Consolidation Determination for CBCSE_BCTC-ES.pdf

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CONSOLIDATION OF CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION FOR

COMMON BATTLE COMMAND SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT (CBCSE) and

BATTLE COMMAND TRAINING CAPABILITY – EQUIPMENT SUPPORT (BCTC-ES)

(As prescribed by Federal Acquisition (FAR) 7.107.2, Army Federal Acquisition

Regulation Supplement (AFARS) 5107.107-2, and AFARS 5119.202-1(1))

FINDINGS

1. Consolidation may provide benefits for the Government. However, because of the potential impact on small business participation, before conducting an acquisition that is a consolidation of requirements with an estimated total dollar value exceeding $2 million, a written determination shall be made that the consolidation is necessary and justified in accordance with 15 USC 657q, after ensuring that:

a. Market research has been conducted;

b. Any alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser degree of consolidation have been identified;

c. The determination is coordinated with the agency's Office of Small

Disadvantaged Business Utilization or the Office of Small Business Programs;

d. Any negative impact by the acquisition strategy on contracting with small business concerns has been identified; and

e. Steps are taken to include small business concerns in the acquisition strategy.

2. Introduction: U.S. Army Contracting Command-Orlando plans to solicit offers for a competitive, single source, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract for CBCSE and BCTC-ES. This requirement is anticipated to be set-aside for small businesses. The Government has conducted market research that demonstrates consolidation of these procurements to be necessary, justified, and potentially advantageous to the Government. FAR 2.101 defines consolidation as “(1) a solicitation for a single contract, a multiple-award contract, a task order, or a delivery order to satisfy --(i) two or more requirements of the Federal agency for supplies or services that have been provided to or performed for the Federal agency under two or more separate contracts, each of which was lower in cost than the total cost of the contract for which offers are solicited; or (ii) requirements of the Federal agency for construction projects to be performed at two or more discrete sites; or; (2) separate contract as used in this definition, means a contract that has been performed by any business, including small and other than small business concerns.”

COMMON BATTLE COMMAND SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT (CBCSE) and

BATTLE COMMAND TRAINING CAPABILITY – EQUIPMENT SUPPORT (BCTC-ES)

(As prescribed by FAR 7.107.2, AFARS 5107.107-2, and AFARS 5119.202-1(1))

Description of the Procurement Action: The purpose of this competitive acquisition is to consolidate two (2) Joint Land Component Constructive Training Capability (JLCCTC) supporting programs, CBCSE and BCTC-ES produced by a single vendor into a seven and one half year, single source IDIQ contract with a ceiling value between $XXXX-$XXXX million. The Government requires CBCSE to procure, deploy, and configuration management/property accountability of Commercial-of- the-Shelf (COTS) products obtained via the use of Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) in support of the JLCCTC, the Army’s constructive simulation Program of Record (POR). The performance requirements for the CBCSE are for Configuration Management/Property Accountability from the initial procurement through the end of the contract.

The Government also requires BCTC-ES to provide Program Management (PM), engineering support services, logistics, procurement of COTS Information Technology (IT) hardware and software, furniture, audiovisual and video teleconference equipment and installation services support of the BCTC-ES mission to provide training enablers for Mission Training Complex (MTC) locations and MTC Military Construction, Army (MCA) projects.

The current CBCSE contract W900KK-17-D-0005 was awarded by Army Contracting Command – Orlando (ACC-Orlando) to Phoenix Logistics Inc. on 30 August 2017 as a competitive 100% small business set-aside. *(In accordance with FAR Clause 52.216- 22, Indefinite Quantity, the Government has the ability to require that deliveries be made under this contract up to 24 months beyond the ordering period.) The Government anticipates awarding a task order for CBCSE to extend up to 24 additional months.

ACC- Orlando awarded the current BCTC-ES contract W900KK-19-D-0002 to Phoenix Logistics Inc. on 20 December 2018 as a competitive 100% small business set aside.

