CHAPTER 9

OFFIE JCONTRAC

CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 9

CONTRACTING FOR SUPPORT

9.1 HIGHLIGHTS 9.3 BACKGROUND

o ILS Manager's Role in the 9.3.1 Acquisition Policy, Law and Regula- Contracting for Support Process tions

o Logistics Inputs to the Procure- U.S. Government policy calls for heavy ment Package reliance on private commercial sources for supplies and services (OMB Circular No.

o Controlling Deliverable Data A-76, "Performance of Commercial Activ- ities"). The Federal Acquisition Regulation o Contract Types for Logistics (FAR) and other procurement directives set

Support forth rules and procedures for implementing

this policy. These documents reflect both

9.2 INTRODUCTION the basic procurement law, the Armed

Service Procurement Act, and revisions

9.2.1 Purpose enacted during the annual authorization and

appropriation process. The DoD implements To provide a managerial overview of and expands on the FAR with the Defense the process and techniques in contracting Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement for logistics support. (DFARS) and Service supp)ements.

9.2.2 Objectives 9.3.2 Contracting Authority, Responsi-

Contracting for support provides for bility and Participation

industry resources to implement the Gov- Authority and responsibility to contract ernment's ILS strategy within the frame- for authorized supplies and services is work of contract laws and regulations. vested in the agency head and delegated to Contracting is used to acquire many or all contracting officers. In turn, the contract- of the following logistic deliverables from ing officer is responsible for ensuring that commercial sources during system acqui- all requirements of the law, executive sition: (1) ILS documentation, such as orders, regulations and procedures have analyses, plans, designs, and reports. (2) been met prior to exercising this authority.

support materials such as spares and repair Although contracting officers are allowed parts, support equipment and software; and wide latitude in exercising business Judg- (3) logistics services such as training, ment, they must ensure that contractors component repair and "turn-key" support of receive impartial and equitable treatment, selected equipment (e.g., training simula- and they must request and consider the tors) or of the materiel system under advice of specialists in program manage- procurement (see Figure 9-1). Some of these ment, engineering, logistics, and other fields deliverables may be the subject of a sepa- as appropriate (FAR 1.602-2).

rate ILS contract; others may be part of an

overall program contract. In either case, the The requirement which specifies that Government's objectives are to satisfy its specialists, such as ILS Managers, must bp logistics support needs at a fair price within involved in the coitr"ct process i.cludes its legal and regulatory boundaries. Figure major contract events, e.g., source selec-

9-2 identifies general Government respon- tion. Major contract activitieb ouch as sibilities ia acquiaition program contracting. developing the acquisition strategy for ILS The contract itself will provide specific are primarily the responsibility of the ILS responsibilities for both parties. Manager. In sum, the ILS Manager must be

SYSTEM LEVEL LOGISTICS MI-SE186 STUD E.A PRPIT

~L EUPPORT

SYSTEM ALTERNATIVE

ML-STD 1388-2A tSAR AND ASSOCIATED MATERIALS/SERVICES 3TRAINING COURSES AND EQUIPMENT

• PROVISIONING TECHNICAl DOCUMENTATION

- SPARE AND REPAIR PARTS; SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

- DATA & DRAWINGS, TECHNICAL MANUALS, ETC.

PRE- CONCEPT DV FD PRODUCTION, DEPLOYMENT &

CONCEPT [EXPLORATION AL OPERATIONS

Figure 9-1 Logistics Deliverables during System Acquisition

involved in the entire contracting process 9 3.3.1 Acquisition Strategy. The ILS from preparation of the procurement Manager's acquisition strategy should package to monitoring contractor perform- permit pre-priced competitive contracts

ance. where practicable. Other strategy con-

siderations include appropriate implemen- 9.3.3 The Contract Process tation of warranties, breakout, and the consolidation of spare parts r-quirements The primary contracting activities in (initial, follow-on, and replenishment). The which the ILS Manager may be involved ILS contract strategy must be compatible include: developing the contracting strat- with the overall program acquisition

egy, planning the acquisition, recommending strategy.

contract method and type, preparing the

procurement package, evaluating proposals, 9.3.3.2 Acquisition Planning. In planning the and monitoring contract performance. These acquisition of logistics data, materials or are discussed in FAR 7, 34, 35, and 37. With services, the ILS Manager should work with reference to Figure 9-2. the solicitation and (or support) the Government team of negotiation/award processes are the re- personnel who are responsible for significant sponsibility of the contrac~ting officer, with aspects of the acquisition, such as con- assistance as required from specialists such tracting, financial, and technical, for the as the IlS Manager. The ILS Manager should purpose of creating an acquisition plan (FAR become familiar with his responsibilities for 7.105). A wide selection of contract types

these contract events as they relate to are available which provide flexibility in contracting for support. Figure 9-3 and 9-4 acquiring the needed logistcs resources.

display a generic chronology of contract These contracts vary according to (1) the events. These time frames are current degree and timing of responsibility (risk) representative contract lead times under assumed by the contractor for cost and the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. performance, and (2) the amount and nature

9-2

=hTw

ACQUISITION STRATEGY and presenting information on logistic deliverables in specification format that is consistent with life cycle phase require- ments. The ILS Manager sho'ild be con-

ACQUISITION PLANNOIG cerned with each part of the Procurement

E

Package as logistics requirements may be located throughout the document.

