WASHINGTON
— The Naval Sea System Command hosted "Operation Innovation," a small
business industry day Aug. 13.
The
inaugural event provided nearly 200 small businesses with information on prime
and sub-contracting opportunities for various NAVSEA programs. The Navy buys
more than $12 billion in goods and services each year from its small businesses
partners, and at NAVSEA alone, small business invoices annually total more than
$2 billion.
Industry
day included presentations by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley;
Commander Naval Sea Systems Command, Vice Adm. Willy Hilarides; and other
senior leaders from Navy, NAVSEA and Program Executive Offices.
“Small
businesses fit everywhere, there are tons of sub-contracting opportunities,” said
Cindy Shaver, Division Director of Contracts at NAVSEA. “We would like to see
more small business participation across the program executive portfolios.”
Small
Business representatives attended a morning or afternoon information session and
deputy program managers from the five program executive offices were available
to answer contracting questions.
“We
received questions regarding where to start and how to become involved with the
program offices and the primes that we work with,” said Jo Minor, PEO Carriers
Chief Financial Officer. “We also exchanged contact information with attendees
who wanted to meet with us in the future.”
Industry
day allowed program office representatives to reach out to small business
representatives and inquire about their products and services.
“The
event was a great idea because the attendees wanted to talk and engage,” said
Capt. Michael Ladner, Major Program Manager, IWS 3.0 Surface Ship Weapons. “I
have very little interaction with small businesses so it gave me an opportunity
to ask questions such as if their company applies to the product line and how
to get in touch with them in the future in the event we have a business
opportunity for them.”
Attendees
felt the event provided small businesses with information to be successful in
the government contracting field.
“Getting
fair competition is important,” said Cheryl Stephens of GMS Industrial Supply
in Virginia Beach. “It’s hard for a small business to survive under the current
time constraints so there has to be fair competition between large and small
businesses.”
The
command intends to host more industry day events in the future.
Presentations
from the program executive offices, along with helpful information for small businesses,
can be found here in the Resources column: http://www.navsea.navy.mil/BusinessPartnerships/SmallBusinessForum.aspx
NAVSEA
designs, builds, delivers and maintains ships and systems on time and on cost
for the U.S. Navy. NAVSEA is the largest of the Navy's five system commands.
With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter
of the Navy's entire budget.