Opinion

Plenty of unanswered questions about $10B OASIS contract

GSA communications efforts around the $10 billion OASIS contract have been unprecedented and are an example for others, but there are still critical questions about the lucrative contract that need to be answered. PSC President and WT columnist Stan Soloway explores issues around pricing, strategic sourcing and past performance.

  • By Stan Soloway
Opinion

Acquisition efforts on a collision course

Congress is moving forward with acquisition reform efforts to bring more commercial buying to the government, but agency actions often go in the opposition direction.

  • By Stan Soloway
Opinion

The lost opportunity of the 2012 elections

Among the deficit and debt debate we missed the chance to talk about what a modern government looks like.

  • By Stan Soloway
Opinion

Doing the low-price limbo?

Agencies are increasingly forcing companies to present lower and lower prices on contracts at the risk of long-term value.

  • By Stan Soloway

Small and mid-tier businesses: Time for a deep breath

Small-business contracting fell last year, but one year isn't a trend. PSC President Stan Soloway warns against a rush to change contracting goals.

  • By Stan Soloway

Does uncertainty have to be the new normal?

Contractors need the government to act now and plan for sequestration.

  • By Stan Soloway

Feds' focus on margins puts industrial base at risk

Reducing government costs is in everyone's best interest, writes Stan Soloway, but too much emphasis on cutting margins will only hurt government and industry in the long run.

  • By Stan Soloway

Are we heeding or ignoring lessons of 1989?

The defense budget draw down of the late 1980s offers important lessons of what to do and not do with today's budget crisis.

  • By Stan Soloway

How to handle today's austere times

In today's environment, there are plenty of things beyond a company's control, but here are some things you can focus on.

  • By Stan Soloway

3 disconnects roiling the government market

The disconnects around how the government buys and what it needs make innovation and efficiency harder to achieve, writes Stan Soloway.

  • By Stan Soloway

What's really behind wasteful contracts?

The Commission on Wartime Contracting thinks a surplus of contractors has led to too much waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Stan Soloway offers a different perspective on the issue.

  • By Stan Soloway

Let's argue procurement. It's healthy.

Nothing is better for the procurement process that a good argument that pushes the best ideas forward.

  • By Stan Soloway

Defense bills blur an opportunity

The fiscal 2012 National Defense Authorization Act contains more than two dozen significant procurement-related provisions. Some raise serious concerns, others raise questions, and still others could have positive results.

  • By Stan Soloway

The business imperative of volunteerism

Pro bono work by firms raises their status and is a critical tool for recruiting and retaining new professionals.

  • By Stan Soloway

Competition suffers with shift to federal R&D centers

More agency are looking to federally funded R&D centers as alternative to contracts. The idea hurts competition and is a blow to transparency.

  • By Stan Soloway

DOD pushes contractors into a pricing war

With a new emphasis on pricing and profits, DOD will make it more difficult for contractors to innovate.

  • By Stan Soloway

Due process for contractors under attack

Are you guilty until proven innocent? Columnist and PSC President Stan Soloway argues that too many people and groups want to slap contractors with a debarment without considering due process rights.

  • By Stan Soloway

Government officials need to think, then speak

Too many government officials espouse solutions that don't consider the complexity of the problem.

  • By Stan Soloway

Austerity best served with a healthy dose of collaboration

Columnist Stan Soloway says the best way to weather the coming years of government austerity is for agencies and contractors to collaborate on the best and most cost-effective solutions.

  • By Stan Soloway

Risk and reward must be part of DOD acquisition reform efforts

A Defense Department initiative designed to improve the acquisition process must strike a fair balance between risk and reward to ensure the health of the defense industry, writes Stan Soloway with the Professional Services Council.

  • By Stan Soloway
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