One of the three key elements of success in the Federal market is ACCESS.
Over the last few months, WPI had the pleasure of working with Congresswoman Moore’s staff and Lockheed Martin’s Small Business representatives in support of the Defense Supplier Diversity Conference, which was held last week at Discovery World in Milwaukee, which focused on getting ACCESS for Wisconsin businesses to large and successful Defense contractors. Also joining the conference in support of this opportunity was Sikorsky, Leonardo DRS, Oshkosh Defense, Derco, and Woodward.
What was important to these prime contractors? Several attributes were at the top of the list:
- Quality – ISO or above (having the actual certifications – not just being compliant)
- Qualifying as SMALL and / or qualifying for small business programs
- International Traffic in Arms Regulations – ITAR
- Capacity
The opportunities are there for qualified contractors – especially manufacturers.
On a side note, a reminder to DOD contractors and subcontractors subject to the requirements of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (the clause), the deadline for compliance with the clause’s cybersecurity requirements is Dec. 31, 2017. These obligations will be satisfied by implementing the standards prescribed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, titled Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations. WPI will be hosting webinars on this topic. More information contact Ben Blanc at benjaminb@wispro.org or Marc Violante at marcv@wispro.org
AND dates for this year’s Governor’s MARKETPLACE 2017 – have been announced – December 13 – 14. Pre-sessions will be scheduled around the State to help companies prepare for the event. The SMALL BUSINESS ACADEMY will again be held the morning prior to the start of MARKETPLACE.
