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GUIDE
TO DOD CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES
A Step by Step Approach to the DoD
Marketplace
1.
Identify your product or
service.
It is helpful
to know the Federal Supply Class or Service (FSC/SVC) Codes (www.dlis.dla.mil/h2
) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Code (www.census.gov/naics)
for your product or service.
2.
Obtain a DUNS Number and
register in the Centralized Contractor Registration (CCR)
System and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Procurement
Marketing and Access Network (PRO-Net)
system.
If
you do not have a DUNS Number, contact Dun and Bradstreet (www.dnb.com)
to obtain one. You
must be registered in CCR to be awarded a contract from the
DoD (www.ccr.gov).
CCR is a database designed to hold information relevant
to procurement and financial transactions.
CCR affords you the opportunity for fast electronic
payment of your invoices. The SBA (www.sba.gov)
manages the PRO-Net database of small business concerns. Pro-Net is an
Internet-based database for and about small businesses used by
federal government buying offices as well as many large DoD
prime contractors. We
encourage you to determine if your firm qualifies for 8(a),
SDB, or HUBZone certification while visiting the SBA website.
In addition this site provides information about other
SBA resources including Small Business Development Centers,
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), and Women's
Business Development Centers.
3.
Identify
your target market within DoD.
On
the DoD website: web1.whs.osd.mil
are listed the products and services purchased within a
given fiscal year by the DoD. Data are sorted by FSC/SVC code and provide the name and
location of the DoD activities that purchased each commodity
or service. The
ST28 report is located under “Procurement” and
“statistics” and is the last report on web “page”.
These can be cross-referenced with the list of Small
Business Specialists at: www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/publications/sbs/sbs.html
to identify points of contact for each target activity.
4.
Identify
current DoD procurement opportunities.
Identify
current procurement opportunities in your product or service
area by checking the DoD Business Opportunities website: www.dodbusopps.com.
The electronic version of the Commerce Business Daily (CBD)
(cbdnet.access.gpo.gov)
and the Federal Business Opportunities website www.fedbizopps.gov
can also assist you in identify DoD, as well as other Federal
procurement opportunities.
5.
Familiarize yourself with DoD
contracting procedures.
Be familiar
with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
(www.arnet.gov/far)
and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)
(www.acq.osd.mil/dp/dars).
6.
Investigate Federal Supply
Schedule (FSS) contracts.
Many DoD
purchases are, in fact, orders on FSS contracts.
Contact the General Services Administration (GSA) for
information on how to obtain a FSS contract: www.fss.gsa.gov
7.
Seek additional assistance as
needed in the DoD marketplace.
There are
several important resources that are available to assist you
in the DoD marketplace:
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Procurement Technical Assistance
Centers
(www.dla.mil/db/pta) are located
in most states and partially funded by DoD to provide small
business concerns with information on how to do business with
the Department of Defense.
They provide training and counseling on marketing,
financial, and contracting issues at minimal or no cost.
-
Electronic Business (eBusiness) (www.defenselink.mil/acq/ebusiness)
provides
assistance on getting started in the electronic marketplace.
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Small Business Specialists
(www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/publications/sbs/sbs.html)
are located at each DoD buying activity and can provide
assistance on how to market to the DoD.
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The DefenseLink
website: (www.defenselink.mil) provides links to the
homepages of every DoD activity.
This information can be invaluable in researching the
DoD marketplace and identifying your target market.
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Links to DoD
Procurement Forecasts and other program information
are available on the DoD SADBU website: (www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu).
8.
Explore subcontracting
opportunities
Regardless of
your product or service it is important that you do not
neglect our very large secondary market, Subcontracting
Opportunities with DoD Prime Contractors (www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/publications/subdir/index.html).
This website lists all major DoD prime contractors by
state and provides a point of contact (Small Business Liaison
Officer) within each firm.
We encourage you to investigate potential opportunities
with these firms. Many
also have websites that may be useful and we encourage you and
them to team with each other.
The SBA's
SUB-Net (http://web.sba.gov/subnet) is a
valuable source for obtaining information on subcontracting
opportunities. Solicitations
or notices are posted not only by prime contractors, but the
SUB-Net is also used by other government, commercial, and
educational entities.
9.
Investigate other DoD programs.
There are
several other programs that may be of interest to you, such as
the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, the Small Business
Innovation Research Program, and the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions Program.
Information on these and other programs is available on
the DoD Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office
website: www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu.
10.
Market your firm well. Good
luck!
After you have identified your customers,
researched their requirements, and familiarized yourself with
DoD procurement regulations and strategies, it is time to
market your product or service.
Present your capabilities directly to the DoD
activities that buy your products or services. Realize that, like you, their time is valuable and if the
match is a good one, you can provide them with a
cost-effective, quality solution to their requirements.
Good luck!
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