Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GSA may make industry participation in data reporting pilot optional

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The General Services Administration (GSA) is considering whether to remove a mandate requiring industry partners seeking or renewing a schedule to participate in its Transactional Data Reporting pilot.

Kevin Youel Page, deputy commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said Thursday voluntary participation in the 3-year pilot—which stemmed from a GSA-published rule last June—has been higher than expected, leaving officials to consider whether mandating participation was necessary.

Industry participants in the pilot provide sales information about their products and services to GSA. In turn, GSA relieves those participants of requirements many in industry dislike: the price reduction clause and commercial sales disclosures. GSA wants to use that data to improve the value agency customers get in purchasing billions of dollars worth of products and services sold through the Multiple Award Schedules.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/big-data/2017/04/gsa-may-make-industry-participation-data-reporting-pilot-optional/136796

Price realism evaluation: Only if solicitation says so

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An agency awarding a fixed-price contract can only evaluate offerors’ proposals for price realism–that is, determine whether offerors’ proposed pricing is so low as to be unrealistic–if the solicitation calls for a price realism evaluation.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO confirmed that when a fixed-price solicitation does not advise offerors that a price realism evaluation will be conducted, the agency is not permitted to reject an offeror’s proposal because of unrealistically low pricing.

The GAO’s decision in ERIMAX, Inc., B-410682 (Jan. 22, 2015) involved a NOAA RFQ seeking the establishment of a BPA for acquisition and grant management services.  The RFQ called for vendors to submit fully-burdened hourly labor rates for labor categories provided by the agency.  Once labor rates were entered, the agency’s spreadsheet would automatically calculate total prices using the rates provided by the vendors.  The RFQ stated that proposed prices would be evaluated to determine whether they were fair and reasonable.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/price-realism-evaluation-only-if-solicitation-says-so/

 

Learn how the government conducts cost and price analysis, starting June 16

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The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course focusing on the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.  The course begins June 16, 2014, and will be held at the Global Learning Center located on the midtown Atlanta campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

To see details or to register, click here.

Academy identifier - gold & black w-white bkgrndThe 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 will 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.

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

DAU logoCON 170 – Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis is Defense Acquisition University-equivalent training that satisfies the FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs.  Students successfully completing the course earn 7.35 continuing education units.

For more information or to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-170-fundamentals-cost-and-price-analysis

GAO releases report on bid protests in FY13

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released its annual report to Congress on bid protests filed and acted upon during fiscal year 2013 (FY13).

The report reveals that during FY13, the GAO received 2,429 cases, including 2,298 protests, 56 cost claims, and 75 requests for reconsideration.   A total of 2,538 cases were closed during the fiscal year.

Notably, the most prevalent reasons for sustaining protests were: 1) failure on the part of federal agencies to follow their stated bid or proposal evaluation criteria; 2) inadequate documentation of the record by agencies; 3) unequal treatment of offerors; and 4) unreasonable price or cost evaluation.

Further details can be seen on the following chart.

FY 13 Bid Protest Stats - GAO

FY 13 Bid Protest Stats - GAO - notes to chart

A copy of the complete GAO report can be accessed here: GAO Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress FY 13 – Jan. 2 2014

 

 

Tech’s Contracting Academy to teach cost & price course in October

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The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course focusing on the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting on October 14-25, 2013.

This 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 will 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. After successfully defending their pricing objectives, the students will practice face-to-face negotiations.

This course is targeted toward new hires to the contracting career field.   For government contractors, this course also provides invaluable insights into the government contracting decision-making process.

Student performance will be 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.   In addition, 7.35 CEUs are granted for successful course completion.

For more information or to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-170-fundamentals-cost-and-price-analysis

Is the government starting to hate LPTA too?

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I was surprised (and relieved) to learn that government proposal evaluators are pushing back on the use of lowest price, technically acceptable (LPTA) evaluation criteria—and for good reason. They are now learning that this evaluation criteria can limit their ability to exercise reasonable judgment in the evaluation process and may result in contracts awarded to companies that are clearly inferior and have less qualified offerings compared to others in the competition.

Here are two instances where the use of LPTA evaluation criteria backfired on the government decision-makers:

  1. Superior value versus price
  2. Past performance and performance risk

Keep reading this article at: http://washingtontechnology.com/Articles/2013/06/07/Insights-Lohfeld-LPTA-shortcomings.aspx?Page=1 

Georgia Tech launches course on cost-price analysis for government contracts in May

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Starting in May 2013, The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech will offer a new course focusing on the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting.

This 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 will 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. After successfully defending their pricing objectives, the students will practice face-to-face negotiations.

This course is targeted toward new hires to the contracting career field.   For government contractors, this course also provides valuable 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 Analyis 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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