While competitive pricing is always a must in government contracting, there are other factors that contractors should know about that could capture the interest of customers, especially during the fourth quarter. Trying to differentiate yourself from the competition? Consider these approaches:
1. Sustainability Attributes. Offering sustainable solutions doesn’t just have to be an extra expense, it can actually help win business. The administration’s current emphasis on environmentally friendly acquisition can be used by companies with “green” solutions to their Read more
Both the House and Senate are scheduled to vote on at least some of the FY’24 appropriations bills this month, an occurrence that could lead some to hope for on-time passage of next year’s spending bills. Further investigation, though, shows that this would likely be a false hope. House leaders have said that they plan to vote only on one or two measures in July. The remaining 10 will not see final House action until September. The Senate is likely to follow suit. All of this means that the multiple conferences to iron out differences between each measure would have to be concluded in just a few days in order to be finalized by September Read more
The annual small business contracting report card was released last week and showed that federal agencies again exceeded the government’s overall 23% small business use goal. Federal agencies set a record in FY’22 spending nearly $163 billion with small prime contractors, a figure representing 26.5% of total prime contract awards. Ten federal agencies received an “A+” on their report card. So, what’s not to like? Buried toward the bottom of SBA’s press release was an acknowledgement that while more dollars are going to small businesses, fewer small businesses are receiving those awards. Despite the administration’s attempt to attract new Read more
Non-compete agreements are increasingly coming under fire as the administration and employment lawyers seek to minimize their use and nullify their intent. A recent GAO protest decision, perhaps unintentionally, adds fuel to this fire. Both companies and workers need to take note of the shifting dynamics. A recent article by Wilmer Hale appearing in JD Supra discussed the GAO’s decision in Strativia, LLC. Here, GAO denied a protest that asserted the awardee materially misrepresented who would be available to work on the contract because the employees identified had signed non-compete agreements. While GAO would not decide on the validity of non-compete agreements, they did offer a sort of litmus test to determine whether the fact that employees from the incumbent company were covered by non-compete agreements truly restricted their ability to go to work for a successor firm. For the narrow purpose of deciding a bid protest, GAO looked to whether the covered employee had allowed their resume to be used by a competitor. If so, GAO looked upon that as an indication that the employee intended to go to work for the competing company if they won the next recompete. GAO also sited a circumstance where an employee not only allowed his resume to be used but accepted a contingent offer of employment. As GAO explained, the enforceability of the non-compete agreement constituted a private dispute between the project manager whose resume had been used by a potential competitor and Strativia, not a material misrepresentation by the awardee. While the GAO ruling doesn’t directly impact non-compete agreements, it does potentially reduce their efficacy. Employers can’t use the existence of such an agreement as proof positive that a key employee will be available. They could very well be available for a new awardee, as well. Contractors should review the extensive GAO precedents on this issue and determine whether their internal personnel policies need to be changed. Keeping key people can be critical to success and, while non-compete agreements can be litigated, few really want to spend the time and money on such matters as they distract from a company’s core business.
As much as 66% of the $229 billion estimated to be available for federal agencies to spend between now and the end of the FY’23 fiscal year will go through Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts according to new data released last week by Bloomberg Government. The figure underscores not only why it is important to have such vehicles, but the importance of knowing how to sell through such vehicles and how to guide federal customers on using them. Bloomberg had previously predicted that 60% of remaining spend would be allocated via IDIQ contracts, but increased its projections based, in part, on expiring business Read more