APEX Accelerator client Baker & Associates wins $950 million U.S. Air Force contract

ATHENS, Ohio (Oct. 23, 2019) – Baker & Associates, an Ohio University APEX Accelerator Dayton-area client, became one of 11 vendors who won a prestigious Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Air Force worth more than $950 million.

Baker & Associates will supply various equipment to the U.S. Air Force via a contract issued by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with a performance period ending on Aug. 8, 2029. The equipment list includes small and everyday items such as uniforms, helmets, boots and gloves to complex items such as tactical carries, ancillary services and testing, load bearing equipment, and more.

The IDIQ contract is used when the supply chain cannot provide items already stocked to meet a unit’s needs. To save the federal government bidding time, this contract was established to supply needed items not currently stocked in the supply chain.

LeAnne Brown, CEO of Baker & Associates, said her company was able to win the IDIQ contract with instrumental help in proposal writing from Bill Cox, procurement specialist for the OHIO-APEX Accelerator, part of Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

“An awful lot of time and effort is spent in preparation for proposal, even before you pick up the pen and put it to paper,” Cox said. “If anything, this award reflects an incredible amount of work on Baker & Associates part.”

As soon as Cox saw the Source Sought Notice from the U.S. Air Force for the IDIQ contract, he knew Baker & Associates would be perfect for the opportunity. Cox drew on his experiences as a defense contractor, director of operations and business development manager for 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, to guide Brown through the acquisition process.

“Bill has a wealth of information from a contracting perspective. He knows the ins-and-out,” Brown said. “He would do anything to help us partner with other small businesses in Ohio, and it’s great to have that connection with him and with other procurement specialists at APEX Accelerator.”

Baker & Associates is just one of the many companies that has benefitted from OHIO APEX Accelerator’s guidance. In fiscal year 2018, OHIO APEX Accelerator connected small and mid-sized business owners with federal, state and local government contracts worth more than $896 million. OHIO APEX Accelerator consulted 507 clients in 2018, helping them earn 110,218 awards, a significant increase from 7,807 contracts in 2017.

After Baker & Associates was awarded the contract, Cox helped Brown organize an event where she briefed potential industry vendors who could supply products to her company and support orders placed by the Air Force. With help from Cox, Baker & Associates personnel also met with potential vendors for 20-minute one-on-one meetings.

“We’re very happy to see Baker & Associates win this award since it’s so difficult to get,” Cox said. “This is not just a win for LeAnne and her wonderful team at Baker & Associates but also for companies in Ohio, who will now get experience for past performance and a chance to be a vendor, supplier, distributor and subcontractor for Baker & Associates, and thus for the Air Force.”

As an economically disadvantaged women-owned small business itself, Baker & Associates will work with other small businesses to procure supplies and build relationships with customers.

“We have lived in Ohio all our lives,” Brown said. “After winning this contract, our first thought was to partner with as many Ohio companies as possible to support Ohio to its full capacities. This contract will not only help build our company but also help us build Ohio, as a whole.”