IS YOUR RFP D.O.A.?

1. IS YOUR RFP D.O.A.? IPC CONFERENCE FOR THE PCB INDUSTRY: CRITICAL ISSUES FOR THE MILITARY MARKET Washington, D.C. – 12.08.2011 Steve DeWaters – Presenter

2. The Quest for the Request

3. RFQ = Request For Quote (Typically Commercial) • RFI = Request For Information (also ‘Pre-Solicitation’)…examples: • US Army…inviting industry to provide information on potential topics for the XYZ Program. Industry responses to the RFI will be assessed and may assist in identifying potential future actions • The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas and information to support its 100 Year Starship Study™ program. • REA = Request For Equitable Adjustments • Modifications of the contract that were not done formally or properly… • RFP = Request For Proposal • Also ‘Solicitation’ RF’X’

4. Example Space Fence (Space Surveillance Command)

5. Nine sites located on a path across the southern United States from Georgia to California along the 33rd parallel and consists of three (3) transmitter and six (6) receiver sites. • The main transmitting station located at Lake Kickapoo, Texas, has an average power output of 766,800 watts feeding a two-mile long antenna array. It provides the primary source of illumination. • Two other transmitting stations are located at Jordan Lake, Alabama, and Gila River, Arizona. These stations, with average power output of approximately 40,000 watts each, improve low altitude illumination at the sides of the main beam. It reaches straight up 10,000 miles into space with fan-shaped beams which are fixed in position, not scanned Space Fence Configuration A data processing center is located in Dahlgren, Va. Its observations are fed to NORAD Space Control Center.

6. Lake Kickapoo, Texas Transmitter ~ 2 Miles Interferometer arrays of 12 antennas, each composed of 96 dipoles over a wire ground screen. With a 1700' baseline, the interferometer can measure the angle of arrival of the incoming radar signal to within .01 degree accuracy...every 10 seconds

7. RF’X’ Example: Space Fence From a 12 inch minimum to a 2 inch minimum S -band ranges from 2 to 4 GHz, crossing the conventional boundary between UHF and SHF at 3.0 GHz. AFSSS Space Fence • Up to 2 Phased array radars • S-Band, range & angles • Globally dispersed • Increased revisit rates • Coverage gaps closed • Detection capability • ≈ 10 cm objects • LEO: 250-3,000 km alt. • MEO: 22,000 km alt. • Tracking capability for IOD • (IOD = Incoming Object Identification) • Space Fence $1.5B - $2.5B • Pre-Solicitation (RFI) was Mar 11 • RFP release by Apr 12 • Contract Award Aug 12 1.5 yrs for the design phase contract Source: Col. Brian Fredericksson, AF, 11/09/2011, HANSCOM AFB – Briefing 11.09.2011

8. An enormous amount of coordination, time, planning, strategy, manpower and MONEY goes into the preparation of Defense RFP’s • $10-20M to develop a single RFP is not uncommon • There are specific processes/procedures that the defense contractor needs to follow…these must never be confused with what is ordinarily acceptable in commercial practices • There are usually many different RFP’s ‘in play’ at any given time….’multiplexing the tasks…& the ‘$’ The Buy Side

9. Source: John Kabanek, former BAE Systems Sub-Contracts Mgr., NCMA Instructor, Penumbra Team Mate The Subcontract Process… A DOWN SELECT

10. A DOWN SELECT • RISK MANAGEMENT • NEGOTIATION AND SOURCE SELECTION • CLOSE OUT • STATUS AND COST • SUBCONTRACT MANAGEMENT • CHANGE MANAGEMENT • ONSITE TEAM • SUBCONTRACT • START UP • SUBCONTRACT MANAGEMENT APPROACH • CONTROL PROCESS • NEGOTIATE / AWARD SUBCONTRACT • CUSTOMER CONTRACT AWARD • FINAL BLT REVIEW • BID SUBMITTAL • EPP • CUSTOMER EVALUATIONS

11. Discover the Opportunities • Synchronize with the REALITY of the Opportunities • Understand the RFP Process (and the PACE) • Demonstrate Your Readiness (CONOPS) • Position for Pre-Award…Receive the Award • Create a Sustainment Plan The Sell Side

12. It costs the defense contractor a lot of ‘$’ to prepare their RFP’s…. • What does it cost you to prepare a good Proposal? • Are you tracking that activity? (You should be) • Did you know that you can ask for those pre-award costs to be folded into the award? • This is not a general rule, but for complex RFP’s, it can be quantified and negotiated…accounting systems need to be robust • Cost-Reimbursement Contracts (aka: Cost-Plus Contracts) FAR Sub-part 16.301-3: Limitations (a) A cost-reimbursement contract may be used only when— (1) The contractor’s accounting system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract; and (2) Appropriate Government surveillance during performance will provide reasonable assurance that efficient methods and effective cost controls are used. (b) The use of cost-reimbursement contracts is prohibited for the acquisition of commercial items The Sell Side (Cont’d.)

