The SBA will award $5 million in grant funding to assist undersized firms compete for large contracts. The grant recipients will be asked to find teaming partners to bid on large contracts with them. This will include identifying the team, preparing proposals and submitting the bids.
“The Small Business Jobs Act provides critical resources to help small businesses continue to drive economic recovery and create jobs,“ SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “The teaming pilot program will help put contract dollars into the hands of small businesses, create job opportunities through the teaming arrangements, help drive innovation and promote economic growth for our nation’s economy.”
The SBA is projecting to make 10 – 20 grant award of $250,000 - $500,000 for FY 2011. The awards will have a base project period of one (1) year, with four (4) option 12-month extensions. Applicants must:
The organizations that are awarded the grants will be required to coordinator their own assistance with the agency’s district offices and other federal, state, local and tribal government small business development programs.
All grants proposals must be submitted through the federal website www.grants.gov by Friday, February 25, 2011.
The Department of Defense is proposing to standardize the process of distributing orders electronically and posting them on a central site for all contractors to access.
Currently the DoD has this capability and the proposal would officially standardize the process. The benefit and belief is the new rule will help small businesses.
If there are any concerns from small businesses or other parties, officials are taking comments on this proposal until November 30 2010.
For more information click here.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today released a 23-point memorandum for reforming defense acquisition processes, aiming for increased efficiency and productivity and proclaiming a new era in defense spending and acquisition strategy.
To read the whole article click here.
WashingtonTechnology ranked the Top 100 Government Contractors who won nearly $130 billion in prime contracts last year.
1. Lockheed Martin Corp
2. Northrop Grumman Corp
3. Boeing Co
4. Raytheon Co
5. Science Applications International Corp
To see the entire Top 100 List please click here.
No. 10. General Atomics wins Air Force UAS support contract. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. won a $266 million contract for program and technical support for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems.
9. SAIC captures $351M Navy contract for technical and engineering support. Under a five-year, $351 million Navy contract, Science Applications International Corp. will support the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division and the Joint Special Operations Response Department.
8. General Dynamics wins $387M Army contract. General Dynamics Corp. will provide a variety of technical support and training advisory services to the Army under a five-year contract that could be worth as much as $387 million.
7. CGI Federal wins $395M follow-on State Department contract. Under a $395 million, 10-year blanket purchasing agreement, CGI Federal Inc. will provide systems integration and consulting services and support for more than 5,000 State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development users of the Joint Financial Management System at more than 300 posts and missions around the world.
6. SRA wins $500M contract to modernize farm programs. SRA International will work with the Agriculture Department under a $500 million contract to help the agency modernize the technology and business processes it uses to serve farmers across the country.
5. SAIC secures $625M Navy award. Science Applications International Corp. won a $625 million contract from the Navy’s Program Executive Office of Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence. The contract calls for the company to develop software as well as modify and enhance existing C2 systems.
4. Raytheon wins $886M award to boost GPS accuracy. Raytheon Co. has won a contract from the Air Force worth $886 million to develop a new element of the Global Positioning System that will improve the accuracy of information from GPS satellites.
3. Lockheed scores $940M anti-IED award. Lockheed Martin Corp. will produce Improvised Explosive Device jammers for the Navy under a indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract that has a ceiling value of $940 million.
2. Lockheed, Northrop win CANES contracts worth nearly $1B. Defense contracting giants Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. will assist the Navy with its Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services program known as CANES. Each won separate contracts. Lockheed Martin’s has a ceiling of $937 million and Northrop’s is worth $775 million.
1. CSC, Stanley share $2.8B State Department contract. Computer Sciences Corp. and Stanley Inc. each won a prime contract to run non-immigrant visa application processing for the State Department. The Global Services Strategy contract is worth $2.8 billion over 10 years and the two companies will compete for task orders for work around the world.
The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) command responsible for land, air and sea transportation. With its people, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, information systems and infrastructure USTRANSCOM provides the most responsive strategic mobility capability the world has ever seen. USTRANSCOM currently controls a fleet of military assets valued in excess of $52 billion, including: 87 ships; 1,269 aircraft; 2,150 railcars and assorted equipment, and $1.4 billion in infrastructure, as well as access through commercial partners to more than 1,001 aircrafts and 360 vessels in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) programs.
