Connecting Suppliers with DLA

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Issue 27

January 2023

2023 TKO 

Mark Your Calendars!

TKO 

Seminars are 

FREE!

Learn how to do business with 

the Government!

January 10-11, 2023

March 14-15, 2023

May 9-10, 2023

June 13-14, 2023 (PTAC Only)

July 11-12, 2023

September 5-6, 2023

November 7-8, 2023

HELD VIRTUALLY

9:00 AM - 2:30 PM (EST)

Register at: https://tko.dla.mil/

www.dla.mil

www.facebook.com/dla.mil

www.twitter.com/dlamil

www.youtube.com/user/

dodlogisticsagency

Need Assistance?

For general DIBBS questions: DIBBSBSM@dla.mil

DIBBS account reinstatement questions: DIBBS_Validation@dla.mil

For questions about DIBBS Terms and Conditions: DIBBS_TC_MONITOR@DLA.MIL

To improve the resolution process when contacting our helpdesks:

• Include the CAGE code in all requests

• Read instructions provided thoroughly

• Follow all steps in the instructions received

• Provide information as requested

• Do not send duplicate requests

• Allow at least 24 hours for a response (weekend/holiday responses may 

be delayed longer)

DIBBS OCONUS ACCESS:

The March 21, 2021 DIBBS User Agreement Terms and Conditions states, “If the address of my company, as registered in the U.S. Government System for Award Management (SAM), is a U.S. address, I agree that I will not access DIBBS outside the 

United States or U.S. territories without prior approval from DLA.” 

To request approval, please send an email with the following subject line, “Request 

OCONUS DIBBS Access CAGE #####” to DIBBS_TC_MONITOR@DLA.MIL . Suppliers 

do not have permission to access DIBBS from OCONUS until an approval email from 

the Terms & Conditions Monitor is received. Please be aware that if approved, this 

does NOT grant you access to cFolders while OCONUS, which is always prohibited.

DIBBS Helpdesk

Points of Contact
To help provide a level playing field, DLA and other 

federal agencies limit competition for certain contracts 

to small businesses. These contracts are called “small 

business set-asides.” 

A subset of small business set-asides are contracts 

reserved for the small business socioeconomic 

programs: 1) the Historically Underutilized Business 

Zone (HUBZone) Program; 2) the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program; 3) the WomenOwned Small Business (WOSB) Program, and 4) the 8(a) Business Development Program.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sets parameters for each of the programs, including which vendors are 

eligible to participate and the certification you are required to obtain if you would like to bid on these contracts. 

Usually, you must take certain steps to pre-qualify your business for the small business socioeconomic programs 

before you can participate. The rules in the FAR apply to all DLA solicitations and contracts, including those on DIBBS. 

For small business and socioeconomic program set-asides, the process to determine your eligibility to bid on and win 

contracts depends on the program. For small business set-asides, you can self-certify. For the socioeconomic programs, you must usually apply for and receive certification by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Keep reading 

to recognize the differences among the programs.

The US Government has goals for each of the small business socioeconomic programs and DLA supports maximum 

participation. This article is written to help suppliers understand the rules, which is important because 

misrepresentation of your company’s status in order to obtain a set-aside contract can result in suspension or 

debarment and civil or criminal penalties.

This is a self-certification. To be eligible for a small business set-aside, you must represent in good faith that you are a 

small business concern and meet the size standard corresponding to the North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS) code identified in the solicitation (refer to FAR Part 19). Your self-certification may be challenged via a protest 

by another offeror or interested party, in which case SBA will evaluate your status and make a determination about 

whether you are a small business.

This is an SBA certification. Consider applying to SBA for certification 

if your small business’s principal office is located in a HUBZone and at 

least 35% of your employees live in a HUBZone (refer to FAR subpart 

19.13).

The Small Business Programs FAQ

Page 2

Small Business Set-Asides

HUBZone Program
This is a self-certification, but the rules are changing soon. Your small business 

may qualify if it is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more 

service-disabled veterans. You should prepare now for important revisions to 

the SDVOSB Program that may affect your eligibility in the near future (refer to 

FAR subpart 19.14).

This is an SBA certification. Your small business must be 

certified by SBA or an SBA-approved third-party certifier. 

Economically disadvantaged women-owned small 

business (EDWOSB) is a subset of women-owned small 

business (WOSB) and you must apply to SBA for either 

certification (refer to FAR subpart 19.15).

This is an SBA certification. Socially and economically 

disadvantaged small business owners should consider 

applying to SBA for the 8(a) Program if you have been in 

business for at least two years and are interested in expanding your footprint in the federal marketplace (refer 

to FAR subpart 19.8).

For more information about the programs above or about how to apply, visit www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/

contracting-guide/types-contracts. 

For SBA certifications, checking your status in the Dynamic Small Business Search is usually the best way to know if you 

are certified and you can do this by searching for your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) or CAGE Code.

For assistance understanding the rules or help applying to SBA for certification, contact the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs). Funded by the US Department of Defense, the PTACs provide no-cost assistance related to 

the small business programs and other aspects of selling to the federal government.

You may also contact the DLA Small Business Office, which has personnel stationed at each of DLA’s buying commands.

