The Standard Proposal System (Sps) is a business tool designed to facilitate cost proposal organization, preparation, control, communication and analysis by incorporating the seamless integration of all quantitative processes. At its heart is a relational database in which proposal data is stored and from which it's retrieved and used by the System. The System includes the following :
Proposal Builder for Large Business
Proposal Builder for Small Business
Ancillary Proposal Builder Data Entry Utility
System-generated Validation Model that can be used to check the completeness and accuracy of proposal data, as well as for real-time sensitivity analysis and as a negotiation aid.
Proposal Analyzer that can be used to generate loaded rate and proposal comparison worksheets, as well as for real-time sensitivity analysis.
While data is entered and stored in the System using conventional processes, it's translated by the Systems Proposal Builders into the DoD Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Conventions for a Contract Pricing Proposal (i.e., American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 Transaction Sets 805 and 251). Besides allowing the user to communicate internally and externally in a very efficient manner right now, the System speaks the proposal language DoD and a team of business partners developed for future use, so the user is positioned to transition smoothly into the world of electronic data interchange with DoD and other users.
Although developed for DoD Systems Contracting purposes, the subject ANSI standards are relevant for any type of Systems Contracting. The more complex the proposal and the more disparate the estimating practices of the parties involved, the more useful the subject ANSI standards become.
Using the subject ANSI standards, as implemented by Sps, provides clear advantages when communicating quantitative data by facilitating common understanding between:
Individuals Within Functional Groups
Functional Groups Within Business Units
Functional Groups and Management
Different Levels of Management
Divisions Within Corporations
Corporations
Domestic Suppliers and Buyers
Foreign Suppliers and Buyers
The quantitative syntax and vocabulary are the same for all parties, so they all speak the same quantitative language, and Sps organizes that language into a readily understandable quantitative narrative.
The System has been designed to be easy to use. Most operations are intuitive and require little, if any, special knowledge to accomplish. Context-sensitive help is available for every System operation and object. While using the System, to display the Help System Overview and the Contents, Index and Search Tabs, press the Shift+F1 keys simultaneously. To display Menu Item Help, move the Mouse cursor to the desired Menu Item and rest it there. To display Help for individual objects during data entry, press the F1 key while the object is active. An understanding of the few complex System operations, such as defining proposal cost logic in terms of Transaction Set 805 requirements, can be obtained by reviewing the sample proposals and related instructions that are included with the Sps Proposal Builder applications.