DLA Troop Support’s Medical Directorate used an innovative acquisition tool to save the U.S. Air Force nearly $2 million on a $6.2 million procurement of ventilators used during transport of patients, the chief of the organization’s contingency contracting section said.
“Medical equipment corporate exigency contracts” establish long-term programs between the Defense Department and manufacturers to provide sustainment material to meet the military services' requirements in times of contingency operations, Michael Medora explained.
Usually requirements of this magnitude would experience administrative and production lead times in excess of six months, but this strategy decreases the lead times to days, Medora said.
For this contract, shorter lead times resulted in cost savings to the Air Force.
The Warstopper Program protects industry’s ability to produce equipment the military needs to meet wartime requirements. This allows for decreases in production lead times, so contingency contracts for medical equipment end-items are negotiated at a lower price than listed on a federal supply schedule, he said.
Rick Morrison, who works with Medora, explained these contracts receive Warstopper funding and are awarded in response to the services' requirements for large orders of medical equipment required to be delivered in a short period of time.
Morrison further explained that Warstopper funds are congressionally mandated funds for industrial preparedness measures for certain supply items and the preservation of critical industry capability to support the DoD’s readiness and sustainment requirements.
The U.S. Air Force required 612 air-certified ventilators, which are designed for use on critically injured combat casualties throughout the various levels of care and patient evacuation modes of transportation, Morrison said.
Medora said he feels good about being able to use contracting solutions that provide what warfighters need while saving money at the same time.
“As the military budget decreases, innovative contracting techniques, such as medical equipment corporate exigency contracts, will become more important since these types of contracts have the ability to respond to readiness requirements while still maximizing funding efficiencies,” Medora said.
Corporate exigency contracts are also in place for other patient movement items such as suction apparatus and defibrillators.