Coronavirus has been in the news increasingly more and more over the last couple of months, and yesterday it was officially declared a global pandemic by the WHO (World Health Organization). Rather than ignore the 800 lb gorilla in the room this week, let’s discuss what this could mean for various industries in federal contracting.

Medical Supplies and Other Goods
In Late February – The Domestic Strategic National Stockpile’s Office of Resource Management asks GSA Schedule Medical Supply Schedule Holders and other Federal Vendors of medical supplies how much protective gear they have in stock. The survey, which went out to government contractors on February 24, queried the companies about their current and projected inventory of “N95 Respirators, Surgical N95 Masks, Coveralls, Tyvek Suits or equivalent Coverall, Gowns, Non-Splash Goggles, and Face Shields” to assist with the outbreak. The responses are due back on March 24.

I would expect the federal government to utilize these resources as needed and will likely result in mass purchases from these schedule holders if they are needed.

Information Technology and Management Consulting
In terms of emergency preparedness, there are 2.1 million federal employees. Twenty years ago, a national emergency would be more challenging to deal with. However, many of these employees now have the ability to telecommute. This provides greater flexibility for people in high-risk areas and allows federal workers who feel they might have an issue to self-quarantine themselves from their co-workers. Therefore, the federal government should stay open for business and will need to procure additional services as they juggle new challenges that come with such a large number of employees telecommuting.

Cleaning and Janitorial
It is likely that federal facilities will require additional sanitation and sterilization to thwart any outbreak at federal locations. Therefore, I would expect the potential doubling of these services.

Security
The federal government is likely to increase headcount from security firms to deal with securing goods, warehousing and other services often carried out by federal personnel that have been reassigned to more important duties during the emergency.

Logistics
Logistics companies always play an important role in any federal emergency. The ability to move people and supplies to zones will increase the federal use of logistics and transportation firms many times over.

Best Case
We are all hoping the warmer weather and lower population density, combined with some upfront information about the virus, stops its spread in the United States.

Problematic Case
Some medical experts in the press have thoughts that the coronavirus could return in September like the annual flu.

Being a Part of the Solution
Working towards obtaining a GSA Schedule will allow federal agencies quick access to your products and services. In a worst-case scenario, we have seen the “red tape cutting” that the firms online for coronavirus test kits were given an FDA pass so that they could begin selling their test kits immediately to the federal government.

As I am sure all of us agree, hopefully this passes and gets behind us sooner rather than later, but these are just some of the ways that your business can be a part of the solution during this crisis.

A GSA Schedule very well might be the right decision for your business at this time, so if you are interested in exploring that opportunity (or any other Federal Certification such as ez8a), I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as Advance GSA. They do not charge for an initial consultation and can be reached by phone at (303)810-4580.