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


FA251704R0013 0 11/23/2005 Post-RFP

GPSOCGLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM OPERATIONS CENTER


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


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


• Low - Business Development Lead


• Bid cost – low

• Bid quality – moderate

• Number of bidders - high

Draft RFP / SOWRFI

Slide 7

Government Actions

Impact


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


• Moderate at start

• High at end


• Bid cost – moderate / high

• Bid quality – moderate / high

• Number of bidders - moderate

Draft RFP / SOW RFP

Slide 10

Government ActionsImpact


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


• High


• 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


• Moderate

• High during EN Processing / FPR


• Bid cost – moderate

• Bid quality – moderate

• Competition - low

Slide 14

Government Actions

Impact


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


• High


• Bid cost – low to moderate

• Bid quality – low

• Competition – N/A

Slide 16

Government Actions

Impact


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

Documents

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