This is a completed Streamlined Market Research and Acquisition Approach. All names, units, and locations have been changed — the structure, reasoning, and level of detail are real.
This requirement is for the procurement of contractor support services to assist the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Directorate of Logistics (A4) at Wright-Patterson AFB. The contract will provide specialized logistics and readiness support aimed at enhancing the development, registration, and implementation of Manpower and Equipment Force Packages (LOGMOD). This support is essential for ensuring that AMC's expeditionary logistics capabilities are modern, effective, and fully aligned with current and future operational demands.
The scope of work is for 2 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) Logistics Management Specialists and 1 FTE Readiness Specialist.
The Logistics Management Specialist will develop and register Unit Type Codes (UTCs), which detail the manpower and equipment configurations for logistics units. This includes coordinating with various units and command staff to ensure logistics details are accurate and up to date. They will also provide guidance and training to military personnel on logistics processes and systems, including the Logistics Readiness Decision Support System (LRDSS) and other similar platforms. Additionally, they will act as a liaison with Department of Defense (DoD) entities and Joint Staff to ensure LOGMOD activities align with broader military objectives and standards.
The Readiness Specialist will support AMC/A4 staff in developing and validating expeditionary ground logistics capabilities, ensuring those capabilities are robust and meet the evolving needs of the Air Force Logistics Services. They will analyze existing policies and doctrines and provide, advise and assist but providing input to enhance the effectiveness of logistics readiness strategies, and ensure they are in alignment with operational requirements. Additionally, the contractor will assist in the development and maintenance of training standards and Mission Essential Task Lists (METLs), ensuring that logistics personnel are prepared for deployment.
These services are considered Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS), as the contractor will provide expertise in logistics and readiness, and advise the Government on key decisions. Due to this factor, these services are considered professional services and will drive the acquisition strategy (discussed later).
There is a growing emphasis on enhancing readiness and effectiveness of expeditionary logistics capabilities. Air Force Logistics Services must be prepared to rapidly deploy logistics teams to support combat and humanitarian missions worldwide. AMC/A4 has recognized the need for specialized contractor support to optimize these functions.
The NAICS code chosen for this requirement is 541614, Transportation Management Consulting Services. The Performance Work Statement (PWS) for this requirement was sent to The General Services Administration's (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) for review. The review was completed on 29 July 2024, and it was determined that the scope of work was appropriate for their pools of small business contractors under that particular NAICS.
On 1 August 2024, the Contracting Office obtained a Delegation of Procurement Authority from GSA to gain authorization to solicit and award via the OASIS Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts.
A sources sought was solicited on SAM.gov as well as Symphony, the GSA GPE for publicizing contract actions. The intent was to gauge interest as well as determine if contractors had performed these services in the past. Both notices were posted for 1 week, with the SAM posting ending on 2 August, and the GSA OASIS posting closing on 9 August. There was interest from both markets.
Within the open market, responses were received from:
Patriot Staffing — Sarah Thompson — Veteran Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
Trident Group — David Chen — 8(a)
Within GSA OASIS, responses were received from:
Meridian Solutions LLC — 8(a)
Apex Consulting Inc — Small Business
Vanguard Services Inc — Small Business
After reviewing the capability statements and past performance of the companies, it was decided to procure service via direct 8(a) award for the following reasons:
1. Utilizing GSA OASIS is the most appropriate strategy because the existing contracts are specifically tailored to professional/A&AS services.
2. Meridian Solutions was the only 8(a) company who responded to the sources sought to the solicitation. Their past performance for the same or similar requirements is no lower than satisfactory, and is rated exceptional for a majority of their ratings. A deeper investigation in their past performance for recency and relevancy was accomplished to validate the data within CPARS. There are no concerns of poor performance.
3. The Government will negotiate a fair and reasonable price based off of our IGE. Additionally, there are some similar contracts that exist, sometimes called LOGMOD, or Logistics Readiness Decision Support System (LRDSS) support contracts, or a comparison of labor rates for the logisticians and the readiness specialist.
More discussion will follow in the conclusion and recommendations section below.
Multiple vendors are capable of fulfilling this requirement. Upon utilizing a Google search, Sterling Dynamics Inc had performed these services in the past for the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, they are a large business.
A sources sought was posted to SAM as stated in section II above, resulting in 2 interested sources.
Due to the professional nature of the services, another sources sought was issued via Symphony, resulting in 3 interested sources. As 5 small businesses were deemed capable of providing the services, the rule of 2 has been met and this requirement will be set aside exclusively for small business.
Since GSA OASIS is a contract vehicle specifically for services of a professional nature, as well as A&AS services, it was deemed appropriate to restrict this requirement further. Therefore, only vendors from the GSA OASIS Small Business Pool will be addressed in section II below.
