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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

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DoD is better defining what lowest price means in contracts

The Defense Department is implementing a major change to the way it awards contracts to companies.
Better Buying Power (BBP) is based on the principle that continuous improvement is the best approach to improving the performance of the defense acquisition enterprise.
Better Buying Power (BBP) is based on the principle that continuous improvement is the best approach to improving the performance of the defense acquisition enterprise.

An April 1, 2016 memo from Claire Grady,  DoD’s director of defense procurement and acquisition policy lessens the onus on source selection officials to justify paying more for their requirements than just lowest cost technically acceptable (LPTA). It also adds some transparency to how the department prices its requirements.

The policy change is part of the Better Buying Power acquisition reforms, which stated the LPTA requirements sometimes ended up costing DoD more money in the long run. A 2013 Market Connections and Centurion Research Solutions study found 65 percent of contractors and 43 percent of government workers thought LPTA hurt long term value for short term savings. Some critics said DoD places too much emphasis on LPTA contracts.

DoD now will try to make clearer the worth of delivering a capability above “technically acceptable” or the minimum requirement when awarding contracts.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/defense/2016/04/dod-tweaks-lpta-methods-save-money-help-industry/

See the April 1, 2016 memo from Claire Grady,  DoD’s Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, here: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/policy/policyvault/USA004370-14-DPAP.pdf

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Learn all about government contract cost and price analysis

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 Nov. 30 through Dec. 11, 2015.

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

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Learn all about government contract cost-price analysis in July

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

To see details or to register, click here.

The Academy’s comprehensive, two-week 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 to 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

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GSA Schedules and DoD’s confusing FAR 8.4 deviation

On March 13, 2014, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) issued a class deviation to FAR 8.404(d). This deviation directed that ordering activity contracting officers are responsible for making a determination of fair and reasonable pricing when using GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules (FSS). The deviation essentially incorporates complex FAR 15.404-1 price analysis techniques into the streamlined FSS ordering procedures with the vague caveat that the complexity and circumstances of each acquisition should determine the level of detail of the analysis required.

In discussing the rationale for this deviation, DPAP has consistently focused on the variation in pricing across the FSS program. In particular, the example of a $29 stapler listed on an FSS contract has been cited by DPAP as creating a “significant” risk that Department of Defense (DoD) contracting officers will simply order the $29 stapler rather than search for a cheaper stapler on another FSS contract. For those of us of a certain age, the use of this example reminds one of the $600 toilet seat reportedly purchased by the DoD back in the 1980s. Like the toilet seat purchase, however, there is greater context that undercuts the stapler example cited by DPAP.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/blog/2015/02/13/gsa-advantage-dpap-far-waldron/23365305/

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