Government contracting is a highly regulated industry with regulations continuously increasing as seen with the 77 executive orders issued in 2021 and ongoing updates to security issues such as CMMC. Along with these regulations, many other factors impact the current landscape of government contractors:
- Increasing burden on Prime contractors to ensure Subcontractor compliance
- Remote and hybrid workforce
- CARES Act
- Operations knowledge transfer
- Increased corporate mergers and acquisitions
Accompanying the increase in regulations, is a rising burden on prime contractors to ensure subcontractors are compliant with those regulations. Subcontractors are now often expected to meet compliance to the same degree as the prime contractor by government agencies. Clear communication between the two organizations and well managed subcontractor flow-down clauses are essential in this landscape.
Many organizations are continuing to work remotely or in a hybrid mode as a result of COVID-19 changes. This has further increased the need for integration between systems and secure platforms. Manual handoffs and in person notifications are difficult or not possible in this environment. Contract data and reports must be easily accessible for many stakeholders with customized access for varying user needs. In addition, the CARES Act has implemented more complex accounting processes and contracting requirements.
The transfer of operations knowledge has been a long-standing challenge for many businesses. Today’s current landscape has witnessed a surge in challenges relating to knowledge transfer. Many businesses are attempting to do more with less—necessitating modernized technologies and processes to overcome cost restraints. As subject matter experts retire often there is no standardized processes in place for the storage of legacy data or standard practices for access. The presence of hybrid environments has exacerbated the need for all to easily share, edit, or approve contracts requirements in one centralized system for all business units.
Lastly, the increase in mergers and acquisitions within the GovCon industry reaffirms challenges for GovCon organizations. Merging organizations face merging data and addressing current contracts in the process. It becomes essential that these organizations re-vamp how things were once completed and install a solid structure of interoperable software and business processes.
In summary, capturing data integrity is a paramount priority in the effort to stay ahead in the GovCon arena. GovCon contract departments are working in decentralized environments with a demand to do more with less. Frequently, indirect rate pressure or working with teams spread across the globe contributes to this pressure making it imperative that business systems can interact easily and pass audits. Federal contractors will continue to face challenges if they do not look over current processes and modernize them as needed. A Contract lifecycle processes and software technology solution to automate DCAA and SEC compliance can assist in overcoming challenges in the current landscape.
Unison CLM is a solution built for GovCon contract management to quickly analyze workloads, aid in ease of training, and improve the standardization of processes. Learn how Unison CLM can help you navigate the GovCon landscape.