If you are involved in sales, marketing or business development and your company deals with selling to the public sector, you’ll know that the state and local (SLED) government market is vast, complex and contains many challenges. Your firm must meet these challenges to build a winning public sector sales strategy.
Source: How to Grow Your State and Local Government Sales in 2018 | Onvia
In 2015, Julie Atwood, a senior project manager with DOE (Department of Energy) contractor MSA (Mission Support Alliance LLC) filed a lawsuit against MSA alleging retaliation, discrimination, and wrongful termination. Also named in the suit was Steve Young, MSA’s Vice President of Portfolio Management (also the mayor of a local city) and its COO (Chief Operations Officer). At the time of filing, MSA was a joint venture of Lockheed, Centera, and Jacobs Engineering. Lockheed has since sold its interest in the joint venture to Leidos.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Jury Awards $8 Million to Fired DOE Contractor Employee
In many of our conversations with executives and market analysts, a recurring theme comes up as to how difficult small businesses can have in entering and then navigating the sector.
Source: New ‘GovCon Incubator’ seeks to help small firms make leap — Washington Technology
By now, federal contractors realize that they must own multiple award contracts to compete in the $95 billion federal market. (If we subtract classified spending from this figure, fiscal 2017 IT spending topped $80 billion).
Source: Behind the curtain: A look at the government’s hidden market — Washington Technology
Marketing to the federal buyer is all about knowing the right timing, methods and rules. The key to this is knowing where each opportunity is in the procurement cycle, who the primary influencers are in each phase and what information is most useful to each group.
Source: 3 marketing tips for selling to government in 2018 | Government Sales Insider
Most Government contractors and prospective contractors realize that an “adequate” accounting system is a necessary prerequisite to winning a negotiated contract. And, there is no mystery to what constitutes an “adequate” system. The attribute are listed on SF Form 1408 – Pre-Award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System. We’ve covered these attributes on this blog several times. See, for example Preaward Surveys – SF From 1408 and Two Kinds of Accounting System Audits. Contractors (and prospective contractors) should not underestimate the importance of an adequate accounting system. Companies have lost out on opportunities by not having adequate systems. See, for example Accounting System Adequacy and Bidder Disqualified for Failing to Provide Evidence of an Adequate Accounting System.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Common Accounting System Deficiencies
In a best value acquisition, the final decision is typically made by a Source Selection Authority. But what happens when the SSA disagrees with the ratings assigned by the evaluators, such as a Source Selection Evaluation Board?
Source: SSA vs. SSEB: Protest Sustained Where Ratings Changes Weren’t Reasonable – SmallGovCon
Here at Washington Technology, we’ve conducted a quarterly Contractor Confidence Index survey to measure how people feel about the market and the direction it is headed.
Source: What’s your outlook for 2018? — Washington Technology
Situations sometimes occur during contract performance where work is suspended for one reason or another. There are several categories of work suspension identified in the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations).
The Air Force has scheduled an industry day for Feb. 12 in Washington, D.C. that is free for both small and large companies.
It will be held at the Washington Hilton. Officials plan to discuss the Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate’s mission and its contracting trends and requirements for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
Reservations must be made by Feb. 16.
Source: Air Force schedules industry day for FY 2018, 2019 opportunities — Washington Technology