What is Acquisition Support?
The acquisition services division of TIA is responsible for managing all procurement activities for the entire United States Government. The acquisition services division offers a full array of procurement services to the Federal Executive branch, all Cabinet level officials, all operating agencies, and numerous other external customers. The division is also responsible for managing the government’s large and small business acquisitions activities. In Acquiry, there are several acquisition management roles available within the division, including acquisition managers and acquisition scientists. These positions require extensive professional experience in acquisition science, management, information technology, cost analysis, program management, contract management, finance, marketing, and other business development tools.
The acquisition services scientist’s role involves developing programs for federal programs. These scientists are responsible for program assessment and risk assessment. Program managers are responsible for determining the most effective acquisition strategy for a program. Program scientists are charged with evaluating the programs and strategies on a regular basis to ensure that they are meeting their objectives. Contract Management Officers is primarily responsible for coordinating all contracts between vendors and customer. In some acquisition processes, this includes coordination of acquisition management services provided by the vendor.
Acquisition support services, which are designed to provide assistance to acquisition professionals, include grant writing, technical assistance, implementation, training, support, training and consulting. Some of these service categories also offer contract support services to help with the contract process. Other areas of emphasis include contract administration, contract awards and execution, award management, and contractor compliance. Most of these support services are general function management support in addition to contract support.
Many acquisition services work in conjunction with acquisition consultants and vice versa. As part of these relationships, acquisition professionals assist the procurement professional in finding vendors for products, services, and technology. In many cases, acquisition services provide procurement professionals with databases that have information regarding vendors in their area of expertise. These databases allow for easy identification of a vendor’s offerings as well as providing information regarding price points and service offerings. The databases can also be used by procurement professionals to find vendors that are not within their area of expertise. This allows the professional to focus in on the vendors that best meet the needs and timeline of the organization.
It is important to note that acquisition professionals are not limited to working with the acquisition executive or hiring acquisition consultants. Instead, these professionals are able to provide executive support as needed. These executive support services can include training programs, providing financial and human capital services to acquisition professionals, providing training and budgeting advice to executives, helping them build business relationships, educating them on the acquisition process, and advising them on strategies to leverage the best opportunities within acquisition to increase acquisition revenues. The ability of an acquisition professional to leverage the full spectrum of the acquisition services they are providing means that the professional can deliver comprehensive executive support and service to their client.
When engaging an acquisition support provider, it is important to consider what their portfolio and offerings include. An evaluation of their offerings should be done before engagement. It is important to ask about their experience and expertise, the type of vendors they work with, and their ability to integrate various offices within the enterprise. The ability to reach all of the key parts of the enterprise is essential. Additionally, the ability to execute and administer contracts, manage business processes, integrate communications systems, train employees, and integrate technology with internal systems are all components that make up a solid acquisition support offering.