Air Force Space Command and National Defense Industrial Association Forum on Acquisition
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Transcript of Air Force Space Command and National Defense Industrial Association Forum on Acquisition
Air Force Space Command and National Defense Air Force Space Command and National Defense Industrial Association Forum on AcquisitionIndustrial Association Forum on Acquisition
Industry Bid and Proposal Industry Bid and Proposal Process Overview Process Overview
Slide 1
Objectives
• Review nominal industry process for response to Government Request for Proposals (RFP)
• Show how the Industry process maps to Government acquisition process
• Identify areas where Government activities impact proposal cost, proposal quality or the number of bidders
• Explain how contractor proposal development costs affect Government budgets
Slide 2
Contractor Processes – Overview of Phases
Sources Sought DRFP RFP Award
Exploratory Preparation
Qualification Pre-Proposal Proposal Post-ProposalTransition / Pre-Start Up
Initial Opportunity Filtering
Solution Marketing
Assessing:
P (Real)
P (Win)
Contract value
Collect critical data, assemble team, prepare solution
Prepare proposal
Prepare for transition, respond to ENs
Phase-In to contract start
IRAD & Indirect Indirect Indirect (Marketing) B&P (for ENs)
B&P (Proposal) Indirect (Ops preparation)
Direct
Slide 3
Govt
Industry
Phase 1| Identification / Preparation |
Activities
• Use of opportunity ID tools (Input, etc.)
• Visits to Government Offices
• Symposia / Industry Days
• Inter-Contractor discussions
• Investment in IRAD
Outcomes
• Target list of Contracts (Pipeline)
• Initial B&P Budget Planning
Personnel Commitment
• Low (mainly Business Development personnel)
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – low
• Bid quality – low
• Number of Bidders - medium
Slide 4
Government Actions
Impact
RationaleBidders Cost Qual
Limited information provided to commercial information sources.
Potential bidders may not be aware of opportunities until too late to bid
Limited visit opportunities with Government staff members
Potential bidders cannot confirm the value of their capabilities in satisfying opportunity needs.
Limited Government participation, availability and openness at symposia and association events
Industry is not aware of requirements early enough to start developing solutions. Therefore, they may not bid or, if they bid, the quality of the proposed solution may suffer.
Limited opportunities to provide demonstrations, concepts, ideas to Government representatives
RFIs and RFPs may not seek solutions that take advantage of the best technology or practices industry could offer. Business as usual favors incumbents.
Slide 5
Identification/Preparation (Phase 1) Potential for Government Impact
Sample Opportunity ID Tool
Acronym Title Dept Agency RFP #Program
ValueRFP Date Status
GPS MUEGLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM MODERNIZED USER EQUIPMENT
AIR FORCEAIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
FA880705R0005 0 11/16/2005 Post-RFP
CMAFS CE
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION CIVIL ENGINEERING FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES-BASE MAINTENANCE
AIR FORCEAIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
FA251704R0013 0 11/23/2005 Post-RFP
GPSOCGLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM OPERATIONS CENTER
AIR FORCEAIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
FA255005R2000 32000 11/29/2005 Pre-RFP
DCAPES / WPES AOA
DELIBERATE AND CRISIS ACTION PLANNING AND EXECUTION SEGMENTS II ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES
AIR FORCE R1172 1000 12/3/2005 Pre-RFP
GPS
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM BLOCK IIIA FOR AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
AIR FORCEAIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
FA880706R0001 1500000 12/9/2005 Pre-RFP
Slide 6
Phase 2| Qualification of Opportunity |
Activities
• Assess probability it is Real (P Real)
• Assess probability of Win (P Win)
• Assess probability Real Contract Value
• Develop value proposition
• Customer visits to identify hot buttons/vision
• Teaming discussions
• B&P Budgeting
Outcomes
• Initial Bid decision
• Selection of Capture Team
• B&P Budget Review
Personnel Commitment
• Low - Business Development Lead
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – low
• Bid quality – moderate
• Number of bidders - high
Draft RFP / SOWRFI
Slide 7
Government Actions
Impact
RationaleBidders Cost Qual
Limited Government access/openness at staff levels to Contractor visits/discussions
Potential bidders require “adequate” data before making a positive bid decision.
Government staff is not open in discussing needs and providing feedback on potential solutions.
Bidders need adequate understanding of requirements and relative assessment of their approach to invest properly in solution development
Industry day presentations are focused on the “programmatics” of the opportunity and doesn’t include a good presentation on the vision for the future.
Business as usual favor incumbents and current product suppliers. Bidders increase when there is opportunity to offer innovative solutions that align with the customer’s vision.
