Overview
FAR 7.106 establishes specific acquisition planning requirements for major systems, focusing on promoting long-term competition and the use of commercially available components to reduce lifecycle costs and avoid vendor lock-in.
Key Rules
- Development Phase Considerations: Planners should require offerors to propose the use of items already available in the national/agency supply systems or commercially available from multiple sources.
- Future Competitive Sourcing: For both development and production, agencies must plan for the competitive acquisition of components likely to be needed in substantial quantities throughout the system's service life.
- Technical Data Rights: During production planning, agencies should seek proposals that provide the Government with the right to use technical data for future competitive acquisitions, including the associated costs for those rights.
- Source Development: Planners should consider proposals for the qualification or development of multiple supply sources to ensure a competitive marketplace for the system's components.
- Evaluation and Negotiation: If these requirements are included in a solicitation, they must be part of the source selection evaluation; in noncompetitive environments, they serve as primary negotiation objectives.
Practical Implications
- Prevention of Vendor Lock-in: By addressing technical data rights and multiple sourcing during the planning phase, the Government avoids being tied to a single original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for decades of maintenance and parts.
- Strategic Lifecycle Management: Contracting officers and program managers must balance immediate performance needs against the long-term logistical benefits of using standardized or commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components within complex major systems.