RFP - Unreasonably Low Offer

You haven't told us under what rules you are conducting the procurement. FAR Subpart 8.4? Part 13? Part 14? Part 15? It matters. If you are conducting this under Part 15 and you let them change their price you conducted discussions.

You haven't told us under what rules you are conducting the procurement. FAR Subpart 8.4? Part 13? Part 14? Part 15? It matters. If you are conducting this under Part 15 and you let them change their price you conducted discussions.

Part 15.

So I got an offer that was unreasonably low whereas the other 4 offers were all within range of each other and the G.E. I contacted the unreasonably low offeror and asked them to verify their offer. During this they found a software error and changed their price.

No one else was unreasonably low. So should all offerors be compelled to verify as well?

No, you are not required to have the other offerors verify their prices just because you had one offeror verify its price.

Part 15.

It is apparent that your exchange with this offeror constitutes discussions because you went beyond clarifications (15.306 ( a)) or simple communications (15.306 ( ) .

If you didn't intend to be in discussions during this exchange and if it hasn't yet been done, the government must now determine a competitive range (15.306 ( c)) and conduct discussions per 15.306 ( d) and ( e).

You don't have to ask everyone else to "verify their price" during discussions.

If you had not intended to conduct discussions during this exchange, I suggest that you get some advice, including supervision, within your organization before doing anything else.

Smokey:

You said: "During this [review of their price] they found a software error and changed their price."

Here is GAO's longstanding rule, as articulated in CIGNA Government Services, LLC, B-297915.2, May 4, 2006, 2006 CPD ? 74:

Communications between a procuring agency and an offeror that permit the offeror to materially revise or modify its proposal generally constitute discussions. FAR sect. 15.306(d); Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training & Support, B?292836.8 et al., Nov. 4, 2004, 2005 CPD para. 27; 4 thDimension Software, Inc.; Computer Assocs. Int'l, Inc., B?251936, B?251936.2, May 13, 1993, 93?1 CPD para. 420. In this regard, communications that permit an offeror to correct a mistake constitute discussions unless the mistake is minor and both the existence of the mistake and what was actually intended are clearly apparent from the face of the proposal. Matrix Int'l Logistics, Inc., B?272388, B?272388.2, Dec. 9, 1996, 97?2 CPD para. 89; Stacor Corp., B?231095, July 5, 1988, 88?2 CPD para. 9. If an agency does conduct discussions with one offeror, it must conduct discussions with all competitive range offerors, and provide all such offerors an opportunity to submit revised proposals. KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP, B?259479, May 9, 1995, 95?2 CPD para. 13; Paramax Sys. Corp., B?253098.4 et al., Oct. 27, 1993, 93?2 CPD para. 282.

Thus, if you let the offeror change its price to correct a mistake, and if the error was not minor and both the error and the price intended were not clear on the face of the proposal, then you conducted discussions and now must establish a competitive range and conduct discussions with all offerors within that range. You don't have to ask them to verify their prices, but you have to give them a chance to revise their proposals, whether you want them to or not.