Open Hostility Towards Amazon 3 Student Replies 1
Peer 1: Reed
Let’s say the Government contracting office has a customer that has a requirement for a specific supply or service. The purchase request goes through the contracting office and that contracting specialist/officer send out an RFP (Request fro Proposal) to different companies in industry. These companies put together their proposals and submit them to the contracting office. Upon receipt, the contracting officer determines which of these companies are within the competitive range, but needs further information from these companies in order to narrow down who will win award. They can now enter into competitive discussions. These are essentially just negotiations conducted where the company, contracting officer, and customer can talk about the requirement and evaluation factors that were described in the solicitation. The goal of these discussions in terms of the Government’s perspective is to get the best value that is achievable.
The importance of good communication in competitive discussions is just as important as it is in any other business environment. Both parties involved in the discussion are there to get something out of it. The best way to achieve this is to be clear and concise about what needs to be accomplished on both sides.
My opinion on the impact of leaving statements that have a negative affect on businesses on social media is that it can possibly have detrimental consequences for that business. In today’s world, everyone is tied to social media and it takes up a large portion of people’s time. It also is a deciding factor on the choices that a lot of people make in their daily lives. With that being said, if a company has bad reviews on social media, they could potentially lose a substantial amount of business based solely on those remarks.
Peer 2: Derek
Prior to solicitation, contracting activities can post RFI’s or Draft RFPs in order to create interest within an industry in order to spur them to begin working for their contract proposal teams. In order to foster two-way communication, contracting activities can also set up industry days, which can foster dialogue between the industry and the government in order to better communicate about what it is the government wants. Contract offerers can also send RFI’s in response to RFP’s, except that these RFI’s and the responses need to be shared with all others in order to ensure no one is given an unfair advantage.
Consider the importance of communication in any discussion.
Communication or lack thereof is the main issue which many deputy service secretaries and acquisition leaders are addressing in their efforts to reform acquisitions.
Consider the impact of making disparaging statements on social media, such as leaving a bad review for a location, hotel, or restaurant.
The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract has been mired by delays due to bid protests before during and after the award. This was due to the fact that the DOD decided to issue a single award ID/IQ rather than the usual preferred multiple awards. This led to competitors finding any reason or excuse to issue a protest. This has led to a contract that should have begun work in 2018 to still currently being delayed yet again in February of 2020. Add to that one of the reasons for the current delay is that Amazon alleges that President Trump’s open hostility towards Amazon executive was the reason AWS was not awarded the contract that AWS was in the front running to win.
Peer 3: Brad
When talking about competitive discussions between the government and a company that has a proposal the communication aspect and what is allowed and not allowed to be discussed becomes very important to the process and how effective it is in aiding the contract award process. Once a proposal reaches the competitive range the government can engage a company in competitive discussions or even a clarification. If an offer engages in competitive discussions with the government they have the right to revise any part of their offer, during a clarification they do not have this right. The FAR 15.306 breaks down this communication and the rights of both parties. Competitive communications are a great help to the offer as it allows them to repair or fix holes in their proposal for a contract. Government agencies are not required to explain any deficiencies in a proposal but the FAR outlines that it must be fair and not positively impact a specific agency or offer. In most situations the government procurement officials will provide the same information and ask the same questions to all offers to avoid any contract protests after the awarding of this specific contract. In the end, these competitive communications are truly all about communication and how we can aid the government contracting and procurement process in expediting contract solutions. Being completely transparent and providing an open line of communication between all parties is a key step in any of the acquisition contracting or procurement process. i’ll look forward to everyone’s questions and reading with everybody else has this week.