Sysco Central Texas, Inc. (SPE300-20-R-0035)

B-422356 May 08, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Sysco Central Texas, Inc., of New Braunfels, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Labatt Institutional Supply Company (d/b/a Labatt Food Service or Labatt Food Service Corporation), of San Antonio, Texas, under request for proposals (RFP) No. SPE300-20-R-0035, issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), for subsistence products. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of the awardee's past performance and the award decision. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. The entire decision has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Sysco Central Texas, Inc. File: B-422356 Date: May 8, 2024 Patrick K. Burns, Esq., and Jeremy Camacho, Esq., Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP, for the protester. Amanda Stone, Esq., Department of Defense, for the agency. April Y. Shields, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest arguing that the agency failed to consider past performance information of the awardee for a contract awarded after the solicitation’s closing date and before award is denied where the agency was not required to consider that information. 2. Agency’s selection of a technically superior, lower-priced proposal for award is unobjectionable where the award decision was reasonable, adequately documented, and consistent with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION Sysco Central Texas, Inc., of New Braunfels, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Labatt Institutional Supply Company (d/b/a Labatt Food Service or Labatt Food Service Corporation), of San Antonio, Texas, under request for proposals (RFP) No. SPE300-20-R-0035, issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), for subsistence products. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of the awardee’s past performance and the award decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On September 11, 2020, the agency issued the RFP for a contractor to supply subsistence products, including food and beverage items for Department of Defense and other federally funded customers in the Central Texas area. Agency Report (AR), Exh. 1, RFP at 88.[1] The RFP contemplated the award of a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with economic price adjustment, with a guaranteed minimum of $6.3 million and a maximum of $126 million. Id. The contract would be performed over 60 months, including a first tier period of 36 months and a second tier period of 24 months. Id. The RFP stated that award would be made on a best-value tradeoff basis considering four factors: technical--resource availability; technical--quality control, assurance, and warehouse management system procedures; past performance; and price. Id. at 171, 197. For past performance, the RFP instructed that “the offeror shall provide the information required” for contracts “submitted for the timeframe of up to three years prior to the closing date of the solicitation.” Id. at 175. The RFP provided that the agency would evaluate the information provided by the offeror and that, “in establishing what is recent for past performance, consideration will be given to those contracts provided with any contract performance within the timeframe of up to three years prior to the solicitation closing date up to the time of award.” Id. at 198. The RFP also reserved to the agency the right to consider other information by providing that the agency “may also obtain and use past performance information from sources other than those identified by the offeror, including those from publicly available, non-confidential verifiable sources.” Id. at 176, 198. On or before the November 20, 2020, amended closing date for initial proposals, the agency received proposals from two offerors: Sysco and Labatt. Over the course of the next almost three years, the agency: established a competitive range and held six rounds of negotiations with the offerors; sent two requests for final proposal revisions (FPRs); and received FPRs on or before March 24, 2023. Contracting Officer’s Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 12‑18. The agency evaluated the FPRs as follows:   Sysco Labatt Technical--Resource Availability Outstanding Outstanding Technical--Quality Control, Assurance, and Warehouse Management System Procedures Outstanding Outstanding Past Performance Substantial Confidence Substantial Confidence Total Evaluated Price $28,950,087 $28,482,434   AR, Exh. 17, Source Selection Decision Document (SSDD) at 9, 36. The source selection authority (SSA) considered the evaluation results and documented a detailed comparative analysis of the proposals and the award decision.