Insights Blog

Maximize your competitive edge to win more MAC task orders

Part 3 of 4 in Lohfeld’s MAC series

A small group of awardees on a given MAC will earn the lion’s share of the total value of all MAC awards. For example, the Top 15 MAC incumbents in FY17 earned nearly 21% of all MAC dollars spent. To further underscore this point, the top 10 businesses on Alliant Small Business and CIO-SP3 Small Business earned 50% of all contract dollars in FY17. So how do a select group of companies earn most of the dollars on a given MAC, and what can other companies learn from their success? 1. They understand their customers All the top MAC earners (Leidos, Booz Allen and Hamilton, CSRA, Northrop Grumman, CACI, etc.) have account managers, program managers, or business developers that are dedicated to maintaining good business relations with a specific segment of customers. They understand the customer’s objectives, operations, budgets, constraints, etc. They routinely meet with customers to learn about their … Continue reading Maximize your competitive edge to win more MAC task orders →

What do you do after winning a MAC?

Part 2 of 4 in Lohfeld’s MAC series

Winning a MAC presents a terrific opportunity to grow your company and should not be squandered. Government contractors won’t win a sizeable share of MAC tasks orders just waiting around for them to drop—it takes careful planning and preparation right from the start. Statistics across MACs indicate the top 10 contractors receive most or all contract awards, approximately 20% of contractors will win less than $10M, and a few will win zero task orders, as indicated by Alliant’s results. Alliant Large Business: Awarded $17.7B to 52 contractors from FY12–May 2018 Top 10 contractors won 80% of all contract dollars Top 25 contractors won 96.6% of all contract dollars (inclusive of the Top 10 contractors) 17 contractors in the mid-tier range earned 3.3% of all contract dollars 10 contractors won fewer than $10M or .01% of all contract dollars with one company that won zero dollars. So, if you’ve been lucky … Continue reading What do you do after winning a MAC? →

How MACs can increase your bottom line

Part 1 of 4 in Lohfeld’s MAC series

What are Multiple-Award Contracts (MAC) and why should they matter to you? Simply put, a MAC is a basic contract awarded to multiple contractors against which they compete for task order awards. MACs are also referred to as Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) and Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC). Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) govern how government agencies use MACs to procure goods and services. MACs should matter to every government contractor for five reasons. MAC spending represented nearly 25% of all U.S. Government spending in fiscal 2017. During the fourth quarter, which starts July 1, most of that spending occurs through MACs. Government agencies depend on MACs to support their workload due to compressed timelines and limited acquisition resources—especially in the fourth quarter. Many MACs are designated as Best in Class (BICs) contracts, and agencies such as the Department of Defense (DOD) are using BICs as their preferred method to acquire … Continue reading How MACs can increase your bottom line →

The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Proposal Professionals

Get the facts and make an informed decision

Every year mergers and acquisitions impact the positions of many proposal industry members. For example, this year, General Dynamics acquired CSRA, a $4.3B company. Like many proposal professionals, I have gone through several acquisitions and mergers. In one five-year period, I worked for three companies that were acquired by larger companies. If you find your company is being acquired or merging with another company, here are five tips to consider: Get the facts Learn why your firm was merged or acquired. Learn who is in authority and their roles and responsibilities. Identify the objectives of the new company and determine if there is a timetable for organizational and policy changes. Determine if they plan to consolidate operations or move the business to a new location. You may not get all the facts at once; new leadership frequently takes a few weeks or months to implement their changes. Determine how your … Continue reading The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Proposal Professionals →