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Navigating the waters of the federal contracting space as a small business is usually daunting at best. But the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Office of Small Business Programs provides a compass to steer small businesses in the right direction whether they end up contracting with the combat logistics agency or not.
It's an all-in mentality to assist every small business who walks through their doors no matter who they are. If they can’t assist someone because it’s not the right fit for the Land and Maritime or DLA supply chains, they are referred to someone who can help.
“We pride ourselves at being a one-stop-shop for all small businesses,” said Kreston Harris, Director of the OSBP for DLA Land and Maritime. “We think of ourselves as the help desk for small businesses for everything they need. Customer service is a big part of what we do, and we have a great team who works together to solve problems unique to small businesses.”
“The end goal is a satisfied small business partner who will continue to work with us into the future,” he added.
And that is part of the formula which resulted in a banner year where the office exceeded its overall DLA-directed annual goal of 47% in fiscal 2023 by obligating 54.16% of its contracts to small businesses to the tune of $2.2 billion. Socioeconomic goals for Small Disadvantaged Businesses, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Women-Owned Small Businesses were well over goal, while Historically Underutilized Business Zone businesses crossed the finish line with awards totaling $121.4 million, 0.2% shy of the annual goal.
By exceeding its goals, the office is facilitating more integration of small businesses into the defense industrial base, which according to the Defense Department Small Business Strategy released in January 2023, has declined by about 40% over the last decade.
Key to meeting those goals and moving the needle further, is proactive management of small business set asides, Harris said.
According to the Small Business Administration, small business set asides in federal contracting limits competition for certain contracts to small businesses. This mechanism helps level the playing field for them, so they don’t get pushed out of the federal marketplace by larger more resourced businesses.
Some contracts are restricted further to HUBZone, WOSB, SDB, 8(a) or SDVOSB categories of small businesses.
To issue a set aside, there must be an expectation of two or more small businesses offering on a requirement, Harris said.
As defined by the SBA, SDBs in the 8(a) Business Development program have special set asides only available to them as part of a nine-year program which acts as a business incubator, helping these businesses strengthen their ability to compete effectively for federal government dollars.
“8(a) is unique for us as our buyers can only offer specific items to 8(a) businesses exclusively,” Harris said. “Now we can buy this item from different firms, but they must be in the 8(a) program and meet a fair market price. Our role is to assist the buyer in the Land or Maritime supply chains by recommending which one is best to award the contract to, from the 8(a) pool.”
“Sometimes, it isn’t conducive for a small business set aside to be in place and a buyer from one of DLA Land and Maritime’s supply chains requests to have it dissolved, opening the contract up for unrestricted competition,” said Matthew Elliott, a deputy director for DLA Land and Maritime OSBP.
“When a buyer sees that a contract is supposed to be a set aside but doesn’t anticipate two or more small businesses quoting on it based on market research or past quote history, they will submit a request to us for our approval to dissolve that set aside to allow for large businesses to also quote on that solicitation,” Harris said.
Harris added dissolving or not dissolving a small business set aside is not a decision that is taken lightly.
“A lot of thought and research goes into each decision we make,” he explained. “For example, we have found small businesses have a very low percentage of successfully making complex items like torsion bars for a military vehicle’s suspension. So, we work with the supply chains to not force them to do certain set asides when the companies in the set aside quoting pool keep failing for this issue or others. In these instances, the set aside is dissolved allowing any business to quote on it large, or small, and we encourage multiple awards.”
Harris said the strong relationships between the OSBP and DLA Land and Maritime supply chains over the past several years has been key to ensuring small business gets a piece of the contracting pie.
“We need to make sure the government – military customer gets the right part,” he said. “We must guarantee that, so we have built exceptional working relationships with the supply chains in the identification of parts where a set aside is the right option. And when it is not, we will open it up for all to quote on because ultimately the overall mission of DLA is to support the warfighter and we cannot lose sight of that.”
Elliott agreed.
“When we are open to negotiate with our buyers, then they are more open to look to us for future opportunities to set aside for small businesses or socioeconomic programs,” he explained. “We provide that market research, by going out into the community to find small businesses to manufacture that part, like a specialized gear assembly for a vehicle. The supply chains come to us often with these special niche needs that only small businesses can provide.”
Collaboration and mutual understanding of small business and what that community can do is a large part of nurturing the relationship between his team and the acquisition side of the agency, Harris said.
