Army STRICOM Revamps Contracting Process.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 November 2000
• Author: Willingham, Stephen

Officials predict that 'omnibus' procurements will expedite training programs

The Army's Simulation Training and Instrumentation Command (STRICOM), headquartered in Orlando, Fla., is initiating the first in a series of so-called omnibus contracts, designed to shorten the time between proposals and contract awards. Instead of the usual nine to 18 months, officials said, the contracting process would be whittled down to about three months.

The new arrangements are referred to as STOCs, or STRICOM omnibus contracts. They will become the command's "acquisition vehicle of choice," said STRICOM's civilian deputy commander, James Skurka, in a recent interview.

Another popular contracting technique today is called Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/JQ), which often is confused with omnibus contracts, according to Kim Denver, contracting officer for advanced distributed systems at STRICOM.

Probably 75 percent of business managers still don't understand the difference between ID/IQs and omnibus contracts, he estimated. The differences are many, he said.

For example, Denver explained, an ID/IQ would cover particular parts for a vehicle, such as tires. A spending cap would hold spending on the tires to a specified dollar amount, obligating an agency to buy a certain number of tires over a period of time, such as five years. As orders for tires came in from customers, the contractor would fill orders until the ceiling amount was exhausted. The only guarantee for the contractor would be the dollar amount stipulated by the spending limit. In other words, when the tires would be bought and how many would be bought at a time, and who would buy them, remains an unknown factor with ID/IQ contracts, Denver explained.

Omnibus contracts, on the other hand, would cover the entire vehicle, not one piece at a time, he said.

Neither are STOCs to be confused with umbrella contracts, which cover several product lines at one time, Skurka said. Instead, the omnibus contracts are divided into four "domains," or acquisition areas, Skurka explained. The domains are live, constructive, virtual, and test and instrumentation.

"[In this way,] STOCs can address particular areas like flight or mechanical training," Skurka said. "Omnibus is adaptable and adjustable. Everything from [leveraging] to developing a technology base to production will fit."

STOCs are particularly good for small business participation, because of the speed with which they are awarded," noted Skurka.

In addition, savings are realized because the bid and proposal (B&P) process is accomplished only once, Denver offered. With omnibus contracts there would not be separate B&P for component parts contracts for simulator trainers.

Increasing small business participation in STRICOM's work has been encouraged in recent years, Jim McBrayer, chief information officer for STRICOM omnibus contracts told an industry briefing in Orlando, sponsored by the National Training Systems Association (NTSA).

There is a mandated goal that requires that Ii percent of STRICOM'S work be set aside for small businesses, Denver said. In addition, 20 percent of task orders which are not set-asides--and are awarded to large contractors--must be handed off to subcontractors for the purpose of cultivating a broader contractor base for STRICOM, he noted.

Speeding Up Service

STOCs also should speed up service to STRICOM customers...