Air Force Space Command and National Defense Industrial Association Forum on Acquisition

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Air Force Space Command and National Defense
Industrial Association Forum on
Acquisition Industry Bid and Proposal Process
Overview
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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

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Contractor Processes Overview of Phases
Govt
Sources Sought Sources Sought DRFP RFP RFP Award Award
Exploratory Preparation Exploratory Preparation Qualification Qualification Pre-Proposal Proposal Post-Proposal Transition / Pre-Start Up
Initial Opportunity Filtering Solution Marketing Initial Opportunity Filtering Solution Marketing Assessing P (Real) P (Win) Contract value 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
Industry
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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 BP Budget Planning
Personnel Commitment Low (mainly Business Development personnel) Potential for Government Impact Bid cost low Bid quality low Number of Bidders - medium
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Identification/Preparation (Phase 1) Potential
for Government Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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.
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Sample Opportunity ID Tool
Acronym Title Dept Agency RFP Program Value RFP Date Status
GPS MUE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM MODERNIZED USER EQUIPMENT AIR FORCE AIR 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 FORCE AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND FA251704R0013 0 11/23/2005 Post-RFP
GPSOC GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM OPERATIONS CENTER AIR FORCE AIR 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 FORCE AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND FA880706R0001 1500000 12/9/2005 Pre-RFP
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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 BP Budgeting Outcomes Initial Bid decision Selection of Capture Team BP Budget Review
Personnel Commitment Low - Business Development Lead Potential for Government Impact Bid cost low Bid quality moderate Number of bidders - high
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Opportunity Qualification (Phase 2) Potential for
Government Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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 doesnt 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 customers 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.
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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 customers 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?

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Phase 3 Pre-Proposal Preparation
Activities Collection critical data Bidders Library Customer Visits FOIA Contracts Assemble Proposal Team Prepare detailed solution (Offer) Finalize / Approve BP Budget Outcomes Approved BP 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
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Pre-Proposal (Phase 3) Potential for Government
Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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.
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Phase 4 Proposal
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
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Proposal (Phase 4) Potential for Government Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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.
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Phase 5 Post-Proposal
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
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Post-Proposal (Phase 5) Potential for Government
Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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.
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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
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Transition/Phase-In/Pre-Start-Up (Phase 6)
Potential for Government Impact
Government Actions Impact Impact Impact Rationale
Government Actions Bidders Cost Qual Rationale
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.
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Where Do Bid Costs Go?
Fee (Profit) Contractor Rates
BP/IRD GA Contractor Rates
Facilities (If off Base) Contractor Rates
Indirect Expenses Labor Overhead (Benefits and Operation Expenses) Contractor Rates
Employee Salaries (Direct Labor) Contractor Rates
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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

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Integrated Acquisition Processes
ltDraft RFPgt
Motivation to keep costs Low Virtually all Bid
Proposal Costs are charged back to the
Government.