Will it be acceptable to have a non-lead item with a single payment amount (SPA) lower than our acquisition cost? If so, how should this be justified in the narrative? Can you provide an example?

When determining your bid amount for the lead item, you should consider the impact on the potential SPAs for the non-lead items in the product category. It is your business’ decision how you determined the bid amount for the lead item. We encourage you to use the tools, such as the Bid Preparation Worksheets, Utilization Report, and the Lead Item Pricing Calculator, to assist you with preparing your bid(s).

If requested to substantiate your bid amount for the lead item, you should provide an explanation that describes how you arrived at the amount including factors such as anticipated costs (i.e., direct and indirect) for the lead and non-lead items, historic and anticipated utilization of the non-lead items, and desired profit.