Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Defense contractors begin early shutdown preparations

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Contractors should immediately begin communicating with their contracting officers about the impacts of a potential government shutdown this fall, former executive branch officials and industry experts warned on Monday.

Already, said David Berteau, who served for 14 years at the Defense Department before becoming president of the Professional Services Council, the contracting community is “way ahead” of where the government is in terms of shutdown preparation. Still, he and other experts cautioned, companies should develop and maintain good relationships with civil servants now so they can solicit information from them as a potential appropriations lapse draws closer.

Agencies will be forced to shutter their doors on Oct. 1 — or, more realistically, Oct. 2, which is a Monday — if Congress fails to pass a spending bill to set agency funding for fiscal 2018. Representatives from business contracting with government gathered at PSC’s headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 14th to hear tips and advice for how they should prepare for such an outcome.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2017/08/defense-contractors-begin-early-shutdown-preparations/140268/

What to expect as the curtain comes down on federal fiscal year 2017

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Government Product News asked Chuck Schadl for his take on government selling opportunities as the federal fiscal year draws to a close on Sept. 30. Schadl is Group Manager for Government Contracting Services at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Here are his views.

The federal government’s year-end spending sprees are legendary as agencies try to commit contracting dollars – lest they have to turn their leftover budgets back to the U.S. Treasury.

A study conducted last year, however, shows that spending just before September 30 seems to be trending downward, with more attention being given to better planning the spend that begins anew on October 1.

The study, “Positioning for 2017: Competitive Outlook in Defense and Civilian Agencies,”shows that for the past two years both defense and civilian agencies have softened their year-end spending spike. Big data and analytics firm Govini conducted the research.

That said, there’s still a disproportionate amount of contract dollars obligated in the fourth quarter of the federal fiscal year – at least 30 percent.

What can vendors do now to perhaps capture year-end money, as well as set the stage for the new fiscal year?

Keep reading this article at: http://americancityandcounty.com/federal/what-expect-curtain-comes-down-federal-fiscal-year-2017

Supply company owner pleads guilty to $1 million fraud scheme

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The owner of three fraudulent commercial supply companies has pled guilty to cheating approximately 40 subcontractors out of more than $1 million.

From February 2010 through August 2015, Keith B. Fisher Sr. of Philadelphia used FedBid.com to submit quotes and offers for his companies KLA International Inc., Quad Trade Services Inc. and TCI Technologies. After winning federal contracts, Fisher and his associates would subcontract third-party vendors to provide goods to government agencies with the intention to not pay or only pay nominal amounts to the 40 victim vendors.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/http:/www.federaltimes.com/articles/supply-company-owner-pleads-guilty-to-1m-fraud-scheme

Putting the defense industry at the Defense table

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Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jack Reed (D-RI), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), recently held a series of very important hearings regarding the need to make fundamental changes to the structure and substance of defense management.

risk aversionAmong those who were called to testify were Arnold Punaro, an influential defense expert who once served as the SASC staff director; Norman Augustine, the widely respected former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation; Dr. Jacques Gansler, a former under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; and Michele Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense for policy.

Punaro had numerous observations and suggestions about the need to reduce the Defense Department’s infrastructure and overall overhead, while Augustine and Gansler spoke eloquently about the enduring problems facing the defense industrial base — many the inevitable result of defense acquisition policies that discourage new companies from entering the defense marketplace while simultaneously encouraging many in it to exit, as recently seen in the decision of United Technologies to divest its Sikorsky Helicopter unit.

But, perhaps the most significant observation regarding acquisition came from Flournoy, the former Pentagon policy chief, who noted that it was important that “the federal acquisition regulation (FAR) is not used as a means to prevent industry from being at the table to suggest solutions and inform the debate about what is technologically possible.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=Blog-putting-defense-industry-defense-table

Why DHS causes more headaches for industry than any other agency

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A culture of fear and lack of consistency at the Homeland Security Department (DHS) are perpetuating a fractured relationship with some members of industry, who said they are less enthusiastic about working with DHS than they are with other federal agencies.

DHS logo“The fact that people don’t want to do business with us is a big problem for me,” Russell Deyo, DHS undersecretary for management, said Nov. 9 at the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council’s DHS Enterprise symposium in Washington. “And I need to understand why and what we can do about it.”

Deyo, who spent nearly three decades at Johnson & Johnson, presented his four management priorities for the final year of the Obama administration before a group of industry executives.

