The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fully supports the government policy of placing a fair proportion of the Corps contracts for supplies, design engineering, construction and support services with qualified Small, Small Disadvantaged, Veteran-Owned business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned business Women-owned, and HUBZone small business. In addition, such concerns are to be afforded the maximum practicable opportunity to participate as subcontractors in qualifying contracts awarded to large business.
What does the Corps of Engineers Buy?
The Corps of Engineers buys a variety of supplies, services, construction and engineering services. Examples of some of these acquisitions are provided below:
CONSTRUCTION: Barracks, storage facilities, family housing, maintenance shops, hangers, bridge runways, roads, levees, dams, hazardous and toxic waste remediation, and dredging.
ENGINEERING SERVICES: Concept studies, master planning, engineering studies, all types of surveying and mapping, engineering design and construction and inspection services.
OTHER SERVICES: Power, grass mowing, janitorial, oversee and maintain recreational parks, stenographic, and real estate appraisal.
SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT: Generators, turbines, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, electronic gear, petroleum products, repair parts, lumber, cement, computers and peripheral equipment, and publications.
Steps for doing business with the Corps of Engineers
The Army Corps of Engineers is very interested in doing business with qualified small, small disadvantaged, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran owned small business, woman-owned and HUBZone small business business concerns. Below are tips to selling/marketing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
1. Visit the web site for the District(s) with which you desire to do business in order to learn about the district's missions and the types of services/supplies each procures. Call, write or visit the Corps of Engineers Deputy for Small Business with each district.
2. Discuss your capabilities, interest and capacities to perform with the Deputy for Small Business.
3. Be alert to the announcements of Business Opportunity Conferences, Trade Fairs and other federally attended or sponsored liaison meetings in your area. Make it a point to attend whenever possible. The Corps of Engineers is represented at most such meetings. This is an excellent opportunity to meet on a person-to-person basis with procurement and small business specialists who can assist small and small disadvantaged businesses with the selling of their services or products.
4. Visit the Corps of Engineers websites. The Headquarters site is located at http://www.usace.army.mil. The Philadelphia District website also contains information about upcoming projects on www.fbo.gov and other general information of interest to firms seeking business opportunities with the federal government.
5. The Federal Government requires all contractors to create a user account and register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database. Contractors must be registered in the SAM before they can be awarded a DoD contract. The only exceptions will be for purchases made with the Government wide commercial purchase card, contracting offices located outside the U.S., classified contacts, and contracts executed to support contingency or emergency operations. Create an Individual User Account to perform tasks such as register/update your entity (legacy CCR/FedReg and ORCA functionality).
6. DUN and Bradstreet (DUNS) numbers and Contractor Entity Codes (CECs) can be obtained by calling 800-333-0505 (8am-6pm EST). Both the call and service are free. DUNS numbers can be obtained online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.
In order to certify itself as a small disadvantaged business for prime contract awards, firms must be certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA). See information on this certification requirement, http://www.sba.gov