cost and price analysis | The Contracting Education Academy

August 12, 2016 By AMK

GAO sustains protests of $17.5 billion DISA contract

Encore III, a controversial contract before the Defense Department began soliciting bids from industry to purchase up to $17.5 billion in IT services, received its strongest rebuke yet – this time from the Government Accountability Office.

The contract supports the department’s Joint Information Environment, a massive IT modernization project to globally connect the military services and defense agencies to supply “information on demand,” as the RFP states.

GAO announced last week it upheld pre-award bid protests from contractors CACI and Booz Allen Hamilton on grounds that the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) – the Pentagon’s IT arm – failed on two grounds “to provide a reasonable basis for comparing the cost of competing proposals.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2016/08/gao-sustains-bid-protests-175-billion-disa-contract/130519

August 1, 2016 By AMK

IG: GSA wastes millions due to pricing problems in computer resale program

Despite years of efforts to streamline multiple award schedules used by information technology resellers, the General Services Administration (GSA) has been offering many identical items at varying prices, said an inspector general’s report released last week.

“GSA’s ability to obtain competitive, market-based prices may be impaired when IT schedule resellers have no/low commercial sales and when the Price Reductions clause is modified to exclude certain sales,” the report said, warning of “millions of dollars in unnecessary costs to the government.”

IT resellers typically buy computers and software in bulk and then add value through customization before selling the adopted product to agencies or commercial customers.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2016/07/ig-gsa-wastes-millions-due-pricing-problems-computer-resale-program/130191

May 25, 2016 By AMK

Contract cost and price analyses are focus of July course

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course spotlighting the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.

To see details or to register, click here. The 10-day course is scheduled for July 11 – 22, 2016.

The Academy’s comprehensive course begins with an in-depth review of the market research process, and provides instruction to help students understand and analyze contractor pricing strategies.

Attendees learn to accomplish cost-volume-profit analysis, calculate contribution margin estimates, and develop cost estimating relationships in order to accomplish an effective price analysis pursuant to FAR Subpart 15.4.

After learning the basic elements of price and cost analysis, students will build and defend a pre-negotiation objective, including a minimum and maximum pricing objective with a weighted guidelines assessment.

Cost and price analysis is part of a plan of total market surveillance designed to understand the relationship of market forces on the acquisition of technology, products and services. — **Cost and price analysis is part of a plan of total market surveillance designed to understand the relationship of market forces on the Government’s acquisition of technology, products and services.**

This course is ideal for new hires in the contracting career field. In addition, for government contractors, this course provides invaluable insights into the government contracting decision-making process.

Student performance is assessed by graded exams on math fundamentals and applied course material as well as an exercise for student participation and completion of negotiations.

CON 170 – Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis is Defense Acquisition University-equivalent training that satisfies the FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs. For more information or to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-170-fundamentals-cost-and-price-analysis

February 18, 2016 By AMK

Robins Air Logistics Base has not effectively negotiated depot contractor profit, says IG

The Air Force has not effectively negotiated depot labor profit at its logistics complex at Robins Air Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, the Defense Department watchdog concluded, missing an opportunity to cut contractor profit and fees by $9.6 million to $24.9 million.

“Contracting officials did not adequately reduce or eliminate profit and fees paid for work performed” through a public-private partnership, said an inspector general’s report dated Feb. 8. “This occurred because program officials either did not prepare or update the business case analysis supporting the partnership type selected.”

The labor charges based on repair and maintenance affect such weapons programs as the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift aircraft and the AN/APN-241 high resolution radar system developed by Northrop Grumman.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2016/02/air-force-told-save-millions-contractors-depot-labor/125912

February 1, 2016 By AMK

Cost and price analysis takes center stage in March

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course spotlighting the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.

To see details or to register, click here. The 10-day course is scheduled for Mar. 14 through 25, 2016.

The Academy’s comprehensive course begins with an in-depth review of the market research process, and provides instruction to help students understand and analyze contractor pricing strategies.

Student performance is assessed by graded exams on math fundamentals and applied course material as well as an exercise for student participation and completion of negotiations.

Encore III, a controversial contract before the Defense Department began soliciting bids from industry to purchase up to $17.5 billion in IT services, received its strongest rebuke yet – this time from the Government Accountability Office.

Despite years of efforts to streamline multiple award schedules used by information technology resellers, the General Services Administration (GSA) has been offering many identical items at varying prices, said an inspector general’s report released last week.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course spotlighting the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.

The Air Force has not effectively negotiated depot labor profit at its logistics complex at Robins Air Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, the Defense Department watchdog concluded, missing an opportunity to cut contractor profit and fees by $9.6 million to $24.9 million.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course spotlighting the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.

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