Comparison between Sealed Bidding and Competitive Proposals

Pricing strategy: When bidding for the government contracts, the A&D companies have to assess and anticipate how other competitors will respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP), which contains the details of the technical and non-technical requirements. In the lowest price, technically acceptable or LPTA contract, companies bid as lowest price as possible while maintaining the acceptable profit margin threshold for their operations. In order to determine the lowest price point that qualifies a company to win the contract and produces the highest profit as possible at the same time, not only does a company has to know its own profitable price point, it has to also anticipating how low other companies will bid the contract. For example, Company A has been trying to break into cybersecurity space in the past few years. However, it hasn’t been successfully in any of the previous bids. Contract XYZ is a large cybersecurity contract that will allow Company A to start gaining recognition as a prime

Zakheim and Kadish explain two decades ago, there were more than twenty prime contractors competing for defense contracts while today the government relies on just six contractors to build its defense systems. Zakheim and Kadish state, “The system largely forgoes competition on price, delivery and performance and replaces it with a kind of “design bureau” competition”. The report explains that firms such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin have operated in collaboration on several projects such as the Air Force’s next generation bomber (Zakheim & Kadish, 2008). Collaboration of this nature suggests cooperative equilibrium between the firms to enhance their mutual payoff of outbidding competitors. With the defense market on the downturn pending major budget cuts over the next several years, more collaboration strategies are possible for firms to remain competitive. The existing procurement system encourages bargaining among the government and bidding firms. When budgets are allocated generously, demand is high and firms can set their prices higher. Budget cuts decrease demand and increase bargaining between buyer and seller. Security Industry reports budget deficits subject contracts to greater

Power is never linked to price, but always to value.” Power in negotiations can be perceived or real which affects the final negotiation outcome. Generally all disputants have some power to an extent which is used to achieve a favourable outcome. It is unlikely the power balance stays consistent, power shifts throughout the negotiation process. Knowing how the power works and how to use power to achieve desirable outcome is important for successful negotiations. The notion of parity in power is vital in relationships between the disputants. The parity in negotiation is when one party perceives that the other party can oppose any form of power with dissimilar or similar form of power (Lewicki and Saunders et al., 1997). Power parity means there will be a balance in power positioning to some extent. The two different objective powers involving in the bargaining process are power depending on the lack of dependence and role power (Staff, 2013). The first power parallels to a disputants BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated agreement). Going into a negotiation with strong BATNA means the disputant is less dependent on the other parties in achieving the desired outcome compared to having a weaker alternative. The second power is linked with the positions, titles or roles which grant power simply because of the control or authority they possess. This is often found in hierarchical organisations. Apart from the objective powers there is possibility of

Define selection criteria R/A C/I N/A N/A Obtain a list of approved vendors R/A C/I N/A N/A Call the contractor R/A I N/A N/A Rate and choose the contractor R/A

The Truth in Negotiations Act was passed on December 1, 1962 requiring government contractors to submit cost or pricing data if the procurement met specific requirements in order to establish that the offer is fair and reasonable. The history of The Truth in Negotiations Act will set the stage for its significance in the twenty-first century. Prior to World War II, the United States government conducted its bidding process for procurement in an open bid environment. What was required for a bid was a complete description of the requirement, two or more suppliers capable and willing to complete the requirement, a selection based on price competition and sufficient time to prepare a complete statement of the government’s needs and terms.

This paper will explore how Sealed Bidding and Competitive proposals compare against each other. In order to compare them one must understand how, when and why each topic is used. The primary source of federal procurement information and guidance is the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which consists of Parts 1-53 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). FAR parts 14 and 15 explains in full detail Sealed Bidding and Competitive Proposals. This paper like the federal government will rely heavily on the FAR as a source document to help explain the details of this topic.

Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) “prescribes [the] policies and procedures governing competitive and noncompetitive negotiated acquisitions.” One component of negotiated acquisitions that occurs early in the acquisition process is the solicitation of proposals. FAR 15.201, titled, “Exchanges with Industry before Receipt of Proposals,” regulates the type and manner of communications, also sometimes referred to as exchanges, which can – and cannot – take place between the Government and potential suppliers prior to the receipt of a potential supplier’s proposal and the subsequent award of a contract.

The government selects contract proposals from many competitors large and small, and each proposal must be effective in scope and developed with an attitude of winning the contract. From the e-Activity, select two (2) of the suggested commandments that you feel are most important to understand in order to write a government bid proposal effectively. Provide a rationale for your selection.

The aim of the event there should be a generous deal. The offer is the offer and acceptance must recognize transmitted offeror. All around, the consensus can be awarded. What strategies they made, paying

A contract has been awarded under competitive negotiated procedures and an unsuccessful offeror wanted to know why they were not the winner. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides an approach to this issue by offering an organized correspondence with the unsuccessful offeror and the government. An unsuccessful offeror may submit a request to the contracting officer for clarification on why they did not win the award. This request is called a debriefing. The debriefing provides feedback from the government on the unsuccessful offeror’s proposal explaining the process in depth as to why they were not selected. Only certain information is shared and will vary depending on whether the debriefing is conducted prior to or after

Pricing is a pertinent issue in procurement and acquisition in organizations. Consumers buying the commodities of an entity should get clarity on pricing related issues. There is uncertainty in Pro

There was no formal bidding process. In addition, it appeared that not all bidders were treated equally. This can be seen when the bidding process was opened back up after the contractors were narrowed down to

3. If the contract doesn’t have applicable and similar cost in it, the contractor should propose a cost and submit to the stakeholders to get a approval, and carry out.

Procurement intends to explore supply market opportunities and to implement resourcing strategies that deliver the best possible supply outcome to the organization, its stakeholders and clients (Kidd, 2005). Therefore, construction procurement exists to purchase a construction project as requirement of firms or organizational entities to achieve its goals. However, the choice to use external resources is the part of firms’ decision-making

b) Another alternative should be using the negotiation method in order to develop a “win-win” situation. A negotiating party would have to be applied, “When a long period of time is required to produce the items purchased” (p 375). In these circumstances, suitable economic price adjustment clauses must be negotiated. Opportunities for various improvements may develop, such as the new manufacturing methods, new packaging possibilities, substitute materials, new plant layouts, and new tools. Negotiation permits an examination and evaluation of all these potential improvements. Competitive bidding does not. The advantage would be assurance of a long-term business with the Company along with reasonable profit for the supplier and reasonable cost for the buyer.