Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Training
    • Class Registration
    • On-demand Training
    • GTPAC COVID-19 Resource Page
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans Verification Video
    • GTPAC Community
    • Other Training Audio & Video
  • Useful Links
  • Team Directory
    • Albany Counselor
    • Atlanta Counselors
    • Augusta Counselor
    • Carrollton Counselor
    • Columbus Counselor
    • Gainesville Counselor
    • Savannah Counselor
    • Warner Robins Counselor
  • Directions
    • Atlanta – Training Facility
    • Atlanta – Office
    • Albany
    • Augusta
    • Carrollton
    • Columbus
    • Gainesville
    • Savannah
    • Warner Robins
  • COVID-19
  • New Client Application
  • Contact Us

‘Missing Middle’ companies to get help with federal contracts

April 1, 2011 By ei2admin

The U.S. intends to increase competition for contracts by reaching out to “medium-sized” businesses that can’t use incentives reserved forsmaller firms and aren’t large enough to compete against the biggest vendors.

The General Services Administration, the agency that bought $52 billion in goods and services for the federal government last year, plans to focus on the issue in May, officials said.

“There are numerous businesses all over the country that have never seriously considered entering into the government market,” said Chuck Schadl, director of the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center in Atlanta. “Nobody has ever reached out to them before.”

Many medium-sized companies, a difficult-to-define segment GSA officials dubbed the “missing middle,” haven’t bid for government work because of misconceptions, a lack of knowledge about the process or a perception of bureaucratic gridlock, business owners and agency officials said.

Companies with more than $35 million in annual revenue or more than 500 employees typically can’t qualify for government programs aimed at steering federal contracts to small business.

A planned series of workshops is intended to help companies win GSA orders by explaining the benefits of selling to the federal marketplace, subcontracting opportunities and partnering with large vendors, they said.

Procurement Pool

The workshop series begins in ten locations across the country over the year, agency officials said.  Each week-long event will host 100 companies at little or no cost, said Jiyoung Park, the GSA’s associate administrator of small business utilization.

GSA plans to emphasize the size of its procurement pool — $52 billion last year in so-called “schedule” contracts, government-wide acquisition and building leases and management. It will also present case studies on medium-sized companies that successfully maintained federal business, or adapted to changing needs from agencies.

“It’s often hard to predict the demand for products and services given budgetary constraints, given new legislation that may alter missions or eliminate or create programs, or given the confidential nature of work,” Park said.

Medium-sized businesses that are successful in the private sector may also be reluctant to seek out government work because of perceptions of bureaucratic slowdowns and an opaque bidding process, agency and company officials said.

Giving Up

“Most folks from a commercial background throw their arms up and say, ‘let’s forget it, it’s too long of a cycle, it’s too expensive for me to figure this out,’” said Michael Agrillo, executive vice president of Arlington, Virginia-based OnPoint Consulting Inc., a provider of computer network and cybersecurity services to civilian agencies.

Triton Federal Solutions, a McLean, Virginia-based software developer for the Energy Department, said its parent company, Project Performance Corp., accepted a takeover by London-based AEA Technology Group Plc in 2008 because it “graduated” from small business status.

Ivette Granier-Smith, Triton’s president, said the purchase forced her to “find a niche” to keep winning government work.

“As a small business, we did a little bit of everything but when you graduate doing a little bit of everything does not serve you well,” Granier-Smith said. “You have to really have some muscle somewhere.”

Seeking Leverage

Blackstone Technology Group opened its government practice in Washington in 2002. The San Francisco-based company’s federal contracts now account for 65 percent of its business, the result of starting out as a subcontractor, said Jesse O’Gorman, a partner in the company’s Arlington, Virginia office.

Schadl, whose Georgia Tech procurement assistance center works with 2,700 Georgia businesses to obtain federal, state and local government contracts,said it’s a misconception that government work can’t provide a reliable income stream.

“A lot of businesses we’ve seen have never really considered government contract work before, and not necessarily for good reasons,” said. “Their impression is that government pays slow, and that’s not true at all.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Nishad Majmudar in Washington at nmajmudar@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cary O’Reilly at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net

Published by Bloomberg Government – Mar. 31, 2011 – http://about.bgov.com/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: government contract assistance, government contracting, GSA, Schedules, small business

Recent Posts

  • Podcast: Buy American executive order and recent changes
  • Podcast: Contractors say they’re seeing a resurgence of LPTA procurements
  • Reminder: If pricing is too high, VA “rule of two” might not apply
  • CPARS challenges: No appeals without contracting officer claim
  • GAO: In “best value” procurement agency has wide discretion to pay price premium

Popular Topics

8(a) abuse Army bid protest budget budget cuts certification construction contract awards contracting opportunities cybersecurity DoD DOJ False Claims Act FAR federal contracting federal contracts fraud GAO Georgia Tech government contracting government contract training government trends GSA GSA Schedule GTPAC HUBZone innovation IT Justice Dept. marketing NDAA OMB SBA SDVOSB set-aside small business small business goals spending subcontracting technology VA veteran owned business VOSB wosb

Contracting News

Podcast: Contractors say they’re seeing a resurgence of LPTA procurements

CPARS challenges: No appeals without contracting officer claim

GAO: In “best value” procurement agency has wide discretion to pay price premium

Contractor settles fraud claims related to 8(a) joint venture

Senator: Pandemic makes anti-fraud law more important than ever

Read More

Contracting Tips

Podcast: Buy American executive order and recent changes

Reminder: If pricing is too high, VA “rule of two” might not apply

Startups should try to win city and school district contracts. Here’s why.

Surviving proposal weaknesses after discussions: what not to do

E-Verify records purge scheduled for May 14, 2021

Read More

GTPAC News

DLA hosting event March 10th with special emphasis on Women-Owned Small Businesses

Navy Office of Small Business Programs holding three events in March

SBA hosting conversations with contracting officers forum Feb. 25th

USACE seeks vaccination center construction support

GTPAC updates cybersecurity resource page to include CMMC guidance

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Future of 5G is under the microscope at Georgia incubator

Collective worm and robot “blobs” protect individuals, swarm together

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation is now accepting applications for pilot programs

Georgia Tech will help manage DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory

Dr. Abdallah testifies on U.S. competitiveness, research, STEM pipeline at Congressional hearing

Read More

  • SAM.gov registration is free, and help with SAM is free, too
APTAC RSS Twitter GTPAC - 30th Year of Service

Copyright © 2021 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute