JA Delinquency Effort v20260302 Redacted.pdf

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

CONTRACTING SERVICES OFFICE

6090 STRATHMORE ROAD

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23237

CUI | Source Selection Sensitive Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION (FAR 6.303)

1. Identification of:

Requiring Activity:

DLA Weapons Support, Richmond Supplier Operations, FA 6090 Strathmore Rd.

Richmond, VA 23237 Kelly Watts, Director Supplier Operations Commodities Functional POC: Sharon Hartman, Contracting Officer & Operations Officer, Special Projects

Contracting Activity:

DLA Contracting Services Office – Richmond 6090 Strathmore Rd.

Richmond, VA 23237 Contract Officer: Heesun Redmond

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

DLA intends to award a firm-fixed-price contract to ONYX Strategic Solutions, LLC on an other than full and open competition basis using the authority at FAR 13.106-1(b) Soliciting from a single source. This action will provide uninterrupted post-award contract admin support services critical to the sustainment of DLA Weapons Support Supplier Operations execution of work and protection of warfighter readiness.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The requirement provides contractor support for post-award delinquency operations and execution, including identification, categorization, research, and resolution of delinquent contract lines (e.g., contract delivery dates exceeded by 30-days or more) and related post-award workload such as Post Award Requests (PARs) and Quality Notifications (QNs) both of which resolve vendor related issues allowing for shipment of material. The contractor supports Government stakeholders by analyzing workload, prioritizing actions using Government data environments and tools, and coordinating actions to completion. The requirement includes routine reporting (e.g., monthly status and performance metrics) and day-to-day execution support.

DLA’s mission is to deliver readiness to the Warfighter ensuring their ability to successfully defend the United States by any means necessary. The delinquency support effort is critical and is operationally tied to material delivery outcomes that enable weapon system sustainment. This work targets late deliveries (delinquent contract lines) and drives post-award actions improving delivery timeliness or resolution for items supporting DLA Weapons Support customers. Delays in the identification, prioritization, and resolution of delinquent lines create a compounding unfilled order (UFOs) propagating longer customer wait times, increased risk of maintenance delay for supported systems, and potential work stoppage at the depot level repair facilities, which in turn degrades weapon system operational capability and warfighter readiness, which in turn can directly lead to Aircraft on Ground (AOG).

DLA Weapons Support manages spare and repair parts sustaining more than two thousand major weapon systems crucial to our nation’s safety. When parts arrive late, induction schedules are missed causing deferment of necessary repairs, placing our military men and women in harms way. In addition, a shortage of materials places our aircraft at risk of being grounded, reducing operational capability and putting our nation at risk. The requirement targets contract lines that are already delinquent by definition; additional delays in post-award support further increases the risk of prolonged late deliveries causing aircraft to be placed in Non-Mission Capable Status (NMCS) or Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts (MICAPS) further reducing readiness due to materiel unavailability.

Backlog growth in this domain is not linear: as delinquent lines age, resolution often requires additional research, coordination, and escalation, which further consumes Government and contractor capacity. Proceeding with this award preserves continuous operational capacity and allows work to continue resolving delinquent lines and any associated PAR/QN actions, while reducing the cascading impacts to the weapon systems supported and prevents degrading Warfighter readiness.

Follow-on effort was pursued under direct (sole source) 8(a) award to incumbent ONYX and received SRDP approval on January 20, 2026, and DOGE approval on February 3, 2026.

Contracting officer submitted an offer letter to SBA on February 12, 2026, and on February 18, 2026, SBA notified the contracting officer that ONYX is currently suspended and cannot receive award under the 8(a) program. Therefore, contracting office proposes single sole source contract to ONYX due to continuity of performance prior to the expiration of the current contract on March 14, 2026. A delay in award would result in serious injury to the Government, financial or other, by creating a gap in delinquency support execution, which will cause delays in responding and addressing Post-award Request (PARs) and/or Quality Notifications (QNs). Long lead-time responses will create the opportunity for vendors to request no fault/no cost cancellations, extension requests due to Government caused delays, both of which increase the risk of material availability supporting the more than 2,000 weapon system under DLAs purview.

