How to do business with the Pentagon

Doing business with the Pentagon may seem impossible or intimidating, but the truth is you can be one of its providers if you prepare yourself properly, persist in your goal, and work hard for it.  

Annually, the Department of Defense (DoD) and military service contracting offices award and manage hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts. The good news is that many of these contracts are reserved for small businesses like yours.

For you to have a better idea on this: much of the support and resources needed to operate the Pentagon’s facilities and its support infrastructure come from the following institutions:

• Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Acquisition Directorate.
• Army Contracting Agency (ACA).
• Army Contracting Command (ACC).
• Air Force District of Washington – Acquisition Division (AFDW / PK).
• Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP).
• Marine Corps Contracting Office at MCB Quantico.

This vast network of defense contracting offices works year-round issuing new contract solicitations and managing active government contracts to sustain the Pentagon, as the command epicenter for the DoD, and its four military service components:

1. Office of the Secretary of Defense.
2. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
3. Headquarters for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy.
4. U.S. Marine Corps.

According to the Defense Studies Institute, these organizations oversee a combined annual DoD budget of over $583 billion and three million employees (both military and federal civilian personnel). DoD operates and sustains more than 200 major military installations and over 5,000 other defense sites worldwide.

The Pentagon itself is one of the world’s largest office buildings. It has 5 floors, more than 17.5 miles of hallways and corridors, and its floor space covers over 29 acres (6,636,360 square feet).

Doing business with the Pentagon

While it’s not easy, there are several government resources and tools that can help you understand how to become a federal provider, win your first DoD contract, and do business with the Pentagon through the aforementioned institutions. You can also look for a mentor that teaches you the most important requirements and guidelines on federal contracting.

At Rafael Marrero & Company, we focus on advising small business owners, like you, on how to do business with the U.S. Government. With our guidance and specialized services, many entrepreneurs (mainly, from the Hispanic community) had become government providers and are now succeeding in their respective industries.

If you need some motivation to get started, click here to read some of our most inspirational stories.

If you feel you are ready to take the first step, please feel free to contact us:

• (888) 595-6221
• info@rafaelmarrero.com

You can also contact us by completing this form. It will be a pleasure to help you on your journey as a federal contractor.