Summary

A firm protested the award of a contract, contending that the agency was required to consider the cost of ownership as an evaluation factor in the procurement. The solicitation specifications did not permit the agency to consider the cost of ownership as an evaluation factor, and all principal evaluation factors must be set forth in the solicitation. The protest, which was raised after award of the contract, was untimely since the failure of the agency to include the cost of ownership factor in the solicitation evaluation criteria should have been apparent to the protester upon receipt of the solicitation.