Elliott emphasized that an open and continuing dialogue is key to breaking stereotypes and perceptions of small businesses and to highlight how they are vital to a strong defense industrial base.
“One of the things we constantly tell our acquisition workforce is small businesses are more than two guys in a garage,” Elliott said. “But rather, its most likely up to 500 people in a huge facility making critical parts needed by the warfighter. That’s still a small business as much as two guys in a garage is.”
A manufacturing business size is dependent on the number of employees, Harris said. The common number is 500 or less, broken down by item type, item class and North American Industry Classification System codes.
“The mentality is often that a small business can’t handle it when in fact they are more innovative, can change their equipment quicker to meet new demands, and are more resilient to fluctuating market conditions,” Elliott said.
The office also helps dissolve these perceptions by arming the DLA Land and Maritime acquisition workforce with knowledge through a comprehensive training program.
“As a result of our efforts, where we may have been perceived as a hinderance in the past, we are now considered a partner,” Harris said. “We cannot consistently exceed our small business goals without the supply chains’ support.”
Along with managing set asides, the Office of Small Business Programs facilitates small business participation in larger contracts with a Congressionally mandated subcontracting plan.
Public Law 95-507 requires all contractors, other than small businesses, receiving federal contract awards over $750,000 to submit acceptable subcontracting plans prior to the contract award.
These plans must specify goals and demonstrate contractors' best efforts to subcontract to small businesses, Elliott said.
“Large businesses usually do not make the weapon systems themselves, rather they manage multiple subcontractors who make the product for them using their design,” Harris explained. “And each prime contractor also needs multiple subcontractors to get the repair parts needed to keep fielded weapons systems operational for use by American and foreign military services in conflicts around the world. Those subcontractors are most often small businesses.”
The office is constantly working to bring new small businesses into the fold through a variety of outreach activities designed to provide small businesses with the tools needed to remove barriers to entry in the defense market, Elliott said.
In FY23, the team ran six virtual Training, Knowledge and Opportunities workshops, dozens of webinars, 12 in person Matchmaking events, and attended many supplier outreach conferences including the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition, the Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Conference and the annual DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exposition.
“The TKOs and webinars are tailored to new businesses to give them the basics of interacting with DLA systems, processes and procedures they need to follow to be a successful partner with all of DLA, not just DLA Land and Maritime,” Harris said noting that his office coordinates this free training for headquarters which is geared towards working with all the supply chains under DLA.
The TKOs are the most valuable to small businesses as they are highly interactive, two-way conversations and are very collaborative in nature due to the cadre of speakers brought in, Elliot said.
“The value of these two-day workshops comes in when subject matter experts speak on a specific process like packaging and shipping or tutorials on the Defense Internet and Bidding Board System, Vendor Shipment Module or the Supplier Performance Rating System,” Harris added.
“These experts know these subjects intimately and relay that information to businesses to set them up for success by offering hands-on and immersive experiences for small businesses and are tailored to their specific wants and needs,” he continued.
Another outreach avenue is attending supplier and manufacturing conferences where the OSBP represents DLA Land and Maritime with the rest of the supply chains in a joint presence at the DLA Office of Small Business Programs booth.
“We work collaboratively with headquarters and the other supply chains by supporting each other at large events to get more small businesses on board with DLA,” Harris said. “Most businesses interested in contracting with DLA come to us at these events and we leverage these opportunities to find niche businesses we need to supply specific parts for our supply chains we support.”
But the best outreach comes in the form of the phone calls, emails and one-on-one opportunities the office fields daily.
“What it is all about is not necessarily meeting goals, but supporting small businesses with everything they need,” Harris said.
“These small businesses are the engine that runs the country, and we are doing our part to support that,” Elliott said.
About the DLA Land and Maritime Office of Small Business Programs
The Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Office of Small Business Programs located at the Defense Supply Center Columbus promotes small business and socio-economic programs while working closely with the acquisition community as they seek suppliers to fulfill DLA’s mission of Warfighter logistics support. The office supports several small business socio-economic programs including the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program, Woman Owned Small Business Program and Small Disadvantaged Business or 8(a) program.
For more information on DLA Land and Maritime’s small business programs, email SmBizLandCols@dla.mil
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2024 10:14 |
| Story ID: | 466048 |
| Location: | COLUMBUS, US |
| Web Views: | 87 |
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