(updated version here)
Let me preface this by saying I am not a contract expert – I am a marketing guy. However, over the last 30+ years I have advised thousands of companies on how to maximize the dollar value of contracts in the federal market. Several of those I have advised became or remain market leaders. My experience marketing GWACs dates back to the mid-1990s when I was an advisor to PRC on the SuperMini contract, the 2nd GWAC ever awarded.
Let me preface this by saying I am not a contract expert – I am a marketing guy. However, over the last 30+ years I have advised thousands of companies on how to maximize the dollar value of contracts in the federal market. Several of those I have advised became or remain market leaders. My experience marketing GWACs dates back to the mid-1990s when I was an advisor to PRC on the SuperMini contract, the 2nd GWAC ever awarded.
Great- that’s out of the way.
Multiple award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQs) are contracts that
have no money assigned specifically to the contract, but that are open to
audiences defined by the type of contract. GWACs (Government-wide Acquisition
Contract), for example, are a type of multiple award IDIQ IT contracts open to all federal agencies, but like GSA/VA Schedules and agency-specific multiple award contracts, are simply a hunting license.
This paper will focus on GWACs.
The companies that win the coveted
spots on each of the GWACs are pre-vetted through the award process,
technically making them more attractive to all federal buyers. the bidding and award process are vigorous, weeding out the contractors that not ready for prime-time.
So- to the point. The dramatic growth
for GWACs over recent years has caught the attention of many, making these coveted
vehicles even more popular for both the contract holder and the buying
agencies.
The question is how
does the growth occur?
There is no question that the NITAAC GWACs growth during the Rob Coen
years (2009-2016, and being PM from 2012-2016) was nothing short of
spectacular. NITAAC is now under the direction of Acting PM Bridget Gauer with
basically the same team, so growth should continue. The three NITAAC GWACs (CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business and CIO-CS)
combined for nearly $5 billion in 2016.
SEWP, under the guidance of Joanne Woytek for the last 18 years,
has always been a great performer and sought after vehicle for contractors.
Joanne has the most experience running a GWAC and the SEWP program is
deservedly the best known GWAC in the GovCon arena. SEWP had its best year ever
in 2016 with nearly $4 billion.
Casey Kelley and his Alliant team have another growing GWAC
that has introduced has introduced a unique process for awarding contract wins.
Alliant and the other GSA GWACs (Alliant II, Alliant II Small Business, 8aSTARS
II, VETS2) combined for almost $6 billion in 2016.
Each of the GWAC Program Managers
works hard for their contracts, but does that lead to the growth?
The answer is yes, with a caveat.
The caveat is that like the GSA Schedule contracts, the GWACs and other
multiple-award IDIQs have super-performers, adequate performers, and
not-so-great performers. Companies with well-managed contracts help the GWACs
grow.
The difference between the top
performers and other contract holders comes down to how the program is managed
on the contractor side. This includes several factors, among them:
- The relationship
between the contractor and the GWAC contract office, the teams on each side,
is critical to growth. The government team can show no preference for any
contractor, but each GWAC PM and their team is open to working with any
contractor to help them be successful. SEWP’s Woytek personally visits each
contract holder to ensure they understand the value of the vehicle and how to
leverage it. This has been a trademark of SEWP for at least the last two
iterations of the contract. Not all contractors take full advantage of this.
- Each GWAC
has agencies that prefer their respective vehicles. While technically any
agency can buy off any of these contracts, some agencies prefer CIO-CS over
SEWP V and vice versa, some agencies have signed agreements with a GWAC to
declare them a preferred vehicle, and so on. The contract holders that
understand which agencies prefer which contracts, and grow deeper relationships
with those agencies, tend to win more business through the contract. Not brain
surgery, but also not a method employed by all.
- The contractors willing to push the bounds of the contract into new agencies also find allies
in the contract Program Managers. The PMs will help educate an agency on the
value of their contract without endorsing any particular contractor. When a
contractor takes this approach, it could be for several reasons, including
their current relationships with that agency, or perhaps they uncovered a
specific opportunity where a certain GWAC would be best used. In any case, this
is a longer term tactic not employed by chronic under-performers.
- The approach by the contract holders on the sales, business development and marketing
part of the equation differ widely. In part this is a resource issue (smaller
companies have fewer resources to draw on) and in part it is because some
companies with multiple contracts market all the contracts together, not each
separately. Other companies still suffer under the misguided notion that
winning a contract makes the phone ring. Not so. Aligning your marketing, BD
and sales and creating specific programs to target specific opportunities
increases sales. A separate Off-White
Paper on this topic is forthcoming.
- The ability for contractors to respond quickly and accurately to the RFQs
that come from the GWAC contract office is the most obvious part of the puzzle.
However as we all know, responding to RFPs and RFQs is part art, part science,
part reading between the lines and part knowing the customer and his/her
preferences on both the responses and the bidders knowledge of the agency and
how that plays out in the response by the contractor.
While this is not a complete
inventory of factors for why some companies perform better than others, it does
touch on some significant points.
My point is winning a spot
on a great contract is just the beginning of the process.
Growing the contract business is the job of the GWAC PM. Growing your share of that business is up to
you.
That combination makes the GWAC more attractive to government buyers.
That combination makes the GWAC more attractive to government buyers.
***
If you aren't getting traction from your GWAC, we should talk. Send me an email at markamtower@gmail.com
If you aren't getting traction from your GWAC, we should talk. Send me an email at markamtower@gmail.com
· * The Amtower Off-White Papers began in mid-1998 with “The
GSA Schedule Results,” the first study showing that growth on the GSA Schedule
was contractor-driven (see link below). The growth drivers at that time were
Dell, Gateway and Micron PC. My Off-White Papers are based on market
observations and my market knowledge, not scientific research. Each Off-White
Paper uses facts, market observations and my point of view, honed by experience
and constant observation of the key and emerging players. The term “Off-White”
is my differentiator, indicating that the conclusions are predicated on how I
see things playing out at a particular moment in time in the complex world of
government contracting.
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