Whoever coined the phrase “time is our most valuable asset” didn’t create the procurement process. RFPs are designed to distribute awards based on quantifiable data and objective analysis, but often, the lengthy process can eliminate competition and drive costs up. Fortunately, legislation and policy reforms are accelerating the pace of procurement with new methods to evaluate and negotiate RFPs.
The updated methods listed below are designed to eliminate time-consuming processes in your agency, heighten vendor competition, and mitigate financial risk during proposal evaluation and the contract lifecycle.
- Streamline your proposal process through Negotiated Acquisition.
Negotiated Acquisition is a method used to select a contractor without formal advertising or sealed bidding—helping you economize on both counts. However, the process is only acceptable under a few conditions, including a public bidding failure or when you end up with a small vendor pool, which usually translates to minimal competition.
Agencies typically use Negotiated Acquisition for IT software and products, IT systems, weapon systems, research and development, advisory and assistance services, and engineering services. The process evaluates the technical aspects of a proposal as an agency’s primary consideration. With a limited offeror group involved, past performance is a key priority for a contractor win.
Using this option reduces the complexity of the formal proposal process, saving your agency time, capital, and overhead.
- Take advantage of Best Value Procurement.
Best Value Procurement (BVP) is a system used to evaluate factors other than price when selecting contractors—such as work quality and proven value and expertise.
Though your initial expenditure may be higher, BVP considers the total value over the life of the procurement, timeliness of awardee delivery, and cost-containment during execution. By using qualifications-based criteria, this approach lets you evaluate specific technical and merit-based skill sets more thoroughly. The BVP process offers your agency greater flexibility to compare technical and cost factors subjectively, rather than forcing you to always scrutinize the bottom line.
Additional BVP source selection criteria include: financial stability of vendor, technical support offered, and environmental impact of deliverables.
As an added bonus, BVP has increased small, women-owned, and minority-run business participation in government contracting as a whole.
Are there scenarios where the traditional low-bid system is the better option? Of course, but giving you the ability to measure performance and total cost over time can help you reap long-term benefits and decrease overall expenditure. (2)
- Make use of Share-in-Savings contracting.
Share-in-Savings (SiS) is a performance-based contracting method designed to reduce the overall financial risk for your agency. Under the SiS model, you can launch projects with minimal funding and pay your contractor with the savings or revenue generated from the project. It’s an effective technique to motivate and encourage vendors to work quickly and under budget.
If your agency is dealing with budget limitations, SiS can effectively mitigate your exposure by generating significant cost savings. (3)(4)(5)
- Benefit from Reverse Auctions.
In Reverse Auctions, multiple vendors can compete with one another to win a contract by lowering their offered price in a transparent environment. Unison Marketplace, formerly FedBid, provides federal, state, and local governments and educational institutions with an online Reverse Auction platform to purchase goods and services.
This FAR-compliant system streamlines the procurement process, increases your supplier base, and satisfies small-business award goals. It’s a patented solution, and it opens contract opportunities to more sellers.
The result? Through competition, vendors offer their lowest bid in a transparent marketplace—and your agency gets the best price, with savings to fund other projects. (6)
- Close contract deals through smart, economical software.
Reduce costs and build a predictable and scalable closing process that keeps your agency, content, and deals safe from a saturated marketplace. ProPricer Government Edition (GE) has created an unprecedented ability for agencies to significantly improve the way they receive and analyze proposals.
With the ability to import any-size cost proposals in seconds, your teams have more time for analysis and proposal throughput.
By onboarding data-driven automation software and implementing new sourcing legislation, agencies can successfully streamline and accelerate the RFP process timeline to reduce hours and eliminate inflated expenses.
Agile and efficient, ProPricer Government Edition (GE) is compliant with all Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), DFARS, and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS).
Sources:
- 14 FAH-2H-210 Manual: Acquisition Methods
- Theodore Watson Blog: Best-Value Contract Award Procurement Process
- Medium Article :A Brief History of IT Share-in-Savings Contracting in the Federal Government
- WSJ Article: How Share-in-Savings Contracts Can Reduce Costs
- Oversight Report: Contract Management- Commercial Use of Share-in-Savings Contracting
- Unison Acquisition Marketplace Website
