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Sealed Bids vs. Competitive Proposals
As part of their job description, contracting officers have to make a wide range of decisions relating to procurement. One of these decisions is whether to use competitive proposals or sealed bids. In this text, I compare and contrast competitive proposals and sealed bidding. In so doing, I will amongst other things discuss the most advantageous method from a contractor's perspective.
Sealed Bids vs. Competitive Proposals
Before discussing the most advantageous method from a contractor's perspective, it would be prudent to come up with a clear and concise definition of the two terms. Sealed bidding in the words of Murphy (2009) "is a process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called an Invitation for Bids (IFB)." On the other hand, competitive proposals according to the author should be seen as a "process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called a Request for Quotation (RFQ) or a Request for Proposals (RFP)"...
As Sollish and Semanik (2012) point out, a sealed bid is most appropriate when there exists a need to guarantee an equitable award to the contractor who emerges as being the most appropriate from the perspective of price. Therefore, this method could be most beneficial to contractors adopting a cost leadership strategy. Such a contractor could essentially be offering its services at prices that are essentially below the industry's average prices. In that regard, the said contractor stands a far greater chance of clinching the bid. This is more so the case given that in sealed bidding, exact performance specifications are usually stated clearly. The contractor thus knows what is required beforehand. It is also important to note that when it comes to sealed bids, other factors including but not limited to the level of technology utilized do not usually influence the decision as…
References
Murphy, J.E. (2009). Guide to Contract Pricing: Cost and Price Analysis for Contractors, Subcontractors, and Government Agencies (5th ed.). Virginia: Management Concepts.
Sollish, F. & Semanik, J. (2012). The Procurement and Supply Manager's Desk Reference (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Sealed bids vs. Competitive proposal Chapter 6 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations states that contracting officers are only allowed to solicit sealed bids when time allows for solicitation, submission, and evaluation of the sealed bids (Justia Law, 2012). Contracting officers are under strict instruction to only make an award on the basis of the price. Besides, the law compels the contracting officers not to engage in any form of discussion with
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Each onion router removes a layer of encryption to uncover routing instructions, and sends the message to the next router where this is repeated. This prevents these intermediary nodes from knowing the origin, destination, and contents of the message. 1.4. Lecture Survey. The predicted solution of the problems related to e-government administration depends on answering the following questions as brainstorming ideas to solve the problem and the features provided by the system
Federal Contract There are two basic methods for providing goods and services to the federal government. One is through existing and required sources of supply where the other is an open market acquisition using simplified acquisition techniques or formal contracting methods (14 FAH-2 H-200 Acquisition Basics, 2011). The simplified acquisition method falls into the threshold of $3,000 to $150,000 category and is done with procedures such as, imprest fund, purchase card,
Request for Proposal (RFP) � Inventory Control SystemTABLE OF CONTENTS1. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS ��..�������������������� 31.1 General Description of Work ��������������������.. 31.2 What Must Be Included with Bid ������������������� 31.3 Schedule of Bid Period Activities ������������������.. 41.4 Location of Work �������������������������.. 41.5 Pre-Bid Meeting �������������������������� 51.6 Owner Contact for Questions ��������������������. 51.7 Pre-Award Surveys ������������������������.. 51.8 Sealed Bid Requirements ���������������������... 61.9 Basis for Bid Evaluation ����������������������.. 61.10 Ethical Standards ������������������������.. 71.11
Moreover, the U.S. military has become increasingly aware of such strategies for improvement based on these "best" practices because of their potential to help the military achieve its strategic goals and their perceived ability to help formulate relevant strategies for improving military procurement procedures (Baldwin et al., 2002). U.S. Army Hospital Mission. Impact. Today, U.S. Army hospitals may be situated in the middle of the homeland or in close proximity to