ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- The Army Contracting Command-Rock Island and U.S. Army Sustainment Command held an Industry Week at the Radisson in Davenport, Iowa, Oct. 27-29.
Industry members representing both large and small companies received updates and forecasts for the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise program and the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program. Government employees also held one-on-one meetings with EAGLE Basic Ordering Agreement holders and companies interested in the LOGCAP competition.
The EAGLE Program was established to provide a single logistics provider at each of ASC's Logistics Readiness Centers, combining legacy contracts that fell under various programs. EAGLE includes maintenance and supply operations, and transportation services. The Army benefits by having standardized contracts, performance work statements, quality surveillance plans, performance requirements and better communication across the enterprise.
LOGCAP supports global contingencies by leveraging corporate assets to augment Army current and programmed sustainment force structure. Established in the 1980s, the program is currently in its fourth iteration, with a LOGCAP V award anticipated in November 2017.
During an Oct. 27 briefing, Jay Carr, executive director, Acquisition Integration Management Directorate, ASC, said that ASC manages a $2 billion budget, but 60-70 percent of the mission is executed through contracts. Throughout the EAGLE and LOGCAP briefings, he emphasized the importance of the input the Army receives from industry.
"I don't know if we are unique in the Army, but I would say from our standpoint, we can't accomplish our mission without you," said Carr. "That's why we ask you to provide frank feedback and comments and use this unique opportunity in this forum to address your concerns and your issues as we go forward."
Melanie Johnson, executive director, ACC-RI, said contractor feedback from BOA holder meetings has improved ACC-RI and ASC processes and procedures, through streamlining the evaluation process.
"We do get a significant number of proposals, so that does take some time to go through and evaluate," said Johnson. "One of the things we are really working on within ACC-RI, is communication between the [procuring contracting officers] and contract specialists with contractors. We've incorporated the communication plan that lists the order of contacts starting with the specialists … up to myself."
While increasing competition by 42 percent between FY13 and FY15, EAGLE has concurrently reduced the average adjusted days to award from 292 in FY13 to 175 in FY15, which falls under the target of 180 days to award, said Jody Fasko, Chief, EAGLE Business Office, ASC.
"The actions we have taken so far -- and with your input -- we've been able to see a reduction of about 40 percent in the time it takes to award a contract under task orders in EAGLE," said Fasko. "In FY13, we started off kind of rocky, but we have made some adjustments along the way and we are now at 175 average days' time to make an award."
Additionally, Carr briefed the crowd on LOGCAP -- providing a historical review, current status of LOGCAP IV, and preliminary information on the upcoming LOGCAP V competition, Oct. 28. He reinforced the importance of continual communication with industry.
"It's invaluable to gain industry perspective both on opportunities and strategies as we move forward," said Carr. "LOGCAP is so reliant on industry partners to execute our mission; it is absolutely critical for us to have their input."
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