Column: SubNet - Where’s the Beef?

      Subcontracting – it’s the key to federal contracting for emerging small businesses anxious to break into the federal market. It’s also a reliable way to maintain and increase revenue for those who have lost a recompeted contract or are picking up street credibility in a new specialty, so they can be prime contractors in the future.

      In today’s federal market, subcontracting has virtually as many rewards as prime contracting. Let the other guys manage the business development and capture process. Join up with a team, add your unique capabilities and expertise, carry your share of the weight and provide great quality at economical prices.

      This is especially important for small businesses. A large business can keep a core of specialized experts on the bench for months or even years. A small business cannot afford to keep three or four key personnel unbillable for a few months. Subcontracting is a recognized way to keep specialists engaged and billable – available for the next job but affordable in the meantime.

     SBA’s SubNet website

      Where do you find subcontract opportunities?

      The Small Business Administration developed a web-based repository of small business subcontract opportunities many years ago. The site https://eweb1.sba.gov/subnet/client/dsp_Landing.cfm is readily searchable on Google as “SBA SubNet”. There is a log-in screen, but no log-in is required if you click the “SubNet Public Users” link at the top of the page.

      This website recently underwent a major overhaul. We have been anxiously awaiting a dramatic increase in the number of opportunities posted and the accessibility on the website. An advisory group was set up to give guidance from the prime contractor community. You can search by geography, but there are no other ways to specify industry (NAICS) or other criteria.

      Since the new site was launched, we have noted only a limited number of prime contractors posting opportunities on the SubNet website.

      Most of the federal subcontract listings are by Job Corps or FAA contractors. Most of the opportunities posted are for construction or facilities management. And they generally are valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

     Small business outreach to primes

      In the previous version of SubNet, small businesses could list their qualifications and capabilities, as a means of outreach to primes looking for subs. For some reason, this purpose has been ignored in the redesign.

      Even now, small businesses that are listed in the “Business Directory” portion of the SubNet website are searchable by state or territory only. Each search pulls up a list of small firms located in that state or territory. The lists seem to draw basic information from SAM.gov, but there is no opportunity for the small businesses to post a narrative or to describe their special qualifications. Allowing posting of such information would assist large businesses and primes in using the SubNet website for research.

     Suggestions for improvement

      Additional suggestions for the SBA to improve its SubNet redesign efforts include:

• Including prime, mid-tier and small business contracting representatives in the SBA’s SubNet advisory group, along with contracting officers and small business specialists, to provide guidance on how to make the site more usable
• Developing searchability by industry code and place of performance, since many small businesses are limited in their geographic reach
• Developing a market outreach program about SubNet to encourage small businesses interested in federal contracting in participating
• Developing policy – and regulations – requiring primes to post opportunities to the site, and in the case of major primes, maintaining generic requirements lists with relevant contact information

     Other subcontracting work

      What other resources are available to find opportunities to support those key employees you have on the bench? It’s a critical situation for every small business.

      Today’s emphasis on IDIQ term contracts poses a new paradigm for many small business executives. The term contracts cover multiple disciplines and qualifications. Small businesses often cannot meet the full spectrum, but a piece of the action would be very satisfactory. How do you shoehorn yourself into those situations?

      General Services Administration Multiple-Award Schedule contracts, along with governmentwide and agencywide multiple-award contracts, are key IDIQ term contracts used by many agencies.

      Prime contractors on major governmentwide acquisition vehicles including “SEWP,” “Schedule 70,” “OASIS,” “NETCENTS,” “SEAPORT-e,” “ALLIANT” and “STARS” are posted on the relevant agency websites, and often at FBO.gov. That helps in defining the list of target prime contractors.

      But how do you find out whom to contact at those companies? Federal agency subcontracting directories can be a source of information. However, there is a wide variability in the amount of information available and its accessibility. For example, GSA’s subcontracting directory is helpful and extensive, but it doesn’t list contact names and contact information. The Transportation Dept.’s Subcontracting Directory is somewhat more helpful, with contact information and NAICS codes, but it does not appear extensive.

      On the other hand, the Defense Dept.’s Prime Contractor Directory is a massive spreadsheet with NAICS, expiration dates, contact names and email addresses.

      The Homeland Security Dept. offers a list of primes and their small business liaison officers, as well as what services the prime is seeking to subcontract. The list is updated but would benefit by searchability on the capabilities sought from subs.

      Information is out there but it is up to your initiative to find the sources and find your fit.

Tom Johnson can be reached at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.

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Column: SubNet - Where’s the Beef?

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