Decision Released: Protest Denial of $1B CMS Agile Collaboration and Modernization Endeavors (ACME) BPA

Updated April 17, 2024

Case ID: B-421561.13,B-421561.16,B-421561.18

Digest

1. In procurement conducted pursuant to the provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 8.4, agency reasonably determined the protester’s quotation ineligible for award where the solicitation required vendors to quote labor categories under a particular General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule Special Item Number (SIN), and the protester quoted labor categories not under the required SIN.
2. Protester is not an interested party to challenge the agency’s evaluation and best‑value tradeoff where protester is not eligible for award.

Discussion

BAO raises numerous challenges to CMS’s evaluation of its quotation and the resulting award decision. The gravamen of BAO’s protest is that CMS should not have rejected its quotation because BAO quoted labor categories within the scope of its MAS contract, which it argues included labor categories from SIN 54151S. Protest at 19-21. BAO also alleges that the agency unreasonably evaluated its quotation under factor 3, technical challenge, conducted unequal and undocumented exchanges, and made an unreasonable best-value tradeoff decision. Protest at 21-28; Comments & Supp. Protest at 19-20; Supp Comments & 2nd Supp. Protest at 19-20. For the reasons that follow, we find the agency reasonably determined BAO was ineligible for award for quoting labor rates and categories inapplicable to the RFQ, and we deny this protest ground. We dismiss the remaining allegations because BAO is not an interested party.

BAO argues that the agency improperly rejected its quotation for quoting SIN 581210C labor rates and categories. Protest at 19‑21. The protester contends the agency’s action were improper because BAO’s MAS contract has been approved for both SIN 581210C and SIN 54151S. Id. In this regard, BAO asserts that it submitted labor categories in its quotation approved under its …

Decision

BAO Systems, LLC (BAO), a small business of Washington, D.C., protests the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), not to select its quotation for the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 75FCMC21Q0013 for agile collaboration and modernization endeavors (ACME). The RFQ sought to establish BPAs with multiple vendors holding contracts under General Services Administration (GSA) multiple award schedule (MAS) special item number (SIN) 54151S, information technology (IT) professional services. BAO argues that the agency unreasonably determined it was ineligible for award. BAO also challenges the agency’s evaluation of quotations and best-value determination.

We deny in part, and dismiss in part, the protest.

Read the decision here.

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