Miscellaneous Bulk Gases & Gas Cylinder Tanks

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-3(d) only requires the agency to furnish a supplier a brief explanation of the basis for the contract award decision, not an actual "debriefing" as would be required under FAR 15.506. Since award was based on factors other than price alone, a brief explanation of the basis for the contract award decision is provided herein: Although technical capability and past performance factors were of paramount consideration in the award of the contract, price was also important to the overall contract award decision. The Government considered that all evaluation factors other than price, when combined, were significantly more important than price. Furthermore, the RFQ stated that, "The Government will not award a contract to any Quoter with an unacceptable rating or a deficiency in ANY factor or subfactor" and that, "A Quoter must receive an adjectival rating of acceptable or above for each sub factor. Failure to meet the criteria will render the response not eligible for award'. The Government utilized a tradeoff approach to determine the Quoter who provided the best value to the Government. The quote submitted by Praxair Distribution, Incorporated in response to the RFQ provided the best overall value to satisfy the Government's needs.