Under the MPP, small businesses are paired with larger DOD-contracted companies to improve on areas such as business development and capability expansion. A first of its kind for NAVSUP, this agreement will support Department of the Navy (DoN) and NAVSUP weapon systems manufacturing.
Beginning this year, Raytheon Technologies will mentor small business Tampa Brass and Aluminum over the next three years. As part of the agreement, Tampa Brass and Aluminum will ultimately take over prime contract support for numerous National Item Identification Numbers (NIINs) on the Close-in Weapon System (CIWS). NIINs are assigned to quickly designate and identify a specific component within the supply system. Agreement milestones will position Tampa Brass and Aluminum to improve the responsiveness and supportability of aging components on the CIWS platform. Additionally, the agreement has integrated metrics to measure how effectively the agreement is at reducing repair turnaround times for CIWS support at NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (WSS).
Raytheon’s mentorship of Tampa Brass and Aluminum will also improve the company’s ability to produce historically challenging high-mix (high variety, not one set item, constantly changing), low-volume (desired quantity to be manufactured is very low) parts for the Navy.
“This agreement is an excellent first step in NAVSUP’s strategic commitment to leveraging the DoD’s Mentor Protégé Program,” said Chris Espenshade, director of NAVSUP’s Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP).
This unique agreement sets the standard for a new best in class when implementing MPP agreements within the DoD and shows the value of NAVSUP’s Strategic Supplier Management engagements, which boost efficiencies between NAVSUP and industry partners.
“The framework utilized within these manufacturing agreements will produce measurable improvements to the readiness of the Navy’s weapon system supply chain and help bolster the capability of small manufacturing firms across DoD,” said Espenshade.
NAVSUP Executive for Strategic Initiatives Ms. Karen Fenstermacher engaged with Raytheon leadership on behalf of NAVSUP OSBP.
“Having partners who can ensure the Navy gets what it needs with minimum delay is critical to national security,” said Fenstermacher. “Programs like this, combined with solid communications among all partners, help us achieve exceptional performance while incorporating new innovations and ideas to remain the world’s strongest Navy.”
Dating back to 1991, MPP is the oldest continuously operating federal mentor-protégé program in existence. In the past five years, DoD’s MPP has successfully helped more than 190 small businesses fill unique niches and become part of the military’s supply chain.
The mission of NAVSUP’s OSBP is to ensure small business advocacy leads to a lasting impact on the quality of our products, economic market competitiveness and mission effectiveness for years to come.
NAVSUP is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor & family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars.. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.