Wining a contract with the government can be a big boost for any company’s bottom line. Much celebration will ensue and everyone will slap each other on the back and say all that hard work on the proposal has paid off. There may even be a party!!! But the next morning everyone will wake up and go…what’s next???? Most companies will talk about the next proposal and contract to win. That my friend, is the wrong answer. What’s next is performance and getting the contract completed for your new customer, the United States Government (USG)! The USG is a demanding and needy customer.
Performance on a contract your company has won will affect you in three primary ways. First your bottom line, second your ability to win the follow on contract, and third your ability to win other contracts. Companies can get so focused on wining that they are not prepared to actually perform the contract.
Now you have a new customer. Better get to know these three people: your Contracting Officer (CO), the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), and the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). The last two are not always assigned to a contract but the CO is the one that holds your fate in their hands. Talking to the CO on issues is essential for smooth relations with the USG. CORs and TPOCs have important roles.
Launching your contract performance varies based on contract effort. For service contracts, the transition from the incumbent to the new provider can be a clumsy and awkward time. In recent years the USG has gotten smart and set up transition periods to ease the change over from one provider to the next. The new guy on the block has to be ready to assume the work and have the new people sustain the level of service expected by the customer
For R&D contracts, it becomes essential launch the project and not get behind schedule. The team working the project should be assembled and ready to meet the milestones for the project. I have seen companies get surprised by over-committing key personnel and projects begin to fall behind schedule because a company was too successful.
For supply contracts, it is all about schedule and delivering the product on time. Can you get the material needed on time? Will your production line be able to produce the quantities required to meet delivery schedules? You should have taken all this into account in your proposal but I have seen many companies bid work and then found themselves constrained but suppliers or their own capacity and fail to meet delivery dates.
As you perform the contract many issues can come up and it essential that you inform the USG (the CO) of the problem as early as possible. Bad news doesn’t get better with age and COs down right hate being the last to know. Understand that in the resolution of any problem on your contract, the CO is the final authority. They have latitude to take many courses of action to assist your company in completing the contract. Keeping the CO in the dark about a problem and waiting till the last minute to inform them, can influence how they choose to resolve an issue. The USG wants what is paying for, so it will work with you within reason, to get the product or service.
What problems do most vendors have in contract performance? The two most common are late delivery and inability to meet requirements. COs hate late delivery and more and more are pushing for consideration for late deliveries. Short of an act of God, failure to meet delivery schedules can result in the CO asking for consideration to re-establish a new delivery date. Also remember you don’t get a pass on your performance for that late delivery because a new date is established. Late is late and the fact that your company was late will affect past performance ratings.
The problem with failure in meeting requirements is a difficult subject to cover here. It can be a complex knot to untie if a company fails to meet the requirements in the USG eyes. I can offer the following advice: raise issues about requirements before contract award! If that doesn’t happen or there is a disagreement between your company and the technical representatives of the USG, get the CO involved immediately.
So much focus is placed on winning the contract. Winning is great but performance is what leads to more business!