industry | The Contracting Education Academy

July 18, 2017 By AMK

Major defense contractors on panel that will direct billion-dollar defense decisions

A new advisory panel has been tasked with streamlining the Department of Defense’s procurement process.

Sitting on the powerful panel: several current or former employees of major military contractors including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and General Electric. Those corporations every year do billions of dollars of business with the Department of Defense — and have given more than $2.2 million in campaign contributions to members of the House Armed Services Committee, which is responsible for approving changes to DoD funding.

The panel’s creation, mandated by Section 809 of 2016’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), has received little media attention compared to other provisions in the NDAA. But the panel will be responsible for recommending policy that affects how approximately $115 billion of taxpayer money is spent annually.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/major-defense-contractors-panel-will-direct-billion-dollar-defense-decisions

March 15, 2017 By AMK

Category management basics: How to attract top-quality suppliers and ensure they deliver

Nurturing the relationship with suppliers is a critical component of the category management procurement model.

Supplier relationship management, or SRM, reshapes every step of the traditional acquisition lifecycle to increase the likelihood that agencies will contract with the most suitable suppliers and enable those companies to deliver on expectations.

SRM goes well beyond the requirements of traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation contract management: It requires extensive knowledge and analysis of markets and suppliers to improve sourcing. It results in more precise contracts that better match commercial practices. And it creates an environment that supports improved supplier performance and more effective measurement of that performance by the government.

As a result, capable, high-quality suppliers are more likely to bid on government work and to deliver it exceptionally. SRM also helps streamline government buying and drives down total costs over the term of the contract.

Consequently, the government becomes a more attractive customer and gets more value for its contract spending, while suppliers are incentivized to provide better quality goods and services. This helps build the pool of well qualified suppliers for future work.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2017/03/category-management-basics-how-attract-top-quality-suppliers-and-ensure-they-deliver/135887/

February 21, 2017 By AMK

After the award: How to make contracts deliver

In this article, the authors point out that collaboration, communication and trust characterize the best post-contract relationships.

Recently, the Professional Services Council’s Outcomes-Oriented Acquisition Working Group Chair Tim Cooke joined with me, IBM Center for the Business of Government Executive Director Dan Chenok, and the National Academy of Public Administration to convene a roundtable on post-award contract performance. It was the second on this subject (see here for a summary of first roundtable), and the first to include industry program managers.

As in the first session, senior agency procurement officials and contracting officer’s representatives (CORs) also participated. We are grateful to all who joined in this non-attribution session; their observations are insightful, as are their recommendations for the contracting, IT, and program management communities.

Our first roundtable focused on CORs and their role serving as the eyes and ears for program customers and contracting officers on post-award contract performance. This second gathering focused on the post-award relationship between the government and contractors.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/blogs/lectern/2017/02/kelman-post-award-roundtable.aspx

January 11, 2017 By AMK

Why procurement officials shouldn’t fear debriefings

The White House has a strong message for the government’s buying officials: Talk to the companies that bid on a contract about why they did or didn’t win the award.

The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) recently released a “myth-buster” memo clearing up misconceptions about debriefing meetings, the post-award discussions often requested by unsuccessful vendors curious about why they weren’t selected.

Among common practices OFPP tried to bust: “If a company brings a lawyer, cut the discussion short.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/01/why-procurement-officials-shouldnt-fear-debriefings/134375

Read the OFPP’s Jan. 5, 2017 “myth busting” memo at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/procurement/memo/myth-busting_3_further_improving_industry_communications_with_effectiv….pdf

August 10, 2016 By AMK

GSA officials on increased bid protests: ‘This is how it’s going to be’

Despite federal acquisition officials’ efforts to engage industry before, during and after the bidding process, the growing number of bid protests appears unavoidable, according to a panel of General Services Administration (GSA) officials.

“I’m just resigned to the fact that this is how it’s going to be,” said Tiffany Hixson, regional commissioner of the Northwest Region of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service.

Hixson spoke alongside FAS Commissioner Tom Sharpe, Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Integrated Technology Services Mary Davie and Multiple Award Schedule Transformation Program Manager Judith Zawatsky at an event held August 2nd by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/technology-news/2016/08/gsa-officials-increased-bid-protests-how-its-going-be/130417

A new advisory panel has been tasked with streamlining the Department of Defense’s procurement process.

Nurturing the relationship with suppliers is a critical component of the category management procurement model.

In this article, the authors point out that collaboration, communication and trust characterize the best post-contract relationships.

The White House has a strong message for the government’s buying officials: Talk to the companies that bid on a contract about why they did or didn’t win the award.

Despite federal acquisition officials’ efforts to engage industry before, during and after the bidding process, the growing number of bid protests appears unavoidable, according to a panel of General Services Administration (GSA) officials.

Search this Website