMahon, Welch and Learned, PLLC, for the protester. Michelle L. Sabin, Esq., Nati Silva, Esq., and Daniel C. McIntosh, Esq., Defense Information Systems Agency, for the agency. Heather Weiner, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging evaluation of quotation as technically unacceptable is denied where the record reflects that the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.  DECISION 8 Consulting, LLC, a small business located in Alexandria, Virginia, protests the issuance of a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) task order to Creative IT Solutions, of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, under request for quotation (RFQ) No. 831813273, issued by the Department of Defense (DoD), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), for implementation functionality services.  The protester challenges the evaluation of its quotation as unacceptable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On September 11, 2018, DISA issued the RFQ under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4, to vendors holding General Services Administration FSS contracts under Information Technology Schedule 70.  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 4.  The RFQ sought vendors to provide implementation functionality services to support the applications and databases of DoD mission partners and DISA customers.[1]  RFQ, Statement of Work (SOW), at 2.  The solicitation contemplated the issuance of a fixed‑price task order for a base period of 6 months, plus two 1-year options.  Id. at 18. The RFQ anticipated award to the vendor submitting the lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) quotation.  RFQ at 3.  The solicitation provided for evaluation under two factors:  technical/management approach and price.  Id. at 3-4.  The technical/ management approach factor consisted of the following three subfactors, which were of equal importance:  minimum qualifications matrix, implementation support, and engineering support.  Id. The RFQ advised that each of the subfactors would be evaluated individually and would be assigned a rating of acceptable or unacceptable.  Id. at 3.  “Acceptable” was defined to mean:  “Quote meets the requirements of the solicitation.”  RFQ, attach. 6, at 1.  “Unacceptable” was defined to mean:  “Quote does not meet the requirements of the solicitation.  Id.  The solicitation provided that quotations must receive an acceptable rating for each subfactor to be technically acceptable and considered for award.  RFQ at 3.  For the price factor, the RFQ provided that the agency would evaluate prices to determine if they are reasonable and complete.  Id.