Alex McPhail of The EXA Consulting Group delivered a presentation at the Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association’s (AC-ADA) Defence Trends Symposium in Moncton, New Brunswick, on 2 May 2023. The presentation, Working with Prime Contractors: How SMBs Succeed, outlined the challenges prime contractors face when engaging small and medium sized businesses (SMB) on defence contracts, and how SMBs can mitigate those challenges.

The Government of Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits and Value Proposition (ITB/VP) program typically requires prime contractors to commit 15% of their defence contract revenues to eligible SMBs in Canada. Alex’s presentation explored the complexities of the ITB/VP program, and he addressed the five most significant obstacles prime contractors encounter when attempting to subcontract defence-related work to SMBs.  He then identified strategies and tactics SMBs can use to reduce the barriers to the subcontracting process. He also explored alternatives to subcontracting SMBs on defence programs that satisfy the ITB/VP requirements. Mr. McPhail concluded his presentation with real-world success stories from industry.

A copy of Mr. McPhail’s presentation is available from the AC-ADA symposium website at:

http://ac-ada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/UPDATE-Defence-Symposium-Moncton-May-1.pdf.

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