Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
10/07/2026 9:25 pm
TL;DR: DoD contracting is increasingly tied to CMMC attestations, and the DLA is already beginning to require them on some awards, according to Secureframe and Tristan Thomas’s guidance on navigating government bids. The practical shift is that eligibility, not just pricing, now determines who can compete for defense work.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Secureframe: How to Get Government Contracts: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding and Winning DLA Awards
By the numbers:
- In fiscal year 2024, the DLA processed roughly $52.6 billion in obligations.
- 40% of that spend is carved out specifically, ecifically for small businesses, approximately $21 billion.
- The federal government has a statutory goal of awarding 23% of contracting dollars to small businesses.
Questions worth separating out
Q: What breaks when CMMC is not ready before a DoD bid?
A: The bid can fail before commercial review if the contractor cannot prove the required controls for the relevant information type.
Q: Why do security controls matter in government contracting eligibility?
A: Because contracting authorities increasingly use security posture as a trust signal for handling sensitive information.
Q: How do organisations know if their CMMC readiness is actually working?
A: Look for evidence that the right controls are consistently scoped, documented, and reviewable for the contracts you want to win.
Practitioner guidance
- Map contract scope to CMMC evidence early Identify which contracts involve FCI or CUI, then map the required evidence, owners, and review cadence before the bid stage.
- Separate bid readiness from generic compliance work Build a bid-ready evidence package that includes current registrations, scoping decisions, and control attestations for DoD work.
- Tighten supplier and flowdown governance Document how security, quality, and delivery requirements are passed to suppliers and verified before award execution.
What's in the full article
Secureframe's full blog covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- Step-by-step guidance on reading DLA solicitations, including which RFQ fields matter most when you are pricing a bid.
- Practical notes on SAM.gov, DIBBS registration, and the vendor setup steps contractors must complete before bidding.
- Detailed examples of set-asides, FSC selection, and pricing logic that support early-stage bidding decisions.
- The article’s CMMC section with implementation timing and eligibility context for DoD contractors.
👉 Read Secureframe's guide to winning DLA contracts and preparing for CMMC eligibility →
CMMC is becoming a bid gate for DoD contractors?
Explore further
10/07/2026 9:48 pm
Eligibility is becoming the new control plane for defence contracting. The article shows that CMMC is no longer a compliance project sitting alongside sales. It is turning into a pre-award control that determines whether a contractor can compete at all. That makes security evidence part of commercial access, which is a governance shift many programmes have not yet internalised. Practitioners should treat control validation as an entry condition, not a post-sale obligation.
A question worth separating out:
Q: Who is accountable when a contractor misses DoD security requirements?
A: Accountability sits with both the security and commercial sides of the business. Security owns control design and evidence, while capture and contract teams must ensure the organisation does not bid on work it cannot support. If those functions are disconnected, the company can win work it is not prepared to deliver.
👉 Read our full editorial: CMMC is becoming a bid gate for government contractors
