Federal Supply Contracting

The greatest number of federal government contracts are awarded to supply contractors - particularly those who furnish the myriad of items required to maintain our armed forces. These items include anything from clothing to ammunition to complex weapons systems. As with all forms of government contracting, the supply contractor must be ever vigilant in order to be protected from the significant financial harm that can occur when there are defective specifications, a failure to acknowledge or fairly compensate for changes, or a refusal to extend the delivery schedule when there are government caused delays. We have successfully represented contractors who have suffered as the result of improper first article testing, the unreasonable application of defective specifications, the wrongful assertions of defective pricing, and the failure to equitably adjust the contract when warranted by government actions.

In recent years the federal government has undertaken to obtain more of its supplies by utilizing the negotiated procurement process that requires the selection of contractors on the basis of the "best value" to the government. (This does not apply to those items that are "commercial off the shelf" or on an approved list.) The government's use of the negotiated procurement process permits it to evaluate a supplier's past performance and its technical proposal, as well as other evaluation factors. Best value evaluations by the government can be "minefields" for the supplier. Proper and thorough proposal preparation is essential, particularly in this time when there is more intense competition for fewer contracts. We have considerable experience in assisting contractors to prepare responsive and impressive proposals, and to protect their rights when they are the victims of an unfair source selection.