Alliant, GSA's $65 billion Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) vehicle, has been delayed again and does not look to be taking off with agency task order requests for close to year after it was intended to begin. GSA is scrambling to re-evaluate the same proposals in an effort to lessen the chance of sustained protests. However, unless GSA awards a contract to every vendor that submitted a proposal; the next round of awards will very likely be protested again by one or more of the deemed unsuccessful vendor(s). Inevitably with a program of this size and potential value, further protests could delay the start of task order competition just a bit longer.
As for a tactical strategy, federal contracting shops are now looking for ways to procure existing requirements during Alliant's delay. There are a few options. First, the obvious answer being GSA's Millennia and ANSWER contract vehicles that will eventually be swallowed up by Alliant. Vendors both small and large who do not hold prime contracts on these vehicles should look for teaming opportunities with the vendors that have established themselves in each of these vehicles; primes can add new subcontractors throughout the life of the contract. Second, there is always the old stand-by - GSA Schedule 70. And last but not least, the plethora of IT-related GWACs offered by GSA, NIH, Commerce, and NASA.
But larger than the 'what to do now?' question, exists the overall purpose of establishing a GWAC in the first place. GWACs are massive contracts utilized to fulfill IT requirements whenever, wherever and whatever while offering up to a decade of peaceful ordering for federal agencies. However, giant contracts often have to endure years of market research, requirements definition, procurement, source selection, protests, other rounds of source selection, and a multitude of protests before a final award, ultimately costing the tax-payers millions of dollars to finalize. Is the massive struggle to finalize these gargantuan contracts overshadowed by the following years of convenient and efficient ordering?
As the scope, length and value of GWAC/ multiple award contracts (MACs) grows, so too will the importance and tension surrounding the procurement and selection process. As this streamlined procurement methodology becomes more common, government should be prepared for increased oversight, protests and positioning for final contract awards; these vehicles are accounting for an increased percentage of potential government-to-business contracting dollars. Similarly, for future vehicles, vendors should also be prepared for a repeat of this "Giant-Alliant" type long, arduous process prior to final task order competitions.
