Tech Data, Please

The operations and sustainment (O&S) phase costs for a weapon system often exceed 50 percent of the system's life cycle cost. This makes O&S costs a prime target for affordability initiatives. By introducing competition into the procurement of logistics support, spares, and upgrades to systems, experts believe we can achieve a 15 percent cost reduction, compared with a sole-source procurement of the same products and services. For example, the Army expects to achieve O&S cost savings by using contractor-developed tech data in a full and open competition of M4 carbine spare parts. Government control of tech data and computer software (usually through assertion of the appropriate license rights) enables competition in the O&S phase but requires planning in the pre-solicitation phase of the program. The GAO found that the lack of technical data rights has limited program managers' (PMs') flexibility to achieve cost savings in the O&S phase through competition. Unless PMs assess the benefits of and secure the rights to tech data early in the weapon system acquisition process, when they have the greatest leverage to negotiate, they may face difficulty obtaining the tech data to reduce O&S costs through competition or depot maintenance. Since government tech data rights have costs and may have limitations, the program manager must have a tech data plan as part of the acquisition strategy that considers the benefits (affordability in the O&S phase), as well as the costs and limitations. The PM can make technical decisions that improve the utility of tech data obtained early in the life cycle, rather than pay a premium later in the life cycle. Published in Defense AT&L Magazine (Special Issue: Better Buying Power), v40 n5 p37-39, September-October 2011.