Contract Program Value Start Date End Date

W900KK-17-D-

CBCSE $98,800,000.0

08/30/2017 08/29/2022*

W900KK-19-D-

BCTC-ES $95,700,000.0

12/20/2018 06/20/2024

3. Market Research: Market Research was conducted to determine whether there were companies capable of providing the services. Market research was conducted within the period of 23 November 2020 thru 13 May 2021. The Market research activities conducted for this effort include (1) releasing a Request for Information (RFI) to industry, (2) personal knowledge/experience in procuring these type of services, (3) contact with knowledgeable persons in Government (internal), (4) review of recent market research results for similar services for the JLCCTC re-compete contract, and

(5) conduct of an Industry Day & one on one sessions on 12–13 May 2021.

RFI: The US Government posted an RFI to the SAM.Gov portal on 23 November 2020.

Eight responses were received from small business industry partners. Table 1 through Table 4 below provide the industry partners’ responses to the RFI.

Legend:

Green = risk of unsuccessful performance is low Yellow = risk of unsuccessful performance is moderate to high Red = risk of unsuccessful performance is high

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Industry Day: The Industry Day was successful in identifying many additional sources for this effort. Most of the companies who participated in the Industry Day did not respond to the initial RFI that was posted by the Government. Based on the conversations held during Industry Day, it was clear that several of the participating companies are qualified to provide the required support. Table 5 summarizes the results of the industry day held on May 12 through May 13, 2021.

Table 5

Responded Company POC(s) Sub or Prime to Initial RFI?

Market Research Results and Analysis: The above results and analysis of market research indicate that the service for the CBCSE/BCTC-ES effort does not fall within tthhe commercial items definition. It is not a service customarily used by the general public and has not been sold, leased, or licensed to the public. CBCSE installs equipment but the software being utilized is not COTS, it is Program Executive Officer for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) simulation software. The requirements for the CBCSE/BCTC-ES effort should be competed as a small business set-aside because market research shows that there is adequate competition with at least four small businesses capable of providing the services

4. Benefit Analysis:

Cost: Consolidating the CBCSE and BCTC-ES requirements into one contract vehicle provides the most effective and efficient means of satisfying Army training needs and ensures the best value to the Government.

The current strategy of acquiring CBCSE and BCTC-ES components by means of two separate contract vehicles results in a duplication of effort in the areas of program management, contract administration, project control, subcontract management and administration, system/software engineering, integration, management facilities, and overhead. Consolidating these requirements into a single contract vehicle will reduce the current duplication of efforts, will provide potential for production improvements/efficiencies, and therefore will reduce the overall program costs.

Consolidation will result in a reduction of man-years of effort per year, which results in a yearly cost savings. Additional savings will be realized from administering one contract instead of two contracts. The Government will also realize man-years reduction of Government personnel.

In addition to reducing costs, consolidating the CBCSE and BCTC-ES into a single contract vehicle will enable the Government to procure all COTS software/hardware and equipment through a single contract vehicle. Consolidation will allow the Government to efficiently manage risks associated with fluctuations in development schedules based on Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) needs, unknown external customer requirements, and new program requirements. In addition, consolidation to a single contract vehicle will standardize equipment baselines and streamline the process to meet Army Title X training requirements for battle commanders and their staffs.

Continuing the current practice of acquiring the CBCSE and BCTC-ES components in the way of separate standalone contracts is inefficient, labor intensive, and not cost effective. This approach results in duplicate administrative efforts by both the Government and the contractor. Consolidation provides maximum use of limited Government resources and offers the best value to the Government.

In summary, savings will be realized in the following ways (all totals are for the seven year life of contract): 1. Contractor Program Management - $XXXX million, 2.

Government Labor - $XXXX million, 3. Economies of scale realized for hardware purchases - $XXXX million, 4. Other Direct Costs reductions - $XXXX million, and 5. - $XXXX million. The total savings by consolidating these two programs are estimated to be $XXXX million.

Schedule: By unifying the effort, the Government is able to take advantage of a single scheduling process. This will add to a significant improvement in the coordination and execution of equipment delivery/fieldings to sites. By combining the delivery and installation of both simulation hardware and audiovisual equipment, the sites would only have to provide one window of availability. This is important because the sites are constantly in use for training, and the fewer disruptions created the better.

