Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

You’re invited: Be part of the National PTAC Day celebration on Sept. 26th!

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All of us as the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) are proud to announce that GTPAC is a key participant in a national celebration.  You can be too!

National PTAC Day – Wednesday, September 26, 2018 – is a celebration of the contracting success of the thousands of small businesses who have benefitted from training, counseling and other assistance delivered by their local procurement technical assistance center (PTAC).

National PTAC Day unites the 95 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) in all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico) – and the 48,000 clients they serve – by sharing small business success stories in the government marketplace and the significant economic impact that PTAC clients create within their communities. This special day features a national social media campaign, public relations initiatives, online and in-person events, and more.

A major feature of PTAC Day – and one that GTPAC is directly supporting – is a national webinar entitled “Top Tips for Finding and Winning Government Contracts.”  GTPAC Procurement Counselor Tom Larkin is one of three panelists who will be providing his insights during the webinar.  This no-cost presentation takes place Wednesday, September 26th from 2:00 to 3:00 pm Eastern time.

By participating in the webinar you’ll learn how to:

  • Gett Ready to Enter the Government Marketplace
  • Find Government Contract Opportunities
  • Bid on Government Contracts

To participate in this free one-hour webinar, click here.

For more information about the national PTAC celebration, visit http://www.aptac-us.org/PTACDay.  Follow the hashtag #PTACDay on social media!

GTPAC is the PTAC, funded in part by the Defense Logistics Agency, that serves businesses throughout Georgia.  Through one-on-one counseling and training events, GTPAC assists 2,360 businesses, located in 135 Georgia counties.  In FY18, GTPAC clients won 2,645 government contracts and 540 subcontracts valued at a total of $927,076,307.

Small business advocate wins $475,000 in legal fees after 4-year fight with federal government

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After four years and expenses of more than $700,000, a California-based small business advocate on Thursday won an agreement from the Justice and Defense departments to pay his legal fees for litigation forcing the government to release confidential contracting data.

Lloyd Chapman, the outspoken founder of the Petaluma-based American Small Business League, declared victory in what he called an “historic” move by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to require the government to pay Chapman $475,000.

Neither Justice nor the Pentagon would comment on the case to Government Executive, but Chapman’s award was confirmed by his Washington attorney, Jon Cuneo of Cuneo, Gilbert & Laduca.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2018/08/small-business-advocate-wins-475k-legal-fees-after-4-year-fight-government/150280/

More opportunities coming for small businesses at Robins AFB, officials say

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Officials for a government contracting program some blame for the loss of hundreds of jobs in Warner Robins, GA said opportunities are coming that will allow many more small businesses to participate.

“We are going to be dramatically increasing the size of our small business pool,” said Clint McCoy, a program manager for One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services, or OASIS. “We are going to be increasing our pools by quite a large margin.”

OASIS is a different method of contracting established in 2014 that essentially consolidates contracts. Services that might have once been provided by dozens of businesses might now be done by one company.

The program is touted as a more efficient and flexible way of doing contracting. Some, however, say it makes it tougher for small businesses to compete. It is geared toward providing professional services, such as engineers and other experts.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.macon.com/news/local/military/article215487860.html

In doubt? Check with GTPAC!

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Your team at the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) stands ready to offer you advice about any aspect of government contracting — especially when you have any doubt about the legitimacy of a contract-related service or solicitation.

We’ve published many articles before about government contracting scams (click here to see previous articles), and once again we want to bring another one to your attention.

Just a few days ago, a GTPAC client contacted one of our Counselors and asked about the legitimacy of a request for a quotation he received, supposedly from the Dept. of Defense (DoD).  Once we examined the email and the attachment that our client sent us, we told him to run — not walk — away from it!

Here Are the Details

The email was purportedly from a DoD official soliciting a quote for some laptops and computer drives.

