The Winvale Group, LLC (47HAA020Q0086)

B-418804 Aug 06, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The Winvale Group, LLC, of Richmond, Virginia, a small business, challenges the decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to reject its request to submit a quotation after the closing date established by request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47HAA020Q0086, which was issued for a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) enterprise project management information system. The protester argues that the agency improperly revised the procedures for submitting quotations without providing vendors notice of the change, and that the agency should in any event permit the protester to submit a quotation because the RFQ did not specifically prohibit late submissions. 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:  The Winvale Group, LLC File:  B-418804 Date:  August 6, 2020 Franklin C. Turner, Esq., Alexander W. Major, Esq., Cara A. Wulf, Esq., and Ethan M. Brown, Esq., McCarter & English, LLP, for the protester. Kristen Bergh, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that the agency changed the method for submitting quotations without adequate notice is denied where the solicitation required submission through the General Services Administration’s e-Buy portal, and e-Buy users were given advance notice of the changes to the portal. 2.  Agency is not required to accept a late quotation, even in the absence of a late quotation provision, where the agency began substantial evaluation activities before receiving the protester’s request to submit its late quotation. DECISION   The Winvale Group, LLC, of Richmond, Virginia, a small business, challenges the decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to reject its request to submit a quotation after the closing date established by request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47HAA020Q0086, which was issued for a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) enterprise project management information system.  The protester argues that the agency improperly revised the procedures for submitting quotations without providing vendors notice of the change, and that the agency should in any event permit the protester to submit a quotation because the RFQ did not specifically prohibit late submissions. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND GSA issued the solicitation on May 1, 2020, under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 7, RFQ at 25.[1]  The RFQ sought quotations to provide an enterprise project management system for the agency’s Public Buildings Service.  Id. at 30.  The RFQ explained that the contractor will “replace the existing project management solution with a new cloud-based, COTS, enterprise-wide solution that includes hosting, licensing, configuration, data architecture, integration, and support services.”  Id.  The competition was limited to firms that hold contracts under FSS Schedule No. 70.  Id. The RFQ was issued through GSA’s e-Buy web portal and required vendors to submit quotations through that portal before 10:00 a.m. on June 1.  Id. at 49; id., Cover Letter at 25.  The e-Buy portal is a “processing portal that allows buyers in the federal government to publish RFQs and [requests for information].”  AR, Tab 2, Statement of GSA e-Buy Product Owner, at 5.  The e-Buy portal allows vendors to search for contracting opportunities and to “prepare and submit a quote in response to a[n] RFQ.”  Id.; see also FAR 8.402(d).  As discussed below, GSA placed a notice on the e-Buy portal and sent emails to registered e-Buy users advising that GSA would be updating the portal on May 31.  AR, Tab 2, Statement of GSA e-Buy Product Owner, at 5.  GSA received 13 quotations in response to this solicitation through the e-Buy portal prior to closing.  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1.  On June 2, Winvale contacted the contracting officer via email and advised that its “response to the above referenced RFQ was submitted via eBuy on 5/31/2020 but unfortunately it was left in DRAFT mode.”  Protest, exh.