The COVID 19 pandemic is affecting every individual in the United States and every business, and that includes Federal contractors. You cannot view any media source without hearing about the sky falling on businesses, ranging from mandatory loss of customers due to shutdowns to changing business models and operations. Most Federal contractors will now need to work remotely from both the home office and the government customer site. These are troubling times.
But every cloud can have a silver lining. We have all seen the flood of business for grocery and retail outlets that stock (or try to keep stock of) now critical supplies for the general public. Business models based upon delivery of goods are absolutely thriving, depending upon the products, and companies in those spaces like Amazon are hiring hundreds of thousands of new employees while much of America is furloughing people. Federal contractors that can adapt to this change can turn coronavirus lemons into lemonade, and this applies to innovative companies that currently are not Federal contractors as well. It just might be the best time to become one.
The Federal Government Needs Help Fighting COVID 19
It’s easy to be downcast in the current business climate given what is happening with the COVID 19 virus and the news that flows from it. If you thought the press was overwhelmingly negative before this crisis, it pales in comparison to the past 3 weeks, where giving false hope is tantamount to a crime. But the fact is, the government needs all the help it can get and is asking (not yet demanding) that industry answer the bell. If you watch the daily COVID 19 task force press briefings, the requests are there, and you don’t have to be Walmart or Google to become a part of the solution. Small technology businesses are well positioned to lend a hand.
For the clients we represent at FedTrax, we are seeing requests for help in the form of challenges and direct contracts, and not just in the places you would think. Right now, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and perhaps the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are dominating the storyline so much you would think they are the only agencies involved in creating solutions, but that is a wrong assumption. The entire Federal government is redirecting resources and money toward this effort, including the Department of Defense (DoD). For instance, the US Air Force is actively soliciting solutions in broad categories ranging from stopping the spread of the disease to how to better support uniformed and civilian personnel. Get to Googling, folks, because there are opportunities.
Speed of COVID 19 Response Means Success
One of the key variables we are hearing about stemming this COVID 19 pandemic is speed, whether it was the administration’s speed in closing the inflow from China in January to the perceived lack of speed about addressing mass testing for the virus. The same holds true with the government’s desire to get solutions on board sooner rather than later. We are hearing about this daily with the fast-tracking of verifiable clinical trials of potential drug therapies like hydroxychloroquine. And these solutions don’t have to be direct survival products or personal protective equipment for first responders, they can be new tools. The main question right now that Federal buyers are asking contractors like our FedTrax clients is, “How soon can you make this a reality and deliver?” If you as a Federal contractor have a solution or can create one that is tested and quickly deployed, you have opportunities.
Similarly, we are living in a time of cutting red tape in Federal acquisitions. The current administration boasts frequently about cutting regulation, and COVID 19 brings about a catalyzing urgency to the scissors. Funding mechanisms like the use of other transactional authorities (OTAs) are designed to circumvent the FAR (Federal acquisition regulations) process specifically to bring new technology to production faster in order to mitigate its obsolescence later. Now we know when the typically sloth-like pace of the government bureaucracy is accelerated, there may be casualties, and you don’t want your business to be one of them. This recent article from Inside Government Contracts is a nice resource and provides some watch-out-fors.
Innovate Instead of Respond
The challenge that 80% of Federal Contractors have is that they have become conditioned to responding to the statement of work (SOW). Tells us what you want, Govies, and we can respond in an apples to apples way so that you can drive our price down in the acquisition cycle. That mindset is likely not helpful if you want to provide solutions for the current COVID 19 pandemic, precisely because the government may not know what it wants, at least with respect to innovation. It takes them a long time to figure that out, as those of us seasoned in Federal contracting know. See prior section.
This isn’t to say your technology company should abuse the current spend-like-a-drunken-sailor-on-leave that currently is on steroids in the Federal government. It simply means that to be part of the solution, get there first and give them ideas instead of waiting for them to tell you what they want. Those in a position to implement things may not know. Now is a perfect time to submit unsolicited proposals to those your business development team identifies as key targets. This doesn’t just mean new inventions or technologies. It could be a new business process to accelerate deliveries of key materials. Make some calls, because they are listening.
One tip for you on innovation. We all are hopeful that this current coronavirus calamity doesn’t last long and that it is over soon. Whatever you propose or respond with, think of ways that it outlasts this current deadly situation, so that a government investment in it doesn’t end when the virus is under control. For example, if it can be used for disease management, perhaps it can be used with only slight changes for any emergency management situation that arises in the future. This is prudent for return on investment and lowering overall risk.
Adapt to the New Federal Contractor Paradigm
If you’ve read this far, you likely have this one figured out. Every day we see the President touting the terrific efforts of Ford transforming itself into a ventilator company or the My Pillow guy converting his factory into a protective mask producer. This doesn’t just work for large corporations. How can you transform what you currently do into a solution that helps the COVID 19 cause? Keep speed and innovation top of mind. How much artificial intelligence (AI) driven software is used for market intelligence? How many mobile apps make use of the GPS capabilities resident on every smart phone? Smart companies know those technologies can be used for things like population health monitoring, tracking goods, etc. Your company currently may have a solution that can be re-purposed for joining the coronavirus fight.
The point of this piece is, recognize the critical situation our nation, our world, finds itself in. Acknowledge it, prepare for it, then think positively about ways you can improve it. Federal contractors may already hold the keys to success.
