Compotech, Inc. (B-423368)

You should not care.

Category: SBIR, preaward protest, interested party

Date: 12 June 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423368

Compotech, Inc., protests the terms of a phase II solicitation issued by the Air Force under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, claiming that the requirement for a customer memorandum with unique signatures from both a customer and an end-user was unduly restrictive of competition. Compotech argued that the agency improperly treated this requirement as mandatory, asserting that only one signature should suffice. The protest was filed on the day proposals were due.

GAO deemed the agency's need for two unique signatures reasonable and necessary to ensure documentation of commitment from both customer and end-user. The protest was denied; GAO ruled that the requirement for two signatures was material to the evaluation process. As Compotech could not meet the requirement, it did not have standing to protest.

Digest

1. Protester is not an interested party to challenge solicitation requirements as unduly restrictive of competition where protester can meet the requirements.
2. Requirement in Small Business Innovation Research solicitation that proposal be signed by both a unique customer and a unique end-user is reasonable since it supports agency’s obligation to ensure that there is a customer who will support procurement of the item and an end-user that needs the item.