A08 ManTech Consolidation DF Final - Redacted_ Final.pdf

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AACQUISITIONN DIRECTORATE

DEPARTMENT OF WAR

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155

DETERMINATION AND FINDINGS

Necessary Consolidation and/or Bundling

This determination is issued pursuant to RFO 7.107-2 that consolidation is necessary and justified.

FINDINGS

A. Background

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program was established pursuant to 10 U.S. Code § 4841 within the Office of Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW (R&E)) and is responsible for administering the DoW ManTech Program by providing central guidance and direction to component ManTech Programs. The ManTech Program delivers advanced manufacturing technologies that increase Warfighter advantage. The rapid commercialization and fielding of innovative technologies require advanced manufacturing capabilities and a strong, resilient industrial base to transition technologies quickly and affordably.

The ManTech Program furthers national security by developing and applying emerging manufacturing processes and technology, strengthening joint planning and coordination, implementing advanced manufacturing within the organic industrial base for sustainment, fostering outreach and communication with the defense industrial base, and recruiting and training the manufacturing workforce.

Requirement:

ManTech and the Office of Technology Innovation for the Industrial Base (TIIB) are responsible for execution of programs and public-private partnerships charged with fostering all steps of manufacturing technology development, starting with laboratory scale prototyping and going through all the technology and manufacturing maturation steps required to transition prototypes to full production, field systems to the warfighter, and implement enhanced maintenance and sustainment technologies. The programs and public-private partnerships create transition paths for advanced manufacturing capabilities that directly impact the defense industrial base and the DoW’s ability to build and maintain warfighting systems.

The resultant Contractor shall perform services including, but not limited to: business planning and development, customer/product market analysis, manufacturing research, development, test and evaluation; manufacturing prototyping, manufacturing scale-up, research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) and manufacturing prototyping. While the PWS requires ancillary program management and business planning support, the core requirements demand specialized applied engineering and scientific expertise.

Consequently, NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)) represents the preponderance of the work and the greatest percentage of contract value. The current contracts, issued under NAICS 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services), are insufficient to capture the engineering & technical competencies required by the Government.

B. Selection of Acquisition Strategy

The acquisition team performed these steps and analyses in selecting the recommended acquisition strategy:

1. Market research:

Consideration of Internal Vehicles: An internal review was conducted to determine if this requirement could be fulfilled using an existing contract vehicle such as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite, Quantity (IDIQ) or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA). After researching the available options, it was determined that no current contract vehicles within the agency could satisfy the customer’s specific needs.

Issuance of an Request for Information (RFI): On January 13, 2026, WHS/AD issued a Request for Information (RFI) on General Services Administration (GSA) eBuy to determine: (1) if there were at least three small businesses capable of completing at least 50% of the requirement, and (2) if there is an expectation that at least three GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) holders would respond to an RFI.

The RFI closed on February 4, 2026, at 11:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST). A total of four

(4) vendors responded.

The program office conducted capability assessments between February 4 –5, 2026. All four vendors were deemed capable of performing at least 50% of the requirement. See table below for an overview of the RFI results.

Maximizing use of GSA: In line with government policy aimed at increasing efficiency and

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reducing costs, the DoD is directed to maximize the use of the General Services Administration (GSA) procurement vehicles. Specifically, Executive Order 14222, “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement," dated March 20, 2025, and “Implementation of Executive Order 14222 – Department of Government Efficiency Cost Efficiency Initiative” dated May 27, 2025 (specifically, under section titled, “Consolidation of Non-Defense Specific Acquisition Efforts”), guidelines mandate using GSA.

As part of due diligence process, a review on February 10, 2026, confirmed that all four potential small business vendors held the required NAICS code (541715) on their GSA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS). Since all four (4) vendors possess a GSA MAS, while only two hold other types of GSA vehicles, the GSA MAS was selected as the most suitable contract vehicle for this procurement.

Considering this directive, in addition to acquisition history where the original contracts were also procured through GSA MAS, it was determined that the most efficient course of action is to issue the new order using an existing GSA MAS contract vehicle.

Market Research Analys of Findings: Based on the preceding analysis, the government has determined that there are least three small businesses capable of completing at least 50% of the requirement. Furthermore, there is a reasonable expectation that at least three vendors will respond to a Request for Quote (RFQ).

Therefore, the acquisition strategy will solicit quotes under RFO Subpart 8.4 – Ordering under Federal Supply Schedule and GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) Subpart 538.7103-3 Acquisitions valued above the SAT. The RFQ will be issued directly to in accordance with GSAR Subpart 538.7103-3(a)(2).

2. Alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser consolidation:

An alternative approach to a single consolidation would be to pursue a lesser consolidation by establishing a Multiple-Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract or a Blanker Purchase Agreement (BPA). Under this model, the government would still consolidate two requirements under one primary contract vehicle but would award it to a pool of multiple pre-qualified vendors. Specific work would then be competed via individual Task Orders issued exclusively to these vendors.

A review of this approach reveals significant drawbacks. This strategy would substantially increase the administrative burden on the government, due to personnel having to develop each Task Order (TO) PWS, soliciting the requirement and competing it among all the awardees of the basic IDIQ and conducting a separate source selection for every TO.

Furthermore, it would reintroduce the risk of operational inefficiencies by using fragmented teams from different contractors, potentially leading to the same coordination challenges that a full consolidation seeks to resolve.

While this model maintains competition, it fails to achieve the maximum economies of scale available form a single-award contract, and any potential savings would be offset by the increased administrative costs. Therefore, this approach is considered less advantageous than a single-award consolidation.

Additionally, the government is shifting away from general services which are traditionally easier to divide into smaller, separate contracts towards specialized R&D. , Because this requirement is highly technical in nature (see NAICS Code Determination section above), dividing the work into smaller, contracts would be highly inefficient for two primary reasons:

1. Limited Niche Capabilities: There are significantly fewer small businesses capable of providing specialized R&D compared to general services. Consequently, fragmenting the contract would merely increase the number of solicitations without yielding a proportional increase in actual small business participation.

2. Operational Cohesion: Specialized R&D requires seamless integration across complex, interrelated tasks. A single award contract is critical to maintaining this cohesion, whereas utilizing multiple vendors introduces unacceptable risks of knowledge loss during hand-offs and miscommunication between distinct moving parts.

3. Negative impact of the acquisition strategy on contracting with small business concerns: No negative impact on small business concerns is anticipated with the acquisition strategy. This is because market research confirmed that capable small businesses exist to perform the work, and as a result, the acquisition has been set aside exclusively for small businesses.

4. Steps taken to include small business concerns in the acquisition strategy: The acquisition strategy for this requirement was developed with a deliberate focus on maximizing small business participation. The following steps were taken to ensure small business concerns were not only included but were central to the procurement.

Targeted Market Research: A comprehensive market research effort was conducted to specifically assess the capabilities within the small business industrial base. This includes issuing a Request for Information (RFI) which confirmed that at least four capable small businesses possess the technical expertise and resources required to perform the full scope of the consolidated requirement.

Determination of a 100% Small Business Set-Aside: Based on the positive results of market research, the Government has determined that this requirement will be competed as a 100% small business set-aside. This decision aligns with RFO Part 19 and GSAR 538.7102-2(c)(1) deviation concerning the FSS ordering procedures. It is anticipated that at least three or more FSS small business contractors will submit quotations at a fair market price, thereby, this finding led directly to the decision to compete this requirement as a 100% small business set aside. This action reserves the entire acquisition opportunity exclusively for small business prime contractors.

5. Alternative strategies that would reduce or minimize the scope of the bundling, and the rationale for not choosing those alternatives: Not applicable; this is not a bundling action.

C. Benefits

In accordance with RFO 7.107-2 (c), the Government has identified the following strategic benefits to be gained from consolidating these requirements into a single contract vehicle.

Ensuring Mission Continuity and Support The primary driver for this consolidation is to guarantee the continuity of essential support services for the program. In the current environment, where the importance of rapid technology transition is paramount, having timely, consistent, and uninterrupted support is critical to mission success. This consolidation eliminates potential gaps in service, ensuring that our team can consistently meet and exceed expectations.

1. Cost savings or price reductions:

The current contract structure results in avoidable duplicative administrative costs driven by COR oversight requirements and overlapping contractor support functions. These costs do not directly contribute to mission outcomes and can be reduced through consolidation and streamlined contract management. Also, significant resources are expended on routine oversight activities, including invoice review, performance monitoring, status reporting, and contract administration. While necessary, these efforts double with multiple contracts, creating a disproportionate administrative burden on the COR. By consolidating requirements under a single contract vehicle, the COR can decrease the time and labor required for oversight, resulting in cost savings. Conservative estimate is labor savings of 100 hours (from 300 to 200) per year for the COR.

In addition, contractors burden the Government with an additional share of indirect costs based on the perceived benefit. The calculations consist of the office staff, bid and proposal costs, General and Administrative (G&A) expenses. G&A expenses are residual costs necessary to run a business and are commonly passed on to the Government. These costs vary from contract to contract and vendor to vendor. Consolidations like this will reduce the amount of G&A, staff, and the expenses of responding to solicitations; lowering indirect costs which benefits the Government.