The Period of Performance will be a 12-month period beginning 3/15/2026 and end on 3/14/2027 with an estimated cost of $ developed through an Independent Government Cost Estimate.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

FAR 13.106-1(b) Soliciting from a single source.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

ONYX can begin performing immediately upon award with no reduction in current capabilities and/or metrics as they are currently positioned to execute without a transition-related performance gap. ONYX has demonstrated knowledge of DLA post-award delinquency workflows, reporting rhythms, and coordination requirements with Government stakeholders. Due to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) halting of the 8(a) Business Development Program, the Government does not have sufficient time to conduct a full and open competition, complete onboarding, establish business rules/metrics, and achieve steady-state production without risking a break in service and causing significant delays in workload execution due to a nine-(9) month training period.

In the most recent 11-month period, ONYX’s efforts have addressed and settled more than 6,700 delinquent contract lines, resolved just over 1,000 PARs and QNs, and deobligated more than $39M, thus freeing up funds that can now be utilized to support and improve material availability.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

Given the March 14, 2026, contract expiration and the need to avoid a gap in performance, the Contracting Officer determined that soliciting offers from multiple sources is not practicable without creating unacceptable delay. To the extent practicable under the circumstances, the Government considered available sources and the time required for transition, systems access, onboarding, and establishment of reporting and performance controls. Based on this assessment, ONYX is the only source that can meet the required start date and continuity requirements without serious injury to the Government.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will determine price reasonableness in accordance with applicable procurement requirements. The Government will evaluate proposed pricing against historical pricing, an independent Government estimate (IGE), and/or other price analysis techniques appropriate to the acquisition to determine that the price is fair and reasonable.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted to the extent practicable given the urgent timeline and the need to prevent a break in service prior to March 14, 2026. The Contracting Officer considered the time required for alternate approaches to reach production, including transition, onboarding, and establishment of required reporting and metrics. The Government determined that these timelines would not support continuity of operations without unacceptable mission risk.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

The incumbent contractor, ONYX Strategic Solutions, is uniquely qualified for this follow-on contract as they are a SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) under NAICS 541611, which supports socio-economic objectives while meeting the urgent mission need and have not only hands-on experience but the technical capabilities to continue work with no break in coverage.

The Government’s requirement is time sensitive as the current contract expires March 14, 2026. Failure to award the FA/FM Post-award Transformation (PAT) contract places the Government in a position where it cannot reasonably absorb the shortage in staffing;

combined with the current hiring restrictions, failing to award to the incumbent, ONYX, has the potential to set the post-award transformation back by a year while waiting on employees to train up through the PACER Program with the ability to perform at the current level provided by ONYX and severely restricting the team’s ability to perform at the expected level of work execution meeting metrics without substantial risk to mission capabilities.

DLA has already taken acquisition planning actions in support of this requirement and must proceed to award to avoid a break in performance. The Government intended to issue an 8(a) set-aside contract, created all necessary documents, and obtained all required levels of approval. However, at the SBO review & approval, it was determined that the procurement could not move forward as a set-aside due to DOGE suspension. The original procurement was within two-(2) weeks of award. DLA shifted to a bridge contract for a period of twelve-

(12) months to support the wind down of this effort, which is entering its final year of support and will transition responsibility back to the Government. There will be no change in pricing from the 8(a) set-aside effort to the bridge contract effort.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

As the incumbent, ONYX Strategic Solutions is the only source who has expressed interest, no other sources expressed interest within the time available to avoid a break in performance prior to March 14, 2026.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The effort originally sought under the 8(s) Set-aside program was intended to be the final year of support with the transition of work shifting fully back to the Government at the end of the Period of Performance (PoP). DLA does not intend to pursue a competitive follow-on strategy upon expiration of this contract.

Technical Certification Per FAR 6.303-2(c), I hereby certify this justification.