Martin AIJS, LLC (36C26324Q0646)

B-422764 Sep 20, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Martin AIJS, LLC (Martin), a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Wadsworth, Ohio, protests the remedy that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommended in a decision sustaining Martin's agency-level protest of a sole-source award to Censis Technologies, Inc. (Censis), of Franklin, Tennessee. The VA issued the award under solicitation No. 36C26324Q0646 for laser marking equipment and training. Martin contends that the VA's remedy is insufficient to address the harm it suffered from the agency's improper award to Censis. We dismiss the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of: Martin AIJS, LLC File: B‑422764 Date: September 20, 2024 Luke Martin for the protester. Brian R. Reed, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Sarah T. Zaffina, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall‑McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest of the remedy recommended for a sustained agency‑level protest is dismissed where protester seeks lost profits, which may not be recovered even in the face of government error, and where our Office can recommend no greater remedy than what the agency has recommended. DECISION Martin AIJS, LLC (Martin), a service‑disabled veteran‑owned small business (SDVOSB) of Wadsworth, Ohio, protests the remedy that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommended in a decision sustaining Martin’s agency‑level protest of a sole‑source award to Censis Technologies, Inc. (Censis), of Franklin, Tennessee. The VA issued the award under solicitation No. 36C26324Q0646 for laser marking equipment and training. Martin contends that the VA’s remedy is insufficient to address the harm it suffered from the agency’s improper award to Censis. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND In February 2024, the VA posted request for information (RFI)/sources sought notice No. 36C26324Q0358 to www.sam.gov for a brand name or equal laser marking unit and training for the Fargo VA Medical Center. Protest at 2.[1] Under solicitation No. 36C26324Q0358, the VA was seeking a brand name or equal item‑‑CensiMark Laser Marking Equipment CTO206. Protest exh. 36C26324Q0358‑1 Responses from Martin AIJS, LLC at 6. Martin timely responded to the RFI stating it could provide equipment meeting the desired specifications. Protest at 2. In March, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, the agency issued request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C26324Q0388 as an SDVOSB set‑aside for the brand name or equal laser marking unit, CensiMark Laser Marking Equipment CTO206, and training. Id.; Protest exh. RFQ 36C26324Q0388 Martin AIJS LLC 03112024 at 1, 6. Martin timely submitted a quotation. Protest at 2. In April, the VA posted a notice of intent to award a sole‑source award to Censis under RFQ No. 36C26324Q0646. Martin contacted the VA on April 17, requesting information about the solicitation and asking whether the solicitation was related to RFQ No. 36C26324Q0388. Protest exh. Martin AIJS Mail ‑ Re_ [EXTERNAL] 36C26324Q0646. Martin also asked whether the VA had made an award under RFQ No. 36C26324Q0388. Id. The VA responded that RFQ No. 36C26324Q0388 had been canceled and that the laser needed is “Brand Name Only.” Id. On April 19, Martin responded to the VA with information about its capability to provide the brand name or equal equipment and stated that the sole‑source award “prevents competition.” Id. Although Martin sent follow‑up emails in May and June seeking answers from the VA about the procurement, it received no substantive responses from the VA. Id. The VA awarded the sole-source contract for the equipment and training to Censis on May 15. Censis delivered the equipment on May 20 and the only remaining work to be performed is the installation of the equipment and training. Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS), July 25, 2024 at 1; Resp. to Protester, exh. Contract No. 36C26324P0739 (hereinafter Contract No. 36C26324P0739) at 1. Martin filed a protest with the agency on June 17 challenging the sole‑source award to Censis and arguing the agency should have competed the procurement. Protest at 1‑3; see also Protest exh. ED Response_Martin AIJS LLC Protest (1) (hereinafter VA Protest Decision). On July 10, the VA sustained Martin’s protest. Id. In this connection, the executive director (ED) of the VA’s Office of Acquisition and Logistics reviewed the procurement record and identified some “irregularities.” Id. The ED found that despite Martin’s response to the notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to Censis, the VA failed to properly consider or give Martin a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate its ability to fulfill the requirement. Id.