How GDI Consulting Can Help You Win the MTSS Contract

Introduction

The U.S. Army is seeking a contractor to provide mission test support services (MTSS) for the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) at various locations. The MTSS contract is a competitive, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a 10-month base period and six 12-month option periods. The estimated value of the contract is $450 million.

The MTSS contract will provide a range of services, including test planning, execution, analysis, reporting, data management, instrumentation, logistics, and quality assurance. The contractor will support various types of testing, such as developmental, operational, interoperability, live fire, and cybersecurity testing. The contractor will also support test events involving manned and unmanned systems, weapons, ammunition, equipment, and software.

The MTSS contract is a great opportunity for contractors who have experience and expertise in providing test support services to the Army and other DoD customers. However, winning the contract will require a strong capture and proposal strategy that demonstrates the contractor’s capabilities, past performance, and value proposition.

GDI Consulting is a leading provider of capture and proposal services to government contractors at the federal, state, and local level. GDI Consulting has written over 2938 successful proposals for the federal government worth over $16.6 billion just in 2022. GDI Consulting has a proven track record of helping clients win complex and competitive contracts, such as OASIS, JETS, ITSSS, HCaTS, and EAGLE II.

In this article, we will explain how GDI Consulting can help you win the MTSS contract by providing the following services:

• Capture management
• Proposal development and writing
• Proposal support services
• Self-scoring proposals

Historical Background

The MTSS contract is not a new requirement for the Army. It is a follow-on to the previous mission test support services contract (MTSS II), which was awarded in 2018 to four contractors: TRAX International Corporation, Applied Research Associates Inc., SURVICE Engineering Company LLC, and Yulista Tactical Services LLC.

The MTSS II contract had a similar scope and value as the MTSS contract. It had a one-year base period and four one-year option periods with a ceiling value of $450 million. The MTSS II contract supported various test programs and activities at ATEC test centers and ranges across the country.

The MTSS II contract had a total obligated value of $232 million as of April 2023. The most active contractor was TRAX International Corporation, which received $117 million in task orders. The second most active contractor was Applied Research Associates Inc., which received $57 million in task orders.

The MTSS II contract is set to expire in March 2024. Therefore, the Army issued a sources sought notice for the MTSS contract in May 2022 to identify potential offerors that can perform the requirement. The sources sought notice stated that the Army intends to extend the current MTSS II contract on a sole source basis to TRAX International Corporation for one year with 12 one-month option periods until the new MTSS contract is awarded.

The sources sought notice also stated that the statutory authority for the sole source procurement is 10 U.S.C. 2304©(1) as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. However, the notice also invited interested offerors to provide information on their capabilities and experience in providing mission test support services.

RFP Description

The Army has not yet released the request for proposal (RFP) for the MTSS contract. However, based on the sources sought notice and the performance work statement (PWS) attached to it, we can expect the RFP to have the following features:

• The RFP will be issued by the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) – Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) on behalf of ATEC.
• The RFP will be open to all contractors who are registered in System for Award Management (SAM) and have a valid UEI number and CAGE code.
• The RFP will use full and open competition as the acquisition strategy.
• The RFP will use best value tradeoff as the source selection method.
• The RFP will require offerors to submit both technical and price proposals.
• The RFP will evaluate offerors based on the following factors: technical capability, past performance, and price.
• The RFP will award multiple IDIQ contracts to the most highly rated offerors.
• The RFP will issue task orders to the contract holders on a competitive or direct award basis depending on the size and complexity of the requirement.
• The RFP will require the contractor to comply with various laws, regulations, standards, and policies related to test support services, such as DoD 5000 series, DoD 5105.62-M, AR 73-1, AR 70-75, and ISO 9001:2015.

Who Should Participate

The MTSS contract is a lucrative and long-term opportunity for contractors who have the following qualifications:

• Experience and expertise in providing mission test support services to the Army and other DoD customers.
• Ability to perform the full spectrum of test support services, from test planning to data management.
• Ability to support various types of testing, such as developmental, operational, interoperability, live fire, and cybersecurity testing.
• Ability to support test events involving manned and unmanned systems, weapons, ammunition, equipment, and software.
• Ability to deploy personnel and equipment to various test locations across the country.
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders, such as ATEC, test program managers, test directors, test officers, data collectors, data analysts, and quality assurance personnel.
• Ability to comply with various laws, regulations, standards, and policies related to test support services.

GDI Consulting can help you demonstrate these qualifications in your proposal by providing the following services:

• Capture management: GDI Consulting can help you develop a winning capture strategy that identifies the customer’s needs and hot buttons, analyzes the competition and their strengths and weaknesses, develops a value proposition and win themes that differentiate you from the competition, and builds relationships with key decision makers and influencers.
• Proposal development and writing: GDI Consulting can help you write a compelling proposal that responds to the RFP requirements and evaluation criteria, showcases your technical capability and past performance, and offers a competitive price. GDI Consulting can also help you with proposal formatting, graphics design, editing, proofreading, and compliance checking.
• Proposal support services: GDI Consulting can help you with various proposal support services that enhance your proposal quality and effectiveness, such as market assessment, bid-no bid analysis, black hat review, virtual war room setup, price-to-win analysis, color team reviews, and proposal submission.
• Self-scoring proposals: GDI Consulting can help you with self-scoring proposals that require you to assess your eligibility and score your proposal based on predefined criteria. GDI Consulting can help you optimize your score by providing consultation, scoring analysis, documentation review, pricing strategy, and submission support.

The Challenges

The MTSS contract is not an easy contract to win. It poses several challenges for potential offerors, such as:

• High competition: The MTSS contract is expected to attract many offerors who have experience and expertise in providing mission test support services. Some of these offerors may be incumbents or former incumbents who have established relationships with the customer and have proven performance records. Therefore, offerors will need to differentiate themselves from the competition by highlighting their unique capabilities, value proposition, and win themes.
• Complex requirement: The MTSS contract requires offerors to provide a wide range of services that cover the entire test lifecycle. Offerors will need to demonstrate their ability to perform each service in accordance with the customer’s standards and expectations. Offerors will also need to show their ability to support various types of testing involving different systems and technologies. Therefore, offerors will need to provide detailed technical solutions that address the customer’s challenges and objectives.
• Price sensitivity: The MTSS contract is a best value tradeoff procurement that considers both technical and price factors. However, price is still an important factor that can influence the customer’s decision. Offerors will need to provide a realistic and reasonable price that reflects their understanding of the requirement and their proposed solution. Offerors will also need to justify their price by providing adequate cost breakdowns and supporting data.

If you are interested in winning this opportunity by overcoming these challenges, visit us at www.gdicwins.com and let us help you in achievingyour dreams.