Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Incumbents ruling less of the day in federal contracting

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The Obama administration’s push over the last eight years to inject more competition into the federal procurement process seems to have resulted in two major changes across the vendor community that are only now becoming clear.

First, the incumbent win rate dramatically dropped over the last year.

Second, contractors diversified into other markets, including state and local and commercial sectors, at a more aggressive rate than in the recent past to deal with the shrinking federal procurement pie.

“This gives a strong indication that competition is increasing and possibly driving down pricing and profit percentages on federal contracts,” stated the 2016 federal contractor survey sponsored by Grant Thornton released on May 30. “Companies should be looking at their current pricing techniques to determine if adjustments are necessary to win greater percentages of proposals.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/06/incumbents-ruling-less-of-the-day-in-federal-contracting/

Georgia men indicted in $53 million contract fraud and illegal gratuities scheme

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A federal grand jury has returned separate indictments charging John Wilkerson, age 51, of Moultrie, Georgia, and James T. Shank, age 68, of Perry, Georgia, with a wire fraud conspiracy and offering and accepting illegal gratuities, in connection with the award of more than $53 million in federal government contracts.  The indictment was returned on October 8, 2015, and recently unsealed.

SPAWARAccording to Shank’s indictment, from August 28, 2006 until he retired on June 30, 2011, he was employed as a Program Manager at the United States Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center. Shank worked with agencies within the Department of Defense to procure telecommunications equipment, software, and related services.

According to Wilkerson’s indictment, he was a Department of Defense Account Manager for Iron Bow Technologies, LLC (Iron Bow), which provided IT consulting and other services to government and industry customers.  Wilkerson was also part owner and operated an information technology company, Superior Communications Solutions, Inc. (SCSI).

Co-Conspirator 2 was a program manager for an information technology company, Advanced C4 Solutions, or AC4S, from 2005 until 2011.  In 2011, Co-Conspirator 2 left AC4S and went to work for Wilkerson at SCSI.

The indictments allege that from September 2009 through August 2012 Shank conspired with Wilkerson and Co-Conspirator 2, to give them and the companies they worked for and/or owned an unfair competitive advantage in obtaining government contracts. In exchange, the indictments allege that Wilkerson offered, and Shank accepted, employment with SCSI while Shank was still a government employee and while he was taking official actions that benefited Wilkerson.  In addition, Wilkerson allegedly paid Shank $86,000 in the year after Shank retired from government service, funneling the payment through two other companies in order to conceal the source of the funds.

According to the indictments, Shank improperly shared information with Wilkerson and Co-Conspirator 2, and worked with them to structure the government contracts so as to give their companies an unfair advantage over other potential bidders.

For example, according to the indictment, Shank, Wilkerson, and Co-Conspirator 2 developed a request for proposal (RFP) for DO27, a contract to supply labor services for an Air Force technology project, including for overall project management services, so that AC4S would win the contract. On June 10, 2010, DO27 was awarded to AC4S in the amount of $18,332,738.10.  Wilkerson provided Co-Conspirator 2 with a quote for labor on behalf of SCSI that was less than the quote he had previously submitted on behalf of Iron Bow as their sales representative. After SCSI was selected as a subcontractor on DO27, it subcontracted with Iron Bow to provide most of the labor SCSI was supposed to provide under DO27.  Wilkerson was able to earn income from the work Iron Bow employees were doing by having SCSI act as a middleman and charging a mark-up on Iron Bow’s work.  Wilkerson and Co-Conspirator 2 then directed an SCSI employee to create false invoices supposedly documenting the hours SCSI employees spent working on DO27, which were submitted to AC4S and paid by the United States government.  SCSI received $6,794,432.98 on DO27 out of the $18 million AC4S received for providing labor for the project.

Shank also initiated the procurement process on more than 11 delivery orders that purchased telecommunications equipment and furniture as part of the Air Force project.  Those delivery orders were issued to Iron Bow in 2010 and 2011.  Shank made sure that the delivery orders included telecommunications equipment and/or furniture that were assigned SCSI-specific part numbers, thereby guaranteeing that SCSI would receive revenue from the delivery orders.  The indictment alleges that SCSI received approximately $33 million of the $35 million paid to Iron Bow under the various furniture and equipment delivery orders.

In late 2010 or early 2011, Wilkerson offered Shank employment.  Shank did not disclose that fact to anyone at SPAWAR and did not recuse himself from any of the contracts that benefited Wilkerson. In February 2011, Co-Conspirator 2 left AC4S and went to work for Wilkerson at SCSI.  According to the indictment, Co-Conspirator 2 received a $500,000 bonus when he joined SCSI, which was paid for by profit Wilkerson had earned on the furniture contracts.

By March 2011, the Air Force project was not complete and there were a number of contract disputes related to the project. Shank was directed not to take any other action related to the project without the approval of a senior manager.  Nevertheless, the indictment alleges that in April 2011, Shank accepted more than $3.7 million worth of invoices that benefited SCSI without informing the senior manager.  After Shank accepted employment with SCSI in May 2011, but was still working for SPAWAR, he allegedly approved more than $1.1 million worth of invoices that benefitted SCSI and Wilkerson.

