FedSubK Feature: The Acquisition Lifecycle of Service Contracts - Phase 1 Acquisition Planning
Updated: May 4, 2024
This month we start a three-part series explaining why it is important for service contractors to understand the Federal acquisition lifecycle. Familiarizing yourself with the path you’ll walk to find, respond to, and possibly win Federal contracts is strategic. Two major advantages to businesses when they understand the lifecycle are:
● Strengthening Government Relationships. The ability to have meaningful conversations with the Government about your targeted contract actions and understand exactly where an action is in its lifecycle and the flow shows you appreciate the process and the work that goes into it from both the Government and industry perspective.
● Going In With Your Eyes Wide Open. Knowing the unique aspects of each phase in the lifecycle and its activities and sub-activities helps understand what the Government is doing and why at each phase. It pulls the curtain back and exposes the inner workings giving you the ability to be proactive, manage time and resources, and develop strategies to mitigate business risks during the process.
The lifecycle of a typical Federal services contract valued over the SAT involves three phases and many steps. The basic acquisition lifecycle for all contract actions is depicted below.
While the Government has several guides outlining either a 7-Step Process or 8-Step Process for Performance-Based Service Acquisitions (PBSAs), they focus heavily on the steps performed by the Government leading up to the solicitation of the requirement and not enough on the specific steps in the process wherein the offeror/contractor becomes involved after submission of an offer and contract execution. For that reason, our discussion will delineate those same processes using the three phases named above for clarity.
Acquisition Planning (Pre-Solicitation)
This phase is performed entirely by the Government before the issuance of the solicitation and includes input from industry as a result of market research efforts from the Government. Tasks in this phase include deciding--
● the Government’s need through market research, development of the acquisition strategy and/or acquisition plan, preparation of a random order of magnitude (ROM) or detailed Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and budget commitment.
● the Government’s requirements, including preparation of the statement of work (SOW), performance work statement (PWS), or statement of objectives (SOO).
● the extent of competition based on available competition pools and consideration of the use of set-asides to one or more of the Federal contracting assistance programs managed by SBA.
● the factors, criteria, and method of procurement to be used in the source selection process.
● the provisions and clauses for selection and use in the solicitation.
Steps in the Acquisition Planning (Pre-Solicitation) Phase
Legend: I = Integrated Project Team, P = Project Management Office / Requestor, and A = Acquisition Office
The steps, while depicted linearly, may be performed in tandem with those involved in the various steps of the pre-award phase. In the end, these tasks will culminate in an approved acquisition strategy and solicitation document to be published on SAM.gov.
Let’s discuss some specific elements of the Acquisition Planning phase for further understanding.
Market Research (FAR Part 10)
Market research is performed by the Government to “...arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing, and supporting supplies and services.” Market research is always used, regardless of dollar value, but the extent of market research varies. Factors such as urgency, estimated dollar value, complexity, and the Government’s past experience making the same/similar purchases are taken into consideration.
A variety of market research techniques are available and may be used by the Government, taking into account the factors above and agency regulations and policy. They are:
● Contacting knowledgeable individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet requirements.
● Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements.
● Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications.
● Querying the Governmentwide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies available at https://www.contractdirectory.gov/contractdirectory/ and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions.
● Participating in interactive, online communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers.
● Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources.
● Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available online.
● Conducting interchange meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the acquisition process.
● Reviewing systems such as the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), and the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS).
The Contracting Officer is allowed to use market research that is conducted within 18 months of an award for orders if the information is still current, accurate, and relevant. However, with large complex acquisitions that are recurring in nature (i.e., Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), Best in Class (BIC) contracts) it is not unheard of for market research to start anywhere from 24 to 30 months forward before the planned award date of a contract.
Acquisition Plan (FAR Subpart 7.105)
Aside from the statement of need, the contents of a written acquisition plan are lengthy at best. As someone who has written my fair share of acquisition plans and been the approving official on others, the list below shows the detailed considerations made by the Government when a written acquisition is required by the agency:
● Requirements for compatibility with existing or future systems or programs.
● Known cost, schedule, and capability or performance constraints.
● Life-cycle cost and how they will be considered, to include the cost model used.
● Design-to-cost objectives and underlying assumptions to include economic adjustment factors.
● Application of should-costs analysis to the acquisition.
● Required capability or performance characteristics.
