Another protester joins OASIS fight

Another disappointed bidder has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office over the $60 billion OASIS contract.

The General Services Administration made awards to 74 contractors in the unrestricted track of the contract for high-end professional services.

Smartronix Inc. joins four other companies that have filed protests so far.

I’m still expecting some more protests, so I’ve been keeping a close eye on the GAO bid protest docket. There hasn't been a mad rush of protests as we’ve seen with other large task order contracts in recent years. But that doesn't put GSA in the clear yet.

One issue I’ve heard that is being raised in some of the protests is whether GSA completed an adequate cost-benefit analysis of the procurement. An accounting firm, Bornstein & Song, has been pushing some research it has done looking at GSA’s strategic sourcing initiatives, particularly the Office Supply Strategic Sourcing Initiative or OS3.

A source told me that the issue also applies to OASIS and a finding against GSA could cause the agency restart the entire procurement.

Here is a link to a page Bornstein set up. I’m still trying to digest it and get some confirmation on whether the Small Business Administration has weighed in regarding OASIS. I know they're arguing with GSA over the OS3 contract.

But I wanted to throw it out there in case anyone had any suggestions. You can use the comment field below or email me directly at nwakeman@washingtontechnology.com.

As a reminder, here are the companies with protests pending on the OASIS full-and-open contract:

• Aljucar, Anvil-Incus & Co. – a law firm fighting for small business to form joint ventures for OASIS.
• VSE Corp.
• American Systems Corp.
• Logistics Management Institute – holds a spot on one OASIS pool but thinks it should have won in others.