2. Quality improvements that will save time or enhance performance or efficiency:

Increased Workforce Productivity and Streamlined Oversight: The OSD ManTech program anticipates greater workforce productivity by utilizing a single prime contractor who will be responsible for its workforce’s performance, it will create a streamlined management structure, allowing the Government to maximize its oversight effectiveness while simultaneously minimizing administrative burden. By simplifying the contract management oversight into a single mechanism, this will allow for more efficient and expedient response time to contracting inquiries by an estimated one business day savings per official contracting action.

Additionally, the program will benefit from reduced and coordinated contract reporting requirements through deliveries (from 15 to 5) in a single contract vice multiple vehicles, consolidated invoices and funding inquiries, CPARs assessment, annual COR file review(s), and modifications (if needed). This will provide a benefit to the government, consistent with the principles of consolidating contract requirements under RFO 7.107-2(c).

Enhancement through streamlined systems: This streamlined approach will simplify data pathways and eliminates the vulnerabilities inherent in transferring information across different vendors, thereby significantly enhancing the overall information security posture.

Improved responsiveness and communication: Centralizing these requirements with a single prime contractor will establish a more agile support structure, enabling quicker resolution for any issues that arise. Historically, these requirements were spread across two different GSA task order contracts, which required the oversight and coordination of two different CORs. The approach of managing multiple contract mechanisms and disparate COR duties increased the administrative burden and the risk of delays regarding contracting issues, performance tracking, and concerns. By consolidating these two contracts under a single contract vehicle, the immediate improvement will be a simplified communication loop.

Reducing the oversight requirement from two CORs down to a single COR establishes a streamlined, one-to-one communication channel between the Government and the prime contractor. This consolidation directly fosters greater efficiency and effectiveness, mitigates the historical risk of miscommunication or delays, while enhancing the overall quality and responsiveness of contractor performance.

3. Reduction in acquisition cycle times:

Consolidating the ManTech program into one contract will directly impact the overall reductions in acquisition timelines by addressing and improving emerging capabilities. This would be a benefit to the Government because multiple contracts would produce multiple PoP, which would result in contracts expiring at different time periods during the year, and requiring contract modifications and/or recompetes of expiring contracts, which could pose potential risk to the Government or the possibility of disruptions to service. Current contracts PoP dates are GSA 47QFMA21F0017 4/6/2021-10/5/2026 and GSA 47QFLA21F0099 5/6/2021-5/5/2026.

4. Terms and conditions: N/A

5. Other benefits: The consolidation of these two OSD ManTech GSA contracts is a strategic necessity driven by an increased requirement for support. The associated price increase of for the consolidated effort is a result of an expanded scope and is not a consequence of the consolidation itself. The expanded scope is in support of the Technology Industrial Base Assessments (TIBA) program, which needs additional contractor support for the development and execution of industrial base manufacturing assessments, implementation of risk reduction strategies, preparation of comprehensive reports, solutions analysis, and assistance with budgetary requirements. This scope expansion is estimated to result in needing an additional hours of contractor support.

The benefits of a unified contract including streamlined oversight, enhanced efficiency, and improved performance management far outweigh the operational and administrative burdens of maintaining two separate, uncoordinated efforts. This action ensures that the value received is aligned with mission need while maximizing government resources.

6. The total benefits quantifiable in dollar amounts are equivalent to: N/A

D. Benefits Analysis

The goal of this contract consolidation is to boost overall effectiveness. While the total value might be higher, it’s justified by the strategic advantages of streamlining operations, removing duplicated efforts, and improving contractor communication. We are prioritizing performance and efficiency over a simple cost comparison.

Enhanced Mission Execution - Under the two contracts, there are overlapping functions and instances of duplicative work. Consolidating support under a single OSD ManTech contract will resolve this inefficiency. This creates a unified management and oversight structure, which improves communication and shortens response times to emerging requirements, thereby optimizing the OSD ManTech mission.

Acquisition & Performance Efficiency - This consolidation will synchronize acquisition timelines into a single award and option execution schedule, moving away from two desynchronized contract schedules. Without this action, separate re-competes would be required FY26, demanding a significant time investment from Government personnel. Consolidating these efforts will yield the Government significant staff-hour savings and a more efficient acquisition process.

Consolidation of these two requirements is critical to the agency’s mission success, and the procurement strategy provides for maximum practicable participation by small businesses

DETERMINATION

Based on the above facts, the subject consolidation is determined necessary and justified in accordance with 15 U.S.C. 657q and/or bundling is determined necessary and justified in accordance with 15 U.S.C. 644(e).

Contracting Officer Date

Office of Small Business Programs

APPROVAL:

Director Acquisition Directorate