● Basis for delivery or performance-period requirements.
● Trade-offs among the various cost, capability or performance, and schedule goals.
● Technical, cost, and schedule risks and efforts to reduce risk as well as the consequences of failure to achieve goals.
● Acquisition streamlining plans and procedures.
● Summary of prospective sources of supplies or services to meet the need to include:
-- Required sources of supplies and services (FAR Part 8).
-- SBA Federal Contracting Programs and use of set-asides.
-- Consolidation and bundling and how it may affect participation of small businesses.
-- Market research results.
● Competition requirements in terms of how it will be sought, promoted, and sustained through the acquisition lifecycle.
● Rationale for the contract type selected.
● Source selection procedures to be utilized.
● Acquisition considerations like multi-year contracting, multiple-award contracting, use of orders and/or options, other special contracting methods under FAR Part 17 to be used, special clauses or solicitation provisions, deviations, use of negotiated procurements, and/or lease or purchase of equipment.
● For Information Technology acquisitions:
-- Capital planning and investment control requirements.
-- Internet Protocol (IP) compliance requirements.
-- Accessibility standards.
● Budget estimates and funding sources.
● Product and service descriptions.
● Priorities, allocations, and allotments rationales for urgent requirements with a short delivery or performance schedule.
● Consideration of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-76 regarding contractor versus Government performance of the work.
● Determination that the work is not inherently governmental (i.e., must be performed by a Government employee due to the nature of the duties performed or work requirements).
● Management systems that will be used to monitor the contractor’s effort, including Earned Value Management Systems (EVMSs) and the methodology to be employed to analyze and use the data to assess contractor performance.
● Make or buy decisions.
● Test and evaluation programs to be employed.
● Logistics considerations.
● Indication of any Government-furnished property to be used during performance.
● Environmental and energy conservation objectives and the applicability of any environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) on performance.
● Security considerations to include dealing with classified information, cybersecurity, physical security, and control of data to include Privacy Act Data.
● Contract administration procedures to be used including inspection and acceptance, enforcement of performance criteria, quality assurance, and identification of critical items.
● Other considerations, as applicable, such as:
-- Standardization concepts.
-- Industrial Readiness Program.
-- The Defense Production Act.
-- The Occupational Safety and Health Act.
-- The Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002.
-- Foreign sales implications.
-- Special considerations for contracts performed in a designated operational area or supporting a diplomatic or consular mission.
● Additional information related to major systems development or production contracts.
● Milestone schedule for the acquisition cycle.
● Identification of participants in the preparation of the acquisition plan.
FAR Subpart 37.102(a) dictates that performance-based acquisitions are the preferred method for acquiring services (Pub.L. 106-398, section 821) and must be used to the maximum extent practicable except for architect-engineer services, construction, utility services, and services that are incidental to supply purchases.
Did you realize that the Requiring Activity and Contracting Officer documented all those considerations? The Acquisition Plan is the “go-to” document when questions come up later in the acquisition process. I can’t tell you how many times as a Contracting Officer I had to remind the team when someone would get an idea to evaluate some new factor or change the competition pool – “What does the Acq Plan say?”
Competition Requirements
With certain limited exceptions, Contracting Officers are to promote and provide for full and open competition in soliciting offers and awarding Government contracts. Those exceptions include:
● Establishing or Maintaining Alternative Sources
Agencies may exclude a particular source because doing so would increase or maintain competition and likely result in a reduced overall cost for the acquisition, be in the interest of national defense, ensure the continuous availability of a reliable source of supplies or services, satisfy projected needs based on a history of high demand or satisfy a critical need for medical, safety, or emergency supplies.
● SBA Federal Contracting Assistance Programs
To fulfill the statutory requirements related to small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, or EDWOSB concerns, contracting officers may set aside solicitations to allow only those businesses to compete with no separate justification needed to do so.
● Other Than Full and Open Competition
The Government may also use other statutory authorities to support other than full and open competition. The Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration are subject to 10 U.S.C. 3204. Other executive agencies are subject to 41 U.S.C.3304. Contracting without providing for full and open competition or full and open competition after exclusion of sources is a violation of statute unless allowed by one of the exceptions below.
-- Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. (FAR Subpart 6.302-1)
-- Unusual or compelling urgency. (FAR Subpart 6.302-2)
-- Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services. (FAR Subpart 6.302-3)
-- International agreement (FAR Subpart 6.302-4)
-- Authorized or required by statute (FAR Subpart 6.302-5)
-- National security (FAR Subpart 6.302-6)
-- Public interest (FAR Subpart 6.302-7)
Solicitation Terms and Conditions
Solicitation terms and conditions are prescribed by the FAR and agency FAR supplements (see FedSubK Feature - Agency Supplements: The FAR and Its Child Regulations for more info on FAR supplements). A tip for understanding why a clause is included in a solicitation or contract is to read the prescription and any cross-reference material the prescription points to in the FAR.
The prescription for each provision or clause is found in FAR Part 52.2 and stated before each clause. For example:
Clicking on the hyperlink for the prescription will take you to the FAR subpart that explains the applicability of the clause and likely references to further information related to the clause and compliance.
Terms and conditions-like statements may also be found in the Statement of Work (SOW), Performance Work Statement (PWS), or Statement of Objectives (SOO) about site security, safety, badging, facilities access, and more. Be sure to understand those requirements as well as the compliance and reporting requirements of FAR provisions and clauses.
Under the Christian doctrine, a mandatory government contract clause that was not included in a government contract may be assumed included in the contract by operation of law, even when the clause is not written into or referenced by the contract. For example, under the Christian Doctrine, if the Buy American Act clause was inadvertently left out of a construction contract, the Act still applies to the Federal contract.
Summary
There’s a lot involved in the acquisition planning for a solicitation. Sometimes these steps take years to many months for major systems and highly complex acquisitions. For smaller or routine purchases, they can be accomplished in a matter of 45-90 days. But each new contract for services follows the same general Acquisition Planning (Pre-Solicitation) path.
The next time you talk to the Government about an upcoming acquisition, you can ask about where in the process the action is and know the path ahead. Next month we will talk about the next phase of the acquisition lifecycle; Contract Formation & Source Selection (Award).
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The FAR Overhaul: Long-Deferred Maintenance on the Government's Procurement Highway
If you’ve ever worked in federal procurement — as a contracting professional, program manager, small business, prime, sub, or advisor — you’ve probably had this moment:
You’re doing your best to follow the rules…and suddenly you hit a clause, a cross-reference, or a requirement that feels like it came out of nowhere.
That’s because the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) isn’t just a set of rules. It’s a highway system. A massive, heavily traveled road network that’s been patched, expanded, and rerouted for decades — and in many areas, it’s operating with years of deferred maintenance.
Let’s talk about what that really means using the highway analogy to explain why the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul isn't as "revolutionary" as some might think.
The FAR is like a Well-Traveled Federal Highway
The FAR is the main road that nearly every federal acquisition travels on. And like any highway system:
- Everyone uses it
- Everyone depends on it
- And over time, it’s been modified in ways that made sense in the moment… but created complexity later
If you look at any highway on Google Maps it shows a rather clean route. FAR, we were taught, was set up to be the same way: requirements, procedures, clauses, and guidance. But once you’re actually “driving” that road? Well, you realize the terrain is full of twists and turns. It's more complicated than you realized.
Hidden Guardrails: The Rules You Don’t See Until You Need Them
Some of the FAR’s most critical compliance safeguards are like guardrails buried under weeds or snow. They’re there for a reason: to prevent waste, protect fairness, ensure accountability. But they’re not always easy to spot. In practice, you often discover them when someone asks:
“Did you document that?”
“Where’s your justification?”
“Why didn’t you compete this?”
“Which clause applies here?”
That’s when you realize the guardrails were present the whole time — just not visible.
Guardrails are added all the time or in the process of being fixed (via rulemaking). But all that construction can clog up traffic and make the time for arrival (contract award) continually recalculate.
Hazards & Risks: Potholes, Speed Traps, and Fog
Now add in the hazards:
- Potholes = ambiguity and unclear language
- Fog = inconsistent interpretation across offices and agencies
- Construction zones = evolving policy updates, executive orders, and new mandates
- Speed traps = protests, audits, IG scrutiny, and compliance reviews
And these hazards hit different people differently. The same stretch of FAR may feel smooth to one team and treacherous to another. That’s not because the people are bad at driving — it’s because the road is uneven.
