Is your compliance and ethics program equal to the
test of a major event? Does your
compliance team deserve to wear the green jacket that comes with success? Its one thing to miss a two foot putt (not
that we’d know). It’s quite another to
hit a drive into the parking lot. No
matter whether you’re an experienced contractor, or a newer market entry,
taking your eye off the contract compliance ball can cost your company money
and time. Waiting till later is never a
good strategy, whether its contract compliance or seeing that medical
specialist you’ve been putting off. The
problems only get larger and more difficult to deal with. Make sure your contracts and federal business
stay healthy. Allen Federal consistently
receives top scores for delivering on-point training that is both educational
and entertaining. See what we can do for
you. Contact us at info@allenfederal.com.
“What are you doing to advise and inform your
supply chain integrity?” Bill Evanina, director of the National
Counterintelligence and Security Center wants to know. In recent remarks, Evanina emphasized that secure
supply chains are everyone’s business, including contractors and acquisition
professionals. Indeed, Evanina
sees the
acquisition process as one of the weak links in ensuring supply chain security.
In addition to a lack of full understanding of what supply chain security looks
like, even basic steps may be lacking.
“If you going to award a contract for a printer or a fax machine, just
Google the company and make sure they exist.
Let’s just make sure they are a legitimate company.” He went on to point out findings in a recent
Navy systems report that found, “The systems the U.S. relies upon to
mobilize, deploy and sustain forces have been extensively targeted by potential
adversaries, and compromised to such extent that their reliability is
questionable.” That, at a
minimum, should get everyone’s attention.
Evanina’s remarks yield two key take-away’s for contractors: First, companies must take steps to secure
their supply chains and be prepared to show those steps. Second, those companies with secure supply
chains should pro-actively market the fact and should gain an edge in competing
for business. Conversely,
companies that still think that secure supply chains don’t matter may want to
invest in them or find that their government customers have left them behind.
The
Section 809 DOD acquisition reform panel wants to eliminate DOD small business
set-asides in favor of a 5% bid offset.
OMB wants to cut the number of contracts, inevitably cutting the number
of small business contractors. The SBA
is conducting ever-more intrusive searches into small business finances. Oh yeah, you’re also still competing for
business against companies of all sizes.
Doing business with the government has never been easy for many small
businesses, especially those without any further socio-economic
designation. It’s not getting any easier
now, aside from changes at the VA to favor small and small disabled
veteran-owned businesses. Small
business owners can be excused if they’re a bit paranoid. What to do in these situations? First, don’t panic, but do pay
attention. Make sure your voice is heard
on potential changes like the Section 809 recommendation. Second, focus on being the best business you
can be. That usually means focusing on a
specific universe of current and potential customers. Third, make sure you have the right relationships,
whether with an agency or other contractors.
No matter what happens with rules and regulations, relationships matter. Paying attention to your surroundings and
staying focused on what’s ahead of you isn’t just great advice for teenage
drivers. It can help your small business
ride the wave of changes and still succeed.
Could the era of “Solicitation by Xerox” be coming to an end? GSA wants to modernize its contract writing
system to streamline the process and, presumably, help ensure that the right
contract clauses end up with the right contractors. The agency is holding an initial industry day
on April 18th to share its current systems and processes on contract
writing with industry. It’s probably not
for the faint of heart. Stories
proliferate today on companies that have one part of their offer mixed in with
half of another company’s offer.
Similarly, obsolete contract clauses have been known to be inadvertently
included in new contracts as CO’s go by the “we’ve always done it that way”
adage. It’s amusing, except when it
leads to serious compliance problems for companies – an all too real reality
for several current Schedule contract holders who thought they had agreed to
one set of terms, only to find out that that’s not what the copy machine spit
out. Here’s hoping that the new contract
writing tool will both speed things up and put an end to mistakes that cost
everyone time and money. GSA has
promised a second industry day as early as May.
Stay tuned for how a new contract system may benefit you.
Is your March Madness bracket busted? That hurts, but not nearly as much as a
busted federal contract. It’s one thing
not to know that a pesky 13 seed can upset your pick. It’s quite another not to know whether you’re
compliant with key contract terms. No
matter whether you’re an experienced contractor, or a newer market entry, it’s
a sure thing that your company doesn’t know – or at least isn’t focusing on –
issues that can cost your company money and time. Waiting till later is never a good strategy,
whether its contract compliance or seeing that medical specialist you’ve been
putting off. The problems only get
larger and more difficult to deal with.
Make sure your contracts and federal business stay healthy. Allen Federal consistently receives top
scores for delivering on-point training that is both educational and
entertaining. See what we can do for
you. Contact us at info@allenfederal.com.