One-on-ones are “one way” presentations by industry and not dialogs on requirements and potential approaches
Industry invests in potential solutions but needs a good understanding of needs and the range of acceptability of offerings.
Slide 8
Opportunity Qualification (Phase 2) Potential for Government Impact
Bid Decision Factors
• Basic Questions– Is it real?– Is there value in winning?– Are we competitive?
• Detailed Questions:– Do we understand requirements?– Does the customer want change?– Do we have a solution?– How high is the risk in our solution?– Do we know the customer’s vision?– Do we have positive experience with this customer?– Is there good revenue?– Can we make a profit?– Is there a strategic reason to bid?– Is the contract Budget viable?
Slide 9
Phase 3| Pre-Proposal Preparation |
Activities
• Collection critical data
– Bidders Library
– Customer Visits
– FOIA Contracts
• Assemble Proposal Team
• Prepare detailed solution (Offer)
• Finalize / Approve B&P Budget
Outcomes
• Approved B&P Budget
• Data Library
• Proposal Facility
• Assigned Team Members
Personnel Commitment
• Moderate at start
• High at end
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – moderate / high
• Bid quality – moderate / high
• Number of bidders - moderate
Draft RFP / SOW RFP
Slide 10
Government ActionsImpact
RationaleBidders Cost Qual
Bidders library opens late in the acquisition process
Potential bidders need detailed data to complete a technical solution. Late data weakens the quality of the solution or requires the bidder to spend additional funds to obtain surrogate data via other sources.
Limited Government access at the operational level
Bidders need an understanding of problem areas, changing needs and Government processes at the operational level. Not having adequate information can affect the quality of the approach/solution and may require bidders to seek alternative data sources in the market (e.g. retirees).
Delay in release of the Draft RFP
Reduces time for solution development. May also compress solution development time if there is a short period between draft and final RFPs.
Multiple drafts that vary widely in definition of requirements
Bidders must revise solutions to adapt to changes in approach.
Significant differences between draft and final RFPs.
Contractors develop solutions and begin preparing proposals based on the draft RFP. Significant changes result in major revisions to the proposal.
Slide 11
Pre-Proposal (Phase 3) Potential for Government Impact
Phase 4| Proposal |
RFP
Activities
• Prepare:
– Executive Summary
– Management Plan
– Technical Solution
– Staffing Plan / Basis of Estimate
– Pricing
– Past Performance
• Bid Reviews
– Pink – Initial Proposal Approach
– Red – Final Proposal Approach
– Black hat – Competition Assessment
– Gold – Final Proposal Review
• Marketing
Outcomes
• Proposal
Personnel Commitment
• High
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – high
• Bid quality – high
• Competition - low
Slide 12
Government Actions
ImpactRationaleBidders Cost Qual
Amendments released during the proposal process
Bidders must respond to changes in requirements or solution presentation. This results in significant expenditures, especially late in the proposal period. Proposal revisions may also introduce errors.
Release of poor quality RFP
Solutions are based on incomplete, ambiguous or erroneous requirements. Multiple questions may be generated but frequently are not be answered in time to affect the proposed solution.
Slow or inadequate responses or unanswered questions from bidders
Responses late in the proposal process have the same effect as amendments late in the proposal process.
Proposal submission date is extended
Extensions result from poor quality RFPs. While extensions may provide time for proposal quality improvement, cost goes up substantially as the proposal team is kept in place to revise the submission.
Slide 13
Proposal (Phase 4) Potential for Government Impact
Phase 5| Post-Proposal |
ENs FPR AWARD
Activities
• Respond to ENs
• Initiate Staffing Actions
• Prepare Final Proposal Revision
• Initiate Vendor Contracts
– Facilities
– Equipment
Outcomes
• EN Responses
• Final Proposal Revision
– Final Solution
– Final Price
Personnel Commitment
• Moderate
• High during EN Processing / FPR
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – moderate
• Bid quality – moderate
• Competition - low
Slide 14
Government Actions
Impact
RationaleBidders Cost Qual
Multiple rounds of ENs are released
An EN response is a mini-proposal focused on a single question. Assembling the proposal team to respond to ENs can be expensive. (Note: There is an industry perception that multiple rounds of ENs result in “technical leveling”.
Poor quality RFP and unanswered questions
It is difficult to submit a quality proposal based on a poor quality RFP. Result: ENs are needed to clarify the proposal.
Poorly conceived transition/phase requirements
Transition preparation can be more difficult if incumbent phase out is not adequately planned by the Government.
