GSA delays large Alliant awards until 2009

The General Services Administration plans to award the Alliant Small Business telecommunications contract this month, as it seeks to further evaluate bids on the much larger Alliant contract, agency officials said today.

Mary Powers-King, GSA’s director of governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), said the agency has completed its reevaluations of bids from small businesses competing for spots on the 10-year, $15 billion Alliant Small Business GWAC.

For the 10-year, $50 billion Alliant GWAC, GSA said it has completed the technical and cost/price reevaluations of companies’ bids based on recommendations and findings of the U.S. Federal Claims Court, which in March overturned GSA’s original Alliant contract awards.

However, officials said it’s necessary to start discussions with the bidding companies to find the best values among the proposals. After the bidders provide the requested information, GSA will make a new anticipated award date, which is expected in 2009, according to the agency’s announcement.

GSA asked on Dec. 5 for final proposal revisions from companies that were in the competitive range for spots on the Alliant contract. Those revisions are due back by Dec. 12, according to industry sources.

Companies that didn’t receive such a request are likely out of the running for a spot on the Alliant contract, a source said, adding that the situation is still sensitive and could set off easily another round of protests.

On Dec. 17, 2007, GSA awarded 62 companies with spots on the Alliant Small Business contract, but, as a precaution, retracted those awards after the claims court ruled that GSA didn’t consistently apply its award criteria to all of the bids for Alliant contract. GSA awarded the spots on the Alliant contract to 29 companies in July 2007, and soon had to deal with numerous protests.

Alliant Small Business and Alliant offer a centralized source to buy integrated information technology products and services. The contracts give access to management and technical support services under a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.