The federal government continues to increase their reliance on multiple award contracts.

Have you heard of these: IDIQ, GWAC, MAS, BPA, BOA, 8a?

What Are They: In the simplest terms, they are multi-year contracts that are awarded to a number of different sized businesses based primarily on past experience and offered pricing.  However, at the time the award is granted, there is no guarantee of work (or sales) and the contract isn't funded.  When a need arises, task orders are then competed among the awardees only. Sometimes the competition for task orders is real and other times it is for appearances only.

The Ins and Outs: The proposal's requirements are usually more mechanical and require less new and creative content from your professional staff. Your chances of winning future business are increased tenfold if only 0 awardees are selected. You now only have to compete with 10 companies for task orders, some of which can total billions of dollars. Aggressive awardees know how to reduce competition for task orders to the point that there is often very little competition. 

The Ramifications of Not Having One : You will be left out of billion dollar markets if you do not hold an IDIQ.