Competition as an Acquisition Strategy: Impact of Competitive Research and Development on Procurement Costs

Abstract

This study examines the impact of R&D prototype competition on subsequent procurement costs for major weapon systems. Four acquisition programs that included prototype competitions are studied in detail, and cost growth data are compared for 14 programs that included prototype competitions and 27 that did not. There is evidence that prototype competition, when properly structured, does lead to lower procurement costs. For three of the four programs studied in detail, cost savings appear to be greater than incremental costs of staging their competitions, on a constant-dollar, discounted basis. The study suggests that prototype competition should be continued (in a particular program) until the contractors can prudently propose firmly priced production options. Whether or not prototype competition should be initiated for a particular program depends on factors specific to that program.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1983
Accession Number
ADA141313

Entities

People

  • James P. Bell

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Attack Helicopters
  • Business Administration
  • Engineers
  • Fabrication
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Management Personnel
  • Organizational Structure
  • Production Engineering
  • Rockets
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Systems Analysis and Design