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Market research—it’s everyone’s business

  • Published
  • By Ted Bealer
  • 375th Contracting Squadron
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  As the wing approaches the third quarter in fiscal year 2016, all organizations should be forecasting, planning, defining, and posturing for the year-end closeout.

Critical to year-end execution is conducting and documenting market research for goods or services needed to perform each unit's mission.

Knowing the industry standards and capabilities as well as what's available is vital in shaping the execution strategy and enabling agile contracting support.

Some of the questions to ask through this process include:

· Is the requirement available through GSA sources?

· Does it meet parameters for a Government Purchase Card transaction?

· Is the item available through other agency or mandatory enterprise contracts?

Requirement owners in each organization are key partners for contracting's acquisition team and play a huge role in up-front market research, analysis, requirement definition, and acquisition planning.

Whatever units can bring to the table will reduce acquisition lead time, help shape a successful buy, and ensure timely delivery of mission-enabling goods or services.

Market research and analysis should be commensurate with the value and complexity of the requirement. Some things to keep in mind when conducting market research:

·  Contact the 375th Contracting Squadron early on for assistance and tips on how to conduct and document market research efforts.

·  Do not commit or give the impression to any source you contact that they will receive a contract.

· Plan for competition. This is a big ticket item in DoD's Better Buying Power initiative. We're called to compete as many actions as possible. Don't limit research to a single source.

· Include the document sources contacted, names, phone numbers, addresses, etc.

· Consider alternatives. Help contracting understand needed features or capabilities of the requirement and why it's critical. Contracting wants to buy and deliver the best solution for each mission need.

The 375th Contracting Squadron is here to help everyone get the best return on investment with mission-enabling contract support. Everyone's active participation on the acquisition team with market intelligence and research will ensure the wing "Enables Rapid Global Mobility."