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    • About

          • About - ARDAK's legacy and SIGNIFICANT differentiator, ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) Competitive Intelligence Tool Comprises of Modules that can be licensed to meet your unique needs

    • Partners and Affiliations

          • Partners & Affiliations - ARDAK has been an active member in the GovCon / Aerospace and Defense (A&D) Industry for 35 + years

    • Rate Derivation (RD) Methodology

          • RD Indirect Rate Methodology - ARDAK’s Wrap Rate Methodology was used to develop the most sophisticated Wrap Rate Intellectual Property (IP) in the industry.  While emulated by our competitors ONLY ARDAK has 35 + years of continuous Wrap Rate IP enhancements, and every analyst has a minimum of 20 years’ experience using ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD Summary

          • RD Summary - A TOP DOWN estimates of the Wrap Rate Derivation (multiple of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A, without regard to Fee or Material Handling costs) are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD HIGH Level Decomposition

          • RD HIGH Level Decomposition - A TOP DOWN HIGH Level Wrap Rate Decomposition consisting of the estimated Fringe, Overhead and G&A for both plant and site operations are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD LOW Level Decomposition

          • RD LOW Level Decomposition - A BOTTOM Up LOW Level Wrap Rate Decomposition consisting of 23 DESCRETE ELEMENTS of Fringe, Overhead and G&A and Relative Competitiveness (High, Low, Mean, Standard Deviation) to the Market Sector at the element level are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD LOW Level ELEMENT Descriptions

          • RD LOW Level ELEMENT Descriptions - 23 DISCRETE ELEMENTS of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A are defined and normalized within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD Price To Win (PTW) Trending

          • RD Price To Win Trending - Proprietary PTW algorithms are applied to 23 DISCRETE ELEMENTS of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A for each procurement class developed (Priority, Must Win, and Strategic) PWIN Rates are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD PREDICTIVE Rate Derivations

          • RD PREDICTIVE Summary - Several Wrap Rate Predictive Models including UNPOPULATED JV’s, Notional, Pro Forma, and other custom modifications to a competitor's cost basis are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • RD Competitor Target Acquisition

          • RD Competitor Target Acquisition - Utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) Target Acquisition Functionality, ARDAK will validate or suggest the Competitor Cost Center target that has the lowest Wrap Rate, domain expertise, and Customer past performance deemed to be the most Significant Competitive Threat

    • RD's and ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

          • RD's and ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) - Widely Recognized as the GOLD STANDARD, and the “Standard & Poor’s” of Indirect / Wrap Rate Analysis with in the A&D Industry

    • Market Based Affordability (MBA)

          • Market Based Affordability (MBA) - Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) was utilized for dozens of MBA Analyses relative to specific Market Sectors for the largest A&D Contractors in the world

    • Service Centric PTW

          • Service Centric PTW - Service Centric PTW Opportunities are those that involve very little or no material, custom solution, or platform development, and are predominately labor based and utilizes ARDAK's RATE TO WIN (RTW) Models

    • Platform / Solution Centric PTW

          • Platform / Solution Centric - Platform / Solution Centric PTW opportunities are those that involve a customized solution such as a weapon system and typically leverages one or more of ARDAK’s Proprietary Cost Models

    • EMMARS PTW Use Case

          • EMMARS PTW Use Case - See an example of  a Platform / Solution based PTW utilizing ARDAK's Proprietary Cost Models

    • Portfolio Analysis

          • Portfolio Analysis - Validate, Optimize, Expand, Realign, and Develop a Go To Market Strategy utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Market Analysis

          • Market Analysis - Staying on top of changing markets requires Competitive Intelligence. By utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) Market Analysis is your basis for making sound decisions about where to utilize your resources now and in the future

    • Market Based Affordability (MBA)

          • Market Based Affordability (MBA) - Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) was utilized for dozens of MBA Analyses relative to specific Market Sectors for the largest A&D Contractors in the world

    • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A’s)

          • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A's) - ARDAK has supported $Billions of M&A's including candidate Identification, Review, Screening, Market Participation, Customer Base, and Programs utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Competitor Assessment

          • Competitive Assessments – A deep utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) delivering Competitive Posture, Recent Wins & Losses, Operating Segments, Financial Performance, M&A's, Reliance on Government & Commercial Business, Leading Customers, Products & Services, Contracts, and Contract Types

    • Agency Analysis

          • Agency Analysis – A deep utilizing ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) providing significant visibility into Agency's Leading Competitors, Products & Services, Contracts, and Contract Types

    • Rate Derivation (RD) RD Summary

          • RD Summary - A TOP DOWN estimates of the Wrap Rate Derivation (multiple of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A, without regard to Fee or Material Handling costs) are maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Direct Labor (DL) Rate Analysis

          • Direct Labor (DL) Rate Category and Analysis – Thousands of LCATs by Title, Description, Years of Experience, Educational, Clearance Requirements, and Geographic Location are stored and maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Material Handling (MH) Analysis

          • Material Handling (MH) Analysis –An assessment of the competitor’s Material & Handling by burdening policy (Value Added, Fixed Costs, Direct Material, Other Material, etc.) and estimated burden rate are stored and maintained within ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Fee Analysis

          • Fee Analysis – Scrubbed contract actions stored in ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES) are analyzed to estimate a competitor’s Fee structure.  The operating margin is calculated and a comparative analysis is then performed to validate the Fee which is then stored in ACES