8(a) Business Development Program

Page 3

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned 

Small Business Program

Women-Owned Small Business Program
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Office of Small Business Programs offers monthly webinars to educate small 

businesses and others about DLA’s mission and opportunities to participate in our various supply chains. Hear directly 

from experts at our diverse buying commands as they discuss the DLA Small Business Program and our requirements, 

which include procuring military spare parts, food, fuel, uniforms, medical supplies, and construction material for the 

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, 11 combatant commands, other federal agencies, and 

partner and allied nations. All webinars are FREE! You just need to register.

Land and Maritime Webinars:

• Doing Business with DLA —January 17, 2023, 2 PM EST

• DIBBS: Solicitations—February 21, 2023, 2 PM EST

• DIBBS: Quoting—March, 7, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) — April 11, 2023, 2 PM EST

• C-Folders—May 16, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Vendor Shipping Module (VSM) — June 20, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Pricing—July 18, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Packaging—August 15, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Resolving Issues with Orders—September 26, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Post Award—October 10, 2023, 2 PM EST

• Casting and Forging—November 07, 2023, 2 PM EST

Make reservations at: https://tko.dla.mil (Select Land & Maritime) 

Small Business Office Webinars:

• Understanding How to Do Business with DLA Aviation— January 11, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Doing Business with DLA with an Emphasis on 8(a) SDB Program—February 8, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Doing Business with DLA with an Emphasis on WOSB Program—March 8, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Understanding How To Do Business with DCSO— April 5, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Understanding How To Do Business with Troop Support—May 10, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Doing Business with DLA with an Emphasis on SDVOSB Program—June 14, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Understanding How To Do Business with DLA Distribution—July 12, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

• Understanding How To Do Business with DLA Disposition—August 9, 2023, 1:30 PM EST

Register for an event by following the registration instructions within the event of your choice located at 

www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/Calendar .

FY 2023 Webinar Schedule 

LAND SUPPLY CHAIN - “HOT” ITEMS LIST

Do you have parts on hand? Government surplus? Manufacturers’ overruns? 

DLA Land Supply Chain has posted a list of items that are urgently needed at:https://www.dla.mil/LandandMaritime/

Business/Selling/DLA-Land-and-Maritime-Procurement-Initiatives/ .

We are looking for readily available and usable material. We are asking our industry partners to review this list and let 

us know if you have surplus, manufacturers’ overruns, or residual inventory. The intent is to update this list monthly 

so please check back regularly. 

Please submit inquiries to FL.AvailMat@dla.mil or contact Lori Archibald @ 614-692-4214. Page 4
Improving On-time Delivery (OTD) through contract delivery dates (CDD) is a primary metric for the Defense Logistics 

Agency (DLA) to ensure we are meeting the requirements of our warfighters. We ask our industry partners to take 

the following steps to help better ensure CDDs are met:

1. Use PARs: Please ensure you are using the DLA Post Award Request (PAR) system when communicating with our 

post award contract administrators. This allows for tracked and timely responses to your inquiries. Under special contracting arrangements such as Prime Vendor contracts or Performance Based Logistics contracts, direct communication with Tailored Logistics Support specialists or on-site-assigned DLA personnel is still the most effective means of 

communication.

2. Be Realistic: Quoting realistic CDDs is vital so that DLA can posture itself to meet the needs of our military service 

customers. Delivery is a competitive factor for award and should be attainable, but also weighted heavily after award 

in several DLA and DoD evaluation systems.

3. Be Proactive: Inform your contract administrator as soon as possible of any challenges you are facing to meet 

timely delivery. This includes expected supply chain issues, unforeseen emergencies or issues with subcontractors. If 

you use DIBBS PARs as your primary means of communication with your contract administrator, please ensure you 

are assigning the proper PAR reason codes to expedite attention and ensure timely responses. Contractors are required to use this tool which can be found on www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil under the section titled, Awards. You must create an account. This request will generate a CASE ID number for tracking purposes and will go directly to the appropriate contract administrator.

4. Coordination: If you know the CDD cannot be met after the contract has been awarded, ask for a contract modification through PARs that reflects a realistic CDD. Please note that approval is subject to a decision by the contracting 

officer and you may be asked to provide consideration. It’s important to also coordinate with your subcontractors 

and suppliers far enough in advance of the CDD.

5. Help DLA Perform Better: We continually strive to improve our processes for our suppliers, such as making updates to PARs to make it more user friendly. As you communicate with contract administrators, please let us know 

how and where we can improve to assist you in meeting the CDD.

6. Vendor Shipment Module (VSM): Please use VSM for the most up-to-date shipments being made directly to customers: https://vsm.distribution.dla.mil.

For any questions or comments, please contact Brian Wilt (brian.wilt@dla.mil) or Charleen 

Trotter (charleen.trotter@dla.mil).

DLA NEEDS YOUR HELP TO IMPROVE CONTRACT 

ON-TIME DELIVERY

Page 5

DLA Aviation Commodities Directorate Vendor PAR Escalation

On May 2, 2022, DLA Aviation Commodities Directorate launched a Vendor PAR Escalation mailbox

VendorPARescalation@dla.mil. Testing of the Vendor PAR Escalation mailbox will continue through March 31, 2023.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

This escalation mailbox is only for orders issued to suppliers by DLA Aviation Commodities Directorate, Richmond, VA. 

Orders issued by other contracting offices, e.g, DLA Land and Maritime and DLA Troop Support, 

will not be processed.