If you’ve been paying attention to the articles above, you know that ensuring federal contract compliance is essential to successful government business. Make sure your compliance programs are up to date and that you don’t get caught by surprise by new requirements. Contact Allen Federal today and we can put together a training or other solution that can help your company stay ahead of the changes. Contact us today at info@allenfederal.com and make sense of your TDR, CM, MFC, FPT, PRC and the other alphabet soup that governs your contracts.
The Pentagon’s use of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) continues to explode, but they’re not the only agency using innovative acquisition methods. While Bloomberg Government reports that DOD has at least 150 active OTA agreements worth, at a minimum, $2.1 billion in 2017 alone, the Department of Homeland Security and GSA are using the innovative Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) acquisition approach. Bloomberg estimates that the total value of all DOD OTA agreements, including options, could be as high as $48 billion. One key factor to consider when conducting OTA business is whether your company is part of one or more consortia. Industry experts report the creation of new consortia, a key channel through which many OTA’s are executed, each week. Bloomberg believes that 2/3rds of all OTA agreements have gone through consortia, a group that typically includes universities, non-profits, and contractors. GSA is promoting CSO’s to DOD and civilian agency customers that may use traditional or non-traditional government contractors as solution providers. Agencies are clearly looking for new methods to get business done quickly, especially in this year when Congressional appropriations came late, but delivered more money than most agencies were expecting. If your company isn’t using these, or other, innovative acquisition methods, you’re likely losing out on year-end business.
We published three things for contractors to focus on last week. Now it’s time to understand what’s on the mind of your customer? Why? Knowing what your customer is thinking – and what’s distracting them – is vital if you’re going to both get their attention and build the relationships you need to be successful. Here are three things on the minds of many feds now: Read more
Several government contractors are reporting that unlimited liability clauses – popular about 10 years ago at both the state and federal government levels – are making a comeback. Unlimited liability clauses mean that if the system you manage, install, or maintain has a breach, your company could be on the hook for all damages to the government. The risk becomes potentially larger when the fact that most “routine” maintenance on systems either owned or operated on the government’s behalf is done by sub-contractors. When was the last time you reviewed their work? Millions of dollars in potential liability are in play. Contractors were largely successful in rolling back unlimited liability contract clauses several years ago by pointing out that no one could properly indemnify a system or client under such terms and still stay in business. The impact was particularly acute on small firms, many of whom could not obtain insurance under a decidedly non-commercial term. The return, however, should not be too much of a surprise as government agencies look to strengthen cyber security. Still, you need to be prepared and push back where necessary. This is yet another reason to read your contract, BPA, or other agreement carefully. Make sure you know what you’re signing your company up for and what you can’t live with.
With one month to go in FY’18 many contractors we’ve spoken with are working on over-drive to keep up with the pace of business. Here are three things to focus on now to ensure your year finishes strong.
1. Stay Focused. Bluebirds are nice, but they can be distracting and fly away before your eyes. Stay focused on the leads and projects you’ve been following for months. Don’t ignore good stuff that falls into your lap, but don’t get distracted by stuff you’ve never heard about, either.
2. Answer the “How” Question. Allen Federal recently spoke with a newly retired DOD exec who confirmed that he wouldn’t even speak with companies about their solutions this time of year if they couldn’t tell him how they could buy from them. Know your contract options. Know the scope and access fees. Know the government owners the customer can speak with if they have questions. Propose recommended solutions. How + What = Closed Business.
3. There Is Such A Thing As Bad Business. Never heard of the company on the phone who now wants to team with you on a deal that “must” get done in 24 hours? Does your customer want to use your supply contract to acquire classified code breakers? Use your spider sense. Don’t get into business relationships with companies that can wreck your performance rating. Make sure work stays in the scope of your contract – even if the customer says it’s ok. You want to collect money from your sales this month, not pay money back for improperly conducted business next month. There is a lot of business on the table in September. Make sure you’re prepared to close it, but do it the right way.