It won’t make headlines, but the landscape for defense suppliers\u00a0just changed.\u00a0DoD acquisitions generally fall under the Berry Amendment or Buy American Act. These guidelines require 100% of raw components and manufacturing labor to be derived in the U.S. However,\u00a0the rules\u00a0are different now. A recent determination made by the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy ruled that the Buy American Act “component test” is inapplicable to acquisitions of commercially available off-the-shelf items (COTS).<\/p>\n
What does this mean???<\/p>\n
The raw materials that go into\u00a0certain finished products don’t have to be Made in the USA. This is a huge shift in policy. I’m sure a lot of analysis went into this. It’s a very fine balancing act supporting the current needs of our country while still adhering to the principle of self-defense. The reality today (which I am very well aware of) is that it\u00a0is very difficult to make a 100% Made in USA product. There is\u00a0simply not a strong enough textile\u00a0base in this country anymore. Across the entire spectrum of textile components (fabric, velcro, fasteners, molded plastics, thread, etc), there is only a\u00a0tiny fraction\u00a0of suppliers\u00a0there once was.\u00a0My frustration grows day by day as more businesses exit textiles and smart people leave the industry for good. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The Dept of Defense is certainly recognizing this and\u00a0clearly is\u00a0frustrated by how difficult it is\u00a0to buy items that otherwise are common in the marketplace. In these times of global threats,\u00a0our military can’t go without the supplies they need. And they need them fast too.<\/p>\n
Back to my world…When I am presented with an opportunity to make an item, often\u00a0the biggest challenge is not making the item (we can sew as well or better than anywhere on this globe), but sourcing the components. Leave the price differences aside. The bigger effect of\u00a0 a\u00a0ravaged textile\u00a0base\u00a0is\u00a0fewer choices, higher minimums, and longer lead times. You can’t find what you need or get it when your customer\u00a0has to have\u00a0it. This doesn’t work well\u00a0for government entities that like to take a long time to make decisions.\u00a0 When the decisions are finally made, they need it yesterday. No one\u00a0will\u00a0solve the bureaucracy issue.\u00a0Instead, more frequently than not, \u00a0I get to explain the bad news and look like the bad guy. \u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s important to\u00a0remember that the ruling applies to off-the-shelf items only, not the\u00a0significant amount\u00a0of items that are made custom\u00a0for\u00a0our U.S. military. So we’re only talking about a smaller segment of the DoD\u00a0budget.\u00a0Selfishly and from a short-term perspective,\u00a0this\u00a0creates more opportunities\u00a0as a finished product manufacturer. However, long term it’s going to make things even more difficult\u00a0for our \u00a0manufacturing supply base, and for me, making the custom items. That’s not good news for our country. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Obviously,\u00a0there’s not a perfect decision. Soldiers can’t go without.\u00a0\u00a0While long term, we need to ensure we have the manufacturing base to\u00a0defend ourselves against the growing threats of this world.<\/p>\n
I’d love to hear what you think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Buy American Act guidelines revised Continue reading