Posts Tagged subcontracting

Blue Origin Seeking AS9100 and ASO9000 Certified Small Business Suppliers

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Blue Origin is an aerospace company based out of Kent, WA whose vision is millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. They have recently started a Supplier Diversity program and are interested in AS9100 and ASO9000 certified suppliers whose NAICS code qualifies them as a small business to add to their supply base. For more information on how to become a supplier for Blue Origin, please email SupplierDiversity@BlueOrigin.com.

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Client Success: Seamless Management Solutions

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Monica Sarmiento-Martinez & Janet Moody

Virginia PTAC client since April, 2021

Seamless Management Solutions is a minority-women owned company that specializes in global project management, process improvement, business support services as well as providing Spanish/English technical language translation. The owners bring over 40 years of experience from previous careers, managing multi-million-dollar projects. Their careers were in various industries in the USA and globally.

Counseling sessions with Virginia PTAC Procurement Counselor, Lisa Powell, consisted of, but were not limited to, getting the firm registered in SAM, completing SBA’s WOSB application, and guided searches in SAM and eVA to find opportunities. During the sessions when searching in SAM and eVA, the PTAC counselor made a suggestion that the firm look for an opportunity falling within their scope of work, but which seemed too large for them. She suggested they add their information in the Interested Vendor’s List in SAM and in the B2B section in eVA. The purpose of this being that the awardee may have sub-contracting opportunities or is in search of a company to team with, and may reach out to them.

Part of a firm’s registration in the State of Virginia’s Procurement System (eVA) is the ability to receive notifications in their email. An opportunity for a Spanish Language Pesticide Applicators Examination/Translation Examination Development Services for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services showed in Seamless Management Solutions’ email (URFPNo 301-22-014). When the firm reviewed the scope of work, they realized it included services they could not provide (development of the training/testing curriculum) but they could provide the translation services. Seamless Management Solutions followed their PTAC counselor’s advice and entered their information into the B2B section of this opportunity, stating they would be willing to partner with another firm. They were contacted by Kim Taylor-Wilson, owner of Corrin & King Business Strategies, LLC (also a Virginia PTAC client). The two firms worked on the proposal together and submitted a response, ultimately winning the award. This is the first subcontract award for Seamless Management Solutions.

Seamless Management Solutions is also now SWaM and WOSB certified.

“I greatly appreciate the assistance from PTAC, especially from Lisa Powell, who has helped us getting into the government space; winning our first contract as a sub is a major milestone for us.”

– Monica Sarmiento-Martinez

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Battelle Need Small Businesses

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As part of the commitment to leveraging the small business community throughout their organization, Battelle needs small business partners to join their electronic-ordering databases, “PunchOut“ and “Coupa”!

Left Brain Professionals is partnering with Battelle due to their vast network to small businesses of all certifications –Veteran Owned, Woman Owned, 8(a) –throughout multiple industries.

Over the next few weeks, Battelle’s goal is to double their accepted suppliers in the spend categories of:

(1) Chemicals

(2) Computer and Information Technologies (CIT) peripherals

(3) Compressed Gas (4) Electronic Components

(5) Lab Supplies

(6) Life Science

(7) MRO

(8) Shipping

(9) Office Supplies. Suppliers, including resellers, are welcome to apply. 

Both the PunchOut and Coupa applications utilize the cXML data format, which is a requirement for all suppliers to meet. The data interface for PunchOut is via PeopleSoft 9.0 and PeopleTools 8.50.27.

Additionally, all suppliers:

(1) must have active virus protection and email security applied,

(2) be able to support both applications,

(3) have the ability to ship anywhere in the continental United States (CONUS), including Alaska and Hawaii, and the US Territory of Puerto Rico.

All purchase orders and all invoices must originate from and be processed within the applications. An official request for proposal (RFP) will be executed, by spend category, via the Scout program in the upcoming weeks. Notice of the opening of the RFP will be sent to registered parties only.

Companies interested in participating that meet the capability requirements of both the PunchOut and Coupa applications are encouraged to contact Left Brain Professionals’ project liaison at their earliest convenience for a brief discussion prior to being included in any spend category’s RFP distribution list.

Questions about the PunchOut and/or Coupa applications should be communicated to Melissa Metzger for coordination of response.

Melissa Metzger, MAFM, at (614-556-4415) or melissa@leftbrainpro.com,

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Should You Bother with a Capabilities Statement?

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Spend enough time at matchmaking events, industry days, networking events and conferences in the #GovCon world, and one could amass quite a collection of Capabilities Statements.  If one were into collecting them.  Which I am:

The capabilities (or capability) statement is your business’s resume; as such, it needs to combine the technical skillset you’re offering with an attractive format that would cause a neutral third party to pick it up and glance at it.  There are plenty of resources (APTAC, HHS, SAP&DC) who will tell you what to put in it.  ISI Federal lays it out in a graphical format. FDIC has a whole slide deck.  I’d like to take you through a slightly different analysis:

“Who [or what] is it for?”

  1. Fitting in. I have seen more than one Small Business professional, representing government and prime contractors, ask for a capabilities statement right at the start of a conversation at a matchmaking event.  If you don’t have that, it looks like the dog ate your homework.  Not the first impression you were going for
  2. Benefits and Features. A quick glance at a well-constructed capabilities statement will give your reader an understanding of how your services or products will help them solve a problem in their organization. As such, it should highlight the results of your work, defining what you do with enough specificity to enable an informed buyer to be impressed.  If you can’t think of any way to impress or stand out, you probably shouldn’t be competing in the first place.
  3. Category box-checker. All the socio-economic and small business statuses and certification need to be there for easy reference. As well as your location, contact info, vendor (SAM / CAGE) numbers, NAICS codes, and any contract numbers that your customer may care about.  Sometimes capabilities statements are a component of market research – help your customers make the case of a set-aside (without repeatedly bashing them over the head with your status).
  4. Conversation re-starter. It’s on you to follow up to any great meeting to grow a relationship and turn a spark of interest into a true business lead. As such, a solid capabilities statement could be a good follow-up email attachment, for reference & recollection.  An electronic document, properly labeled and formatted, also makes it easier for your customer to store it and refer to it as necessary.

Is your one-pager ready for prime time?  Make sure you’re not guilty of any egregious “Don’ts“. Keep your customer paramount in your mind when you’re writing and designing: will she want to pick it up? Read it? share it?  Do you even know who your customer is? If not, do your homework first.

And if you would like some help, contact your local PTAC. We’ve got our red pens at the ready.

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No, you can’t just “Apply” to the Mentor Protege Program

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The long-anticipated, much applauded, expanded SBA All Small Mentor Protege Program is here…not to be confused with the SBA 8(a) Mentor Protege Program … or the Department of Defense Mentor Protege Program*

So what?  What does it mean to your small business?   How do you take advantage of it?

The mechanics:  Mentor Protégé Program (MPP) is an agreement between typically a large business (mentor) and a smaller business (protégé) whereby the mentor provides:

  • Management and Technical Assistance
  • Financial Assistance
  • Contracting Assistance
  • Trade Education
  • Business Development Assistance
  • General and/or Administrative Assistance

(source: SBA)

to the protégé, essentially investing resources into the company’s growth and infrastructure.  It’s not a direct government-to-small-biz program: there’s no application that small businesses fill out to ‘get in’ – but there is a checklist.  It’s an agreement between two businesses that is regulated and approved by either the SBA (for civilian agencies) or the DOD.

A few reasons large businesses are incentivized to become mentors:

  1. Agencies will apply subcontracting “Credit” to mentors when under consideration for awards.  This can also help mitigate gaps in subcontracting requirements Mentors can get credit for their protege’s accomplishments because the implication is that the mentor’s help was instrumental in getting the company ready. For example, the protege’s wins as a prime at the same or different agency, the protege’s win as a subcontractor for other prime contracts at the same or different agencies – if the mentor protege agreement was instrumental in building capacity / ability of the protege company to win the additional work.
  2. Dept of Defense also administers reimbursement agreements (as well as credit agreements) but some DOD agencies will award dollars directly to the mentor to invest in the protégé.  The financial benefit is obvious to both – the mentor isn’t spending internal resources helping the protégé, but rather the DOD’s money.
  3. Ability to form Mentor Protege Joint Ventures that enable access to set-aside contracts without triggering affiliation rule. Win-win:
    1. Protege can pursue set-aside contracts that would’ve been otherwise out of reach of the protege due to capacity, past performance, clearances, or other requirements that they don’t have
    2. Mentor is able to participate in set-aside awards – and retain 60% of at least 50% of total contract amount.  Here’s the math: the “prime” contractor in a set-aside award has to do 50%+ of the work… the joint venture is the prime contractor.  The mentor company can do 60% of the work because it’s a mentor.
  4. Investment / Merger & Acquisition strategy (great explanation here with many more finance details, thanks Elvis Oxley!) – mentors can take up to a 40% stake in the protege company — and the ability to reap the benefits of that investment as they develop that protege’s capabilities.  In the event of a future M&A, that 40% stake of a much more substantial business makes for a decent profit margin.

There are risks and considerations, to be sure.  A meeting of the minds is essential – to ensure both parties set expectations and have a plan to meet them. Proteges are limited to 3 MPP agreements per program in their lifetime (that’s 3 SBA AllSmall and also 3 DOD); Mentors can only have 3 Mentor Protege Agreements per program concurrently. A MPP agreement is thus never formed by strangers – the companies have to have solid business reasons for entering into the arrangement; most often, there’s a prior relationship of subcontracting or other business relationships that forms the baseline of mutual interest and sets the ground for pursuing a more strategic joining of forces.

For small businesses seeking to become proteges, the essential question is: What do you bring to the table? What would be an incentive for another entity to invest their time, resources, and dollars into developing your company’s capabilities?  If you can answer those questions, you probably have a good idea of who to approach for mentorship.

 

*Changes coming to the DOD Mentor Protege Program – thank you Steven Koprince of SmallGovCon.com

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