Protest on Price Evaluation Method Made After Proposal Deadline is Ruled Late

(Editor’s Note. This case underscores the need to closely examine the method to be used to evaluate proposals early on to allow for timely protests.)

In the RFP to establish a $400 Million blanket purchase agreement for IT support, Lockheed was selected based on its lower price and Unisys protested asserting the government improperly focused only on percentage discounts rather than its more favorable pricing. Lockheed asserted the protest was untimely stating prior cases required challenges to the terms of a solicitation must be made before the closing date of receipt of proposals. Unisys countered stating though it understood the agency would compare price discounts, it nonetheless believed that a comparison of bottom-line prices would be conducted and it did not protest before submitting its quotes because it was confident its more favorable price would “carry the day.” The court ruled against Unisys saying the alleged error of evaluating discount prices was clear before the deadline for receipt of proposals and hence it had waived its right to protest the agency’s price evaluation methods (Unisys Corp. US, Fed. Cl. No. 09-271(C).

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