We examined the email and its attachment, including the following:

  • We called the phone number in the email which was answered by a person who didn’t identify himself.  When we asked questions, he said that he’d have the person identified in the email call us back with details.  No one called back.
  • We checked the identity of the person who supposedly sent the email.  The email’s Quote form identified him as Deputy Director for Procurement at AT&L.   We determined that, in reality, he is DoD’s Deputy Director for Earned Value Management.  AT&L (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) is a unit within DoD that no longer exists; it’s been reorganized into two groups: research and engineering (R&E) and acquisition and sustainment (A&S).  (See details of that reorganization by clicking here.)
  • We also identified the DoD official’s real email address and his actual phone number; they were not the email address or phone number shown in the email and on the Quote form that was sent to our client.
  • We noted that the federal solicitation number shown on the Quote form was not in the correct format, and the Quote form itself was not a form we have ever seen before.
  • The wording of the email was sloppy and unprofessionally prepared.

Based on the above, we advised our client to not respond because we believe this is a probable scam which will lead to an order to ship the products to a bogus shipping address, for which payment will never be received.  We also alerted the appropriate DoD officials of this probable scam.

What You Should Do

It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

  1. Stay alert to possible scams involving government contracting.  There are many scams in circulation literally every day.
  2. Don’t let the temptation of landing a sale overtake your common sense.  If it looks like easy money, it’s probably bogus.
  3. Whenever you are in doubt, contact GTPAC for advice.  We’ll be happy to check things out for you and provide you with our opinion.  It’s as simple as forwarding anything suspicious to us at: gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu.

Remember, the GTPAC team is here to help you succeed in the government marketplace!

P.S.:  If your business is located outside the state of Georgia, you can find a procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) by clicking here.

 

Meeting the definition of a small business concern — A checklist

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This is a  Checklist for existing or prospective federal government contractors to determine whether they can meet the definition of a small business concern (SBC) under the Small Business Act (SBA).

This Checklist includes the definitional thresholds and size standards for SBCs.

This Checklist can also be used to determine if an SBC can qualify under a specific small business category, including:

  • the 8(a) Business Development Program,
  • a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB),
  • a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB),
  • a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB),
  • an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), and
  • a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) SBC.

See the Checklist and related details at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/meeting-the-definition-of-a-small-42284/ 

Can a small business take over DISA’s $1 billion perimeter security contract?

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The Defense Information Systems Agency’s perimeter cybersecurity has been managed by a large contractor for almost 10 years and now the agency wants to know if a small or underutilized business can take over.

The agency released two requests for information June 20 for its Gateway Security Engineering program: one looking for responses from small businesses, including 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned; and another soliciting information from vendors in historically underutilized business zones, or HUBZones.

The Gateway Security program manages security at the intersection of the Defense Department’s non-classified network, known as NIPRNet, and the public internet. “It provides support by developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining secure interoperable solutions at the Gateways,” according to the RFIs.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/06/can-small-business-take-over-disas-1b-perimeter-security-contract/149152/

Scam Alert: Malicious e-mail spoofs being sent to vendors

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The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is reporting that a fake solicitation is being sent to vendors in the form of a Request for Quotation (RFQ).

The fake email solicitation, purporting to be from DLA, has been targeting GSA STARS II vendors.

The emails are not from DLA.mil.  Instead, they are coming from a “Reply-To” address ending in @dla-mil.us, which is not a government address.

In some cases, “stars2@american consultants.com” has been identified to supposedly send messages on behalf of a DLA Contract Specialist — these are also fake.

Some of the bogus emails suggest that vendors use the “stars2” Google Group at https//groups.google.com/a/americanconsultants.com to obtain more information or to unsubscribe from the email communication.  Be advised that “stars2” is not a DLA affiliated group.

Always remain cautious of emails that arrive in your inbox that are not explicitly addressed to you.  Sometimes scammers attempt to hide their actions by addressing their targets in the “bcc” line.

Also, please be aware that the phone number in these recent bogus emails is not a DLA phone number.  In addition, the RFQ form in the email is not an official government form, nor is the signature block legitimate.

DLA’s notice about this matter can be seen here: Vendor Phishing Notice -DLA – 8 June 2018.  The notice shows copies of the bogus emails.