Side Roads & Gray Areas: The Detours Everyone Knows About
Then there are the side roads. Some are official alternate routes: simplified acquisition procedures, flexibilities, exceptions, and FAR “shortcuts” that exist for good reasons. Those are the routes people take because they’ve always taken them. Indicators might be hearing yourself or your peer say --
“We’ve always done it this way.”
“That’s how the last CO handled it.”
“This should be faster.”
“It’ll probably be fine.”
Side roads aren’t automatically wrong. But they come with risks, Eventually someone asks, “Why did you go that way instead of the main route?”
Others are the gray areas -- the gravel roads and roads only the locals (experienced COs/KOs) know. Those routes have to be navigated very carefully and even the best driver can have issues even if there is less traffic. Many times they beat those on the highway to their destination, but it's only because they know where all the seen and unseen hazards are from their years driving that route.
So What Is the FAR Overhaul, Really?
Here’s the key point:
✅ It is NOT building a new road.
✅ It is NOT bulldozing the FAR and replacing it.
✅ It IS road maintenance -- the kind that should've been done years ago.
And when you have decades of deferred maintenance, it takes a lot of work to make that road appear to be what it was all along.
But that's not "revolutionary". That's finally doing the work you've been putting off because you couldn't get to it.
The County (in this case, the FAR Council, being the governing body over the FAR and its contents) could always do a little better job at maintenance than they do. But their budget and resources are low and their workload demands are very high (just take a look at the FAR Open Case Report). Sometimes it takes a new Sheriff In town (a new Administration) driving down the highway see what those too close to it should have been aware of all along. Layers upon layers of deferred maintenance.
The FAR Overhaul is best understood as freshening up the same highway.
- Clearing overgrowth = outdated and redundant material and non-regulatory clutter.
- Improving signage = clarity and usability.
- Standardizing merges and exits = better consistency and flow.
- Removing obsolete detours = non-regulatory clutter, outdated terminology, and rules that no longer serve their purpose.
And a bonus is the updated maps available for your travels (FAR Companion and Practitioner Albums)
The destination isn’t changing. But the route is FAR more functional -- see how I did that. ;)
Why This Metaphor Matters
When people hear the word “overhaul,” they often assume “Everything is changing.” But what this effort really signals is “We are fixing the road we’ve been driving on for decades.” That’s important because procurement has become more complex, acquisition timelines are under pressure, and both agencies and industry need guidance that is easier to understand, apply, and defend.
If the FAR Overhaul is the same old FAR highway with better pavement, clearer signs, fewer surprises, and, hopefully, less time lost in detours, fewer compliance collisions, and a smoother drive for everyone. The biggest difference is that now all travelers know what the locals knew all along. How to get from point A to point B in less time using an updated road system and map.
Safe travels on the FAR Highway in 2026!
The FAR Is a Highway System… and the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Is Long-Overdue Road Work
Contract Types and Contract Vehicles: The Difference Matters
Nuances matter in Federal Contracting. Those who haven't lived the Federal Contracting experience day in and day out may believe it's minor details that don't make a difference. They don't pick up on the nuances.
For those that have lived it from behind the walls of an agency know how those nuances can make a difference between how you are perceived building relationships with primes, potential team members and, most importantly, agency decision-makers.
One nuance -- Contract Types and Contract Vehicles.
Contract TYPES are defined by the pricing structure and risk ratio between the parties. They are:
✅️ Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) to include FFP with Economic Price Adjustment (FFP w/EPA), Prospective Price Determination, Fixed-Ceiling Priced Contracts with Retroactive Price Redetermination, and those with a Level-of-Effort term (FFP-LOE).
✅️ Cost Reimbursement (or "Cost-Plus" ("CP")) to include cost sharing, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF), Award Fee (CPAF), and Incentive Fee (CPIF).
✅️ Time-and-Materials (T&M) with materials on a fixed-price or cost-reimbursement basis.
✅️ Labor-Hour (L-H).
Contract VEHICLES provide the performance and administrative structure for the Contract Type. Those are:
✅️ Definitive Contracts are for specific stand-alone project(s) that fall above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT).
✅️ Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (IDVs) include Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts (IDIQs), Definitely Quantity, and Requirements vehicles. They include, but are NOT exclusively, governmentwide (GWACs), agency-specific, or GSA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS).
➡️➡️ Under the IDV umbrella falls task orders (services) & delivery orders (products) and specific instructions for who can order and how.
