If your firm is 8(a) certified, or is looking into becoming 8(a) certified, an important part of your future marketing plan should include Federal IDIQ Contracts.

What is an IDIQ Contract? Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Contracts. This means that your firm is included on a multiple award contract with standardized pricing. However, there is no guarantee that your firm will receive an order from the contract.

What is the advantage of using an IDIQ Contract to the Federal Government? Through the use of the IDIQ, the government now has a manageable list of vendors that can perform the needed services which simplifies the ordering process.

Why are IDIQ Contracts good for 8(a) firms? Embedded in most of these contracts is language such as the following:

“a portion of contract awards will be reserved for small business and 8(a) small businesses. These reserve awards will be made to the best value offeror(s) within each reserve category, in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the solicitation.”

How does this translate into business opportunities? An 8(a) firm that had the know-how and positioned itself to get on a particular IDIQ contract will have very limited competition. Those that did not are unable to receive contracting dollars that are partitioned to the particular IDIQ contract. In many cases, the IDIQs overall value is in the millions, if not billions of dollars, so even a small portion can amount to a great deal of money. Furthermore, in many of cases, only a handful of 8(a) firms were even aware of the IDIQ contracts existence. This can keep competition very low.

Example of an IDIQ Contract: Federal Janitorial Services IDIQ Contract for the State of Florida. In this particular contract, the list of locations shown below were reserved for 8(a) certified firms only. The 8(a) firms that obtained a position on the 8(a) contract on average will pick up 4-5 sites, yielding a nice piece of work for those firms.

FAC.ID – SITE NAME – ADDRESS

FL003 – LT Alexander Ninninger Jr USAR – 5515 NW 15^th, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309-2799

FL004 – Gainesville USARC – 1300 NE 8^th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601-2599

FL008 – Clarence L Burpee USARC – 751 West 41^st Street, Jacksonville, FL 32206-6108

FL009 – LTC Robert R Milam USARC – 31 Pecan Street, Jacksonville, FL 32211-7875

FL014 – James West USARC – 905 North Ingraham Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801-2080

FL017 – COL F.M. Williams USARC – 11700 NW 27^th Avenue, Miami, FL 33167-2698

FL019 – Milton USARC – 6229 Dogwood Drive, Milton, FL 32570-3500

FL020 – Ocala USARC – 2803 SE 36^th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471-6220

FL021 – Michael McCoy USARC – 3682 Wiley Drive, Orlando, FL 32824

FL022 – Orange County USARC – 3701 Corrine Drive, Orlando, FL 32803-2499

FL023 – Taft USARC – 2800 Dowden Road, Orlando, FL 32827-5299

FL027 – Joseph Stillwell USARC – 4300 Saint John’s Avenue, Palatka, FL 32177-3999

FL029 – Newkirk Sutherland Jr USARC – 1215 East 15^th Street, Panama City, FL 32405-6131

FL031 – LTC Luis E Martinez USARC – 13601 S.W. 176^th Street (Perrine) Miami, FL 33177-2500

FL037 – 1LT Max R Stover USARC – 1420 Beach Drive SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5697

FL040 – T. Whiddon USARC – 222 Ausley Road, Tallahassee, FL 32304-3960

FL041 – C. Lovejoy USARC – 4815 North Hubert Avenue – Tampa, FL 33614-6493

FL103 – Rattlesnake Point USARC – 5201 West Tyson Avenue, Tampa, FL 33611-3223

FL115 – Wilson AFRC – 9500 Armed Forces Reserve Drive, Orlando, FL 32827-5226

FL126 – Clearwater ASF – 16101 Fairchild Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33762

Takeaway: IDIQ Contracts should be part of any new 8(a) firm's marketing strategy from their first day in the program, as they are critical in maximizing a firm's contract awards while in the 8(a) BD Program.

If you are wondering how to take advantage of IDIQ Contracts for your 8(a) certified firm, or are considering becoming 8(a) certified in order to utilize not only IDIQ Contracts but the many countless ways that the certification can be a benefit to your small business, I recommend contacting an industry expert such as ez8a. They do not charge for an initial consultation and can be reached at (859)442-3300.