Within GSA OASIS, responses were received from:
Meridian Solutions LLC — 8(a)
Apex Consulting Inc — Small Business
Vanguard Services Inc — Small Business
It should also be noted that the GSA OASIS vendor pool includes 239 contracts. All contract holders were permitted to respond to the sources sought.
| Name | CAGE/DUNS | Socioeconomic Status | Location | Point of Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Solutions LLC | KR4FM8TX7 | 8(a) | Colorado Springs, CO | Mark Stevens, mstevens@meridiansol.com |
Meridian Solutions LLC holds multiple IDIQs, including a GSA Multiple Award Schedule for facilities maintenance, management, and repair services. Meridian is also a GSA OASIS contract holder. They are a Seaport NXGEN contract holder which is a platform for acquiring support services for engineering, financial management, and program management. Finally, they hold a MAS specifically for other professional services. All of these contracts are relevant here as it establishes they have performed in support of multiple large programs.
Meridian is the prime contractor to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) supporting their $41M Defense Logistics Standard Support — Facility Management (DLSS-FM) contract. They provide and manage 194 staff members across 135 geographically dispersed facilities within the Continental United States (CONUS) with an annual contract value of $29M. They have provided support to the DHA on this contract since March 2021 and won the follow-on contract on 2 February 2023. DLSS is a three-year contract valued at over $94M.
Meridian provides technical and functional support to DLA Installation Management (DM-I) in the area of Real Property (RP) infrastructure and management policies, RP systems and applications, facilities and equipment surveying, condition assessment and modeling. Systems and applications support includes training, system testing, reporting, and maintaining a customer support help desk.
Meridian has 78 contracts listed in CPARs. Of that, 27 have an overall rating of exceptional. 28 have a rating of very good. 23 have a rating of satisfactory. There are no ratings lower than satisfactory.
A brief discussion of some projects of comparable efforts are listed below:
Meridian performed an Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) Experimental Campaign Support Services (ECSS) Contract Effort. The ECSS contract includes efforts related to experimentation campaign planning, execution, analysis, and reporting support. The contract also includes planning and execution of test and training events at USAF and other DoD ranges, labs, or other test related assets. Their rating was exceptional in 2023.
They also performed A&AS for A4 Support, receiving an exceptional rating in 2023.
Meridian performed on an A&AS contract to provide Engineering and Architecture services and Emergency Preparedness to the Air Force District of Washington Directorate of Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection receiving exceptional ratings in 2022.
There are no negative past performance indicators.
| Name | CAGE/DUNS | Socioeconomic Status | Location | Point of Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Consulting Inc | P8N2GCLY4 | Small Business | San Antonio, TX | Rachel Kim, rkim@apexconsult.com |
Apex Consulting Inc brings over two decades of experience managing multiple, concurrent, military health programs supporting the full spectrum of military healthcare and logistics readiness initiatives. As a prime contractor supporting such as Headquarters (HQ) Air Mobility Command (AMC) Directorate of Logistics (A4), they have intimate knowledge of the AMC expeditionary logistics programs, including those detailed in the Statement of Work (SOW) for this Request for Information (RFI). They provide Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for research, analytical, and advisory services in planning and programming support to modernize aerospace, ground logistics equipment, and support leading-edge logistics information and technology.
Apex Consulting is currently staffing at Wright-Patterson AFB and has a Talent Pipeline ready to support the LOGMOD Requirement.
Apex provides advisory, analytical and technical support to AMC/A4. Their Program Analysts specialize in supporting various LOGMOD areas by leveraging expertise in modernization of ground logistics assets and processes. This includes involvement in planning, programming, budgeting, as well as adept project and program management.
Apex Consulting has past performance within CPARS. 18 Contracts were rated as exceptional. 11 were rated very good. 10 were rated as satisfactory. There are no negative performance value indicators.
One of the most recent contracts, FA489020F0002, has satisfactory ratings across the board. Per CPARS: "AMC/A4 requires contract support in the areas of: (1) Modernization of ground logistics assets and processes through planning, programming, project and program management, innovation, and RDA activities; (2) Development of AMC/A4 input to the AFMRA Fiscal Year (FY) Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) Calls; (3) Execution and refinement of CBA reviews to identify and validate ground-based logistics capability gaps and shortfalls and subsequent validation and development of a 1-n modernization requirements list; (4) Collaboration and coordination of AFMS and Joint RDA efforts with MAJCOMs, Services, AFMS execution platforms..." It's important to note that this contract is very similar to the LOGMOD requirement, and their past performance indicates they would be capable of performing satisfactorily.
| Name | CAGE/DUNS | Socioeconomic Status | Location | Point of Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Services Inc | QW7KJ3FN2 | Small Business | Tampa, FL | Thomas Wright, twright@vanguardsvc.com |
Vanguard Services currently provides advisory and assistance services to DHA to support the Patient Advocate and Patient Engagement (PAPE) program. Their team oversees and monitors program effectiveness of subordinate units and advises on program execution while developing measurement criteria for evaluation. Their team coordinates with facilities to advising on the use of quality improvement tools. They also conduct training to personnel on current PAPE matters.
