HEADS OR TAILS: Army AL&T asked program executive officers, DASAs and small business program leaders:
What should small business know, either to do more business with the Army or to do business with the Army better?
MG L. Neil Thurgood Program Executive Officer for Missiles and Space
It is important for a small business to demonstrate a strong past performance to be more appealing to government agen- cies. Te government prefers less risk when awarding contracts, and a small business with a strong past performance gives the government confidence the delivery schedules will be met and the product or service will be reliable.
One unique characteristic in small businesses is the ability to search, data-mine and link legacy databases. For example, we initiated work with a small business to help us through the General Fund Enterprise Business Systems (GFEBS) transi- tion. Our small business helped us data-mine GFEBS, the Standard Operations and Maintenance Army Research and Development System, the Logistics Modernization Program and other databases to give management an instant view of the status of funds, which for us covers over 30 types of funds on a continuing basis.
Small businesses should identify large businesses in their area that are willing to engage in mentorship and guidance.
Small business needs to show (or demonstrate) “large busi- ness” security, including cybersecurity, as well as financial stability and flexibility.
Ann Cataldo Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation
To sell overseas, small businesses may need licenses. No mat- ter the size of the company, marketing defense technologies to foreign users will require an export license. While the ongo- ing Export Control Reform initiative has eased the export of many defense items, U.S. companies still require case-by- case approvals for nearly all sensitive defense technologies.
Learning the rules on how to comply with U.S. export reg- ulations is an essential step for small businesses to compete effectively for sales and contracts with foreign customers.
James Shields Program Executive Officer for Ammunition
For a very small fee (about $500), join the National Arma- ments Consortium and Defense Ordnance Technology Center for easy access to government requirements and programs with minimal Federal Acquisition Regulation [FAR]-based bureaucracy to weed through.
Keep checking FedBizOps and reach out to prime contractors with good ideas. Small businesses can do this by attending government-sponsored industry days and networking with the primes.
Submit unsolicited proposals. Each research, development and engineering center (RDEC) has an office that reviews them and staffs to the responsible organization for follow-up.
Get to know the RDEC organizations, especially those responsible for science and technology programs, as well as the competition advocate and small business points of contact. Ask the head of contracting for a list of projected small busi- ness set-asides.
BG Michael D. Hoskin Commanding General U.S. Army Expeditionary Contracting Command
Small businesses can benefit if they use the local procure- ment technical assistance center (PTAC) in their state to help with marketing and learning how to use the various search engines available, such as FedBizOps. Each state has at least one PTAC that is funded by both the state and the Defense
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Army AL&T Magazine
January-March 2016
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