Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

LPTA solicitations no longer acceptable? Reviewing DoD’s proposed changes to the DFARS

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In a proposed rule issued last month, the Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to incorporate into the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS) restrictions on the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection method from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018.  This proposed rule makes clear that these NDAA-imposed restrictions are not going away any time soon, and that DoD contracting officers need to engage in a thorough and reasoned analysis before conducting an LPTA procurement.

Just as its name suggests, the LPTA source selection process prioritizes cost or price over technical capability — the agency will make award to the lowest-priced offeror that presents a technically acceptable proposal.  Typically, agencies use the LPTA process to procure straightforward goods and services such as routine maintenance work or office equipment.  In recent years, however, contractors have complained that agencies employ LPTA selection processes in inappropriate circumstances where qualitative differences really matter and technical superiority is worth a price premium.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2018/12/lowest-price-technically-acceptable-solicitations-no-longer-acceptable-reviewing-department-defenses-proposed-changes-dfars/

GAO: DoD should clarify criteria for using LPTA

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Although Congress has restricted when the Dept. of Defense (DoD) might use lowest-price technically-acceptable (LPTA) contractor selection criteria, the Department has not followed this mandate.

Note: This article was written by Matthew Schoonover of Koprince Law, LLC and first appeared in SmallGovCon.

A recent GAO report highlights DoD’s struggle.  As of September 2018, DoD has not yet revised its regulations to reflect certain statutory restrictions against LPTA awards and, as a result, DoD contracting officers believe they are not yet required to follow these new requirements.

Candidly, I’m not so sure. But in any event, GAO’s report issued a couple of recommendations to help DoD fully implement the restrictions against LPTA procurements.

Let’s take a look.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/statutes-and-regulations/gao-report-lpta/

Establishing prejudice in an LPTA protest

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Low-priced, technically acceptable procurements (LPTA) shine a light on a contractor’s ability to provide the required services at the lowest possible cost to the government.

Leave your style points at home.  It is all about getting lean to win the award.

But when the evaluation is that simple, is there any room to challenge an LPTA award decision?

The answer is Yes — and a recent GAO protest offers some important insights into best practices.

The protest concerned an Air Force contract to provide tactical recovery kits.  Covering both LPTA bases, the protester argued that the agency:

  1. Unreasonably found the awardee technically acceptable, and
  2. Conducted inadequate discussions concerning price.

Keep reading this article at: https://governmentcontracts.foxrothschild.com/2018/08/articles/bid-protests/establishing-prejudice-in-a-lpta-protest

Software companies push Senate to weaken lowest price contracting rule

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Lawmakers are once again looking at ways to peel back the use of lowest price technically acceptable, or LPTA, contracting decisions to enable federal agencies to spend a little more for better products and services.

As part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, LPTA requires agencies to choose the lowest priced option that meets the requirements set forth in a given solicitation. Abiding by the letter of the law has led to poor contracting decisions for the sake of saving some money.

“LPTA contracting is a useful source selection method for acquisitions with simple, well-defined requirements when cost is the sole objective differentiating factor,” BSA | The Software Alliance Vice President Craig Albright wrote in a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee. “However, when it comes to more complex acquisitions involving multiple technical variable or functions … LPTA’s priority of price over value leads to acquisition outcomes that actually prevent the government from getting the most for its money.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/policy/2018/07/software-companies-push-senate-weaken-lowest-price-contracting-rule/149878/

New bill would scale back improper use of LPTA

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A new bill aims to reform the way agencies use “lowest-price, technically-acceptable” for their procurements.

The “Promoting Value Based Procurement Act of 2017” — sponsored by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. — would reform the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require civilian agencies to do the following when it comes to applying LPTA in contract bids:

  • Comprehensively and clearly describe the minimum requirements in terms of performance objectives, measures and standards that will be used to determine acceptability of offers.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/articles/psc-applauds-new-bill-to-scale-back-improper-lpta-use

Lawmakers aim to restrict use of lowest-price contracts

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A contractors group has welcomed a bipartisan House bill placed in the hopper last month aimed at curbing agency use of lowest price technically acceptable contracts.

The Promoting Value Based Procurement Act (H.R. 3019), introduced by Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Don Beyer, D-Va., would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require civilian agencies to align themselves with the Defense Department and stiffen their rationales for resorting to lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) contracts, which have grown in use in recent years but are controversial.

“Price should not be the sole deciding factor when the federal government is purchasing complex, innovative information technology and engineering systems, where the least expensive option often may not lead to the best long-term value,” Beyer said in a statement to Government Executive. “We can help spur innovation by allowing contractors for certain high-tech procurements to compete on the strengths of their products, not the cost.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2017/07/lawmakers-aim-restrict-use-lowest-price-contracts/139306

Big trends in federal contracting for 2016

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The coming year in the federal contracting market highlights an interesting tension between the opportunities that new technology and big data bring, and the challenges of budget uncertainty and industry consolidation.

Big data and cybersecurity are fundamentally changing the way both agencies and contractors do business.

The landscape is further complicated by agency use of Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable awards and unprecedented merger and acquisition activity.

Cybersecurity spending will continue to climb, but in other areas, Govini predicts continued downward pressure on pure services businesses. [Editor’s Note: Govini is a business intelligence firm that provides a database of government spending and proprietary analytics to companies that sell to the public sector.]

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/01/big-trends-federal-contracting-2016/125230

The ‘P’ in procurement isn’t just for price, it’s for people too

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Is the federal government moving away from lowest price, technically acceptable (LPTA) procurements? Contractors that are in the people business can only hope so.

When I say “people” business, I mean providing the government with people who exceed expectations in delivering operations, technology and facilities management services. In LPTA procurements, competitions in which the government selects the lowest-priced proposal that meets a minimum set of technical requirements, contractors are not rewarded, or even encouraged, for exceeding these minimum standards. This approach is not compatible with a corporate philosophy that stresses excellence in service delivery by people who are best qualified to do the job.

Kendall LPTA Memo
To see the full text of Frank Kendall’s memo on LPTA, click on the image above.

On March 4, 2015, Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, issued a memorandum detailing the role that LPTA procurements should play in the Defense Department’s acquisition process. According to the Kendall memorandum, use of LPTA is appropriate “only when there are well-defined requirements, the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal, price is a significant factor in the source selection, and there is neither value, need, nor willingness to pay for higher performance.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2015/11/p-procurement-isnt-just-price-its-people-too/123593

GSA to test pre-competed IT products through AdvantageSelect portal

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The General Services Administration (GSA) has announced its plans to test two types of pre-competed information technology products through the GSA AdvantageSelect online portal.

Erville Koehler, regional commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, wrote in a blog post published last Wednesday that GSA AdvantageSelect is a category management-based tool designed to help contracting officials place orders for IT products without the need to undergo competition.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.executivegov.com/2015/08/erville-koehler-gsa-to-test-pre-competed-it-products-through-advantageselect-portal/

As GSA’s FAS struggles to reinvent itself, contractors suffer

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The last year has been a tough one for the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) program.  The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) – the GSA agency charged with administering the MAS program – has struggled to re-invent itself and its contracting vehicles in order to ensure they both stay relevant in an increasingly competitive federal marketplace.  The byproduct of this struggle has been mostly negative for Schedule vendors.

GSA Schedule ContractIn an effort to demonstrate the value its contracts bring to federal customers, FAS has pursued an unrelenting crusade aimed at reducing prices at all costs.  It is no longer enough for a vendor to give the Government a great deal vis-à-vis its commercial customers (a determination historically made through a “vertical pricing” analysis).  Now vendors also must charge less than their competitors – a determination made through a “horizontal pricing” analysis.  While FAS contracting officers are supposed to consider factors that may explain a price differential as part of their price evaluation, in practice, COs pay little heed to such “trifles.”  The concept of value rarely enters into the equation any more.

Time and again, vendors are told to lower prices or remove products from their Schedule because another vendor offers the same product at a lower price.  So what that the other vendor offers no customer service, no phone support, no warranty, and is run by two guys out of a garage in Glenwood.  Price is king, and that’s all FAS seems to care about nowadays.  (We mean no disrespect to the good people of Glenwood by the way.  We just couldn’t resist the alliteration.)

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=417332

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