In its February 2017 decision in Pitney Bowes, Inc., the GAO ordered the redraft of a solicitation document after finding that the government failed to justify the challenged specifications. The case dealt with a Request for Quotations for mail inserter/folder machines that could be reloaded “on the fly” and could handle all types of envelopes. The complainant challenged the specifications as unduly restrictive and asserted that they constituted a de facto sole source. The GAO agreed, finding that the government failed to establish that the specifications were reasonably necessary to meet its operating needs.
