Acquisition team was serving as the Administrative

The acquisition team was serving as the Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO) for the first production run of the Flexible Isotonic Skin Helper Suits (FISHS) project, a contract for the purchase of lightweight, unisex thermal wets suits for the Special Operations Command. Special polymers designed exclusively for the project, allow the users to stay submerged in subfreezing waters for periods up to 4 hours without a fear of hypothermia or any impact to the user’s dexterity.
As the Government owned the rights to the technology for the special polymers, competition was sought and achieved for this negotiated procurement. The solicitation was for the production of 10,000 large suits. Formal source selection procedures were also utilized to determine the best value proposal for the Government. All required clauses and provisions have been included in the solicitation. FAR clause 52.246-2 (Inspection of Supplies-Fixed Price) was included as the PCO / customer has decided that Government oversight of the production of the suits was a must.
The Tepid Corporation’s proposal was evaluated and determined to be the best value to the Government. Tepid was awarded a FFP contract for 10,000 suits at a total price of $1.2 million on April 18, 2007. The contract calls for the delivery of 2,500 suits per month starting on July 18, 2007 and ending with delivery of the last lot on October 18, 2007.
Situation: To date, the first lot of 2500 FISHS has been delivered on time to the customer. The customer is very pleased with the performance. The delivered FISHS are exceeding the performance parameters and mobility requirements. Because of the overall success experienced with the first lot, the customer now wants to order an additional 2500 FISHS at the same price as the current contract, to be delivered by November 18, 2007.
Assignment Identify, discuss and explain relevant issues an viable resolution strategies. Your answer should include but is not limited to a thorough discussion of these issues:
1. Can you fulfill the customer's request using the existing contract? Why or why not? 2. Would the addition of 2500 units fall within the contract's changes clause? explain. 3. Could you save time by limiting competition for the new units? Explain why or why not, and cite all relevant applicable regulatory requirements. 4. Given your recommended strategy for procuring the additional 2500 units, would you expect the price to be higher, lower or the same as the current contract price. Explain why.