Performance: Performance will improve as both efforts utilize similar processes and vendors for procurement, delivery, and installation. Combining the requirements enables the contractor to consolidate processes and subcontractors which will improve shipping times and reduce clerical errors when delivering large quantities of equipment to multiple sites. Consolidating the contracts and having one contractor responsible for the management and execution of the requirements will minimize the technical risk associated with systems integration.

5. Alternative Contracting Approaches and Rationale for Rejection: Keeping the contracts separate would require two completely independent competitions. The resources required to do this are limited. The cost to the Government in labor hours would be much higher. Additionally, separate contracts require double the number of contract actions throughout the year. This takes resources from ACC-Orlando as well as PEO STRI. Awarding separate contracts would also negate everything laid out in paragraph 5 above. Additionally, competing each requirement independently would not provide any potential benefit in regards to cost savings, production efficiencies, Government supervision, and program management.

6. Bundling: The CBCSE/BCTC-ES consolidation is not a bundling action per FAR

2.101. Consolidating both programs into one contract for a small business will have no effect on small businesses. Future performance for CBCSE/BCTC-ES will still be performed 100% by small businesses.

7. Considerations, Facts, Reasoning Supporting the Determination: This competitive, single source, ID/IQ effort, consolidated, small business set-aside contracting approach is supported by the Office of Small Business Programs.

Consolidating both CBCSE and BCTC-ES into one contract action is beneficial to both the Government and industry while also reducing the administrative burden of two contract vessels, which require separate Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs), and management plans. Consolidation of these requirements would assist the Project Manager Synthetic Environment (PM SE), Product Director Constructive Simulation Support (PD CSS), and ACC-Orlando by reducing administrative burden, reducing contract administration fees, and the costs for multiple contractors to set up management facilities, as well as increasing efficiencies by reducing the time needed to adjust the services to meet the training environment. Consolidating CBCSE and BCTC- ES requirements into a competitive, single source, ID/IQ, small business set-side solicitation as the most likely method of preventing a gap in service to the numerous customers supported by the programs.

Summary: For the reasons set forth above, it is determined that the anticipated benefits of efficiencies and savings of the proposed consolidation contract are measurably substantial benefits, which significantly exceed the benefits of alternate contracting approaches, and that justify the use of a proposed consolidated contract. It is believed that consolidating these requirements is in the best interest of the Government and would increase contract management efficiencies and reduce administration cost of

COMMON BATTLE COMMAND SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT (CBCSE) and

BATTLE COMMAND TRAINING CAPABILITY EQUIPMENT SUPPORT (BCTC-ES)

(As prescribed by FAR 7.107.2, AFARS 5107.107-2, and AFARS 5119.202-1(1))

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would increase contract management efficiencies and reduce administration cost of multiple contracts. Importantly, the consolidation does not negatively impact the small businesses market.

8. Requiring Activity Justification: Pursuant to AFARS 5119.202-1(1), I hereby support and accept the consolidation of the CBCSE and BCTC-ES requirements into a competitive, single award, ID/IQ, small business set-side solicitation as the most likely method of preventing a gap in service to the numerous customers supported by the programs.

MICHAEL T. POWELL Date Product Director Constructive Simulation Support Program Executive Office

9. Office of Small Business Program Coordination: Pursuant to FAR 7.107-2, I agree that a consolidated requirement for CBCSE and BCTC-ES is necessary and justified.

DAMION M. BAILEY Date Small Business Specialist Office of Small Business Programs

02 SEP 2021

COMMON BATTLE COMMAND SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT (CBCSE) and

BATTLE COMMAND TRAINING CAPABILITY EQUIPMENT SUPPORT (BCTC-ES)

DETERMINATION

Based on the foregoing findings, I hereby determine, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 7.107-2 and Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 5107.107-2, that the consolidation of the requirements for CBCSE and BCTC- ES is both necessary and justified and will serve the best interests of the Government.

MICHAEL W. HARRIS Date Senior Contracting Official U.S. Army Contracting Command