RJH Supply, LLC (N40080-22-R-8078)

B-420998 Sep 14, 2022 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights RJH Supply, LLC, a small business of Davidsonville, Maryland, protests the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command's issuance of solicitation No. N40080-22-R-8078 for replacement of hospital wayfinding signage. The protester contends that, rather than issuing a competitive solicitation, the agency should have procured the requirement directly from Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), for whom RJH is an authorized sales agent. We dismiss the protest on the basis that the protester is not an interested party. View Decision Decision Matter of: RJH Supply, LLC File: B-420998 Date: September 14, 2022 Robert Hoffman for the protester. Ann L. Giddings, Esq., and Kyle P. Symanowitz, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Michael Willems, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protester is not an interested party to file a protest on behalf of another party absent evidence that the other party has expressly authorized the protester to file and represent it in the bid protest. 2. An authorized sales agent of a potentially interested party is not an interested party to pursue a protest on its own behalf where the agent is not itself a prospective bidder or offeror. DECISION RJH Supply, LLC, a small business of Davidsonville, Maryland, protests the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command’s issuance of solicitation No. N40080-22-R-8078 for replacement of hospital wayfinding signage. The protester contends that, rather than issuing a competitive solicitation, the agency should have procured the requirement directly from Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), for whom RJH is an authorized sales agent. We dismiss the protest on the basis that the protester is not an interested party. Under the bid protest provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3551-3557, only an “interested party” may protest a federal procurement. That is, a protester must be an actual or prospective bidder or offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of a contract or the failure to award a contract. Bid Protest Regulations, 4 C.F.R. § 21.0(a)(1). In this case, RJH does not contend that it is an actual or prospective offeror under this solicitation, but instead asserts that it is an interested party to protest because it is an authorized sales agent for UNICOR. Specifically, the protester argues that because it receives a sales commission on sales of signage of the type involved in this procurement it has a direct economic interest and is therefore an interested party to protest. Although an agent may represent an interested party in a protest where it has been authorized to file protests on behalf of that party, the agent is not itself a prospective bidder or offeror and thus is not necessarily an interested party to protest on its own behalf. E & R, Inc., B‑255868, Mar. 29, 1994, 94‑1 CPD ¶ 218; Windet Hotel Corp., B‑220987, Feb. 6, 1986, 86-1 CPD ¶ 138; Priscidon Enters., Inc., B-220278, Nov. 13, 1985, 85-2 CPD ¶ 549. Moreover, we have specifically concluded that sales agents, participating dealers, or similar representatives are not interested parties to protest on their own behalf simply because they would receive some economic benefit (e.g., a contingent fee) in the event a contract were awarded to its principal. See, e.g., FitNet Purchasing Alliance, B-406075, Feb. 3, 2012, 2012, CPD ¶ 64; Bulloch International, B‑265982, Dec. 26, 1995, 96-1 CPD ¶ 5. In this case, we dismiss the protest because RJH has not established that UNICOR has authorized RJH to pursue bid protests on behalf of UNICOR, and RJH, which is not a prospective bidder or offeror, is not an interested party in its own right. In this regard, RJH has offered a signed letter from UNICOR designating RJH as an “authorized sales representative” for signage and award products. Protest, attach. 1, Letter from UNICOR at 1. The letter goes on to note that as part of RJH’s role as a sales representative RJH is authorized to interact with “federal government agencies and other potential customers on behalf of UNICOR.” Id. That is to say, the letter authorizes RJH to interact with other federal agencies on behalf of UNICOR concerning sales of signage or award products.