✅️ Agreements such as Basic Agreements, Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs).
➡️ ➡️ They are most often an umbrella for calls / orders (agencies call them both of these things even where FAR / RFO is specific, so it is easy to get confused), but don't have to be.
✅️ Purchase Orders (POs) (actions that fall under SAT).
✅️ Letter Contracts.
Yea, I know. FAR (even the RFO) lumps them all together as "Contract Types" in Part 16. But none stand alone. In my opinion, the FAR rewriters blew their chance to clarify this important piece of the procurement puzzle. For example:
▶️ IDIQs for services may include the ability to issue multiple types of task orders like fixed-priced, cost, T&M, and L-H under them, or only one type.
▶️ Definitive contract vehicles can be any contract type or combination thereof (hybrid) as indicated in the contract line items (CLINs) and for which terms and conditions are included.
Bottom line is -- There is not a complete understanding of a contract vehicle without defining its contract type(s).
If you see folks lumping TYPES and VEHICLES together in a discussion without explaining the difference, you know they aren't familiar with the nuances of this part of the FAR / RFO.
Follow those that are and have. Visit fedsubk.com and Expand your Federal Contracting knowledge today.
There are nuances in every FAR / RFO Part, including Part 16. We talk about why it is important to know and understand them in this marketplace.
FedSubK Feature: Be Seen! Why Your SBS Profile is So Important
UPDATED November 2025 to incorporate changes from the SBA Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) to the new SBA Small Business Search (SBS)
I’ve posted on LinkedIn a lot recently about ways to be seen as a little fish in the big pond that is the Federal marketplace. Every GovCon consultant has a take on the best entry points with agencies. My take is there is only one place small businesses MUST put their best foot forward to be quickly and easily seen by Federal buyers for potential opportunities and influence small business set-asides.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Search (SBS) is THE PLACE you must be on your A-game.
The Small Business Search (SBS) is a database in which SBA houses information on the current pool of certificated small businesses. Presently, small businesses that do not have certifications or are self-certified, may also create a profile in this database. The SBS is used by contracting officers, small business specialists, large prime contractors, and other small businesses looking for teaming partners to find small businesses that can help meet Federal requirements and identify businesses that can help the Government (or a prime contractor) meet its small business goals. SBS is one of the first--and often only--sources used in market research by agencies to determine the numbers of small businesses able to provide products or services by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.
You can see why this might be an important place to pay attention to, eh?
Businesses have forgotten about the SBS in the last few years because SAM.gov no longer sends small business registrants directly to SBS at the end of their registration to complete the profile like it used to. I HUGE bummer. Businesses now must wait for their SAM.gov registration to be activated, then they can establish an SBA SBS account, claim their entity record, and fill in their company profile in the SBS system. Federal buyers are looking for detailed information from SBS to use as part of their market research efforts.
SBS isn’t only for market research.
Even more importantly, the SBS shows Federal buyers the status of any pending certification applications for the purpose of determining whether you are eligible to compete for a set-aside action. For example, an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) can still submit an offer for an WOSB set-aside even with a pending application for certification showing in the SBS. Contracting Officers often use SBS as a source to confirm the socioeconomic certification status and 8(a) program participation along with SAM.gov.
While MySBA Certifications automatically sends socioeconomic certification status to SAM.gov and updates the requisite reps and certs to reflect the correct socioeconomic status, recently it has taken weeks for that migration to occur. WOSBs and EDWOSBs have reported not seeing their correct socioeconomic status reflected in their SAM entity record.
Businesses should always check their SAM entity record to ensure that the proper status is shown within a reasonable time after receipt of an active certification status; usually within 14 business days. If the record is not accurately reflected, you can contact answerdesk@sba.gov or the SBA socioeconomic program under which your business was certified for assistance. If a Contracting Officer says that your SAM record does not reflect the status claimed, ask the Contracting Officer to check SBS for the more accurate information because of these delays.
So now let’s talk about BEING SEEN in SBS and walk through each part of the registration.
Understanding how to maximize the fields in SBS is how you can make the best possible first impression so that Federal buyers want to learn more about YOU!
