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Volume 65: OCONUS Pricing Insights; TREX MAC Updates; Upcoming Events

Author

Kit Conway
February 20, 2025

In This Week's Newsletter:

  • Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: Targeted Requirement Execution (TREX) MAC

  • Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits!

  • AI Corner: Market Trends for Subsidiaries and Business Units

  • Pricing Insights: Outside Continental US (OCONUS) Travel Pricing

  • Capture Corner: Strategic Messaging Approach

Opportunity Alert: Targeted Requirement Execution (TREX) MAC

Contact Katie: [email protected]

USSOCOM released responses to the revised Draft RFP questions, with over 40 questions asked, and a notice that the Restricted Access DRAFT OEM list is available to be requested, similar to the other Restricted Access Documents. This $2B Multiple Award IDIQ for both Full and Open and Small Business Set-Aside is due to be released March 18, 2025. Contact Hinz Consulting for capture and proposal support.

Four to Follow:

  1. DHRA Operational Administrative Support Services: The Defense Human Resources Activity is expecting a follow-on requirement based on previous competition, to provide personnel, management, and materials necessary to provide onsite administrative and customer support services. This $19M, 8(a) Set-Aside IDIQ anticipated to be released March 2025 with an anticipated award around September 2025.

  2. DIA Office of Human Resources (OHR) Training and Professional Development Services: The DIA released an RFI February 14, 2025 with a due date of March 14, 2025, for a non-personal COTS training services contract to provide various HR technical training and professional development courses to DIA’s OHR workforce. The solicitation is anticipated to be released June 2025.

  3. White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) Mission Support Services (MSS): The HQ Mission and Installation Contracting Command (HQ MICC) hosted an Industry Day event February 12, 2025 at the WSMR. This $500M single award IDIQ is estimated to be released August 2025 with an award date of August 2026. The Department of Army requires support for planning, logistics, operations, maintenance, research, and development of systems, equipment, and facilities for the WSMR Testing and Evaluation (T&E) Mission.

  4. Department of Army F35 Foreign Military Academic Training Center: The Department of Army anticipates this single award, $75M opportunity to be released May 2025, with the award expecting to be August 2025. This is a new opportunity for the construction of a foreign military sales training center to support the bed down of the F-35 aircraft located at Ebbing Field ANG in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Market Trends for Subsidiaries and Business Units

Contact Josh: [email protected]

Last week, the Hinz AI Center of Excellence engaged with 16 parent companies, each with numerous subsidiaries, over a two-day period. Notably, 87% of these parent companies have not yet integrated generative AI (GenAI) systems but are seeking more information on automation in 2025. Currently, their centralized proposal shops handle less than 15% of proposals company-wide. While technology could enhance some operations, it may not significantly impact bids and wins on a large scale.

Many companies find the cost of custom GenAI systems too high to implement across all subsidiaries and are exploring alternative solutions. Parent companies are eager to improve their subsidiaries' proposal operations without exerting direct control. In fact, 81% believe that proposal training, a proposal management system, or an approved vendor with standardized deliverables could enhance professionalism, increase the number of bids, and improve win rates across their subsidiary ecosystem.

Currently, more than half of these companies are working with Hinz to implement a solution that is scalable, affordable, and effective. If you are interested in a similar free seminar for your company, team, subsidiaries, or divisions, please reach out to the team at the Hinz AI Center of Excellence.

Outside Continental US (OCONUS) Travel Pricing

Contact Tom: [email protected]

You are preparing to price a proposal and you see requirements for labor, Other Direct Costs (ODCs), Direct Materials (DMs), and Subcontractors (Subks).  All good, but in ODCs you see requirements for OCONUS travel. At first thought you assume that all you need are quotes for airfare, hotel, and per diem, but OCONUS travel brings many additional considerations.

When the RFP states that OCONUS travel will be required it should also include destinations. The Department of State (DOS) has an office of allowance website that contains allowances by location or allowance type. For Alaska, Hawaii, and US Territories and Possessions, see here.

The DOS allowances are maximum amounts; meaning those are ceilings and they are to help pay for the burden of relocating and not meant to completely compensate. The below items are for OCONUS locations (not including Alaska, Hawaii, and US Territories and Possessions):

  1. Danger Pay: based on a percentage of compensation (salary) and location

  2. Hardship Pay: based on a percentage of compensation (salary) and location.

  3. Cost of Living Allowance (COLA): based on spendable income (derived from salary and family size) and location.

  4. Housing Allowance (HOLA): based on family size and location of assignment.

  5. Education Allowance: based on the number of dependents going to school on and off base.

  6. Additional Allowances/Costs (non-DOS)

    • Shipping of Personal Items: quotes from shipping companies may be used, the employee will need to estimate weight of goods, typically cars are not shipped

    • Storage in the US: quotes from storage facilities can be used

    • Rest and Recuperation Trips: airfare quotes can be used

    • Security (home): quotes from the security company can be used

    • Visas, Immigration

    • Tax (corporate and personal)

    • Repatriation (cost of moving the employee and family back to the US at the end of the contract)

    • Defense Base Act (DBA) Insurance: supplemental insurance which is a requirement if the US-based employee is based on a US installation (normally estimated as a unit cost based on the employee’s salary).

Bottom line: when pricing OCONUS travel, remember to know the destinations, durations, and specifics about the employee traveling/relocating, including number of dependents.

Strategic Messaging Approach

Contact John: [email protected]

Last week we discussed the importance of continuously shaping efforts to retain incumbent work, along with the synergy required amongst the Program Manager and Capture Manager. Another element of shaping the bid favorably to your company when applying the capture methodology is a strong strategic messaging approach that should focus on positioning your company as the best and lowest-risk choice for the client.

The strategic messaging approach should follow a structured framework, such as:

  1. Client-Centric Messaging

    • Align the messaging with the client’s vision, mission, priorities, and hot buttons

    • Utilize language obtained from market research/intelligence to demonstrate understanding

    • Identify how your company’s offerings can provide the benefits needed to help overcome their challenges and achieve their goals

  2. Competitive Differentiation

    • Highlight what sets your company apart from other competitors

    • Focus on unique capabilities, past performance, innovation, and risk mitigation

  3. Teaming

    • If bidding with teaming partners, emphasize the combined strengths and complementary expertise, but more importantly why this team is the right choice to deliver

    • Address any potential customer concerns regarding execution

  4. Risk Mitigation and Compliance

    • Assure the client that your approach adheres to all requirements, terms and conditions, and minimizes risk

  5. Proof Points and Success Stories

    • Use data, past performances, and client testimonials to back up your delivery

  6. Engagement Strategy

    • Encourage continued dialogue with the client before the RFP is released

    • Establish meeting cadence, develop, and submit white papers or capability briefings/product demos to help shape the requirements

Pursuing a bid without having shaped the opportunity, nor being able to develop and implement a strategic messaging approach, demonstrates a lack of client intimacy and will lead to a significantly lower win probability.

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

  • Proposal Consulting

  • AI Services

  • Strategic Pricing

  • Training

  • Capture

  • Competitive Intelligence

  • BD Transformation Consulting

  • Process/Methodology Consulting

  • Tools and Templates

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