    • A&D Cost Models

          • A&D Cost Models - ARDAK maintains dozens of proprietary cost models relative to specific sectors such Fixed Wing, Rotary Win, Limited Initial Rate Production (LRIP), Full Rate Production (FPR), and Full Life Cycle Costs

    • Government Agencies ($100B+ PTW WINS)

          • Government Agencies – Price To Win (PTW) Past Performance by Government Agency ALL utilized ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

    • Use Cases

          • Use Cases - Price To Win (PTW) Past Performance by Use Case ALL utilized ARDAK's Contract Exploitation System (ACES)

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Market Based Affordability (MBA)

Regularly since the 2008 Financial Crisis ARDAK has performed dozens of MBA Studies relative to specific Markets. ARDAK has recently provided similar analysis to the three largest Aerospace and Defense (A&D) contractors in the world; inclusive of adjacent and emerging market analysis to the degree necessary where our customers have utilized ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES) has been utilized not only to determine the overall market base, but how to access current competitors, standup new BD organizations necessary to capitalize on these markets, and where to set indirect rate targets for current and newly formed organizations relative to their competitors. Custom sectors are available and the major sectors that ARDAK tracks are shown below. 

Market Based Affordability (MBA) Rate Derivation (RD) Summary Sector

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Based upon the preponderance of contract actions analyzed, each time a Wrap Rate is performed, ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES) assigns the cost center analyzed to the associative Sector.   The resultant Wrap Rates are then used to update the Sector values in ACES.  The parametric based analytics are used in support of Market Based Affordability (MBA) / Portfolio Expansion, Realignment, Optimization, Validation & Affordability Analysis.  

Market Based Affordability (MBA) Rate Derivation (RD) High Level (HLD) Decomposition Sector Analysis

Wrap Rate HIGH Level Decomposition (Fringe, Overhead, and G&A) Sector Analysis has been utilized within several Major and Custom Sectors as follows:

  • Affordability Analysis
  • Set In-Direct Rate Targets for each Sector
  • Develop a comparative analysis of a Sector’s Fringe, Overhead, and G&A to other Target Sectors (a sampling of major sectors are shown to the left), Subsectors, or Customer Defined Sectors (Contract(s), Agencies, Place of Performance, PoP, Contractor Type, PSC’s, etc.)
  • Determine Competitive Range within each Sector
  • Develop Independent Cost Evaluation (ICE)
  • Contractor System Purchasing Review (CSPR)
  • Rate Reasonableness Fair / Reasonable Price Determination
Sector Professional Technical Services

Market Based Affordability (MBA) Rate Derivation (RD) Low Level Decomposition (LLD) Sector Analysis

Professional / Technical Services Sector Wrap Rate Low Level Decomposition Summary Statistics

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Low Level Decompositions (LLD’s) Sector Analyses provides an assessment of (Each Element of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A) Wrap Rate buildup within each Sector Analyzed.  The analyses has been utilized as follows:  

  • Predictive Analysis for Sector’s out years 
  • Evaluate Relative Competitiveness within each Sector 
  • Set Wrap Rate targets for new or adjacent market sectors 
  • Rate Reasonableness Guidance and Assessment 
  • Developing competitor similarity analysis
  • Portfolio Expansion, Realignment, Optimization, and Analysis

Market Based Affordability (MBA) Rate Derivation (RD) Low Level Decomposition (LLD) Trending Analysis

ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES) Low Level Decomposition Sector Trending of each element of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A Wrap Rates for a competitor and/or each major Sector provides significant visibility into Wrap Rate trends which may be used as follows:

  • Identify competitor’s strategy for Wrap Rate Reductions
  • Develop comparative analysis over five (5) years’ and or individual competitor’s decomposed Wrap Rates
  • As input into internal or external Price To Win (PTW) Cost Models
  • Establish the validity of Rate Reasonableness IAW FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)
  • As input into internal and external Independent Cost Evaluation (ICE)
Wrap Rate Low Level Text Box

Plant Fringe

LLD Fringe Trend (Major Factors) IMAGE ONLY

Plant Overhead

LLD Overhead Trend (Major Factors) IMAGE ONLY

Plant G&A

LLD G&A Trend (Major Factors) IMAGE ONLY

Market Based Affordability (MBA) Material Handling (MH) and Fee Analysis

COTS Procurement: 100% Commercial Off The Shelf catalog-type orders.

Custom Procurement: 100% Customer specification-based efforts.

Composite Procurement: A blend of 80% COTS Procurement with 20% Custom Procurement

Subcontractor Handling: A fee representative of administrative costs associated with handling of subcontracts and materials.

Material Handling

Hundreds of contracts are analyzed, wrap rates backed out, and the residual component that remains is the fee:

HLD Fee Analysis

Market Based Affordability (MBA) IDIQ Analysis – Competitive Range

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IDIQ Contract High Level Rate Decomposition (HLD)

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Private Equity (PE) Support

While there are numerous Strategy Firms that provide Aerospace and Defense (A&D) PE firms strategic advisory services on individual acquisitions, ARDAK offers A&D PE firms a unique view horizontally across the A&D Industry. As defense budgets continue to grow, sequestration has faded, and the financial crisis is over a decade behind us, it is more important now than ever to evaluate the A&D Industry Parametrically. As Tier I A&D firms divest non-core assets, Tier II A&D firms continue to consolidate, disruptive technology provides opportunity to new entrants

By leveraging ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES)  PE Firms can formulate and execute strategies that focus on individual A&D Sectors e.g. Professional / Technical Services, Systems Integrators, Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul, and Upgrade (MROU), etc., Custom Subsectors, or any number of candidates aligned by product offering.

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