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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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Rate Derivation (RD) Methodology

Wrap Rate Derivation (RD) Indirect / Rate Methodology

ARDAK’s Wrap Rate Development Methodology utilizes ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES) to provide a parametric data driven view of our client’s customers and competitors. Each analyst has at least 20 years of experience utilizing ACES Wrap Rate IP for all Competitive Intelligence (CI) activities performed. This gives the analyst an objective view of each pursuit, despite each individual’s past experience with individual competitors. ARDAK’s Wrap Rate IP consists of three major components as follows:

  1. Data Sourcing and Scrubbing – ARDAK’s IP utilizes a number of data sources available within the public domain. The largest and most recognized data source is the Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation (FPDS-NG). Although FPDS-NG yields a significant amount of contract awards, the data has been consistently error prone for years. As a result ARDAK developed sophisticated data scrubbing algorithms that utilizes other data sources to rectify discrepancies in the FPDS-NG data feed. Examples of additional data sources available within the public domain that ARDAK’s software utilizes include but are not limited to latitude/longitude, CONUS/OCONUS USG military facility locations, and contractor’s annual reports. Once ARDAK’s scrubbing routines have been executed against these and other data sources, the cleansed data is stored in ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES). After the contractual data has been scrubbed ARDAK analyzes competitor’s annual reports, 10K’s, and 10Q’s for vital financial data, which is also stored in ARDAK’s DataMarts.
  2. Rate Derivation (RD) Algorithms – Once a competitor’s financial and contractual data has been scrubbed and stored in ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES), ARDAK runs a series of algorithms to populate a sophisticated software model. The model is an integral component of ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES), and is currently on version 13.5. Upon receipt of a wrap rate request the model validates that the request is for a valid cost center that has been awarded contracts from the USG. ARDAK’s Contract Exploitation System (ACES) is continually updated based upon industry feedback and changes in the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCCA), Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements.
  3. RD Reporting – The results of each Wrap Rate Summary, Low Level Decomposition, Material Handling, and Fee Analysis are stored in a repository delineated by year, market sector, and competitor cost center. This capability allows ARDAK to contrast and compare results from year to year to validate accuracy, but most importantly given the competitive nature of the A&D industry allows our customers to benchmark their competitiveness at the Wrap Rate Level, Wrap Rate High Level Decomposition (Fringe, Overhead, and G&A) and EACH ELEMENT of Fringe, Overhead, and G&A within dozens of market sectors that ARDAK maintains e.g. AEC, Aircraft Engine Manufacturers, Aircraft/Avionics System/Subsystem Manufacturers, C4I, Communications/Electronics Systems, EW, Ground System Developers, Healthcare IT, IC Professional/Technical Services, Integrated HW & SW Manufacturers, Logistics Support, MROU, Professional/Technical Services, R&D, Satellite Instrumentation, Space Systems, System Integrators, Tactical Missiles, Telecom & Network Systems, Training & Simulation, Weapon System Developers etc.

Wrap Rate Derivation (RD) Summaries: Numerical Value

Approximately 25% of Wrap Rate Requests that ARDAK receives are for cost centers that are not valid due to a number of reasons e.g. contracts novated to different cost centers, the request is for an operating unit versus a cost center, the requested cost center was not actually the incumbent, the request is for a field office rather than an actual cost center, etc. A significant differentiator from ARDAK’s competitors, the first step upon receipt of a Wrap Rate request is to validate the cost center. In the case where a cost center cannot be validated ARDAK performs additional analysis on alternative cost centers based upon contract novations, contracts of similar size, scope, procuring office, and iterate the request with our client until the cost center is validated. Once the alternative cost center has been approved by the requestor, ARDAK will begin the Wrap Rate analysis. An exemplar is provided below:

KBR Government Solutions Wrap Rate Derivation (RD) Summaries: Numerical Value
KBR RD Summary 2.0
KBR Government Solutions Wrap Rate Derivation (RD) Low Level Decomposition
KBRLLD4

Wrap Rate Low Level Decomposition (LLD): Price To Win Trending (PTWT)

ARDAK applied historical PTW pricing techniques for each procurement class listed below.

  • Priority (A priority win for an operating unit within the competitor cost center; some flexibility may exist regarding G&A, Fringe, but corporate flow-downs are fixed.)
  • Must Win (A must win for an operating unit within the competitor cost center; greater flexibility exists regarding G&A, Fringe, and corporate flow-downs)
  • Strategic (A strategic win for an operating unit within the competitor cost center; affects entire company)

KBR Government Solutions Pursuit Category Thresholds: Price To Win Trending (PTWT)

A $30M proposal pursuit would not garner any sympathy for rate reductions for a large defense contractor while it would for smaller firms. The table below shows the assumed proposal category thresholds as a function of target cost center.
KBRPTWThresholds 3.0

KBR Government Solutions Pursuit Category Summary: Price To Win Trending (PTWT)

In each category (Priority, Must Win and Strategic) there were further reductions from the previous category with a calculation as to how there would be, in essence, a zero sum game as justification to the hypothetical DCAA auditor. The contract pursuit rate reduction thresholds varies as a ratio of opportunity’s value to that of the cost center’s annual revenue as function of the cost center under analysis with pursuit values determined that would have the required financial impact. An example of this analysis is provided below:
KBRPTWValues 1.0
In each category (Priority, Must Win and Strategic) there can be further reductions from the previous category with a calculation as to how there would be, in essence, a zero sum game as justification to the hypothetical DCAA auditor, that is, the increase in base from the increased business would justify the rate reduction.

KBR Government Solutions (LLD) – Priority Win Pursuit (PTWT)

KBRPriority 1.0

KBR Government Solutions (LLD) – Must Win Pursuit (PTWT)

KBRMustWin 1.0

KBR Government Solutions (LLD) – Strategic Pursuit (PTWT)

KBRStrategic 1.0

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