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Subcontractor and Prime Contractor Relationship Process


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Hello everybody,

 

One of the main topics I have been researching online is more in-depth information about the business relationship between the Subcontractor and Prime Contractor.

However I haven't managed to get much information on this subject.

Say for example I have formed my subcontracting team and I have then discovered a subcontracting opportunity that our team can take on.

How do we then go about getting started with the Prime contractor for a given subcontracting opportunity?

From contacting the Prime to creating an agreement between us and getting started with the contract work, what is the step by step process?

I am looking forward to your assistance.

 

Thank you.

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I think you are asking good questions. At this point, are you ready to hire a consultant or lawyer to advise you? The reason I ask is because I don't think people in this forum are going to give you want you really want.

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On 10/29/2020 at 5:03 PM, here_2_help said:

I think you are asking good questions. At this point, are you ready to hire a consultant or lawyer to advise you? The reason I ask is because I don't think people in this forum are going to give you want you really want.

It depends at what price tag I will be looking at for the consultant.

As for the lawyer/attorney I know they can be pretty expensive. But the thing is I keep seeing attorney around a lot.

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I assume you are a business person. As such, you understand the importance of working capital. You need to be well-capitalized to support your investments into this space. You need to hire before you have the cash flow from contract awards. If you are not well-capitalized, I'm not confident of your chances.

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H2H had sound advice.

How should we interpret " I have formed my subcontracting team"?  Does this mean you have other companies poised, for something you all have agreed is in your wheelhouse,?  Or does the "your team" consist of a smaller scale of consultants or internal personnel?  I assume you are a small business yourself?  Either way there are 2 things you must do:  a) Subscribe to a M&A, competitor intelligence, customer intelligence, and opportunity intelligence that will steer you into target rich environments for what you do  b) search out the B&D and procurement and subcontract manager points of contacts at the large primes.  The how about getting started sounds like a cold call, so if it is a cold call, you need the stars aligned, timing, well crafted communication, and  impressive expertise.  

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In a previous response I mentioned and gave a link to find your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center.  Here again they could help get you started with regard to this and your other questions and their services are free for the most part.

Another valuable resource that again is free for the most part is your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC).  Here is the link to find you local one.  https://americassbdc.org/

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  • 2 months later...

Lots of good advice above, but not knowing exactly where you are at leave so many doors open.   Going off the assumption you are a small business (maybe a new SB) and simply looking to find opportunities with large prime contractors, I would suggest some of the following:

Approach 1 

Simply go out to large companies websites like Raytheon, Lockheed, GDIT, SAIC, etc.   Most will have a doing business with or a partners page, where you can register with them or potentially find their small business advocate for the company (or the like).  Then reach out, submit a company profile or capabilities statement; ideally you'll be familiar with some of their program and you might be able to tailor you message to target those. 

Approach 2

Visit https://fbohome.sam.gov/, which is the listing for government opportunities; click on for contract opportunities in the middle of the page.   Put in you keyword (whatever you business is, i.e., cybersecurity) and then "Award Notice" for the type of notice.   Add other parameters if you like, but I would go through the award list and make note of all the large companies with recent contract awards.   Then visit their website and start reaching out offering you services.  

Approach 3- Plays off Approach 2 (I'll used DHS as an example)

As you are searching through award notices, also make note of the Government agency.  Most agency have a "Do Business with X" and on those pages you can often find their major programs that includes list of prime contractors supporting them.   Example:  This is DHS Eagle II - IT Solutions Page - https://www.dhs.gov/eagle-ii-it-solutions This page describes the program and what's covered and you'd be looking to align those with you own companies capabilities. 

Here is the EAGLE II Awardees & Contract Information Page -  https://www.dhs.gov/publication/eagle-ii-1  This page highlights the 3 functional categories for the program and pdfs containing all the companies with contracts with each categories.  The list contains the company name, contract numbers, their email contact info, and their company website page related to that program.  

Each approach can be a long shot, but if I was a small business with a small budget (or no) for business development these would likely some of the first steps I would take.  It's all about planning, so if you put together a call plan where you reach out twice a week or to one company a day, you'll eventually get a bite.    

Additionally, don't forget to ensure you are registered at SAM.gov.    You can also use that site to search for companies based on your own NAICS code or use your NAICS to search award notices.

good luck my friend.

 

 

 

 

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