TIP #3: PROVIDE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR PAST PERFORMANCE One of the biggest hurdles new busi- nesses face is gaining past performance. Without positive past performance, it may be difficult to win a competitive con- tract award. Doing business with large contractors as a subcontractor helps small businesses maintain positive cash flow while gaining federal government indus- try experience and building relevant past performance. (Contrary to popular mis- conception, relevant past performance can take many forms; it is not limited to prime contracting with the government.)
USACE divisions maintain a database of prime contractors that would like to be matched with subcontractors. When subcontractors contact USACE districts and centers for information on teaming, small business specialists are available to help make that connection.
TIP #4: BUY LOCAL When a local project is likely to have significant economic, infrastructure or political impact on a specific region, USACE typically conducts one or more industry days with local residents. For example, when a recent development project for more than $2 billion was in its initial development phase in El Paso, TX, USACE collaborated with the local chamber of commerce and the SBA to
conduct an industry day. Roughly 50 attendees contributed to a discussion of how to best serve the community and ensure that local small businesses had a fair chance to compete for the work. Once the pre -solicitation was prepared and USACE went back to the public, more than 700 interested businesses regis- tered and attended a second industry day.
A strong working relationship with the SBA helps. USACE small business spe- cialists at the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division OSBP take advantage of the fact that they share a facility with the SBA to maintain informal face-to-face work- ing relationships with SBA employees and stop by periodically to chat. When the division learns of a new acquisition, learning more about how to involve small businesses is as simple as stopping by the desk of an SBA acquaintance, who quickly pulls up potential qualified sources.
Not everyone gets to share facility space with the SBA, but
in-person and vir-
tual visits via videoconference can help develop solid working relationships with the local SBA office.
TIP #5: CHALLENGE BUSINESS AS USUAL Use past information from the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Gener- ation (FPDS-NG) to the future advantage
For more information, contact the USACE OSBP at SmallBusinessOffice@usace.
army.mil, or go to
http://www.usace.army. mil/BusinessWithUs/
SmallBusiness.aspx.
For every $100 spent with a small independent business, $68 remains in the local economy, as opposed to $43 for large national competitors, according to the Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, a study conducted in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood in 2004.
MS. CRYSTAL E. TEED is the chief of policy for the USACE OSBP. A former small business owner in the financial ser- vices sector and a licensed attorney, she oversaw the purchasing systems of several major contractors in her time as a corpo- rate administrative contracting officer with the Defense Contract Management Agency. She holds a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law and a B.S. in financial management from Te Catholic University of America, and is Level III cer- tified in contracting.
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ASC.ARMY.MIL 57
of small business and the government, and as a tool to make sure “business as usual” isn’t keeping small businesses from competing. In a recent example from the Southwest Division, a prior indefinite- delivery, indefinite-quantity contract required that offerors have the capability to simultaneously work up to three task orders. But in FPDS-NG, there was no evidence that more than one task order was ever issued simultaneously under the prior contract vehicle. After working with the contracting officer to redefine contract requirements, it was awarded to a small business that went on to perform successfully.
CONCLUSION Te USACE approach to successful small business contracting involves a focus on success that goes beyond the numbers. By seeking to build contacts and connect them, and by challenging the process to work better each time, the USACE Office of Small Business Programs is strength- ening U.S. Army contracting.
ACQUISITION
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