Subcontracting to prime contractors

Why primes need small shops

When a large company wins a federal contract above a threshold, FAR Part 19 requires it to submit a small business subcontracting plan with goals for how much of the work it will place with small firms, and with firms in the socioeconomic programs. The prime reports against those goals, and the government reviews the reports. Check the current threshold on acquisition.gov.

That creates steady demand for small suppliers who can meet aerospace and defense quality requirements. The prime's supply chain and small business teams spend real effort finding them. Your job is to be findable, qualified, and easy to onboard.

Subcontract work is also where many shops build the past performance they later cite on their own federal bids. A part made for a prime under a flowed down military drawing is evidence a contracting officer understands.

How primes find suppliers

Most large primes run a public supplier registration site, often called a supplier portal. You enter your company profile, codes, certifications, capabilities, and equipment. Buyers and commodity managers search that database when they need a new source. Register on the portals of the primes whose programs match your work, and keep the profiles current.

Primes also use the same public data you do. They search SAM.gov by NAICS and location. They look at who is already delivering similar parts to the government. They attend agency matchmaking events and industry days. Small business liaison officers at each prime take capability statements and route them.

Referrals matter more than any database. A special process house, a material distributor, or a tooling supplier that already serves a prime can introduce you. So can another small shop that is at capacity. Ask.

Large primes that publicly buy from small shops include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Blue Origin, and SpaceX. The mid-size primes and first tier suppliers in your region are often easier to reach and may be the better first step.

Approved supplier lists and onboarding

Being registered in a portal is not the same as being approved. Before a prime can place a purchase order for a flight or mission critical part, your shop usually has to be added to its approved supplier list. That typically involves a supplier survey or questionnaire, review of your quality system certificate, sometimes an on-site audit, and a first article on the initial part.

Quality certification shortens this. An AS9100 or ISO 9001 certificate from an accredited registrar is what most aerospace supplier surveys ask for first. Special processes such as heat treat, plating, welding, and non-destructive testing often require Nadcap accreditation or the prime's own process approval. See quality systems.

Approval is usually by commodity and sometimes by site. Being approved for machined aluminum details does not approve you for welded titanium. Expect to expand your approval one step at a time.

Flowdowns: the clauses that come with the order

When a prime places a purchase order under a federal contract, it passes along, or flows down, the clauses the government required of it. They arrive as a list of FAR and DFARS clause numbers, plus the prime's own terms and quality clauses. You are agreeing to them when you accept the order.

Getting a first order

Pick a few primes or first tier suppliers that build what your parts go into, and focus on them. A shop that registers on twenty portals and follows up on none gets nothing. Register, then find the small business liaison and the commodity buyer for your kind of part, and send a one page capability statement that names the programs and part types you fit.

Say yes to the small, awkward job. First orders from primes are often rush details, a repair, or a part another supplier dropped. Deliver on time with clean paperwork and the next order is easier.

Quote fast and completely. Prime buyers judge suppliers first on responsiveness. A quote that arrives in a day with certs, lead time, and any exceptions stated clearly beats a lower price that arrives late.

Use public data to choose targets. Award history shows which primes hold the contracts in your part classes, and which of their sites are near you. A prime site with a large active contract and an approaching option year has a supply chain team under pressure to fill capacity.