Navarre Corporation (36C24620Q0421)

B-419088.2 Mar 04, 2021 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Navarre Corporation, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Navarre, Florida, protests the award of a contract to KTS Solutions, Inc., of Portsmouth, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C24620Q0421, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for wheelchair van transportation services. Navarre contends the agency's evaluation of KTS's past performance and the resulting award decision were improper. 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:  Navarre Corporation File:  B-419088.2 Date:  March 4, 2021 William M. Weisberg, Esq., Law Offices of William Weisberg, PLCC, for the protester. Sarah Schauerte Reida, Esq., Legal Meets Practical, LLC, for KTS Solutions, Inc., the intervenor. Laetitia C. Coleman, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Emily R. O’Hara, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of the awardee’s offer is denied where the record shows that the evaluation was consistent with the terms of the solicitation and was reasonable. DECISION Navarre Corporation, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Navarre, Florida, protests the award of a contract to KTS Solutions, Inc., of Portsmouth, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C24620Q0421, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for wheelchair van transportation services.  Navarre contends the agency’s evaluation of KTS’s past performance and the resulting award decision were improper.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The procurement was conducted using the simplified acquisition procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 13.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, RFQ at 43.  The RFQ, issued on June 4, 2020, as a SDVOSB set-aside, contemplated the award of a fixed-priced contract for a base period and one 1-year option.[1]  Id. at 1.  Award would be made on a best-value tradeoff basis, using the following evaluation factors:  technical, past performance, and price.  Id. at 46.  Technical and past performance, when combined, were significantly more important than price.  Id.  The contract was awarded to KTS on August 27.  AR, Tab 2, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 4.  Navarre filed its first protest with our Office on September 4.  AR, Tab 1, Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 2.  On September 30, the VA notified our Office that it intended to take corrective action, proposing to reevaluate offers and make a new selection decision.  As a result, we dismissed the protest as academic on October 2.  Navarre Corp., B‑419088, Oct. 2, 2020 (unpublished decision).  The VA completed its reevaluation on November 24, with the final evaluation ratings and prices of KTS and Navarre as follows:[2]   KTS Navarre Technical Excellent Good Past Performance Substantial Confidence Satisfactory Confidence Price $2,788,827 $2,956,450   AR, Tab 6, Award Decision at 23.  Award was again made to KTS.  Id. at 24.  After receiving a brief explanation of award on December 4, Navarre filed this protest with our Office on December 10.  DISCUSSION The protester argues that the VA’s evaluation of KTS’s past performance was inconsistent with the terms of the solicitation, and thus the resulting evaluation and selection decision were in error.[3]  Protest at 5.  Specifically, Navarre contends that the VA should have eliminated KTS from the competition because KTS failed to provide past performance references for contracts that had been completed within the past three years.  Comments at 2.  The agency responds that the past performance evaluation of KTS’s offer was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.  MOL at 9.  The agency notes that the solicitation required “the successful offeror, to have a minimum of 3 years of experience performing commercial Wheelchair Van Transportation Services that are similar or greater in scope, magnitude and complexity to the effort described in the solicitation,” but that the submission of customer satisfaction information for contracts completed in the past three years was not a solicitation requirement.  COS at 5; MOL at 7.  The VA asserts that the instructions to offerors do not “state this information as a requirement[,] instead the solicitation indicates that references for same or similar type contracts are desired.”  MOL at 8.  The agency contends that the instructions “simply asked offerors to provide available information such as . . .  satisfaction ratings for contracts completed in the past three years . . .