Few US companies win a big federal contract these days without at least one of the losing bidders slapping in a challenge to the award, suggesting that it is becoming increasingly hard for government departments and the military ever to get the equipment they need – once the appeals procedure is exhausted, the computers bid will be obsolete: needless to say that $1,600m Army Reserve award to Boeing Co was not going to go unchallenged, and Computer Sciences Corp has duly lodged a protest saying that its $1,250m bid was 22% cheaper than the winning Boeing bid; the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals has 45 days in which to deny the protest, order a rebid, or award the contract to the protesting company – but each of those decisions can then be subject to further appeals.
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