Delayed award
Key personnel are kept available by all bidders pending contract award. They are frequently not assigned to an ongoing project to ensure availability upon award.
Inadequate page count for EN responses
It is difficult to respond to some ENs if page count is too restrictive. Result may be additional rounds of ENs.
No Direct Dialog on ENs EN responses may miss the mark if bidders do not fully understand intent of questions.
Slide 15
Post-Proposal (Phase 5) Potential for Government Impact
Phase 6| Transition / Phase-In / Pre-Start-Up |
AWARD CONTRACT START
Activities
• Finalize Staffing Actions
• Associate Contractor Agreements
• Establish Contract Facility
• Execute Contract
• Execute Subcontracts
• Execute Vendor Contracts
• Transfer Security Clearances
Outcomes
• Successful contract start-up
Personnel Commitment
• High
Potential for Government Impact
• Bid cost – low to moderate
• Bid quality – low
• Competition – N/A
Slide 16
Government Actions
Impact
RationaleBidders Cost Qual
Poor transition planning for phase-out & phase-in
Phase-in and phase-out must be tightly coordinated. Incoming contractors can plan for phase-in, but rely on Government planning for phase-out coordination.
Delayed contract award Delays may constrict phase-in timelines requiring additional transition personnel. Transition quality may suffer from shortened timeline.
Slide 17
Transition/Phase-In/Pre-Start-Up (Phase 6) Potential for Government Impact
Where Do Bid Costs Go?
Fee (Profit)
Contractor Rates
B&P/IR&D G&A
Facilities (If off Base)
Indirect ExpensesLabor Overhead (Benefits and Operation Expenses)
Employee Salaries (Direct Labor)
Slide 18
Summary
• Industry and the Government are in the proposal process together with the same objectives:– Improved Mission Support– Smooth and Competitive Proposal process
• Communication is critical in every phase of proposal development – both ways
Slide 19
Integrated Acquisition Processes
Motivation to keep costs Low: Virtually all Bid & Proposal Costs are charged back to the Government.
<Draft RFP>
<Draft RFP>Acquisition Milestones ……... <ASP> <Sources Sought> <RFP>
<Competitive Range>
<Award>
Industry Processes
Exploratory / Preparation Qualification Pre-Proposal Proposal Post-Proposal Transition /
Startup
Industry Activities
• Initial opportunity filtering
• Solution Marketing• IR&D Investment
• Bid Decision• Teaming
Discussions
• Critical data, collection• Formal teaming• Solution completion
• Proposal preparation
• Transition, preparation• EN response
• Phase-in to contract start
Cost & Bid Quality Factors
• Access to key personnel
• Presentations at symposia, etc.
• Published acquisition plans via INPUT, etc.
• One-on-one dialog on solutions & new ideas
•Open discussion on needs and potential solutions•Clearly articulated vision for the requirements•Two-way dialog during one-on-one discussions
• Early bidders library
• Access to personnel at the ops level
• Early draft RFP• Draft and final
RFPs consistent in requirements
• Timely and adequate response to questions
• Limited amendments
• High quality RFP
• No extensions
• Limited rounds of ENs
• High quality RFP & answered questions
• Shared Govttransition plan
• Timely contract Award
• Clear Government Transition Plan
• Timely contract award
Government Affect:
Bid Cost
Bid Quality
Bidders
Acquisition Milestones ……... <ASP> <Sources Sought> <RFP>
<Competitive Range>
<Award>
Industry Processes
Exploratory / Preparation Qualification Pre-Proposal Proposal Post-Proposal Transition /
Startup
Industry Activities
• Initial opportunity filtering
• Solution Marketing• IR&D Investment
• Bid Decision• Teaming
Discussions
• Critical data, collection• Formal teaming• Solution completion
• Proposal preparation
• Transition, preparation• EN response
• Phase-in to contract start
Cost & Bid Quality Factors
• Access to key personnel
• Presentations at symposia, etc.
• Published acquisition plans via INPUT, etc.
• One-on-one dialog on solutions & new ideas
•Open discussion on needs and potential solutions•Clearly articulated vision for the requirements•Two-way dialog during one-on-one discussions
• Early bidders library
• Access to personnel at the ops level
• Early draft RFP• Draft and final
RFPs consistent in requirements
• Timely and adequate response to questions
• Limited amendments
• High quality RFP
• No extensions
• Limited rounds of ENs
• High quality RFP & answered questions
• Shared Govttransition plan
• Timely contract Award
• Clear Government Transition Plan
• Timely contract award
Government Affect:
Bid Cost
Bid Quality
Bidders