DLA Aviation is looking for more companies to compete to supply this rubber boot used on the B-2 bomber. This boot, NSN 1650-01-605-1747 has a manufacturer’s part number of 8898-105. The part is managed out of Tinker AFB.
Since there is only one supplier, the government has determined that it could see more competitive pricing if it could encourage more companies to make this item. They are so interested in expanding the supplier base that they are making samples of the item available for companies to reverse-engineer. Currently there are no drawings nor technical data available.
Boot – 1650-01-605-1747
The only supplier is Triman Industries, which sold 46 units in 2018 for $17,367 each. DLA estimates that they will purchase 111 units each year.
DOD estimates that they spend $3.2 Million each year purchasing this item, but based on past procurement history pricing it looks more like $1.9 Million excluding contracting costs.
There is no current solicitation for this item, but DLA has indicated that it would like to communicate with companies that could produce it in the future.
To learn more about this item, log into BidLink and put 1650-01-605-1747 into the “Search for Anything” box. BidLink can assist your company in acquiring samples from DLA.
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for supply of PAR56 light bulbs. These 300 watt, 120V flood light bulbs have a 10,000 beam candlepower rating. The contract will have two base years and three option years for a total of five years.
The last company to supply these was Janel’s Industries which sold them for $12.99 each in quantity of 383. Janel has been the only supplier since 2019. There is no set quantity in the solicitation, but DLA estimates that they will purchase 1,481 bulbs each year over the contract term. Based on past procurement history pricing we estimate the value of this contract to be $96,190.
This solicitation is set aside for small businesses only. All offers are due by June 15, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A6-23-R-XB89 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
There is an art to searching for government solicitations. The government uses multiple classification systems, misspells or abbreviates names, uses the wrong commodity classes, and lots of other mistakes. Having a broad collection of searches is necessary to make sure you are not missing anything.
The first mistake people make is only searching by one type of search term. NSN lists are great for following an exact list of items, but can miss other similar opportunities. Item names are fraught with misspellings and variants. FSCs are broad searches, but yield many results to dig through.
Use Multiple Searches
The best strategy is to set up multiple searches that automatically track the things that describe what you sell.
FSC / NAICS – Everything the government buys gets categorized in one or both of these. These searches will produce a lot of results, so filtering by the things you don’t supply can help pare down the list. You will see everything in the commodity class that the government is buying, providing a broad picture of where the opportunities lie. Not every buyer uses both FSC and NAICS, so make sure you’re following the commodity / industry classes that fit what you sell.
NSN / PART LIST – National Stock Numbers (NSN) are preferred over part numbers because of the ambiguity of the part numbering system. There are 94 different items in the FLIS with a part number of 123. NSN lists allow you to track a specific list of items. Create one for items you sell and one for your competitor’s items.
ITEM NAMES – Look at FSC searches to see what item names the Government uses. Note the abbreviations, truncation, colloquial names, and misspellings. Make a list of these. If you want to be exact with your item names, use Item Name Codes (INC).
CAGE CODES – If your company has items in the FLIS, track your CAGE code. Make a list of your competitor’s CAGE codes and follow them as well. Look through their lists and add items to your Item Name and NSN lists.
Further Refinement
If you don’t have any source approvals, filter anything that needs source approval from your searches. If its something that requires drawings, filter out items that don’t have Technical Data Packages (TDP). Use AMC codes to filter by data availability. Add a list of NSNs and item names that you don’t produce to further pare the results. If you filter on Small Business designation, keep in mind that different data sources use different classifications. Using refinements are key to reducing the number of solicitations you need to dig through every day.
