FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
More than 36,000 contract actions valued at $5.2 billion
were executed by Mission and Installation Contracting Command acquisition
members from throughout the country in support of Soldiers and their families
during fiscal 2015.
Contracts executed through the final hours of the fiscal
year – which came to a close Sept. 30 – support Army commands, installations
and activities across the Army. The command also managed more than 600,000
Government Purchase Card Program transactions in fiscal 2015 valued at an
additional $712 million.
“The dedicated men and women in our command made the most of
every minute to make this a successful end of fiscal year for our customers,”
said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Gabbert, MICC commanding general. “We were committed
throughtout the year to ensuring our great workforce had the right resources to
support the mission needs of our Army.”
Fiscal 2015 marked a first for the command and its small
business socioeconomic goals. Contracts to small businesses across America
accounted for approximately $2.25 billion of MICC awards.
“Achieving all five small business goals is significant
because this marks the first time in the command’s history that we have
accomplished this task,” said Mark Massie, MICC Small Business Programs
associate director at Fort Sam Houston. “This is a testament to the hard work
and dedication of our small business specialists, contract specialists, contracting
officers and supported activities.”
The number of contract actions executed in fiscal 2015 and
their value trended slightly lower than fiscal 2014’s 37,000 actions valued at
$5.6 billion.
Pat Hogston, MICC Contracting Operations Directorate
director, said the numbers reflect that spending is leveling off and
anticipates about the same for the new fiscal year, given similar budget
considerations.
Hogston said a game changer in executing operations this
year was the introduction of contract management systems that drove behaviors
and provided greater insight through the use of metrics and analytics.
“For the first time we were able to track actions at the
individual purchase request level because all of our purchase requests were in
CTOC,” Hogston said. “It was very efficient and effective.”
The Contracting Tactical Operations Center, or CTOC,
application was launched at the end of 2013 at Fort Belvoir, Va., and expanded
across the MICC throughout 2014 to online, real-time procurement insight.
Fiscal 2015 was the first full year that all data was captured in the contract
management system.
“The analytics this year allowed us to develop better
forecasting,” said Cyp LaPorte, MICC contract plans and programs division
chief. “We had a better picture of the environment than we have had in years past, and we didn’t
have to take time away from the contracting officers in the field to get it.”
Massie agreed, adding that CTOC allowed the small business
program to get out in front of planning requirements to help identify small
business concerns earlier.
“The MICC metrics program was also a contributing factor
because it put focused attention, through analytics, on the small business
program at each contracting support brigade, field directorate office and
contracting office,” Massie said.
Also contributing to the success was the better management
of workload following the command’s restructuring efforts over the past year as
part of the MICC 2025 transformation, Laport said.
Those plans realigned workforce members and workload to
better manage simplified and complex acquisition requirements while mitigating
the loss of experienced professionals through attrition. Tier 1 offices
executed simplified acquisitions valued at $150,000 or less while all actions
valued at $10 million or more were accomplished at one of the command’s six
centers that are staffed to support more complex buys.
“We consolidated contract execution to leverage our
experience in the field,” LaPorte said.
Headquartered at
Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, the MICC is a major subordinate
command of the U.S. Army Contracting Command. MICC Soldiers, civilians and
contractors support Soldiers and their families in the continental United
States and Puerto Rico by providing Army commands, installations and activities
with disciplined and responsive contracting solutions and oversight.