CASE STUDIES

The business of managing and developing winning proposals is a learning process. The following represents a synopsis of key projects and activities that MJI has supported for which we have resolved typical problems, encountered and overcome unusual circumstances, and added to our “lessons learned” repertoire. They provide insightful Case Studies that demonstrate the varied capabilities and performance of MJI and our managers and specialists.

1. Using and following the process - from the smallest proposal . . . . .

MJI supported BAE SYSTEMS-Royal Ordnance in its successful effort to propose and win the contract for the Operation & Maintenance of the U.S. Army Holston Ammunition Depot, a multi-billion dollar program over an extended contract period. This was a competitive procurement that employed the Army’s “Alpha” contracting approach in which several large U.S. and international contractors provided information and were selectively approved to continue to demonstrate their approaches and capabilities over an extended period of time. The final competition resulted in a formal offer and proposal that was ten (10) pages, easily the smallest total proposal MJI has ever supported. However, the proposal planning, strategizing, development and preparation was conducted using all of the elements of the formal proposal development process, including storyboards, Pink and Red Team reviews during a final 45 day period, - which proves that small proposals require just as much effort to generate a precise and succinct winning offer.

2. to the largest . . . . . .

On the other end of the spectrum, MJI provided complete proposal support over a period of more than a year to BAE SYSTEMS, UK for their successful effort to win the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract for the Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA). This was another multi-billion pound competition for a program that is still in operation. MJI’s support included competitive assessment and win strategy development, proposal management and development, process training, and review team leadership in which upwards of 12 MJI executives, managers and specialists participated. The task was to convince the MoD that BAE SYSTEMS' solution for the upgraded Nimrod aircraft had the most complete and in-depth approach, coupled with demonstrated expertise, to accomplish the required programmatic tasks with the least risk. The concerted efforts of the client and MJI team resulted in a final proposal that was 65,000 pages per set. The forty (40) sets of proposals took the entire volume of a five ton truck to deliver to the MoD.

So, for two multi-billion dollar/pound programs, the difference in proposal size, although immense, still required the same dedication to process and quality by BAE SYSTEMS and MJI to affect two significant contract wins.

3. Helping a commercial company win defense business

MJI worked with iRobot to help them win their first U.S. DoD contract – the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) robotic system for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System (FCS). The proposal strategy was to prove to Boeing Integrated Systems Division, the FCS’s Lead Systems Integrator, that the company could scale down an existing robotic system to meet the programmatic requirements and could also manage a complex U.S. DoD effort. MJI Associates provided extensive support in strategy development, process training, proposal development management, and assisted with major writing tasks.

4. Helping a small company win a large contract

The U.S. Marine Corps was experiencing heavy casualties from Improved Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted along vehicle routes in Iraq and Afghanistan and needed a new fleet of vehicles that would withstand the blasts from these devices and significantly improve the safety of the troops being carried within the vehicles. MJI was selected by Force Protection, Inc. to convince the Marine Corps that they could build a sufficient number of combat-proven Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle systems in required quantities to meet both the immediate and longer term U.S. Government needs. The proposal had to show that this client’ solution was both low risk and had a proven design to increase the survivability rate of Marines in combat environments from Improved Explosive Devices and small arms fire. MJI Associates provided a team of managers and specialists to support the strategy development, process training, proposal development management, and assisted with major writing tasks across the entire proposal.

5. Supporting an initial successful product inroad

GTE Corporation, a major U.S. telecommunications company, wanted to pursue its first major contract with the U.S. Marine Corps for a new and significant battlefield communications system. MJI was selected to support this company in their effort to convince the Marine Corps that they could design, build, integrate, test and support the complex Tactical Data Network/ Digital Technical Control (TDN/DTC) system. The proposal strategy was to demonstrate to the customer that the client had a workable design that could accomplish the stringent performance and programmatic requirements at very low risk. MJI Associates provided support in strategy development, process training, proposal development management, and designed and prepared the Executive Summary.

6. Managing and integrating a major proposal with numerous team members

NASA was procuring a major ground system to receive, distribute, catalog, and store information on climate changes throughout the world. MJI was selected to manage the planning and development of a major proposal to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for the first, large-scale data processing system for environmental data to be gathered and transmitted by a new fleet of satellites. This program, the Earth Observing System Data Information System (EOSDIS), comprised the design and building of major hardware and software systems by our client, Hughes Information Technology. Through this contract award Hughes Information Technology became the major player in the transmission and archival network responsible for gathering data from EOS satellites, disseminating and sorting it by content, and moving it on to designated processing and storage centers around the U.S. MJI Associates provided a team of managers and specialists to support the strategy development, process training, proposal management and development, as well as the important role of integrating the contributions of several key team members into a cohesive, winning proposal.