TArticles tagged with: performance-based

Procurement innovation

Responding rapidly and effectively to changing market conditions

Innovation is not simply about new ideas. It is also about responding rapidly and effectively to changing market conditions. The Federal Government is gradually emulating successful commercial market innovations such as category management, Agile procurement, and performance-based acquisition. Capture and proposal professionals must understand these trends and respond effectively with new and/or improved strategies and processes. Category management Category management is a purchasing concept whereby like supplies and/or services are grouped into similar categories. The purpose is to achieve more-effective competition while reducing costs and risks as well as gaining access to greater innovation from suppliers. Department of Defense (DoD) Better Buying Power initiatives as well as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) category management policy related to laptops and desktops, software licensing, and mobile devices and services are all aimed at allowing the Federal Government to act as a single efficient enterprise by sharing best practices and information. Innovative … Continue reading Procurement innovation →

21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 3

Bundled contracts, unbundled contracts, emphasis on well-trained procurement support staff, training axed in cost-cutting measures, short turnarounds, extended and extended extensions, virtual proposals, everyone in the war room… The more things change… Play this government capture and proposal game long enough, and you start recognizing and anticipating the changing patterns. Talk to those who’ve been in the business for years, and you’ll gain insights into how to deal with a particular round of changes based on what the veterans experienced the last go round. I recently asked a number of my colleagues, “What changes do you anticipate in the next 5 years for the capture/proposal industry, e.g., technology and tools, types of proposals, customers, training, lead time to prepare responses, pricing, etc.?” Here is the final set of their responses. How will you and your company start positioning yourselves to address these projected changes? I expect more bundled contracts with … Continue reading 21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 3 →

21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 2

The old adage says, “Nothing’s constant except change.” (We can add death and taxes, but even the taxes part seems in constant flux these days!) Stay in the government capture and proposal game long enough, and you’ll start recognizing patterns in the changes. Over the years, you’ll add strategies to your bag of tricks that you’ll be able to whip out to deal with round x of a particular procurement “flavor of the year.” Throughout all of these fluctuations and transformations, though, one thing does remains constant. Business development (BD), capture, and proposal professionals have strong opinions about and desires for changes that would add sanity and structure to the entire procurement process and cut down on the “guess work.” I recently asked a number of my colleagues, “What changes do you anticipate in the next 5 years for the capture/proposal industry, e.g., technology and tools, types of proposals, customers, … Continue reading 21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 2 →

21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 1

It’s a fact of life that government contracting experiences cyclical changes. Hang around in this game long enough, and you’ll start to recognize “patterns.” Over the last 25 plus years, I’ve seen government contracting shops experience cycles of expansion and contraction, staffed by well-trained professionals and maddeningly inexperienced folks. I’ve seen emphasis on best value turn to low price technically acceptable (LPTA). Contracting groups force fitting every procurement they could into performance-based contracts – many of which had no business even being mentioned in the same breath as “performance-based.” Increases and decreases in the number of bid protests and changes in the government offices charged with adjudicating those protests. Throughout all of these fluctuations and transformations, one thing remains constant. Business development (BD), capture, and proposal professionals have strong opinions about and desires for changes that would add sanity and structure to the entire procurement process and cut down on … Continue reading 21 Experts’ predictions for capture/proposal industry changes – Part 1 →