It’s fair to say that Office Depot likely believes that every company and individual out there has underestimated its need for office supplies. But in this case at least, GAO agreed with Office Depot. The solicitation sought to establish a BPA for hardware and office supplies. The agency created a list of the 200 most frequently bought supplies to evaluate quotations. But the vast majority of items on the list were hardware; only 5 items were office supplies. Noting that the agency’s market research was weighted heavily to hardware, GAO found that this ratio did not accurately reflect the agency’s need for office supplies.
Office Depot, LLC, GAO G-420482
Background
The General Services Administration issued an RFQ seeking to establish a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for the provision of hardware and office supplies at eight military bases. The BPA allowed the ordering of tens of thousands of items. But to evaluate quotations and to compare prices, GSA created a “market basket” of the 200 most frequently purchased items. GSA identified the 200 items based on historical sales data.
Office Depot filed a protest challenging the terms of the RFQ. Office Depot argued that GSA’s market basket did not accurately reflect the ratio of hardware and office supplies that GSA would actually need.
Legal Analysis
Of the 200 items included in the market basket, only 5, or 2.5 percent, were listed as office supplies. Office Depot argued that such a small percentage of office supplies failed to reasonably reflect the government’s likely requirements.
GAO agreed with Office Depot. GAO found that GSA’s historical data was skewed heavily toward hardware. The historical sales data for office supplies was severely limited. Indeed, out of the eight military bases GSA was purchasing for, only one had historical data for office supplies. For three other locations, GSA considered office supply sales made under the AbilityOne program. For four other locations, GSA did not consider any data on office supplies. GSA had virtually no basis for forecasting the estimated quantities of office supplies it would need for several locations, and the agency had failed to take any steps to apprise itself of historical or future office supply needs. GAO recommended that GSA conduct additional market research on office supplies and amend the solicitation.
Office Depot is represented by John G. Horgan of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. The agency is represented by Nathan C. Bangsil and Nathan C. Guerrero of GSA. GAO attorneys Evan D. Wesser and Edward Goldstein participated in the preparation of the decision.