Shank and Wilkerson face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for a wire fraud conspiracy; and two years in prison for offering and accepting illegal gratuities.  Shank also faces a maximum sentence of 5 years for criminal conflict of interest. Wilkerson and Shank had initial appearances in the Northern District of Georgia on October 13 and 14, 2015, respectively, and have an initial appearance scheduled in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on October 23, 2015, at 11:00 a.m.

The National Procurement Fraud Task Force was formed in October 2006 to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs.  The Procurement Fraud Task Force includes the United States Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrate the Department of Justice’s commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Air Force OSI and the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Wise and Philip A. Selden, who are prosecuting the case.

Source: http://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-government-employee-and-government-contractor-indicted-53-million-procurement

Congress moves forward on measures for small business contractors

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Under the direction of former Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the House Small Business Committee over the past six years made overhauling the federal contracting process one of its top priorities, spearheading a number of initiatives intended to funnel more work – and by extension, taxpayer money – to small businesses. When Graves stepped down from the panel at the end of last year, it was unclear whether that effort would continue, or at least whether it would remain near the top of the committee’s to-do list.

Instead, it’s like he never left.

Now led by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), the small business committee has picked up right where Graves left off. Chabot and crew recently held a series of hearings on a number of challenges facing small contractors, and last week, the panel marked up and approved a comprehensive package of changes stemming from those conversations.

“We know that when small businesses compete for federal work, it creates jobs, improves the quality of work, and saves taxpayers’ money,” Chabot said when rolling out the proposal, calling the proposed bill – dubbed the Small Contractors Improve Competition Act – “a commonsense approach to make sure that Washington is working with Main Street.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2015/03/27/congress-moves-forward-on-measures-for-small-business-contractors/

Want to grow your government contracting business? Be ready for what you wish for!

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Federal small business programs are valuable. But they can also inadvertently stunt or even slash the growth of companies that the programs are intended to help.

First, small business owners with big ambitions can capture big wins that pump up their revenue beyond their small business size standards. But without the support of federal small business programs, more than a few can’t win new work to sustain that growth. When the company shrinks again, that slide back into small business status means lost jobs.

Then there’s those that deliberately cap their business growth to hang on to the advantages of small business programs. Their plan is either to hold steady, or get acquired. That holding pattern represents lost opportunity.

But stagnation and backsliding aren’t inevitable. Practical tactics can help in the short term.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/06/want-to-grow-your-government-contracting-business.html?page=all

5 silver bullets for winning proposals

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Is there one silver bullet that wins proposals? Yes (kinda). Trust is the closest factor I have found to being the silver bullet that wins proposals.

Our customer must trust that we can deliver the solution at the agreed-to price with little to no issues. (Do you make it a habit of buying from people or companies you do not trust?) No trust, no win.

Definitively, there is no one silver bullet factor that guarantees a win. There is no one thing that always works; nor is there one thing that offsets a sea of negative influencers (e.g., bad reputation, noncompliant or poorly executed proposal, lack of customer insight).

However, there are five silver bullet factors that greatly impact the likelihood of a win, and these factors require customer trust.

These five silver bullet factors historically tip the scales in favor of one solution provider over another. Which factor(s) to use varies according to circumstances. The five silver bullet factors can be cumulative. They are relative to one another and relative to other factors.

In other words, relative to all other aspects of proposal development, one could call these silver bullets because of the historic weighting of these five variables.

Keep reading this article at: http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2014/01/22/insights-parkinson-silver-bullets.aspx 

Employees of Georgia company plead guilty to bribing Albany Marine Corps official

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Two men employed by a machine products vendor in Albany, Ga., have pleaded guilty to bribing a public official working for a military organization at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) to secure contracts for machine products, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.

Thomas J. Cole Jr., 43, and Fredrick W. Simon, 55, both of Albany, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands in the Middle District of Georgia to one count of bribery of a public official.

During their guilty pleas, Cole, the general manager of an Albany-based machine products vendor, and Simon, an employee responsible for processing sales orders, admitted to participating in a scheme to secure sales order contracts from the Maintenance Center Albany (MCA) at MCLB-Albany by subverting a competitive bid process.  The MCA is responsible for rebuilding and repairing ground combat and combat support equipment, much of which has been utilized in military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other parts of the world.  To accomplish the scheme, Cole and Simon bribed a MCA purchase tech responsible for placing machine product orders.  Cole and Simon admitted to participating in the scheme at the purchase tech’s suggestion, after Simon had spoken with the purchase tech about how his company could obtain business from the MCA.  Cole and Simon admitted that, at the purchase tech’s request, they paid the purchase tech a bribe of at least $75 for each of the more than 1,000 sales orders MCA placed with their company.  According to court documents, the purchase tech would transmit sales bids to Simon and then communicate privately to him exactly how much money the company should bid for each particular order.  Cole and Simon admitted that these orders were extremely profitable, often times exceeding the fair market value of the machine products, sometimes by as much as 1,000 percent.

