Protester Alleged Discussions Weren’t Meaningful, But Agency Was Just Underwhelmed by Protester’s Revised Approach; Connected Global Solutions, LLC, GAO B-4218266.10, B-418266.12

Protest alleging that agency failed to conduct meaningful discussions is denied. The protester contended the agency had led it to believe that concerns with its proposal had been resolved through discussions, but the SSA still had those concerns, so the discussions must not have been meaningful. GAO rejected the argument. The agency had found that the protester had addressed the concerns. The problem was not with discussions; rather, it was that the protester’s revised proposal was still inferior to the awardee’s.

Background

DoD’s Transportation Command issued an RFP seeking household goods relocation services. Following an initial award, sustained protests, and corrective action, the agency awarded the contract to HomeSafe Alliance, LLC. An unsuccessful offeror, Connected Global Solutions, LLC (CGS), protested.

Legal Analysis

• Agency Conducted Meaningful Discussions – CGS contended that through discussions, the agency had led it to believe that it rectified flaws in its proposal, but the SSA had identified those flaws in the source selection. Thus, CGS argued, the agency must not have conducted meaningful discussions. GAO, however, noted that the SSA did not actually believe that CGS had failed to rectify concerns raised during discussions. In fact, CGS had resolved the issues and the agency no longer believed those concerns represented weaknesses. But even with revisions, the agency found that CGS’s proposal still compared unfavorably to HomeSafe’s. 
• Evaluation of Small Business Utilization Was Reasonable – CGS alleged that HomeSafe’s Small Business Utilization document failed to identify the small businesses it would use for the work. GAO, however, found that the agency reasonably accepted HomeSafe’s commitment to small business. The information in the small business commitment document was estimates that were not incorporated into the award.
• No Unequal Treatment – CGS alleged the agency disparately evaluated proposals. But GAO found that these unequal treatment allegations were mostly disagreement with the agency’s evaluation conclusions. To the extent CGS and HomeSafe received different ratings, the ratings were based on different features of their proposals.

CGS is represented by James Y. Boland, Michael T. Francel, Christopher G. Griesedieck, Taylor A. Hillman, Allison M. Siegel, and Lindsay M. Reed of Venable LLP. The intervenor, HomeSafe, is represented by Craig A. Holman, Stuart W. Turner, Sonia Tabriz, Amanda J. Sherwood, Thomas A. Petit, Trevor Schmitt, Aime JH Joo, and Nicole Williamson of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. The agency is represented by Colonel Frank Yoon, Erika L. Whelan Retta, Lieutenant Colonel Keric D. Clanahan, Robert Depke, Kenneth Roth, Robert Bowers, and Captain Bradley Richardson of the Air Force. GAO attorneys Kenneth Kilgour and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail participated in the preparation of the decision.

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