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To Contents	Selection of Vendors to Compete on Task Orders
By cmiller on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 09:16 am: I work for an agency that is getting ready to solicit/award about nine contracts for Management support and contractor advisory and assistance services. We plan to award to large businesses and set-aside a portion of those nine awards to small businesses (SB, SDB, and 8(a). I am looking for suggestions on selecting vendors to compete on competitive task orders after the awards are made. I will tell the potential offerors upfront on how we intend to compete the task orders in the solicitation - but if possible restrict the task order competition to a smaller group out of the nine. I understand the requirement to give each potential awardee a "fair opportunity to compete". Any suggestions you have will be appreciated. By Vern Edwards on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 11:27 am: cmiller: Presumably, each contractor will be qualified to perform any task that is within the scope of the contract. Is that a sound assumption on my part? If so, then plan to use a procedure that will minimize the contractors' bid and proposal costs and your administrative costs. Do not conduct mini-source selections for each task order. Do not ask the contractors for written technical proposals for the task order and run a source selection panel. Based on recent policy, you must consider each offeror's price, so you must ask each for a quote or estimate of the price of the job. However, the rules in FAR Part 15 do not apply. It is okay to choose the contractor for the order based on preliminary information and then negotiate the details with that contractor. You do not have to conduct discussions or negotiate with all contractors in a competitive range. You do not even have to talk to all of them. I would fax or email a copy of the draft task order to all of the contractors and ask them to fax or email a price quote (or estimated cost, or number of hours, depending on the type of order you're issuing) within X hours or days. Then I would choose the contractor for the order based on its price and whatever other criteria, such as past performance, that I said in the contract that I would consider. Once I have chosen the contractor I would sit down and negotiate the details of the task order. If I couldn't reach agreement with that contractor I would choose another to negotiate with.

Selection of Vendors to Compete on Task Orders

By cmiller on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 09:16 am:

I work for an agency that is getting ready to solicit/award about nine contracts for Management support and contractor advisory and assistance services. We plan to award to large businesses and set-aside a portion of those nine awards to small businesses (SB, SDB, and 8(a). I am looking for suggestions on selecting vendors to compete on competitive task orders after the awards are made. I will tell the potential offerors upfront on how we intend to compete the task orders in the solicitation - but if possible restrict the task order competition to a smaller group out of the nine.

I understand the requirement to give each potential awardee a "fair opportunity to compete".
Any suggestions you have will be appreciated.

By Vern Edwards on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 11:27 am:

cmiller:

Presumably, each contractor will be qualified to perform any task that is within the scope of the contract. Is that a sound assumption on my part? If so, then plan to use a procedure that will minimize the contractors' bid and proposal costs and your administrative costs.

Do not conduct mini-source selections for each task order. Do not ask the contractors for written technical proposals for the task order and run a source selection panel. Based on recent policy, you must consider each offeror's price, so you must ask each for a quote or estimate of the price of the job. However, the rules in FAR Part 15 do not apply. It is okay to choose the contractor for the order based on preliminary information and then negotiate the details with that contractor. You do not have to conduct discussions or negotiate with all contractors in a competitive range. You do not even have to talk to all of them.

I would fax or email a copy of the draft task order to all of the contractors and ask them to fax or email a price quote (or estimated cost, or number of hours, depending on the type of order you're issuing) within X hours or days. Then I would choose the contractor for the order based on its price and whatever other criteria, such as past performance, that I said in the contract that I would consider. Once I have chosen the contractor I would sit down and negotiate the details of the task order. If I couldn't reach agreement with that contractor I would choose another to negotiate with.