In FY 2005, the US Air Force designated 8 five-year NetCents contract winners: 4 small businesses and 4 large ones. Each, it turn, brings a host of partners in with them but manages any contracts received through one point of contact & responsibility. In short, NetCents created a single contract to competitively buy IT products and services, aimed at increasing the standardization of hardware and software service-wide.
A November 2005 article in Federal Computer Weekly reported that the US Air Force’s CIO was readying a new memo covering policy, marketing and training information for the $9 billion Network Centric Solutions (NetCents) contract so it will be used 80% of the time to buy IT products and services. At the moment, they’re a long way from that.
The patterns within the NetCents awards are interesting, and DID will discuss some of them. We’re also going to highlight one of the small business winners, a company called Telos. They’ve picked up an impressive share of NetCents awards. Their people also took the time to talk to DID about the dynamics of NetcCents – and even some best practices for other government agencies agencies looking at implementing these kinds of large, omnibus umbrella contracts.
General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights, MI received a $24.5 million contract for spare parts that are unique to the two newest Stryker variants: the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) and the M1135 Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV). This contract funds procurement of initial unique spares for the first-time fielding of these two variants, and has a total potential value of $50 million if all options are exercised.
Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, MI (73%), London Ontario, Canada (15%), Tallahassee, FL (10%), and Scranton, PA (2%), and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2007. This was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 9, 2003 by the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, MI (DAAE07-02-C-B001). See also corporate release.
So, how does this fit into the evolution of the USA’s Stryker vehicle family, and future production plans?
Yesterday, DID covered US Military Sealift Command’s $3.5-4 billion T-AKE Supply Ship program, shortly after our coverage of their $210 million purchase of three pre-positioning ships. Now Systems Research Applications Corporation in Fairfax, VA received a $17 million one-year requirements contract with fixed-price task orders. If all options are exzercised, the cumulative value would be $108.5 million.
This contract provides technology services for more than 125 Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships worldwide, including the operation of an afloat network and back-up network operations center; afloat operations support; the support of a mobile sealift operations center; IT training; command, control, communications and computer systems; and alteration and upgrade support of IT systems.
The contract contains 3 one-year options, as well as up to 8 performance-based, three-month award-term periods. Work will be performed worldwide at Military Sealift Fleet Support Command in Norfolk, VA; aboard more than 125 MSC ships; and at other U.S. government facilities or operational locations; and is expected to be complete by February 2012 (with options). This contract was competitively procured with 13 proposals solicited and 4 offers received by Military Sealift Command in Washington, DC (N00033-06-D-6504).
