Capture Support is a core competency of Technology, Modeling & Simulation, and Training (TMST) L.L.C. Our flexible offerings are tailored to our client base on an individual basis, and sometimes to an individual opportunity to best support their requirements. We can support from a very basic low level-of-effort (LOE) routinely up to high LOE capture/proposal integration.
Our most basic capture LOE is keeping clients up-to-date on Orlando's opportunity public information events. The primary methodology is the provision of monthly reports covering public information and source from such events as Procurement Acqusition Lead Time (PALT) meetings; beta.SAM.gov and SAM postings, Government/Industry events. These reports are supplemented with emails.
These reports can be enhanced by attendance at requested events (Industry Days, assistance setting up meeting and co-attendance, etc.) with notes and slides when provided, and by customized monthly notes based upon clients expressed interest. We will also provide periodic State-of-Orlando briefings as the LOE increases.
As we move into higher LOE support from TMST we emphasize several things:
Effective Capture Approach
An effective capture approach includes:
The basic information support discussed prior addresses part of the first two bullets. These efforts provide publicly available information that may otherwise be difficult or costly for our clients to assemble due to travel costs or other restrictions. TMST can support, supplement, or perform some, part, or all of the other listed actions.
Level of Effort
Nearing the mid-LOE, many large clients choose more help with contact plans and customer shaping; color team review personnel in specific areas; support to their Black Hat process from highly-qualified experts in competitor processes; and independent review of some other actions (e.g. Price to Win or other pricing/cost support).
Just over the mid-level of support, a medium-sized business or small-business with mature processes entering an adjacent but segmented market-space may opt for dedicated, albeit temporary, capture management from a senior capture manager with demonstrated superior performance in that market space. All aspects of the capture approach are initially coordinated by the TMST capture manager. After an introduction to the new market space, the first win, and initial positioning on subsequent market opportunities, the TMST support normally ramps down to the near mid-level described above on subsequent efforts. The goal, knowledge transfer of the new-market space to company personnel, the introduction of companies to customers as qualified competitors, all while jump-starting PWIN in a new market place.
At the high-LOE end is a company just entering the market with limited experience, processes, and without sufficient dedicated capture/BD personnel. This is a higher LOE and TMST leads and/or supports with all aspects of the capture effort, including the development of the Process Asset Library (PAL); training of company personnel to perform capture/proposal actions; and discovery/limiting initial pursuits to those with high PWIN/ROI within core competencies; development of general and opportunity specific contact plans and messaging. The goal, rapidly gain recognition in the market space; develop partners and mentors, and put the client on the path to sustainable success before reverting to a lower level of support.
At any of these LOE, but especially below mid-level, companies may require an agile response in rapidly changing or major situation. An example might be a delay in a key opportunity forcing overlap with another. In that case, TMST is often called to supplement organic personnel until the situation is resolved.
Flattening the Curve
Flattening the Curve is not only a winning strategy for fighting pandemics. It is also key to effective capture/proposal efforts. It helps limit crises to those situations truly outside your control. What many call agile is a response where early planning for effective capture/proposal planning and integration was not accomplished. TMST has found that when capture planning is started early and contact plans/messaging revisited with some periodicity, the overall cost of a proposal decreases; ‘crisis’ response decreases; and the PWIN goes up.
Long-term planning and surge to influence and integrate the proposal plan can flatten the curve by limiting crisis response due to unforeseen requirements, provide a ‘basis for change’; all of which both lower the total cost of the capture effort and increase PWIN.
Conflict of Interest
To avoid even the perception that TMST or our clients have a conflict of interest, TMST supports only one company on a given proposal. We support the first company that retains us for their proposal services on that contract. An exception may be made when there are separate lots on a single contract.
