(90) (i) As used in DFARS 207.170-2 to describe the aggregation of two or more requirements into a solicitation to obtain offers for a single contract or a multiple award contract, the term “previously provided” refers to the current or most recent awards for the requirements’ fulfillment, rather than to a “look back” for an indefinite number of years or for their entire acquisition history. Any aggregation of requirements into a single solicitation valued over $5.5 million that meets the consolidation definition in DFARS 207.170-2 is considered a consolidation within the meaning of this section, whether or not the previous contracts were provided by small businesses. (Despite the lack of a specific reference to small business, though, the legislation that this coverage implements was intended to enhance the participation of small business entities. See Part 19 for a complete treatment of small business issues.)
(ii) If requirements are currently being solicited under a single solicitation that will result in multiple contracts not subject to FAR 16.5, and the immediately preceding contracts for the same requirements were also awarded under multiple contracts resulting from a single solicitation not subject to FAR 16.5, then these requirements are not consolidations. However, the inclusion or exclusion of the words, “all or none,” in a solicitation for requirements that would otherwise be considered a consolidation does not have a bearing on whether or not the solicitation is, in fact, consolidated. If, at the time of acquisition planning, currently separate requirements are aggregated into a single solicitation with the possibility of their being awarded as a single or multiple award in accordance with the definition at DFARS 207.170-2, the acquisition is considered a consolidation, whether or not a different award determination is made upon receipt of offers.
(91) As with bundling, “substantial” benefits of consolidation are those that are essential, ample, and not illusory. They should, but (unlike bundling) need not absolutely, be quantified.