Bottom line: Vendors should always remain vigilant about suspicious emails, and be cautious about opening email attachments.  Questions or comments can be directed to DLA at CERTFusionCell@dla.mil.

In addition, if you ever have a question about the legitimacy of any emails having to do government contracting opportunities, especially those which solicit a fee, please feel free to contact the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) for advice.  GTPAC can be emailed at gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu.

To read previous articles about scams involving government contracting, visit http://gtpac.org/?s=scam

DoD must work harder to include small business contractors, audit says

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An audit of two Army Contracting Command centers in Redstone, Alabama and Warren, Michigan, revealed The Department of Defense (DoD) must increase its efforts in order to meet small business subcontracting goals.

The DoD Inspector General Audit was carried out in three different branches. One audit was performed on the Army, and two each on the Marine Corps and the Air Force. According to the audit, small businesses may have lost opportunities because protocols were not followed which could have encouraged more small businesses to be part of the federal marketplace.

Small businesses have been specifically included in the federal contract bidding process to both support and encourage growth in communities across the country. Head of the House Small Business Committee U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) announced in Nov. 2017 his desire to raise the federal government’s contracting goal for small businesses to 25 percent, a two percent increase from the current 23 percent target for contracts to be awarded to small businesses today.

Keep reading this article at: https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/05/defense-contracts-for-small-businesses.html

SBA sneaks in rule on small business recertification

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a Direct Final Rule on March 26, 2018 that appears to address a specific holding of SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) related to small business recertification rules.

This rule went into effect on May 25, 2018.

In the recently issued Analytic Strategies, Inc., SBA No. VET-268, decision, OHA held that a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern (SDVO SBC) that recertifies its status pursuant to an acquisition or merger remains eligible for set-aside task orders under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (IDIQ), unless the contracting officer specifically requires recertification in connection with a specific task order. This holding affirmed the widely understood interpretation of the regulations. SBA opposed this interpretation of the rule in Analytic Strategies. For more information on this case, see an earlier blog post on Analytic Strategies.

What Is the Change?

In March 2018, SBA announced what it terms as a “technical correction” under a Direct Final Rule that may be an attempt to cast doubt on the Analytic Strategies decision. This new rule, however, may prove too much as it would apply to many of the small business programs administered by SBA and not just SDVO SBCs. On the other hand, if SBA’s goal was to make contractors that have recertified their status ineligible for future set aside task orders, it is not clear this rule does it.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=701646

SBA announces results of 2017 small business federal procurement scorecard

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On Tuesday, May 22, Ken Dodds, Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development hosted a conference call to discuss the results of the 2017 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard.

The annual Scorecard is an assessment tool that measures how well federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals and reports agency-specific progress. The prime and subcontracting component goals include goals for small businesses, small businesses owned by women (WOSBs), small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), and small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).

Every fiscal year, the SBA works with each agency to set their prime and subcontracting goals and their grades are based on the agreed upon goals. Each federal agency has a different small business prime contracting goal. The SBA ensures that the sum total of all of the goals exceeds the 23 percent target established by law.

Every year, the federal government spends over $400 billion dollars on goods and services, making it the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world.  The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development is charged with making sure that the federal government spends at least 23% of its contract dollars with small businesses annually.

SBA’s announcement notes that the federal government exceeded its small business contracting goal for the 5th consecutive year, awarding 23.88 percent in prime contract dollars to small businesses totaling $105 billion, an increase of $5 billion, to earn an “A” on SBA’s Scorecard.   This marks the first time ever small businesses received more than $100 billion in prime contracts, a very remarkable feat in an otherwise difficult contracting climate.   The federal government also awarded almost $75 billion in subcontracting dollars to small businesses.  The prime and subcontracting dollars awarded to small businesses in FY17 amount to nearly one million jobs that are supported each year through federal contracting and help to build communities and fuel the nation’s economy.

Source: https://www.sba.gov/blogs/new-sba-fy17-scorecard-shows-federal-agencies-award-record-breaking-105-billion-small-business

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