Unintended or not, the Army’s most recent delay in announcing the down select is going to hurt those firms currently in the competitive range for the Army Camouflage Improvement Effort. The program has slipped several times since its inception but this latest delay, with announcement coming “during the second week of JAN 2012” is the most troubling.
Unfortunately, this new deadline butts right up against the annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show, 17-20 January in Las Vegas. SHOT Show is THE trade show of the year for those in the camo business, regardless of hunting or tactical and many of the candidate families of patterns will do well in both markets.
This is the first time we can think of in the Soldier Systems industry that a company is penalized for being a possible contract winner. These companies can’t conduct any marketing activities or even share their designs with potential customers for fear of influencing the source selection authority.
With a Government announcement as late as the 13th of January, companies are already enroute to Las Vegas. There is no way that they could print new signage or marketing materials in time to use them at SHOT. What’s more, with the 10 day protest window bracketing both SHOT Show and Outdoor Retailer, a formal announcement by a company that they are a finalist could very well, still be premature.
Conversely, companies that have already been informed that they are not in the competitive range can on about their business and market their patterns without any encumbrances. They are probably all jumping for joy at the Army’s decision.
We don’t believe that this decision was made with the intention of making things difficult for industry. But, it does. We urge the Army to make its announcement soon so that industry can do the things it needs to do, to sell its wares. That is what a good partner would do.
