Historically, antitrust enforcement has not been a significant factor in the government contracting (GOVCON) industry. However, the GOVCON industry has seen a recent increase in antitrust activity with involvement from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Are these isolated incidents or the beginning of a new trend? In February 2022,…
Transferring into the latter half of FY2022, we look back at some of the major contract wins that jumpstarted 2022. Highlighting some of these wins can give insight into the implications for your current and future competitors. Noteworthy DISA Win – In late February 2022, it was first announced that Leidos was awarded a 10-year,…
The age-old debate of “submitting a technically acceptable proposal and a very aggressive bid leads to a win” is one we hear constantly. Let’s pause though. Is that really true? This routinely comes up in Black Hat reviews as a topic of great and enthusiastic debate. While we presume this is partly a product of…
Throughout the end of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, several major government contractors have made acquisitions to expand their existing capabilities and footholds within their markets. Some select moves are highlighted below. Obviously, there is much more to cover, but this is a highlighted array of an acquisitions for some of the major…
Oh the mistakes that are made leading to some very expensive losses are ever so avoidable. Bear these in mind so you can avoid spending bid and proposal funds on losing proposals and then more on legal fees for a losing protest. Sin #5: You don’t understand the evaluation tendencies of the agency This sin…
We continue our journey into the land of deadly sins in proposals with two sins involving the bidder’s failure to connect content and concepts in their proposal to ensure credibility of their proposal. Sin #3: You cut staffing levels without an effective rationalization Although reducing staffing levels is a short cut to significantly lower your…
We’ve covered traps of Black Hat reviews and capture team follies. Now it’s time to reveal some of the most common and deadliest sins in proposals. This blog leverages research and analysis we’ve done on mistakes made by some major U.S. Government contractors. In order to conduct this analysis, we used GAO protest docket data…
In last month’s blog, we explored what FEDSIM is and what federal customers use FEDSIM as a mode for procurement. This month, we delve into what contractors are winning FEDSIM bids and with what federal customers. Who are the major winners at FEDSIM? Figure 1 – Top 10 winners of FEDSIM opportunities, FY2017-FY2021 Source: USAspending.gov…
The Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) provides assisted acquisition services for federal agencies. Housed within the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSAs) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) – Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS), FEDSIM consists of nearly 300 employees, providing acquisition, financial, and project management support for the full acquisition life cycle. This blog…
Businesses can encounter many barriers to entry when pursuing a contract. Whether it’s a lack of relevant past performance, technical capabilities, personnel with expertise, or experience with the customer…any business (including GOVCON!) seek solutions to such gaps. This challenge comes up in any number of situations, from Black Hat reviews, to market intelligence engagements and…
