Contractors got a new addition to the term “partnership” last week in the form of a redacted GAO opinion on the Air Force’s bomber protest. Winning contractor Northrop Grumman substantially helped its own case by investing some of its own money in development. As a result, their proposed costs were well-below those of their competitors. Northrop also Read more
If you’ve been listening to your federal customer or reading the trade press lately, one common theme has become increasingly clear: Federal leaders want contractors to be at least somewhat pro-active in recommending solutions. This is especially true when it comes to helping agencies connect dots that, while they’re obvious to industry, may not be so to spread Read more
Despite being in a sea of multiple communication platforms, contractors and government customers don’t always communicate well. The amazing lack of good, consistent connections can cost everyone time and money, not to mention damaged reputations. The strong, silent type might work in movies, but it’s no way to run your business. Here are three quick things you can do to make sure you don’t end up in a hot box a la Paul Newman: Read more
GSA wants the price it thinks contractors should give it according to their automated pricing tools, regardless of what commercial or government market reality might reflect. The latest development on this front is GSA’s MAS Pricing Targets & Standardization Dashboard that allows contracting officers, contractors, and other interested parties to access GSA’s horizontal pricing targets via GSA Advantage listings. The agency is taking discretion on pricing and other matters away from contracting officers and entrusting such matters to automated tools. The Read more
“A loose confederation of warring factions” is how one of our colleagues once described the Department of Interior. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a recent audit found over 100,000 software vulnerabilities. In addition, the department doesn’t even know how many computers or servers are running on its network. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration also came under fire recently for allegedly lax network and security oversight. A DOT IG report criticized DOT’s lack of FAA IT Read more