During my 25 years as a proposal services vendor, I have observed HOW many incumbent contractors approach their bids to win the contract again. Our company has assisted incumbents with contracts valued at from $50 M to $1.5 B. These competitions have been some of the most ticklish and challenging assignments of our career. This is because of the unique challenges facing incumbent bidders.
Courtesy of Tim Whalen
Several contractor organizations I have known have felt they were “blind-sided,” when the government scored their proposal low and awarded the contract to a new firm. Many wished they could do the contract competition over again, including a fresh start with a hard-hitting “vulnerability assessment."
A claim for an adjustment was summarily granted because the contract's Variation in Quantity clause clearly contemplated payment of the indirect and overhead costs sought by the contractor.
From time to time we see RFP's that are clearly wired for a particular vendor. We have won a lot of these because the system provides levers to fix them. These include the Highest Procurement Authority (HPA) and the Competition Advocate (CA).
Often lose out when they should win, achieve little when they should achieve a lot or leave the negotiating table with a feeling of defeat rather than a glow of triumph. Here are four classic negotiating traps they fall into... and ways they can overcome them.
In my practice as an independent proposal consultant, I’ve been amazed and dismayed at the performance of many of my customers when it comes to the constructive use of post-award debriefs. Generally, the Government is required to give a meaningful de-brief to the bidders in a competition.
As you've probably heard, government officials have initiated a number of investigations into alleged procurement irregularities involving at least two defense contractors operating in Iraq. Much of the government's focus is on the use of an Interior Department blanket purchase agreement issued under a General Services Administration multiple-award schedule information technology contract.
A Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a simplified method to supply a federal agency’s anticipated repetitive needs for products and/or services by establishing an account with a qualified source of supply. BPAs are normally established with General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule contracts.
One of the most interesting subjects in government contracting is sole source. Sole source is so interesting because, it is fairly well defined, has very few court cases, and it is clear as to what is proper (only one firm can perform), but most of the involved parties do not understand how to handle sole source properly. Here are some vignettes regarding sole source.
