Updated September 10, 2024
Cadre5, LLC, a small business of Knoxville, Tennessee, protests the issuance of a task order to Tripoint Solutions LLC (Tripoint), a small business of Arlington, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 89233123RNA000168 issued by the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), for Agile software development support services. Cadre5 argues that the agency’s evaluation of technical quotations and best-value tradeoff analysis are unreasonable.
We sustain the protest.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on our review of the record, we are unable to conclude that the agency’s rating of Cadre5’s quotation as merely acceptable and Tripoint’s rating of good under the technical understanding factor were reasonable. Moreover, the agency’s best value determination was unreasonable where it relied on the unsupported evaluation ratings of the quotations submitted by Cadre5 and Tripoint and the record lacks any evidence that the agency compared the qualitative strengths and weaknesses of Cadre5’s quotation to those of Tripoint’s quotation. We further conclude that Cadre5 was competitively prejudiced by these evaluation errors. We recommend that the agency reevaluate technical quotations consistent with this decision and based on that reevaluation, make and document a new source selection determination. If, upon reevaluation, NNSA determines Cadre5 offers the best value to the government, NNSA should terminate Tripoint’s task order for the convenience of the government and issue the task order to Cadre5.
The protest is sustained.
Read The Full Decision Document Here
Added August 29, 2024
The government will now be forced to revisit their award decision and make some adjustments based on the ruling.
Protester: Cadre5, LLC
Solicitation Number: 89233123RNA000168
Agency: Department of Energy : National Nuclear Security Administration
File number: B-422616.1
Outcome: Sustained
Decision Date: Aug 28, 2024
Track Related GAO Activity Here.
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