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A small business set-aside is a federal buy that only qualifying small businesses can compete for, and it's one of the main ways government contracts for small business get reserved. For a machine shop, the ones that matter are total small business set-asides and the four socio-economic programs: 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) and women-owned (WOSB/EDWOS …
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First article testing on a DLA contract means you build and prove a sample, or have the government test it, before the rest of the order is approved. It adds cost, time and risk to your quote. The FAR puts most of that risk on you until approval comes through, so price first article as its own job, read the FAT clause before you quote, and ask for a waiver if you've already del …
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