In This Week’s Newsletter:
- Culture Corner: Last Call for Volunteers!
- Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: OPM Enterprise Cyber Infrastructure and Operations Support Services (ECIOSS)
- AI Corner: Use Gen AI to find efficiency in workplace tasks
- Competitive Intelligence & Pricing: Pricing with Different contract types
- Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits!
Last Call for Volunteers
Please join Hinz Consulting and members of the National Capital Area (NCA) Chapter of APMP as we work together to build community and pack 10,000+ meals for Rise Against Hunger!
OPM Enterprise Cyber Infrastructure and Operations Support Services (ECIOSS)
Contact Len: len.miller@hinzconsulting.com
OPM OCIO is looking to modernize and leverage cloud technologies in order to improve the delivery of OPM services while also enhancing its infrastructure capabilities. A pre-solicitation notice was released on SAM.gov and is intended to be an 8(a) total small-business set-aside. The solicitation is expected to be released on or about 12 June. The proposal due date/time will be announced then. The government anticipates this being a hybrid of FFP and Labor hour contract and not to exceed award to one 8(a) Small Business. This is expected to be a 5-year program with a 1-year base period and four (4) one-year option periods. Six tasks are expected: (1) Program Management, (2) Managed Services, (3) Enterprise Operations Center, (4) Enterprise Cybersecurity Services Support, (5) Network Operations, Infrastructure and Architecture Support, and (6) Surge Support. Please contact Hinz Consulting for your proposal support needs!
Use Gen AI to find efficiency in workplace tasks
Contact Josh: josh.thiel@hinzconsulting.com
Everyone juggles multiple tasks and fights to close out the work-to-do list by Friday. Gen AI isn’t just for proposals! Professionals can use Gen AI to find efficiency in all workplace tasks. Explore how you can harness its power:
- Style: Craft emails in various styles from formal to informal.
- Reports: Draft a report from meeting notes and multiple documents.
- Condense: Extract content from long-form chats or emails and distill it down to the core. No need to store content in structured databases.
- Edit: After writing your email or report, use AI-based grammar and style checkers. They catch typos, improve readability, and ensure your message is professional.
Remember, Generative AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a game-changer. Embrace its capabilities, save time, and elevate your productivity!
Pricing with Different contract types
Contact Chris: chris.placzek@hinzconsulting.com
Time and Materials (T&M)/Labor Hour (LH)/Firm Fixed Price (FFP) – Level of Effort (LOE)
T&M, LH, and FFP-LOE are similar in nature because they all contain “built-up” hourly rates: direct labor, plus fringe/overhead, plus G&A, plus fees. Rates may also come from pre-established schedules (GSA, BPA, IDIQs, MACs, GWACs). T&M and LH contracts carry a low-to-medium risk for contractors. FFP-LOE is riskier for the contractor, however, due to the requirement for LOE delivery. For T&M and LH proposals, the proposed fees can be as high as 12%; for FFP-LOE, fees may be as high as 15%. Proposed fees will vary based on work type, duration, and historical knowledge of the customer.
Firm Fixed Price (FFP)
FFP is the riskiest of contract types for contractors (but least problematic for the Government) because proposed pricing is usually a total priced value. Contract modification price changes are not highly possible unless an economical price adjustment is part of the contract agreement. While FFP is typically a bottom-line number, government clients expect to see the details behind the proposed price. Like T&M/LH/FFP-LOE, FFP prices may be based and built on pre-established rates. Fees for FFP can be as high as 18% (rare). In some instances in FFP contracts, some customers may require contractors to give them refunds if they do not produce the number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) contracted for FFP contracts.
Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF), Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), Cost Sharing
Cost-type contracts are the least risky for contractors but are the most difficult for the Government since those costs may fluctuate throughout contract performance. Cost-type contracts are just what they sound like: costs built up and lower profit/fee. Cost Sharing (rare) is when the offeror proposes a total price and proposes its portion of the cost to understand that the client will cover the other amount. Suppose a Cost Plus contract is a “term” contract. In that case, offerors need to monitor contract costs because any overages during contract performance will impact profit/fee. Fees for Cost-type contracts typically do not exceed 8%. Note that for CPAF (Cost Plus Award Fee) contracts, there is usually a small, fixed fee percentage (around 2-3%) with more fees in the award-fee pool). As for Cost Sharing contracts, fees are not allowed.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is an excellent source of information for reading about contract types; one can find the FAR online and easily search for data.
Four to Follow:
- Aircraft Modification and Supplemental Maintenance Support Service: DHS/CBP issued a pre-solicitation notice and Draft RFP documents on 29 May. Responses are due NLT 6 June at 1 pm ET. The final RFP is expected by the end of June with a 30-day turnaround and the award is expected November/December 2024. This is anticipated to be an Agency IDIQ SBSA contract valued between $50-$100M for this new requirement. Reach out to Hinz Consulting for support on this effort.
- Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Engineering Directors Space Systems Department & Other MSFC Departments Directorates & Offices (ESMSFC): NASA MFSC has an ongoing requirement for Engineering Support. The incumbent contract held by Cepeda Systems & Software Analysis is scheduled to expire in Feb 2025. MSFC just recently stated that they intend to release a draft RFP in July 2024, followed by a final RFP in August 2024 and a proposal expected to be submitted in September 2024 with a Contract award for this estimated $24.5M, SBSA Agency IDIQ to occur by end of 2024.
- New Modern Software Development Multiple Award IDIQ: The Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Aberdeen Proving Grounds (ACC-APG) released a modification on 29 May to the RFI that they released on 23 May. Responses to the RFI are due NLT 10 June at 4 pm ET. The Final RFP is potentially being released in Aug 2024 and contracts awarded in Nov 2024. This is expected to be a two-phased process with Phase 1 being Technical Corporate Experience Self-Assessment and the Army doing a down select after evaluation of Phase 1 on who progresses into Phase 2. Phase 2 is to include: (a) Technical Challenge; (b) Management Plan; (c) Past Performance; and (d) Cost/Price. Army expects to award about 10 total contract holders at the MA/IDIQ level which is to include a pool reserved for Small Businesses. Potential for both On-Ramping and Off-Ramping during the IDIQ POP. Reach out to Hinz Consulting for support on the IDIQ Proposal and future Task Order support!
- ALLIANT 3: The industry awaits the release of the long-awaited RFP which the Government estimated would be end of May 2024. As I write this we are on 30 May and tomorrow is a Friday, 31 May…so who knows? Industry are you ready for this $75B IDIQ/GWAC? Let us know if you need Proposal Support as Hinz Consulting will do you proud!
About Hinz Consulting
Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:
- Proposal Consulting
- AI Services
- Strategic Pricing
- Training
- Capture
- Competitive Intelligence
- BD Transformation Consulting
- Process/Methodology Consulting
- Tools and Templates
- Production Services
- Small Business
