Can an contract award be made several months early?

Yes.

I agree with napolik. You can do it. But why do you want to? It seems an odd thing to do with a fixed-price order.

I agree with napolik. You can do it. But why do you want to? It seems an odd thing to do with a fixed-price order.

My guess is the customer needs the service in September but needs to obligate $$ now. Otherwise, its low obligation rate puts its funding in jeopardy. So, obligate now; perform later.

Napolik hit the nail on the head. The customer is afraid that the money will no longer be available in September.

Rather than make the effective date later, why not specify the period of performance as beginning in September? Messing with the effective date could have unintended consequences.

Rather than make the effective date later, why not specify the period of performance as beginning in September? Messing with the effective date could have unintended consequences.

We deal with customers in Germany and any services contract has to be TESA certified by the German Government after award but prior to start of work. Our KOs leave the effective date as is and do as Vern suggests with a period of performance that starts 60-90 days from date of award (TESA approval can be a slow process sometimes)