PSC codes key to refining Alliant 2 bids
By
Nick Wakeman
As you prepare you bid for Alliant 2, a new report by Govini urges bidders to analyze the spending under the product service codes earmarked for the contract to refine their bid strategies.
While the final details of the solicitation have yet to emerge, GSA’s Alliant 2 program – both the full-and-open and small business contracts – will be a different animal from the current vehicles.
Like with OASIS, Alliant 2 will rely heavily on self-scoring, but bidders cannot discount the impact of mergers and acquisitions on the market as well as small business graduations, according to a new analysis by the market research firm Govini.
The small business aspect comes from the success of many small businesses under Alliant. They will need to move up to the full-and-open Alliant 2 vehicle or be shut out. The expectation is fierce competition for the 60-some spots on the contract.
The self-evaluation of past performance can be a difference maker, and Govini is urging companies to take a big data approach and target their past performance submittals to the right end-users of Alliant. In other words, look at who has been using Alliant the most and make sure your proposal and your documentation target the right customers.
“Identifying the customers served by [Alliant 2 product service codes] helps to further refine a bid,” they wrote in a new report.
GSA is expected to have three groups of PSC codes they are using for Alliant: Group 1 includes several D codes for IT, Group 2 is D307 for IT and telecommunications and Group 3 is mostly R425 for professional services.
It is through the PSC codes that GSA is asking for demonstrated past performance. Understanding the spending through these codes should inform your bid strategy.
Govini points out that the R425 code represents a significant amount of spending and is new to the Alliant program, most likely as a way of attracting more defense users to Alliant 2.
The report tracks the current Alliant holders by the amount of business they capture under the Alliant 2 PSCs. For example, HP is the largest, but most of its work is through the Group 1 IT codes.
M&A changes are bringing stronger positions to CACI International, CSRA and Leidos (once the acquisition of Lockheed Martin’s IT business is complete.) L-3, which sold its business to CACI, will have a diminished position.
The bottom line of the report is to use the PSC codes to analyze your position as well as your competitors’ position. The report also highlights the usefulness of tracking customer demand and then using that information to target your proposal.