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B-292705 1 (2003-11-13)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacymd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I G A 0Comptroller General .. . .Accountability * Integrity * Reliability of the United States United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 D .. Decision Matter of: The ARK Enterprises, Inc. File: B-292705 Date: November 13, 2003 Mimi Snyder for the protester. Tammy L. Walker for Natural Sorb Corporation, an intervenor. Niketa L. Wharton, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, for the agency. Jacqueline Maeder, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging evaluation of proposals is denied where record shows that agency evaluated proposals in accordance with the solicitation criteria, and that its conclusions were reasonable. DECISION The ARK Enterprises, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Natural Sorb Corporation under request for proposals (RFP) No. SP0450-02-R-0850, issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR), for various peat moss absorbent products. ARK argues that the agency improperly evaluated the proposals and improperly made award on the basis of low price. We deny the protest. The solicitation, issued on September 5, 2002, as a HUBZone small business set-aside, contemplated the award of a fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for a base year with four 1-year options. The RFP provided for award, without discussions, to the offeror whose proposal, conforming to the solicitation, represented the best value to the agency based on price and past performance. The past performance factor included two subfactors: (1) DLA's Automated Best Value System (ABVS), which assigns a numeric score based upon the company's performance history, and (2) DLA's Mentoring Business Agreements (MeBA). Additionally, the solicitation provided that offers could include information on past and current Federal (non-DSCR), State and local government and private sector contracts performed by the offeror at the proposed performance location within the