Decision Released: FTC Financial Management and Internal Controls Support Services protest denial

File No. B-422761, B-422761.2

Digest

1. Protest challenging agency’s evaluation under solicitation’s technical and management approach factor is denied where the protester fails to demonstrate that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable.
2. Protest challenging agency’s evaluation under solicitation’s past performance factor is denied where the protester fails to demonstrate that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable.
3. Protest challenging agency’s source selection decision is denied where the record shows that the evaluation and source selection decision were reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.

Discussion

The protester raises several challenges to the agency’s evaluation of AOC’s quotation and the resulting award decision. The protester first alleges that the agency’s evaluation of AOC’s technical and management approach failed to assign proper credit to various aspects of AOC’s quotation that, had they been properly considered against the criteria in the RFQ, would have resulted in an adjectival rating of “exceptional” instead of “very good.” Next, the protester argues that AOC’s record of past performance, including its relevant work performed for the FTC as the incumbent on this requirement, should have resulted in an adjectival rating of “exceptional” instead of the rating of “good.” Finally, AOC argues that the agency’s best-value determination was insufficiently documented and flawed because the agency placed outsized importance on certain features of Castro’s quotation while disregarding or ignoring several advantages presented by AOC’s quotation …

Decision

AOC Solutions, Inc., of Fairfax, Virginia, protests the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Castro & Company, LLC, of Alexandria, Virginia, under request for quotation (RFQ) No. 1679927, issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for financial management and internal controls support services. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of AOC’s quotation and best-value determination.

We deny the protest.

Read the decision here.

🔊 Listen to Story