ConnectUP; Labasa LLC; SOFX Inc. (B-423557; B-423557.2; B-423557.3)

You should not care.

Category: Late is late, delivery logistics

Date: 12 August 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423557%2Cb-423557.2%2Cb-423557.3

Three SDVOSBs protested DLA’s rejection of their proposals for Gen III Layer 7 extreme cold weather trousers after their product demonstration models (PDMs) arrived a day late. GAO denied the protests. The RFQ clearly required receipt by the deadline at the specified address and warned only USPS, UPS, or FedEx could deliver. Weather delayed UPS, and on the due date a driver without base credentials was turned away; delivery occurred the next day. GAO found no government mishandling as delays in base access are foreseeable. Therefore, offerors must allow enough time, and agencies need not facilitate delivery at the gate.

Late is late. Protest denied.

Digest

Protests challenging agency's decision to reject the protesters' proposals as late is denied where the project demonstration models required to be submitted with the proposals were not timely received by the agency in a manner consistent with the terms of the solicitation.