But the conversation that followed quickly took a turn, when one member of industry suggested DHS approach its vendor relationship with more urgency.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/industryassociations/2015/11/dhs-causes-headaches-industry-agency/

Relationships key to successful year-end spending

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A mix of budget uncertainty and the use-it-or-lose-it nature of federal funding leads to a spending rush at the end of the fiscal year at many agencies. The realities of the contracting process and stipulations under the federal acquisition regulation can make this a daunting time for vendors and contracting shops, alike.

GSA logoDuring a panel discussion at the annual 930Gov end-of-year conference, Casey Kelley, director of the General Services Administration’s Alliant GWAC, said agencies should plan for this months before the fourth quarter arrives. When that’s not possible, it’s important to have strong relationships with internal contracting shops, as well as GWACs and other government buyers, he said.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/2015/08/26/end–year-contracting/32414181/

Does perception matter? In federal contracting, it does

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Perception is a funny thing. Most would agree that it’s based less on reality and more on assumptions – on believing what we’re told, on placing too much weight on one, often isolated situation, circumstance, or moment in time. And yet it persists. And it’s incredibly persuasive.

NCMA World Congress 2015And no, the fact that perception is often shaped by media is not lost on me. As both a producer and consumer of news, I recognize the responsibility placed upon journalists, fair or not, to dictate how an event, an issue, or an entire industry should be regarded.  It’s precisely why, in fact, I was fortunate enough to talk about how perception may or may not influence how federal contracting functions at the National Contract Management Association’s World Congress.

But as we noted during that panel, for the world of federal contracting, the perception comes from many other places beyond media.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/blogs/editorial/2015/07/29/does-perception-matter-federal-contracting-does/30830163/

 

How companies hide the spoils of winning government contracts

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General Electric, the venerable maker of light bulbs, refrigerators, and other appliances, recently announced that it was selling off its consumer products division because the profit margins are too low. While GE bids that division goodbye, it’s holding onto its highly lucrative government-contracting business, in which a less-demanding customer leaves room for higher margins. Between 2007 and 2012, GE secured more than $16 billion worth of federal contracts, which might have something to do with the fact that it spent $150 million on lobbying during that period.

How often do these sorts of contracts roll in for companies that spend heavily on political advocacy? Unfortunately, there’s not enough public information to say.

Journalists and critics frequently bring up the dizzying totals that special interests put into elections—one estimate was that $3.7 billion was spent on last month’s midterms—but it’s much less common to hear about the impact of that money on the government’s decision-making.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2014/12/how-companies-hide-spoils-winning-government-contracts/100572

Subcontractor wants out of shipping contract; hearing set for Oct. 30

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A key subcontractor wants to stop shipping troops’ privately owned vehicles for the Department of Defense, further threatening a system that has been plagued by long delays and complaints from troops.

A U.S. District Court on Sunday enjoined Liberty Global Logistics of Lake Success, N.Y., to stick to its agreement to ship vehicles to and from Europe. Liberty is a subcontractor to Brunswick, Ga.-based International Auto Logistics, which in May took over a DOD contract to ship the personal vehicles of servicemembers and DOD civilian employees.

The temporary injunction will be the subject of a Thursday hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Southern of Georgia, Brunswick Division.

Liberty, of Lake Success, N.Y., has questioned whether International is financially capable of servicing a contract it won in May to ship the personal vehicles of DOD personnel when they transfer duty stations. In documents filed with the court by International, Liberty said that International had taken out an $8 million line of credit last year, which expired in July.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.stripes.com/news/subcontractor-wants-out-of-pov-shipping-contract-hearing-set-for-thursday-1.309580

Are tight budgets straining trust between agencies and industry?

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Even under the best circumstances, the relationship between agencies and industry can be strained at times.

But are federal budget and staffing shortfalls — particularly among the federal government’s acquisition workforce — fueling a climate of mistrust between the government and its contractors?

It’s not quite that dire yet, contracting experts told Federal News Radio as part of the special series, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees.

But improving the relationship between government and industry remains deserving of some attention — especially in today’s austere budget climate.

“It’s no secret that [in terms of] the numbers of federal employees, there’s a decrease, the retirements are going up, certainly the budget issues of the last couple years don’t improve morale within the federal-employee workspace,” said Michael Fischetti, executive director of the National Contract Management Association, in an interview on In Depth with Francis Rose. “And as those folks leave, the ability of the government to hire and retain quality individuals that understand the requirements that they’re levying on the contractor is challenging. So the contractor and the government have to have their best foot forward in this relationship and communicate well to make that happen. And that’s been a concern.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/1291/3628149/Are-tight-budgets-straining-trust-between-agencies-industry

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