Cole and Simon further admitted that, at the purchase tech’s urging, in 2011 they began routing some orders through a second company, owned by Cole, because the volume of orders MCA placed with the first company was so high.  They also admitted that the purchase tech increased the bribe required for orders as the scheme progressed.  Cole and Simon admitted to paying the purchase tech approximately $161,000 in bribes during the nearly two-year scheme.  Cole admitted to personally receiving approximately $209,000 in proceeds from the scheme; Simon admitted to personally receiving approximately $74,500.  Both admitted that the total loss to the Department of Defense from overcharges associated with the machine product orders placed during the scheme was approximately $907,000.

At sentencing, Cole and Simon each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of not more than twice the pecuniary loss to the government.  As part of their plea agreements with the United States, Cole and Simon both agreed to forfeit the proceeds they received from the scheme, as well as to pay full restitution to the Department of Defense.  Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and J.P. Cooney of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alan Dasher of the Middle District of Georgia.  The case is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office Economic Crime Unit and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

— from January 10, 2013 news release issued by the U.S, Dept. of Justice at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/January/13-crm-044.html.

Respect for People: Raising the value of your most important assets

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Join Georgia Tech for the annual Lean Consortium event and learn about the evolution of lean from the factory floor to human development. This year’s seminar focuses on becoming more competitive by incorporating the Harada method into your organization through linking the development of people to your organization’s success.

Lean Consortium Event Details:

Respect for People
 Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (registration begins at 9:00 a.m.)
 Location: Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway
 Price: $295*
 Keynote Speaker: Norman Bodek

*If you have 5 or more from the same company, the group rate is $240 per seat. Contact Tim Israel to secure multiple seats at this rate.

Seminar Topics:

 The Harada Method: strengthening leaders to inspire employees to develop success goals and work out the detail plans necessary for attaining them
 Understanding and Incorporating the human side of Lean
 Turning managers into active coaches to build a winning team

Benefits of Attending:

 Understand ways to grow employees to make your company more competitive
 Learn to empower and involve employees in the improvement process
 Discover ways to enhance communication throughout the organization

Speaker:

After 18 years working with Data Processing companies, Norman Bodek founded the publishing, consulting, and training firm PCS Press Inc., where he is working to broaden the implementation of lean from the production floor to the entire enterprise. He is an author of over 100 Japanese management books on tools for continuous improvement. Norman is an accomplished presenter, having led numerous seminars, conference sessions, and training events on many continuous improvement subjects. He is also co-founder of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.

3 steps to getting your small business discovered

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I recently saw a discussion post in a group on LinkedIn that complained about people not lining up to download an application this person had on his web site. Why don’t people come to get this totally unique, valuable application? the person whined.

Why indeed!

We don’t operate in a vacuum and business does not occur by burning incense, chanting and praying for the phone to ring – or by posting something on a web site that very few people know about or visit.

What’s a company got to do to get on the radar?

Here are three relatively simple things that any company, especially small companies, should be doing so they can “get found.”

First, define your expertise in terms that resonate with your niche in the market. Bob Davis, vice president at HeiTech Services in Silver Spring, Md., calls this defining your “sustainable competitive advantage,” which should be something that your company does better than 90 percent of your competitors. This is a skill that you have demonstrated through work with a variety of clients, not simply one you claim without demonstrable experience.

In other words, you need to differentiate your company.

Second, get conversant with the new social media tools. Social media here encompasses web 2.0 tools like webinars, podcasts, blogs, web video, web radio and social networks like LinkedIn and GovLoop. To stand out and be found, you have to participate in multiple venues and offer some good content in each.

This does not mean that you have to use all of the above web tools, but you need to understand the value that each tool offers. Then use the tools that will help you get your message out to targeted audiences.

As I indicated in last month’s column, each of these tools brings something different to the table.

If you are offering a technical solution, webinars are a great tool to educate. Both blogging and webinars are great for developing a thought leadership position in your niche. Podcasts allow you to offer white papers, another thought leadership tool, in an audio format.
The goal is to use one or two of these tools on a regular basis to highlight and support your claim to your market position and your sustainable competitive advantage.

The third task is to spread the word. You now have the message (your sustainable competitive advantage) and the platform(s) – whichever tools you have opted to use.

Next, you have to tell people where to find this great content. In February 2011 I wrote “Content may be King, but Delivery is the Ace” in which I explained that, although content is key to proving you own a particular piece of intellectual real estate, unless you can show people where to find that content, you will never get on the radar and get the right people to read, listen to, or watch any of the content you have developed.

Traditional methods still work. A solid PR campaign can help, but using social media to share the content as well as deliver it is effective.

Many people read my Washington Technology columns because they find the link to the article posted on LinkedIn, Tweeted, and occasionally even on Facebook.

Go back to the beginning of this article where the guy was whining about people not downloading an application that this person had on his web site. People have to know it’s there in order to download it.

Get on board and get on the radar of your audience.

About the Author: Mark Amtower is co-founder and co-director of the Government Market Masters program.   This article was published on Feb. 14, 2012 by Washington Technology at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/14/amtower-small-business-social-media.aspx?s=wtdaily_150212.

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