To give you an idea of the size and scope, USTRANSCOM conducts more than 1,900 air missions, with 25 ships underway and 10,000 ground shipments operating in 75% of the world's countries. The command has moved more than 1.9 million passengers; 1.1 million tons by air, 3.7 million tons by sea; and delivered more than 53.7 billion barrels of fuel by ship.
What does this mean for transportation contractors? USTRANSCOM, like all other federal agencies, need to meet their small business goals. Currently, these goals are not being met. Why? Most of the requirements are being filled by large businesses because small businesses are not responding to request for information (RFI) postings, sources sought notices, market research notices, and/or request for proposals (RFP).
USTRANSCOM Directorate of Acquisitions: Who are They and What do they Do?
USTRANSCOM's Directorate of Acquisition mission is to provide acquisition capability to include contracting and program management functions in support of transportation and distribution for the DoD. They act as a business advisor to their commander. USTRANSCOM's Acquisition division has recently gone through a reorganization. Their direct customers include UNSTRANSCOM, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), Military Sealift Command, Air Mobility Command (AMC), and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Below is a summary of each division and what they do.
TCAQ-R National Transportation - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for the national and regional transportation programs serving the DoD customers worldwide.
TCAQ-I International Scheduled Services -provides procurement of international multimodal transportation services in support of DoD's peace and wartime worldwide movement of cargo.
TCAQ-M Program Management - provides expertise on acquisition program management policies, procedures and strategies to the commander, staff and components.
TCAQ-C International Charters - provides procurement and worldwide administration of international charter airlift requirements supporting DoD passengers and cargo during war and peace.
TCAQ-P Business Support/Policy - provides expertise on acquisition policies, procedures and strategies. They ensure that USTRANSCOM maintains the highest ethical procurement standards while achieving world class, global warfighter support.
TCAQ-SB - Small Business Programs - provides advices and counsel to commander on small business matters. Assist in developing strategies to ensure maximum participation and opportunities for small business concerns.
TCAQ-S Specialized Services - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for specialized services and research and development programs serving DoD customers worldwide.
TCAQ-D Distribution Process Owner (DPO) Support - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for USTRASNCOM DPO support services, as well as contracting support for SDDC national level transportation systems requirements.
Small Businesses: USTRANSCOM WANTS YOU
If you are a small business and want to do business with USTRANSCOM, contact Michelle Mendez, Director of Small Business Programs immediately at (618) 256-9619 or michelle.mendez@ustranscom.mil. Be sure to have a capabilities brief ready to reference for talking points and follow up with an email. USTRANSCOM is interested in learning of all small qualified business, the more information you provide before an RFP is constructed, increases the chances of having small business set-aside requirements. Do not be afraid to request a face-to-face meeting. The small business program office will always be able to meet with contractors and will include contracting officers for specific contracts of interest. However, they are unable to discuss open solicitations.
ALWAYS respond to request for information, sources sought and market analysis so USTRANSCOM is aware that there are qualified small business vendors. Never assume the requirement is already earmarked for a specific contractor. The more information USTRANSCOM is provided, the more they are able to set-aside requirements for small businesses.
USTRANSCOM is a very lucrative customer. Significant programs (awarded to contractors) include:
Defense Personal Property System (DPS): Joint end-to-end web based IT System managing over 500,000 personnel property movements annually. Contract value is in excess of $50 million annually.
Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF): Provides worldwide movement of troops and cargo- Valued at $2.5 billion annually.
Hero Remains (HR): Provides movement of HR from the continental United States CONUS to final destination for fallen service members and is valued at $24 million annually.
Universal Services Contract (USC): Single point, door-to-door cargo transportation, service via ocean carriers and is valued at $1 billion annually.
Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative (DTCI): Provides transportation coordination services to improve the reliability, predictability, and efficiency of DoD material moving throughout the CONUS. After Phase III implementation, this contract is valued at $258 million annually.
Need Help? GovPartners can be your advocate. We can put together a comprehensive capabilities brief and connect you with USTRANSCOM decision makers. Our team has a long standing relationship with their team. Contact us today to get started. Alternatively, connect and team with contractors with existing contracting vehicles.
Useful Links:
http://www.transcom.mil/
Quick Search for business opportunities HTC711 @ https://www.fbo.gov/
USTRANSCOM Directory and Phone #s http://www.transcom.mil/pubs2/pubs/2598-VA33-1.pdf
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