Proposal for enterprise-level requirements
The world is accelerating into the future, but the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) requirements system is stuck in the past… This paper proposes a three-pronged […]
Blog Posts
GMU report on Covid-19 contract issues: terminations, simplified acquisition, and more
Contractors may worry, for example, about the government terminating contracts for convenience during the COVID-19 crisis. Non-defense contract actions do not indicate a significant uptick […]
Podcast: SOFWERX, innovation, and early adoption with Tambrein Bates
Tambrein Bates joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss his role in helping build an ecosystem of over 40,000 innovators in support of […]
The myth of program funding stability
So why is this so hard? For years, the acquisition community has been saying program and funding stability are essential to acquisition reform. To that […]
Update on federal contract data for Covid-19 — Breakdown and Map
A net total of $1.97 billion has been obligated to federal contractors in response to Covid-19 between February 4 and April 5. Over the course […]
Acquisition headlines
Coronavirus hits defense contractor jobs. Boeing’s Puget Sound shutdown affects 70,000 workers and the P-8 and KC-46 programs. GE cut 2,600 employees (10%). Textron furloughed […]
Cost or pricing data updates and challenges
In a February 2019 report finding that a defense contractor, TransDigm Group, Inc. (TransDigm), overcharged DoD for spare parts under sole-source contracts, the [Inspector General] […]
Can simplified acquisition reduce process times by 90 percent?
Managing purchase actions with FAR 13.5 streamlined protocols and processes to conduct the construct, solicitation, and award of the purchase results in dramatically less “touch […]
Federal contracting response to Covid-19
Federal obligations for the month of March in response to the spread of COVID-19 could top $100 billion if current trends hold, an analyst said […]
A primer on progress payments: impact of increase from 80% to 90% for COVID-19
Recently, the Pentagon announced that it will increase progress payments to bolster contractor cash flow during the COVID-19 crisis. For small businesses, progress payments increased […]
Podcast: Speed, thrift, and simplicity with Dan Ward
In this episode of Acquisition Talk, I speak with Dan Ward. He spent 20 years in the US Air Force, and has just released his […]
Packard’s fly-before-you-buy principle
Perhaps the best way to explain some variations of a practical fly-before-you buy policy is to take several examples. The AX program is one which […]
Acquisition headlines
Trump orders General Motors to make ventilators under Defense Production Act. What did it achieve? “The order does not change GM’s previously announced plans or […]
Raytheon-UTC merger goes forward, but what’s the upside?
“Today’s settlement protects the American taxpayer by preserving competition that leads to lower costs and higher innovation in critical military and defense products,” said Assistant […]
Podcast: Covid-19 impact to government contracting
In this special episode of Acquisition Talk, we listen in on a conversation about the effects of COVID-19 on government contracting, including (1) the Defense […]