The federal government has been our sole customer for the past 10 years, and our award rate has consistently hovered around 2%. Historically, set-asides weren’t part of our strategy, but this year we added 8(a) and WOSB designations.

What’s puzzling is that agencies now ask more than ever if we’re WOSB/8(a)/HUB/SDVOSB, etc. Yet that information hasn't given us more awards. Actually, the opposite - our award rate has dropped 70% this year. This is the first decline we’ve seen in a decade (we had no set-aside certs for the last 10 years). This year we get set-aside certifications and suddenly plummet in awards.

Can anyone confirm if this suspicion has merit, or explain what’s driving such a sharp drop in awards right now?

Are socio-economic certs hurting us?

Is removing our WOSB & 8(a) from SAM a smart move or a mistake?

1 hour ago, AllAmericanFederal said:

The federal government has been our sole customer for the past 10 years, and our award rate has consistently hovered around 2%.

Is 2% correct? Does this mean you win just 2% of what you submit offers on?

Also does the government base award decisions totally upon price or are other factors considered?

We have no information about any prohibition against or limitation on such set-asides.

18 hours ago, formerfed said:

Is 2% correct? Does this mean you win just 2% of what you submit offers on?

Also does the government base award decisions totally upon price or are other factors considered?

Yes, that's correct. They're smaller RFQ's under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold that are typically awarded on Lowest Price Technically Acceptable.

3 hours ago, Moderator said:

We have no information about any prohibition against or limitation on such set-asides.

Thanks for your response, Bob. We usually pickup 3-5 purchase orders in the last 60 days of the fiscal year and that didn't happen this year for the first time in a decade. Any idea what’s driving such a sharp drop in awards right now?

14 hours ago, AllAmericanFederal said:

Any idea what’s driving such a sharp drop in awards right now?

Read the headlines. There is widespread uncertainty and confusion in government at every level, Federal, state, and local. And current Federal policy is to reduce the size and activity of the Federal government. So... .

I don't know that there is a widespread "sharp drop" in awards right now, but I suspect that almost every contractor's business is off, unless they're selling weapon systems or ordnance.

We are living in interesting times, and will be for the foreseeable future.

On 9/27/2025 at 7:57 PM, AllAmericanFederal said:

Can anyone confirm if this suspicion has merit, or explain what’s driving such a sharp drop in awards right now?

Are socio-economic certs hurting us?

Caveat: The federal procurement landscape is large and diverse.

Yes, there is a sharp drop in awards. Everyone involved in federal procurement knows this. Impact differs tremendously based on agency, market, etc. In particular, if you are relying on sam.gov for small $ commercial solicitations, you are going to have a bad time.

No, the certs are not hurting. At least not for any contracting office like mine. At end of year, 8(a)'s get a lot of last-minute awards. However, these are typically larger awards that wouldn't be <SAT + LPTA. I doubt 8(a) matters.

Check you past performance, references, certs, SB status, etc.

Maybe it's just random chance, bad luck.

4 hours ago, General.Zhukov said:

Caveat: The federal procurement landscape is large and diverse.

Yes, there is a sharp drop in awards. Everyone involved in federal procurement knows this. Impact differs tremendously based on agency, market, etc. In particular, if you are relying on sam.gov for small $ commercial solicitations, you are going to have a bad time.

No, the certs are not hurting. At least not for any contracting office like mine. At end of year, 8(a)'s get a lot of last-minute awards. However, these are typically larger awards that wouldn't be <SAT + LPTA. I doubt 8(a) matters.

Check you past performance, references, certs, SB status, etc.

Maybe it's just random chance, bad luck.

General, thanks for your insight. Can you elaborate on this your statement: "In particular, if you are relying on sam.gov for small $ commercial solicitations, you are going to have a bad time." This has always worked for us so, in your opinion, what has significantly changed this year and do you think this will continue?

53 minutes ago, AllAmericanFederal said:

what has significantly changed this year and do you think this will continue?

A greater portion of contract actions will be exempt from the requirement to post on GPE (sam.gov), as they are channeled to centralized sources like GSA, while the total number of actions goes down. This is a double whammy.

Same caveat: The federal acquisition market is large, and circumstances vary tremendously.

23 hours ago, General.Zhukov said:

A greater portion of contract actions will be exempt from the requirement to post on GPE (sam.gov), as they are channeled to centralized sources like GSA, while the total number of actions goes down. This is a double whammy.

Same caveat: The federal acquisition market is large, and circumstances vary tremendously.

Thank you for your insight, General. That is a tremendous help for me.

2 hours ago, AllAmericanFederal said:

Thank you for your insight, General. That is a tremendous help for me

Final comment while I wait around to close out the fiscal year. In HHS, somewhere between 60 - 80% of contract actions are never posted to sam.gov. What goes out on sam.gov are some large non-commercial actions for medical-biological-R&D type stuff, and lots of small procurements of products that aren't available from existing sources (like obscure scientific instruments). The vast majority of services and something more than 95% of IT don't go on sam.gov.