Vanguard provides advisory and assistance services to AFMED at Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, VA. They provide project management and administrative support for the corporate-level healthcare risk management program activities to support MTF risk managers with daily healthcare risk management program activities to identify, analyze, and mitigate risks to the organization, patients, staff and visitors.
Vanguard also holds vast past performance. Per CPARS: 3 contracts are rated as exceptional. 7 are rated as very good. 15 are rated as satisfactory.
There are no negative past performance indicators. Vanguard performs best with CE support services, being rated exceptional for those services. Those are similar to the LOGMOD requirement, as the primary purpose is to hire and provide experts to advise the government, much like an engineer.
They were rated an overall very good on a requirement that includes doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy (DOTmLPF-P) Change Recommendation (DCR) progress reports, on-site visits, training of MAJCOM staff, data collection, development of enterprise-level products, attendance at conference calls and webinars and also office management duties. This is more relevant than the CE requirement and provides confidence in their ability to perform services similar to the LOGMOD requirement.
GSA OASIS is the appropriate source for these services. There would be adequate competition if the Government chose to compete. However, because 52 CONS has small business goals that include the need to prioritize small disadvantaged businesses, and the exceptional past performance of Meridian Solutions LLC, there is an opportunity to streamline this acquisition with a direct award 8(a) contract. Furthermore, because of the ability to utilize a pre-existing contract vehicle in GSA OASIS, the requirement can be further expedited as most terms and conditions are already set. There is no risk of a protest to the GAO (FAR 16.505(10)(i) states no protest is allowable unless the task order is valued in excess of $10M). No clearance is required as the contract value is under $5M (see DAFFARS 5301.9001 Table 1). No legal review is required as the requirement is under $5M. No sole source justification is required on a contract that is awarded in accordance with FAR 6.302-5(b)(4) unless an 8(a) award is over $25M. No synopsis is required.
Based on Meridian's past performance, no lengthy proposal is necessary. The evaluation factor will be price alone. Therefore, it is concluded that based on the market research, this contract will be awarded through negotiations with Meridian Solutions LLC via a direct award 8(a) program.
These services are not commercial, and as such, certified cost and pricing data will be obtained.
FAR 6.302-5(b)(4) does not require a J&A for direct awards unless over $25M. FAR Part 16 will be utilized as GSA OASIS is a pre-existing contract vehicle utilizing the procedures of FAR 16.505. FAR Part 37 applies. FAR 37.203(a) states that the acquisition of advisory and assistance services is a legitimate way to improve Government services and operations. Accordingly, advisory and assistance services may be used at all organizational levels to help managers achieve maximum effectiveness or economy in their operations.
All advisory and assistance services are classified in one of the 3 subdivisions. This acquisition falls under Management and Professional Support Services: management and professional support services, i.e., contractual services that provide assistance, advice or training for the efficient and effective management and operation of organizations, activities (including management and support services for R&D activities), or systems. These services are normally closely related to the basic responsibilities and mission of the agency originating the requirement for the acquisition of services by contract.
The contract will be a Firm Fixed Price contract. A firm-fixed-price contract provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor's cost experience in performing the contract. This contract type places upon the contractor maximum risk and full responsibility for all costs and resulting profit or loss. It provides maximum incentive for the contractor to control costs and perform effectively and imposes a minimum administrative burden upon the contracting parties.
The unit of issue will be hours, which will ensure the Government only pays for hours worked. It is not a labor hour contract; A labor-hour contract is a variation of the time-and-materials contract, differing only in that materials are not supplied by the contractor. A time-and-materials contract may be used only when it is not possible at the time of placing the contract to estimate accurately the extent or duration of the work or to anticipate costs with any reasonable degree of confidence.
The Government requires 1920 hours of work per year for each FTE. No more than that. The Government will pay for 1920 hours per year. However, it's important to apply a CLIN structure in terms of "hours" in the event the contractor employees are sick, or otherwise unavailable for performance, the Government does not overpay for services not rendered. This structure is less administratively burdensome for adjusting the contract for less hours worked, and ensures the Government gets what it pays for.
Award will be made to Meridian Solutions LLC, provided that their pricing is fair and reasonable based upon their certified cost and pricing data. Award will be made directly via the 8(a) program.