The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) may proceed with performance of a support services award, the General Accountability Office (GAO) ruled (Savantage Fin. Servs. Inc., GAO, B-411647, 9/17/15, decision released 9/24/15).
The GAO rejected the protester’s challenge to the agency’s non-price-factor evaluations and best-value determination.
The DFAS issued a request for quotations to provide support services for the agency’s Defense Departmental Reporting System. Quotations were sought from holders of General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule contracts under North American Industry Classification System Code 541519 to provide a variety of operational and functional support.
Protester Savantage Financial Services Inc. and awardee CSCI Consulting Inc. received the same rating for non-price factors, but CSCI Consulting won the award after proposing savings of more than $1 million. Savantage protested the agency’s technical and past performance evaluations.
Reasonable Interpretation. The GAO denied the protest, concluding that the technical evaluation satisfied solicitation requirements by focusing on the awardee’s proposed labor categories.
The GAO also upheld the past performance evaluation, noting that the agency assessed CSCI Consulting’s recent and relevant experience in terms of size, scope and complexity on at least five prior contracts, including those involving the Defense Departmental Reporting System.
Finally, the GAO upheld the best-value determination because Savantage’s quotation didn’t demonstrate any additional value to warrant a price premium.
Thompson Coburn LLP represented the protester. Cohen Mohr LLP represented the intervenor-awardee.
The GAO’s decision is available at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/672728.pdf
Reproduced with permission from Federal Contracts Report 104 FCR 991, 9/29/15. Copyright 2015 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) <https://www.bna.com>
