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Show n fib By Morris Goodrich Director, Contracting Directorate Price'based Lightning Bolt 99'3 : Market Analysis and Pricing Centers of Expertise There are some new and exciting changes happening at Ogden ALC that I would like to share with you. As many of you know we recently received a new set of "Lightning Bolts" that will continue to help reform the acquisition process. I would like to tell you a little about one of those bolts, Lightning Bolt 99-Issued Price-Base- d on this Bolt is 23, 1999, by SAFAQ April entitled Market Analysis and Pricing Centers of Expertise. Essentially, this bolt is designed to provide an energy boost to the reform of Air Force Acquisition and Sustainment business practices. The focus of this initiative is to create Centers of Expertise (COE) designed to gather information on market products, practices and technologies which the commercial world uses. 3. multi-function- al The overarching goals of this Bolt are as follows: Expand the use of commercial item solutions and the adoption of commercial practices in support of warfighter needs. Support the use of price-base- d acquisition stratethe and gies including development deployment of training and tools. Integrate technical, contracting and program management in the conduct of market research. How does all of this affect us? The basic premise behind this Lightening Bolt is that the use of commercial products and practices will enable us to optimize the use of scarce resources needed to support the Air Force Mission. The Lightning Bolt requires us to do comprehensive market research early in the acquisition process to identify critical capabilities and processes that could satisfy our requirements. It also requires that we dovetail the concept of buying items based on the total price rather than reviewing individual cost elements when acquiring goods. The operational strategy involved with implementa- - a tion of Lightning Bolt 99-- 3 at the Ogden ALC includes adding a market research d and acquisition function to the Acquisition price-base- Support Division, PK-3- It has long been said that the , renamed the Acquisition Support Team. The charter and mission of this organization already includes providing assistance to individuals or teams that acquire I products or services for the center, including requirements definition, risk analy sis, evaluation criteria development, etc. Within this new function, pilot programs will be established to test the market research concept on selected programs where there appears to be high potential for adopting commercial products and services. It has long been said that the only constant is change, however, with change comes opportunity for those who are prepared for it. The need for preparation translates into training; the AST will provide a module designed to train acquisition teams on how to conduct comprehensive market research. AST will also assist program teams by providing guidance in developing acquisition strategies that account for this Lightning Bolt. Another responsibility of the AST will be to create a web page that seeks to match information from industry to the products we are responsible for sustaining. One of the greatest attributes of this initiative is the potential for optimizing information exchange in technological advancements. A great example that comes to mind and further illustrates the power of information exchange, is that of the Wilbur and Orville Wright, "Wright Flyer". In December 1907, when our nation was in the process of seeking bids for a heavier-than-aflying machine, aviation was largely experimental and the full concept of the impact that aviation would have on the modern world was yet to come. " fr i r ir Wilbur and Orville Wright had taken an active interest in aviation by accounts of others who had attempted flight. Wilbur wrote to the Smithsonian Insti-- only constant is change, however, with change comes opportunity for those who are prepared for it The need for preparation translates into training. Morris Goodrich tution requesting books and articles on the subject, and the rest as we know it, is history.. .a proud tradition of history and legacy that continues today; the Wright brothers signed a contract for delivery of the first heavier-than-aflying machine Feb. 10, 1908. . If you would like to know more about this lightning bolt or any of the new lightning bolts, contact the AST office and they will be happy to provide you the information. In summary, by establishing Market Analysis and Pricing Centers of Expertise, the Air Force can build upon the expertise that already exists across the various product, test and logistics centers. This enhanced market research capability will enable the acquisition community to further take advantage of the commercial marketplace and utilize "best acquisition practices" in the DoD acquisition process. By becoming more knowledgeable we can populate our weapon systems with proven products that are easily maintained, repaired or replaced with commercial products that can be delivered faster and at lower prices - helping our ultimate customer - the warfighters! ir Providing excellent service is everyone's job That's pretty straightforward! Those tomer service goes like this: "The who don't provide great service prob- half-lif-e of happy is about 18 seconds. of mad is about 18 months." ably don't understand their business The area.. .and they certainly aren't pro- That's the way things seem to go - the When most people think of customer fessionals. good experience is quickly appreciEach of us can probably remember ated, but the bad one sticks with us a service, they think about front-lin- e employees providing goods or ser- a time when we received exceptional long time. This is true whether it's vices for payment. Many of us don't service. You walked away with a smile service in our base personnel office believe we serve "real" customers, on your face and a deep feeling of sat- or an airman taking a repaired part because money does not change hands isfaction. Why did we feel this way? from a box at Kunsan, Korea, only to during business transactions. Each As customers, we appreciate honesty find it's not serviceable. Maj. Gen. Michael E. Zettler Commander Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. half-lif- e one of us, both military and civilian, has customers. Whether we hand out keys at billet- and committed service from employees who go beyond the daily standards of service. We also appreciate effi- run We should strive to make our cusand all of our retirees, to prevent them tomers feel just as we do when we from walking away angry. We should ing, stock and track materials in a warehouse, turn wrenches on the flightline, a commissary checkout line, or anything in between, we are providing service. And, the level of service we provide our customer is key to the success of our mission. Gen. Billy Boles, former commander of Air Education and Training Com- mand, once said, "good customer service is a product of true professionals who know their business." ciency and responsiveness to our needs, a definite push for excellence. receive quality service. Make them see that their business is important to us, because it is. Let them see that they are worth our undivided attention. And if we can't satisfy their needs immediately, we should let them know when they can expect results. One phrase I heard recently about cus I know that we can't always make the customer happy every time. But we should do our best to satisfy our customer, every customer, military and civilian, active, reservist, guardsman take our customers' complaints, comments and compliments seriously. Listening to customers is paramount to customer satisfaction. Why are we called servicemen and women? Because we serve. We provide service to our nation, service to our Air Force, and service to our cus-- , Air Force people building the world's most respected Air and Space Force UULT'LJ-l- J Quality Systems for America's Air Force Hilltop Times Published by MorMedia, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of the Hilltop Tunes are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. The appearance of advertisements in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the" Air Force or MorMedia, Inc., of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs Office staff in Bldg. 1102, second floor. Call Ext. with story ideas or comments, or send to whoever they are. For military members, service before self means that our individual needs are subordinate to the needs of the nation. The Air Force requires a high level of professional skill, a commitay ment and a willingness to make personal sacrifices. For our civilian workforce, the goal of providing service to the customer requires a personal commitment, which fuels a drive for excellence. Treating our customers well whether you meet them face to face or you are pro- viding long-distanc- e service - rein- forces the reputation for quality work we enjoy throughout the Air Force. We can take service before self one step further, as we serve our customers who support our warfighters around the globe, by giving them the same quality service we expect in return. It's pretty simple, really. Treat your customers as you want to be treated. Global Power and Reach for America. Hilltop Times Editorial Staff: Gen. Rich Roellig Commander, Bruce Collins Acting Director, Public Affairs Office Bill Orndorff Editor Assistant Editor SSgt. Timothy Trager Staff writers Mary Galbraith, Steven Ford Maj. ...... OO-AL- C Deadlines: Editorial and "Around the Hill" items, 3 p.m. Thursday, seven days before publication; sports articles, 9 a.m. Monday, week of publication; classified ads, 2 p.m. Tuesday, week of publication. For more information, call the editor, Ext Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are U.S. Air Force photos. TO PLACE AN ADVERTISEMENT, CALL tomers. And so our role ought to be to take great care of our customers, 625-430- 0 |