September 7, 2017
Top 10 acquisition trends of FY17
Federal Times, Michael Fischetti, August 25, 2017
As the final push for fiscal 2017 contract obligations comes to an end, it’s helpful to take a step back and assess the contracting environmental trends that have emerged over the past year. Each trend lends itself to further study, so here’s a high-level look at the top 10.
1. Federal sector spending has bottomed out, with anticipated growth.
Following years of declining spending, it is beginning to appear like this decline has bottomed out, with a growth in federal spending on the horizon. While there is considerable talk, firm steps are in motion for increased contract spending, particularly in defense, with reduced civilian agency spending. Clearly, a reevaluation is occurring from the dramatic budget cuts proposed for many civilian agencies, while the Department of Defense will reap increases in the short term.
2. Incumbent “win” rates are down.
This is due to a variety of factors, but primarily because government customers are looking for financial savings and simply do not see the “best value,” as compared to the past, in the long-term relationships and historical knowledge that have been traditionally offered by incumbent contractors.
3. More and more, government contractors are branching out ― away from government.
Some firms are successfully branching into alternative commercial or state or local government sectors, as opposed to focusing their business solely on federal government contracting. From a business standpoint, it makes sense that firms would attempt to diversify their portfolios when one significant part of their business is in decline, which the federal sector has experienced for more than five years. READ MORE….
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