It is very common to have bid requests specify technical requirements in such a way that a single supplier becomes the sole source, or that an unwanted supplier is eliminated. In this way, the purchasing organization can provide the appearance of a competitive bid process, yet still award it to the favored vendor. Sometimes, the favored vendor may consult on the drafting of the bid request.
Disclaimer: I do not know if this particular bid process had this sort of embedded vendor bias, of course. But it is common enough that I would not be surprised if it did.
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