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KTHQ // Training Short
One Acquisition. Start to Finish.
Ride along. Your CO is driving.
First one's always the loudest. Watch the road, not the noise.
0800 // Monday
A purchase request drops.
Purchase RequestFunded ✓ Certified ✓
ItemRide-on floor scrubber, qty 1
CustomerMaintenance Group, Hangar 4
Need by60 days
First check, every time: is it funded? No money, no action.
It is. Real requirement, real customer waiting on you. Let's go.
A floor scrubber. Sounds boring, right?
It's not about clean floors. It's about FOD.
One loose bolt on that hangar floor can total a jet engine. Every buy traces back to the mission. Find the thread.
Meanwhile, your brain:
I know. I've been there. Breathe.
Market Research
Every acquisition starts here. Every. Single. One. Three questions.
Market Research // Question 1 of 3
What is it?
Salient characteristicsfrom the customer, not from you
Cleaning path~40 inches
PowerBattery, full-shift runtime
Size limitFits the personnel door
Read the PR. Then call the customer anyway. If you can't describe it in plain English, you can't buy it.
Market Research // Question 2 of 3
Who sells it?
01
Is it on GSA?
GSA Advantage, schedules. If it's sitting on a shelf, don't reinvent it.
02
Existing contract vehicle?
Base BPAs. MAJCOM vehicles. Another base's contract. Ask around.
03
Open market?
SAM.gov, manufacturer sites, dealer networks. Who actually stocks this thing?
Never build what you can borrow. An existing vehicle can save you weeks.
And while you're looking? Write the prices down. You'll want them later.
Market Research // Question 3 of 3
Do small businesses sell it?
SAM.gov searchdealers in every state
Dynamic Small Business Searchcapable & registered
Two or more? Set it aside.
The Rule of Two isn't a hurdle. It's your default answer. Small business is where this stuff lives anyway.
Three questions answered
You have a strategy.
Commercial product
Small business set-aside
Competitive quotes
Twenty minutes of research just wrote your entire approach. That's the trade: research up front, speed everywhere else.
Next Question
What do you need to see to know it meets the need?
Technicalmeets the characteristics
Deliveryin Hangar 4 within 60 days
Pricefair and reasonable
Those are your evaluation factors.
If a factor doesn't help you pick a winner, cut it.
Then decide how you'll pick: lowest price that meets the need, or pay more for better? Make that call now, not after quotes show up.
The Solicitation
Commercial buy? One document does both jobs.
The combined synopsis/solicitation: the public notice and the solicitation, fused into a single posting.
Combined Synopsis/Solicitationposts to SAM.gov
Description & salient characteristicsYOU WROTE THIS
Evaluation factorsYOU WROTE THIS
Basis for awardYOU CHOSE THIS
Set-aside decisionYOU DECIDED THIS
Line item & delivery termsdrops in
Provisions & clausespull from the system
Instructions to offerorstell them exactly what to send
Response deadlinedate & time, no ambiguity
Look at the top four lines. You already made the hard calls. The rest is assembly.
Solicit.
Post it. Let the market answer.
Vendors ask questionsanswer fast
Answer everyone the sameamend if it changes the deal
The clock is running and vendors are pricing. A question sitting in your inbox is a quote you might not get.
Evaluate.
Quote 01
Quote 02
Quote 03
Quote 04
Quote 05
Quote 03 wins — under the rules you posted.
Technically acceptable?against YOUR factors
Can they deliver?60 days, Hangar 4
Price fair & reasonable?five quotes — competition did the work
Remember the prices you wrote down during research? Now they matter. You already know what fair looks like.
Lowest price won this one because that's the game you set up front. Another buy, better might beat cheaper. Either way, the posted rules decide. Never move the goalposts.
Award.
Document the decision
Notify the winner
Notify everyone else
Write the file like you won't be here to explain it. It should tell the whole story without you in the room.
Administer.
Signature isn't the finish line.
Deliveryit shows up
Inspect & acceptit's what you asked for
Invoice paidvendor gets their money
Closeoutfile complete, done
The government gets what it paid for, and the vendor gets paid on time. Both of those are you.
Scrubber's in Hangar 4. Customer's happy. File's closed.