Do You have a Task Order Manual for your IDIQ?

Have you won an IDIQ? Congratulations, but get prepared for another race. Otherwise, task order requests for proposal may catch you flat-footed. You have to put numerous measures in place in order to succeed in winning as many tasks as possible. One of these measures is creating an easy-to-follow task order manual.

The task order manual is a living document that covers many topics important to the contract vehicle. It contains historical knowledge about the IDIQ or GWAC, how you assign task order work, how task orders get evaluated, what presentation approaches will win for this particular customer, where to find all the important data for this IDIQ or GWAC, and other vital information. The task order manual encapsulates all the operational rules, enables the whole team to be on the same page, and sets the foundation for the IDIQ winning “machine.” It has to answer some important questions, like:

• How will your teammates interact with the government customer?
• Can they talk with the customer directly or do they have to do it through you?
• What if they send a message about your team that is contrary to your strategy?
• Can they bring work to the vehicle by working directly with the customer?
• Can they market this vehicle and then “eat what they kill?”
• What if they use this power to move work away to another vehicle they are priming?

Now, throw in another complication: what about non-exclusive subs or those who are exclusive to you but are your “frenemies” on other contracts?

There are best practices for each type of teaming and marketing situation you encounter. Your teaming agreements, as well as the task order manual, should reflect answers to these important questions.

Do you have a task order manual for your IDIQs? What do you include in your task order manual as a best practice?