PROCUREMENT ^PACKAGE Care should be taken in selecting and describ'ig related deliverables. Plans, drawings, specifications, standards, and SOLICITATION PROCESS purchase descriptions should be selectively LTI applied and tailored to the pa.ticular application in the SOW. For example, many Military Standards provide useful guidance

PROPOSAL EVALUATION and requirements related to logistics. After reviewing the available Standards bearing on a given topic, select the fewest number of Standards which encompass the desired

NEGOTIATION AND AWARD range and depth of logistics tasking in such areas as planning, supply, manpower, personnel, and training. Specific applica-

CONTRACT MONITORING tions should be tailored to meet program needs by selecting or modifying standard Data Item Descriptions (DIDs) and confining Figure 9-2 Government Contracting data element generation to those defined in MIL-STD-1388-2A,"DoD Requirements for a Responsibilities Logistic Support Analysis Record". The

Procurement Package should include-

of profit incentive. Contract types are o Guidance to the contractor about grouped into two broad categories: fixed- the Go':u.,eit's baseline thinking price contracts and cost-reimbursement on ILS - objectives, requirements,

contracts. Specific contract types range importance relative to other from firm-fixed-price, where the contrictor program objectives, concepts, is fully responsible for performance, cost assumptions, constraints, and and profit (or loss); to cost-plus-fixed-fee, priorities.

in which the contractor has minimal respon-

sibilities for performance and cost but o Specific ILS tasks to be performed receives a negotiated fee (FAR 16). by the contractor, such as ILS analyses, logistics alternatives 9.3.3.3 The Procurement Package. The evaluations, preparation of plans Procurement Package encompasses most of and concepts, training courses, the information the contracting officer spares and repair parts, technical needs to prepare a solicitation as given in publications and data, etc.

"Part I - the Schedule" :f the uniform contract for.mat (FAR 14.201-2). It provides

technical and management information o Incentives aimed at achieving the including the range and depth of data, desired balance between technical materials, and services to be acquired. A capabi'ities and ILS.

timely and comprehensive statement is

required for each acquisition involving The tcrnis used must be understood and equipment or processes needing future consistent with standard contractual support materials, services, or data. MIL- clauses. "Buzz Words", terms with multiple

IDBK-245B, "Preparation of the SOW", meanings, conflicting or unclear terms and provides specific guidance on identifying symbols must be avoided.

9.3.4 Contracting Methods

ACQUISITION STRATEGY UPDATE The Competition in Contracting Act of

AACQUISITION

PLAN SSUMING NO 'SURPRISES' 1984 requires agencies that are conducting

UPDATE & APPROVAL OR PROTESTS

:

procurements for goods and services to

JU-TIFICATION I ^APPROVAL obtain "full and open competition throughe

(IF SOLE I ISUC the maximum use of "competitive proce- 2 EXCEPTION REO0) 0 o,0CC^-

1 ,, I '< dures'. This means that all responsible

S 0 0 W P, 0 sources are encouraged to submit sealed

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. f 00 a bids or competitive proposals, depending on

0 Z.O L 0 & 0 Wa what is required by the solicitation. There

UX a. M 0e %LZ 0 o & MM)0I W 0 are two primary differences between the

4 . .L. M- 1.5-- OB--.- MOB competitive procedures known as sealed bids

-4.6 .OS 2.5-3 MS ,-,.5 MOB 4.6 MOand competitive proposals. One difference OTHER PROCUREMENT ACTIONS: 1015 MOS relates to award factors; the second relates

to the use of bargaining to arrive at the Figure 9-3 Support Contract Cycle contract which consummates the procure- ment. When sealed bids are used, price and price-related factors are clearly the 9.3.3.4 Evaluating Proposals. The ILS dominant factor on which the award will be Manager identifies and defines what logis- based. In contrast, competitive proposals tics considerations should be addressed in permit consideration of other factors, such the bidder(s) proposals (i.e., the proposal as technical merit, that go beyond cost in data requirements). He also helps to deter- meeting the Government's need. The second mine the relative importance (weight) of difference involves the permissibility of evaluation factors such as understanding of negotiations to arrive at the business deal.

the problem, technical approach, "other With sealed bids, discussions are not per- technical factors", experience, and cost. mitted, other than for purposes of minor Other technical factors should provide clarifications. Competitive proposals, measurable and meaningful criteria related however, do permit bargaining, and usually to the specific logistics support require- afford the offerors an opportunity to revise ments of the proposed system. These their offers during the negotiation period. In logistics considerations are also incorpo- context, "bargaining" refers to discussion, rated in the overall Source Selection Plan persuasion, alteration of initial assumptions (SSP) which contains the evaluation factors and positions, and the give-and-take may and weights for each factor which must be apply to price, schedule, technical re- on record with the Contracting Officer prior quirements, and other terms of the proposed to RFP release. Prior to evaluation working contracts.

group meetings the ILS manager should

independently evaluate all technical and The use of "other than competitive price proposal items related to logistics in procedures", i.e., sole source negotiations is order to provide a position of informed not authorized unless the circumstances of leadership in the discussions leading to the acquisition meet the criteria of one of

source selection. the seven identified exceptions (FAR 6).

$ 9.3.3.5 Contract Monitoring. A comprehen- 9.4 MANAGEMENT ISSUES sive contract file, including all procurement

contract modifications, is a useful manage- 9.4.1 Data Processing Resources ment tool. Data in the contract file direcly

relate actual performance to actual cost The acquisition process is cumbersome and, when automated, do so in a timely due to the volume of requirements and manner. During the performance period, this procurement data which must be organized, data should be used to rapidly identify, stored, retrieved, and compared to make focus, examine, and resolve logistics decisions. Large quantities of data in the

% problems that arise. acqvisition process are handled manually.

9-4

ASSUMING NO 'SURPRISES OR PROTESTS

JUSTIFICATION | IPPROVAL

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