An OASIS Success -- AAS Helps Army Move its Aviation Systems into the Future

One of the tremendous strengths of GSA is the desire to continually consider and evaluate ways to best leverage the wide range of tools, capabilities and expertise our agency offers. Because the Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) specializes in managing large, complex IT and professional services acquisitions and projects to successful outcomes on behalf of our customer agencies, OASIS is quickly turning out to be one of the most effective tools in our toolbox.

Last month, AAS made its first OASIS Small Business (SB) award, a $78 million, five year task order supporting the Army’s Aviation Flight Test Directorate (AFTD) at the Redstone Test Center (RTC),  Alabama. In short, the engineering and technical testing expertise obtained through OASIS-SB will help our soldiers receive the best and safest aircraft and aviation systems possible.

The communication that was a hallmark of OASIS’ development continues in its operation, both within the government and with our industry partners. The OASIS team reviewed AAS draft documents and helped us define the most effective pool of pre-qualified vendors to utilize. Multiple Requests for Information (RFIs) and regular industry collaboration allowed AAS staff to transition the project from a high risk contract type to a  contract solution for the Army with a lower risk. This collaboration helped our industry partners better understand the needs of GSA and the Army, enabling them to provide high quality proposals that ultimately saved taxpayers more than 20% from original cost estimates.

Finally, OASIS’ flexibility allowed AAS to create customized ordering procedures, significantly streamlining the evaluation process. As a direct result, R4 AAS was able to award this very competitive and complex acquisition in just over 60 days from the solicitation date. Performance began seven business days later, all with no interruption of service. Yes, you read that right -- SEVEN DAYS!

What R4 AAS accomplished for the AFTD is the first of many projects AAS is already planning to award and manage utilizing the OASIS Program. This solution was designed to, and has already proven to ease and speed the acquisition support of large and complex projects while reducing the risk to the government and saving taxpayer dollars. Simply put, OASIS helps make government work better, faster and more cost effectively.

Want to learn more about how the Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS)  can help you meet your agency’s mission critical activities? Contact us or ask the OASIS team for their AAS OASIS point of contact.   

Tim Fleming, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Assisted Acquisition Services