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November 11, 2010 By cs

Air Force ramps up new strategic sourcing office

The Air Force has established a new unit to leverage the purchasing power of its 70 U.S.-based installations and save up to $2.3 billion during the next five years.

The Enterprise Sourcing Group, launched in late October, will follow a strengthened strategic sourcing strategy in which it buys commodities and services that are common to most Air Force bases in bulk. The goal, officials said, is to streamline the acquisition process while obtaining better prices.

“We are creating efficiencies across the Air Force as a whole, which is a good thing for everybody,” Mario J. Troncoso, the unit’s director, told Government Executive earlier this week. “Centrally procuring gives us good control. We can do continuous improvement cycles and relook at these things while at the same time being transparent to taxpayers and our government.”

The initiative has gone through a number of changes in recent years. The Air Force in 2007 announced plans to open five regional strategic sourcing contracting centers, but the economic downturn, along with various issues on bases, made the idea less “palatable than it originally looked on paper,” Troncoso said.

The service then shifted its strategy and concentrated on developing a more centrally located unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio. The Enterprise Sourcing Group will house about 400 contracting officials and include a small business office, a business support group and three enterprise sourcing squadrons. Six commodity councils will manage the acquisition process. The Air Force also is standing up satellite offices for the unit in Texas, Alabama, Florida and Nebraska.

Expectations are high. Domestic Air Force bases spend about $10 billion on contracts for commodities and services annually and the Enterprise Sourcing Group will manage roughly half that total within the next five years. Internal estimates show the unit could save up to 15 percent of what the service now spends for common goods and services by standardizing requirements, better analyzing past purchases and eliminating redundant acquisition efforts.

For example, the group’s Information Technology Council has begun awarding centralized procurements for desktop computers while its Force Protection Council has issued contracts for gear and equipment for security personnel, Troncoso said. Agreements for office supplies, furniture and medical services also are under way.

“We will be saving money and manpower by approaching installation contracting from a strategic perspective,” Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, said during an Oct. 28 activation ceremony. “However, we will not lose sight of small business. That’s been my pledge and my challenge to the new group to motivate, stimulate and encourage small business.”

Getting small firms involved often has been difficult for agencies implementing wide-ranging strategic sourcing plans. Typically, when small contracts are bundled together, the total cost and labor required to complete the work are out of reach for small businesses, leaving midsize and large firms as the primary bidders.

But, Troncoso said the Air Force is willing to make cost trade-offs in an effort to consider small businesses. Other times, the service might have to expand its market research to seek out new candidates, he said.

“There is no one cookie-cutter answer to how we can structure contracts in a way to make it more or less small business friendly,” he said. “It’s something we are going to have to roll into our entire process.”

Strategic sourcing, which gained steam during the George W. Bush administration, is part of a larger Defense Department effort to reduce overhead spending and redirect $100 billion to the warfighter. The Pentagon plan also includes closing the U.S. Joint Forces Command, a 10 percent reduction on service support contractors during each of the next three years, and decreasing funding for intelligence advisory and assistance contracts.

In addition to contracting at bases, the Enterprise Sourcing Group will award procurements for the Air Force Center for Engineering and Environment, the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency and the Defense Technical Information Center. The group also will support Air Force medical contracting.

–  By Robert Brodsky – GovExec.com – November 11, 2010

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Air Force, strategic sourcing, transparency

July 28, 2010 By cs

Finding the Lost: Georgia Tech assists Atlanta firm with landing Air Force contract

Smith & Carson, a national investigative services firm based in Atlanta, recently landed what its management says is one of the most rewarding projects in its 32-year history. The company, which specializes in litigation investigations, government investigations and pre-employment background screenings, was selected by the U.S. Air Force to locate family members of unaccounted-for service members.

This accomplishment was facilitated in part by the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC), a program that assists companies with all aspects of government procurement processes.

“We became a GTPAC client in October 2009, and were awarded the Air Force contract in six months time, an amazingly quick turnaround,” noted Mary Podgorny, vice president of government services for Smith & Carson. “They helped us step by step on how to register with the government and how to identify opportunities, and they assisted all the way through the contract award.”

Smith & Carson was founded by Larry Carson more than 30 years ago. Over the years, the company’s focus shifted to high-stakes litigation defense and corporate due diligence, and most recently expanded to include government services and pre-employment background screening. The company’s areas of expertise include comprehensive public record investigations, expert witness investigations and vetting, employee backgrounds, witness location and interviewing, jury profiling and genealogical research.

“Our business has evolved into more research just because of the capabilities of obtaining information electronically as opposed to having to go to a courthouse. It’s not a matter of finding information; it’s a matter of filtering out information,” Carson said. “We’ve taken the skills that we’ve learned throughout the years and applied them to the government sector.”

To prepare for bidding on a government contract, Podgorny attended GTPAC seminars on topics as varied as preparing successful bids and proposals, understanding the General Services Administration schedules process, using the computer to win government contracts and marketing to state and local governments. She also uses GTPAC’s electronic bid match program and credits it with approximately 50 opportunities daily. Tom Larkin, Joe Beaulieu, and Chuck Schadl, all GTPAC procurement counselors, provided “responsive” and “proactive” assistance, she said.

In late April, Smith & Carson was awarded a five-year contract with the Air Force District of Washington, Acquisition Division, to locate living relatives of unaccounted-for Air Force service members from the Korean, Vietnam and Cold Wars. Under the terms of the agreement, the firm provides comprehensive investigative and genealogical services to the Air Force Mortuary Operations Center. This aids the Air Force in the remains identification and disposition process, and helps to ultimately provide closure to these service members’ families. Across all military branches, there are nearly 88,000 unaccounted-for service members.

“Because the population is getting older and there’s a huge volume of work that needs to get accomplished, time is of the essence. Once we became aware of the needs of the Air Force, we knew we could help. Uncovering information and locating people is our core competency; we are experts in this field, and have been able to provide them with a superior solution,” Podgorny said. “The guidance received from the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center was instrumental in helping us to enter the public sector, identify government needs and realize success in the federal marketplace in a relatively short amount of time.”

Carson also noted that Smith & Carson is especially privileged to assist the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center.

“We are proud to add this scope of work as part of our company legacy,” he said. “As American citizens, veterans, children and grandchildren of veterans, we are honored to dedicate our company resources and expertise to assist with this important mission.”

GTPAC – part of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute – provides no-cost assistance with government procurement to any company licensed to do business in Georgia. Last year, GTPAC conducted seminars in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Carrollton, Columbus, Gainesville, Rockmart, Savannah and Warner Robins. The center assists companies with all aspects of federal, state and local government procurement processes, including solicitation analysis, proposal preparation, pre- and post-award counseling, and quality and accounting systems. Procurement counselors also analyze whether companies have the potential for participating in the government procurement process.

– by Nancy Fullbright – July 28, 2010

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

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Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986 ); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Air Force, government contract assistance, innovation, small business

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