Acquisition Process Competition Requirements
How and why I would change one or more competition requirements in the acquisition process.
Business ought to be conducted with ethics, which requires fairness integrity and openness among supplying and buying organizations. This ensures competitiveness in the acquisition and allows companies to compete and win contracts. However, businesses are becoming unethical by demonstrating lapses in conducting unfair competition such as changing of some competition requirements without notifying other players in the field. This has made the U.S government design the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This document contains policies that help organizations manage acquisitions efficiently. It offers policies on acquisition and procedures that companies must follow in the process of acquisition. The government’s policies require that I provide full and open competition in the acquisition process by following the procedures of competition (Hearn, 2011).
However, there are policies stipulated by the government concerning changing one or more competition requirement. The policies state that I can only change one or more competition requirements in the acquisition process under the laid down circumstances (Brown, 2010). I may exclude a certain requirement in order to maintain or establish an alternative source of supplies I am acquiring if doing so would result to the following consequences:
1) If it would lead to increased competition and reduce the overall costs involved in the anticipated acquisition process
2) If it would be in the interest of the country’s defense in having a facility available to provide supplies in case of a national emergency or industrial mobilization
Conducting acquisitions without giving out for open competition after changing some competition requirements is a complete violation of the law. I can only do this if I am permitted by the government policies.
The government acquisition process using sealed bidding, negotiations, and alternative contracting methods.
The government acquisition process starts with solicitation and ends with giving awards. The government uses three main acquisition processes; negotiations sealed bidding and simplified acquisitions.
Sealed Bidding
This contracting method uses competitive bids and awards. The government prepares an invitations bid and uses agents to submit the bid. The bids are then opened in public at stipulated locations and time. The amount of each bid is then announced publicly. A government evaluation report for each bid follows this but discusses nothing with the bidders. The government uses factors related to prices and determines the most responsible bidder who is then given an award. The bidder of this nature is the one who possess a bid that is in line with the solicitation conditions and terms (Hearn, 2011).
Negotiation
This method is normally used by the government in situations whereby some conditions involved in sealed beading are absent. Here, the government lays down the requirements and then plans the process of acquisition according to each department (Brown, 2010). This method comprises a number of steps:
Proposals
Sources design proposals and issue them to the government. The proposals comprise of cost and technical proposals.
Source Selection Processes
This step involves evaluation of proposals against government stipulated factors. The government evaluates cost proposed to ensure that the proposed costs are realistic.
Competitive Range
The officer in charge of the evaluation process determines the competitive proposals. This evaluation is made concerning cost and other technical factors as well as performance history.
Final Proposal Revision
After the discussions by the government, the officer in charge calls for a revision of the proposals, necessary revisions are made, and the panel comes to an agreement.
Source Selection
The government makes an evaluation of the final proposal and decides on the sources to which it will award the contract.
Simplified Acquisitions
This form of acquisition characterizes the government making exceptional contracts from a number of laws. In this method, the government gives awards using a variety of uncomplicated procedures such as Test Programs, Purchase Orders, as well as Smart Pay Cards (Brown, 2010).
References
Hearn, E. E. (2011). Federal acquisition and contract management. (7th ed.) Los Altos, CA:
Hearn Associates.
Brown, B. (2010). Introduction to Defense Acquisition Management. New York: Vintage Books.
