The pace of federal business should be picking up for government contractors, and not just in terms of the release of much anticipated RFP’s for NASA SEWP VI and (hopefully) GSA Alliant3.  Companies should be seeing an uptick in federal buying activity right now.  In the meantime, here are three things to do and one important item to remember.

1.  Make Sure You’re Reading the Room Correctly:  Way too many contractors are so prepared to tell the customer about their solution that they fail to read the room, even the virtual one, correctly.  Remember that your government customers are people too and that they have their own agendas and concerns.  Make sure you take time to understand those before launching into your pitch.

2.  Your Next “Government” Sale May Be to a Contractor:  Not all federal sales are made directly to government agencies.  Regardless of company size and experience, there is substantial business potential in doing business with fellow contractors.  Smart companies routinely include other contractors in their business development plans.  While companies need to take care that the government may consider these commercial transactions and understand the attendant discounting implications, ignoring this segment of federal business gives business away to competitors.

3. Don’t Cut Corners.  It’s tempting to reduce investments in market research, maintaining relationships, or compliance.  The latest term we’ve heard several times is “the juice isn’t worth the squeeze”.  Really?  The Port of Baltimore recently found the fault in that logic when it repeatedly refused to invest in bridge safety.  The total economic impact of that disaster was many times of the potential fix.  No contractor should believe the line “it can’t happen to me”.  It can and it could be very expensive when it does.

One Thing To Remember: No company is entitled to a government contract.  While we thought that this was an established point, some recent protests and small business pronouncements have proven otherwise.  The federal government retains the right to do business with companies it deems responsible and responsive.  It is not mandated to give specific contracts to any one company except in very specific circumstances.  While you may hold an ace card, your government customer can usually trump it.  Proceed accordingly.

With the FY’25 DOD budget slated to rise only 1%, in effect a real overall spending reduction, pro-defense Congressmen and Senators are looking for work arounds to ensure that critical national security programs continue to be funded.  One approach being considered is the restoration of Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funding.  The OCO path was originally set up as an off-budget spending mechanism to meet needs associated with military actions in Afghanistan.  Since OCO money was deemed to be “off budget” it didn’t count against Read more

While there may not be as many proposed acquisition policies in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC)-passed version of the FY’25 Defense Authorization Act as in recent history, there are provisions that contractors should monitor, including those discussing the continued push to ramp up secure supply chain requirements, commercial product and service changes, and the resuscitation of a pilot that would allow DOD to charge unsuccessful protestors fees to recoup costs associated with those protests.  Section 811 of the HASC-passed measure makes it clear that once an item or component has been declared “commercial” it should generally be assumed to remain as such, eliminating the need for the collection of certified cost data.  Section 822 would provide performance incentives for DOD acquisition professionals who make greater use of commercial solutions.  While this is a positive step on one hand, the question must be asked as to why DOD acquisition officials still haven’t climbed aboard the commercial solution boat over 30 years after it initially set sail.  Sections 831 and 832 deal with secure supply chain issues.  The first part decentralizes the authority of the DOD offices that can monitor and review supply chain issues.  The intent is to empower more offices to make determinations about the security and stability of contractor supply chains.  The second part discusses the need to make contractor supply chains more visible so that DOD can review and determine risks in them.  The bill is expected to be considered on the House floor early next month at about the same time the Senate Armed Services Committee will consider its version of the FY’25 NDAA.  The goal is to have a final measure ready for passage as close to the start of FY’25 as possible, though any passage in calendar year 2024 would be welcome.  Contractors interested in these bills should act accordingly.

Although most government contractors may be focused on what will happen in the 4^th quarter, there is plenty happening now that will shape both that time and the time ahead.  Here are three things happening now that all of those who sell to the federal government need to know:

1.  A Lot of Work Is Happening On FY’25 Appropriations:  While Congressional leaders acknowledged this week that FY’25 will (surprise!) start under a CR, the House hopes to markup either all or most of its appropriations bills by the end of June.  Any contractor, therefore, interested in shaping next year’s market had better act quickly to ensure that their priorities and issues are known.  While final passage may not happen for some months, most key details will be set long ahead of time.

2.  The Clock Is Still Ticking for Alliant3:  GSA has promised to release the Alliant3 RFP in the 3^rd quarter, which is now more than half over.  That leaves scant time to meet its goal and companies are starting to wonder what the hold up is.  The tight time frame to get Alliant3 in place before the current contract reaches its ceiling does not leave a lot of slippage time.  While Alliant2 can always ask GSA Acquisition Policy for an extension, the process is not automatic and can be laborious.

3. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all told Congressional appropriators last week that they need to add people to their acquisition workforces to keep up with demand.  Even though DOD’s acquisition workforce has expanded since 2006, Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said that his workforce has doubled its workload and that additional personnel resources are needed.  Contractors should take note of this for both the opportunity to provide supporting technology and to ensure that their key projects aren’t held up by acquisition bottlenecks.

Anyone reading contract protest decisions (hey, it’s not a bad habit) knows that three sets of attorneys are frequently listed representing different interests.  The protestor and the involved government agency are obvious parties to any protest.  So, too, though, are companies that won the original award and want to ensure their interests are considered during protest consideration.  This point was driven home recently by the Court of Federal Claims that provided two big reasons, in writing, for why intervening is in the original winner’s best interest.  First, winners want to protect their award and “get paid for work.”  The Court pointed Read more