The Key Words
Often businesses pluck these from thin air and over-generalized based on what they think the Government wants to see. Key words need to reflect and incorporate aspects of your primary NAICS, secondary NAICS, and what you can provide under those NAICS. If you use key words that don’t reflect your primary NAICS, you’ll leave the Government scratching their head about you. They won’t understand the message you’re sending about your company. Be consistent and specific with key words while tying into your NAICS codes in order to leave the best impression. You have 500 characters -- use them wisely.
The Website
Be sure that you include the URL for any website you have. Make it be more than a landing page. It needs to tell your story. It needs to include information about your company, what you sell, past customers, and products or solutions you provide. And most of all, it must be polished. Scrub your site hard for formatting, typos, grammatical errors, etc. Acquisition personnel using the SBS will often quickly click on the site to see just how polished it is. When it looks good, they get the impression you know your stuff and pay attention to details.
The Capabilities Narrative
This is the written equivalent of your elevator pitch. This section should include all the things you’d include in that two-minute speech. Hit hard on what your company specialized in and its core product or service areas. Show the business’s focus and avoid being all over the map by overpromising on the breadth of work the business performs.
Near the end of the capabilities narrative, list any socioeconomic certifications Why not lead with it? Because that certification is only part of your business, and it alone does not get you interest from the Contracting Officer. End with that information so the Contracting Officer can easily see it in a quick query and get your business into their market research counts.
Lastly, identify any government contract vehicle or GSA Schedule your company may hold. If you can catch their eye that you have an existing GSA Schedule or your business participates in the 8(a) program, you’ll get counted and likely get a look in terms of the Contracting Officer wanting to know more. If they need to meet a socioeconomic goal, they can see quickly. You’re helping the Contracting Officer do their job. They LOVE that! (And made another great first impression!)
SBS now also includes a field to add a link to your online capabilities statement. Use it!
“Extras” You Should Never Skip
Performance History
I cannot say this enough…if you history doing work for any Government or quasi-Government entity at any level -- Federal, State, or Local level -- list them! Don’t play the “they’ll see that when I propose” game. Showing performance history—even if it is minimal or commercial and not Government--helps. How? It proves the viability of the business and the size and types of projects you’ve completed. Those goes a long way to determining eligibility of the business based on performance on same / similar work of a same / similar dollar value (“Rule of Two” stuff – you can read more about that here).
Review Your Profile
Go out to the SBS site and use the filters for your NAICS, business name, geographic location, and business types. Make sure your show up and see how your profile measures up to your competitors. Look at their records and see what they included that you haven’t. Use the good ideas of others, but don’t plagiarize. Contracting Officers will see that and that won’t look good for either of you.
Keep Evolving
Your SBS isn’t something that you can just set and forget either. Make reviewing your profile in SBS something you do when you renew your SAM.gov registration every year. If something major changes in your business focus, NAICS, or socioeconomic status, make associated changes in SBS.
What GovCon doesn't always talk about -- The SBS Influence
When doing market research and trying to determine if an acquisition should be set-aside for small businesses, the Government is not only counting about the numbers of small businesses that claim they can do the work under a NAICS code in SBS. They are analyzing your SBS profile to see if your business could be one of the "... two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of fair market prices, quality, and delivery" and they have “…a reasonable expectation of obtaining an offer…” from you. (There’s that pesky “Rule of Two” again.)
In other words, based on what they see, could you submit a proposal likely to win? And how does a Contracting Officer determine that? Simply put... the your answers to everything we just covered.
Completing your profile helps tip the market research scales toward a small businesses set-aside and possibly a specific socioeconomic set-aside. If you're all over the map in your SBS narrative, the Government will not consider you viable eligible contractor towards that “Rule of Two” and could possible choose to go another way with their acquisition strategy, away from a small business set-aside. Or worse, they set it aside but remember your name from the market research as one of the businesses that didn’t make their initial market analysis cut.
Influence where you can! SBS is the place where you have a lot of influence!
Have I convinced you to get out there and create or update your SBS profile yet?
While the system is no longer got the word "Dynamic" in the title, don't forget its meaning. Life is dynamic, business is dynamic, and your SBS profile should still be dynamic, too. Get it completed ASAP. You can’t afford not to.
Remember again, SBS IS WHERE FEDERAL BUYERS GO TO FIND SMALL BUSINESSES and where other small businesses go to find teaming partners and subcontractors.
Get out there, GET NOTICED, BE SEEN, and STAY DYNAMIC!
(former title: FedSubK Feature: Be A Dynamic Small Business!)