13. No Cover Letter • Or one that is poorly written or disconnected from the RFP body • Cut-’n-Paste Proposals • Convoluted language or reinventions • Incomplete or Late submittals (Unqualified) • Commercial Responses • Not Questioning the ‘Question-able’ Guaranteed D.O.A. Pit Falls

14. Incomplete Documentation • Expired FAR Clauses • Unrealistic Turn-Around Windows • Unavailability or Detachment • 1st Tier Customer Audits • NEVER BE AFRAID TO CONTACT, CHALLENGE THE RFP AUTHORS….THEY ARE LOOKING TO YOU – THE SUPPLIER – TO NOTICE, NOTIFY, AND PERFECT • THAT DEMONSTRATES A PROBLEM-SOLVING MENTALITY: • THE 1ST STEP IN TRUST The Defense Contractor is not ‘Lilly White’, either…(Examples):

15. TYPICAL PACKAGE… • STATEMENT OF WORK • MANAGEMENT/SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE VOLUME • TECHNICAL VOLUME • COST VOLUME • VARIOUS ATTACHMENTS • FTP’D OR OTHER DATA • Check List • Cover Letter • ‘Mapped’ Contents • No cut-’n’-paste • Use a convincing narrative • Emphasize value propositions • Use logic/rationale… • Explain your methods • Not just your willingness Good Proposal Elements

16. For assuring that requirements will be assigned and for future use as a compliancy check on the Proposal… The Proposal should be accurately and cleanly ‘mapped’ from the Cover Letter to the ‘Volumes’ and to any supporting documentation… THIS IS YOUR INTERNAL TOOL TO ORGANIZE YOUR APPROACH Check List…

17. It Is Essential • Allows Good ‘1st impressions’ • Ties to the rigorous document • Maps to the supporting docs • Helps the CRT • Saves Time • Shortens the Decision Process • Reflects Well on the Supplier Cover Letter

18. 2.2.2.2 Lean Expectations and Requirements • XYZ Supplier shall have documented processes and metrics in place which, at a minimum, address the use of a capability assessment tool that monitors engineering and manufacturing best practices. The best practices include, but are not limited to, design for manufacturability/assembly/service (DFMA), and performance and process modeling and simulation, value stream mapping & analysis, work balancing, standard processes, visual controls, point-of-use staging, feeder/supply chain lines, employee empowerment & teaming, and defect/variation reduction. • POOR ANSWER: • XYZ, upon request, will provide objective evidence of striving to meet the above expectations. • BETTER ANSWER: • XYZ believes in open communications and establishing strong working relationships to establish program progress and to achieve the requirements of both the contractor and XYZ in an efficient and cost effective manner. • Specific evidence – examples of DFMA charts, value stream maps, and analytical data - supporting documented processes and metrics are found in Attachment B under corresponding section 2.2.2.2. Additional documentation also can be found there – under sub-section heading 2.2.2.2 (a) – providing evidence of a comprehensive employee training program for 5S Lean Manufacturing Principles. Convincing Narrative & Explanations

19. Federal Acquisition Regulations and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations System • FAR is a set of rules within DFARS • The FAR contains hundreds of contract clauses implementing federal statutes and regulations. • Those laws and regulations, as well as the clauses themselves, require a prime contractor to incorporate—or “flow down”—certain clauses into subcontracts related to the prime contracts. • The primary factors in determining whether a clause must be included in a particular agreement are: • (a) whether the agreement is a “subcontract” • and (b) whether the flow-down is mandatory. • An Example of a ‘Trip Wire’… The FAR/DFARS

21. 52.223.13 Certification of Toxic Chemical ReleaseReporting is no longer an applicable FAR clause. That is, it has been removed from the FAR. It is a fairly old clause (AUG 2003) and should not be seen on current solicitations. Should check any other current RFPs received as it should not be part of terms and conditions unless the prime contractor has it in their contract as part of a follow-on effort. Even so, they should not have accepted it as a requirement. Many times the prime contractors do not update their documents (terms and conditions, applications for data base additions, etc) on a regular basis and instead do a "block update" every year or 2 years.

22. The term "no-bid contract"is a popular phrase for what is officially known as a "sole source contract“ • A “cost-plus contract”, also termed a Cost Reimbursement Contract, is a contract where a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses to a set limit plus additional payment to allow for a profit • The term "fixed price" (as in: firm fixed-price contract) is a phrase used to mean that no bargaining is allowed over the price of a good or, less commonly, a service • Beware ‘REBATES’: • de riguerpurchasing strategy… • Rebates tied to contract pricing is potentially hurtful to the supplier • Discount programs are better…tied either to past behavior or forward accumulations • Independent of time Contract Types

23. RFP’s Are Expensive, Serious Efforts • CRT’s Are Looking for Like-Minded Suppliers • Contract Review Teams Look for Thoroughness, Ease-Of-Consideration, Value • CRT’s Do Not Have Time to Waste • Proposal Development Requires Thought/Care • There Are Real ‘D.O.A. Pit Falls’ to Overcome • There Are Three Basic Contract Types • An Award is Only the Beginning… Summary

24. Thank You www.penstrat.com 949.374.4130 steve@penumbra.com www.twitter.com/penstrat