Installation Acquisition Transformation: balance sought between small businesses, military procurement

  • Published
  • By Lia Martin
  • Nucleus Staff
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  Team Kirtland has a challenge to meet locally. The Air Force is trying to reduce their bottom line, considering they are underfunded by $20 billion dollars every year. Can Kirtland AFB create a different way of handling their installation-related business and save money without destroying local small businesses, which may depend on the Air Force base for revenue?

Installation acquisition transformation is a philosophy and tool that was introduced to the local business community Jan. 11 at the Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque by Thomas Wells, director of contracting for the Air Force Materiel Command. Mr. Wells said this approach could be described as strategic sourcing, which is a process for systematically analyzing and developing optimal strategies for buying goods and services. In other words, the process of procurement and awarding contracts is going to change from a tactical to a more holistic approach. It will be administered by the Installation Acquisitions Squadron, according to Mr. Wells, which will be located at each Air Force base - in this instance, Kirtland.

"The Installation Acquisition Squadron will work with local contractors. They will be the one face to the local business community," Mr. Wells explained to the business owners. "We will balance that distribution, so that we are not destroying segments of small business."

U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, Rep.-N.M., worked with Col. Robert E. Suminsby Jr., Kirtland 377th Air Base Wing commander, to organize this public meeting with small business leaders and owners to invite a dialogue on these procurement changes. After meeting with Air Force secretary Michael Wynne, the congresswoman became concerned and arranged the public meeting on Friday with Colonel Suminsby.

"The Air Force was going to change the way the Air Force does business," Representative Wilson said. "The plan they briefed me on caused me considerable concern. New Mexico is a small business state, when the Air Force makes a change it affects our businesses."

Colonel Suminsby also knows that the Air Force is also a business and they have to find a better way to do that business.

"We must maximize our dollars to get more bang for our bucks," Colonel Suminsby said.

According to Mr. Wells, small businesses receive 96 percent of Kirtland's installation business, and large businesses receive 4 percent. Last year, Kirtland AFB Contracting Squadron spent $94.7 million, of which $5.2 million was spent in the local area, not including GPC contracts, subcontractors, and inter-agency buys. Local small businesses received $5 million for installation services and commodities, while local large businesses only received $200,000.

"We are going to find strategies to grow small business," Mr. Wells assured the business owners. "We will move the time-consuming award process to regional, so that it frees the local unit to focus on installation requirements and performance management."

In spite of the assurances, local business leaders are wary of the change.

Carlo Lucero, chairman of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce board, remarked that he would have liked the business community to be aware of the possible changes before this point.

"Hearing about this after the fact doesn't inspire a lot of trust," Mr. Lucero said to Mr. Wells at the very beginning of the questioning period. "Why is that?"

Mr. Lucero asked that the business community would be allowed to continue the dialogue.

"Let us enhance our economy," Mr. Lucero pointed out, "rather than hurt it."

Mr. Wells assured Mr. Lucero they were in the very early stages of developing the acquisition transformation.
He outlined how there would be an actual department ensuring small businesses would be kept in the loop called the Air Force Small Business Solutions Center. He also stressed that existing contracts would stay in place, the rebidding process for new work would not change, that the performance of work would still remain at the installation, that contract administration would remain at the installation, and that only procurement of the requirement may occur in San Antonio - the regional center.

"The center of gravity will obviously be shifting," Maria de Rios, Orion International Technologies vice president, asked if there had been a market intelligence study conducted. "Will you have the resources to do the in-depth marketing to understand who we are? It costs us money to market."

"The squadron will be an extension of the region," Mr. Wells said. "If there's work to be done at Kirtland, you are here."

Though Representative Wilson does not feel all questions were answered in a satisfactory way at the public meeting last Friday, she has no doubt that the business community will continue the dialogue with the Air Force necessary to keep local business dollars in New Mexico and that Colonel Suminsby will make sure to involve local business owners in additional public meetings as needed.

"I want the Air Force to make the changes in the right way," Representative Wilson said. "We want to see Kirtland succeed. I'm glad the Air Force has given us more time."

Small business owners and administrators were invited to submit their business cards and fill out questions they want answered by the Air Force on 3 x 5 cards made available for that purpose before leaving the public meeting.