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An outstanding member of the defense giant’s mentor-protégé program, the MBE is “leveraging past performance into future opportunities,” its CEO explains.
At Northrop Grumman Corp (Los Angeles, CA), the defense and aerospace technology giant, the supplier diversity program is constantly evolving. Gloria Pualani, corporate director of socio-economic business programs and government relations, gives an example.
“In the last year we’ve developed an outreach program targeting some Hub zone small businesses, and businesses owned and operated by service-disabled veterans. In addition, we are constantly looking for all categories of IT suppliers.”
Northrop has bettered its buying with every category of small business for the past four years. In 2006 more than 40 percent of the company’s total subcontract dollars were spent with small businesses, Pualani notes. Of them, 9.6 percent were women-owned and 7.1 percent were MBEs.
NMSDC and more
The company participates in regional minority supplier development councils in several states where it has a large presence: New York, Louisiana, Virginia and Maryland, for example. Last year it became a corporate member of NMSDC. It also participates in the Asian, Black, and Latin Business Associations, and is a corporate sponsor of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. Participating with these organizations is a good way to make contact with small suppliers, Pualani says.
Northrop Grumman doesn’t require certifications from those organizations, however. The only requirement is that small and diverse businesses sign up with the SBA’s Central Contractor Registration system.
Northrop Grumman is deeply involved in mentor/protégé relationships with its small and diverse suppliers. It has been regularly honored with awards from the Department of Defense for its work, Pualani says.
Meeting Saalex
In 2001 Saalex Solutions Inc (Oxnard, CA), which provides systems engineering support and technical assistance, met reps from one of Northrop Grumman’s IT-rich sectors at an SBA marketplace conference. “The relationship bloomed from there,” recalls Travis Mack, Founder and Owner of Saalex.
“We went to the conference prepared to present our skills and capabilities, and met a small-business representative from Northrop Grumman who explained how to pitch our business to the company and what programs they needed diverse suppliers for. We took that information, did our homework, went to the appropriate source and it worked for us like a textbook case.
“It’s a matter of doing your homework and truly understanding their organization,” Mack recalls happily.
Spanning several sectors
“Our fortunate relationship spans numerous sectors,” Mack notes, including Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Integrated Systems, Space Technology and Electronic Systems. “We focus on systems engineering, test and evaluation, engineering logistics, software engineering and operation concepts for space and combat weapon systems.
“Today Northrop Grumman is one of our larger customers. We’ve helped support its national polar orbiting environmental satellite program, its Aegis combat weapon system program and more. We are currently working for them on an element of the Future Combat system. Obviously security clearance is very important in the work we do.”
Mack, with a BS in business, has become what he terms a “technology buff.” After active management duty with the U.S. Navy from 1991 to 1997, he started as a technical manager at a dot-com and “leveraged that into the defense arena.
“You have to diversify or cease to exist,” he declares. “I took my knowledge of building organizations into building Saalex as a top-notch engineering and IT consulting organization.”
He began the company with seven colleagues from the dot-com. “We incorporated in 1999 and things got going in 2000. In 2001 Northrop Grumman offered us a single assignment that could be done by one person, and it grew into where we are today, with fifty-five permanent employees.
Keeping up the pace as a protégé
Saalex “continues to grow at a phenomenal pace,” Mack says. “Other companies see us providing solid services to a strong, progressive company like Northrop Grumman, and they say, ‘Why not for us as well?’ We can reference Northrop Grumman on large-scale programs and it’s a way to leverage past performance into future opportunities.”
Northrop Grumman helps with the leverage as part of its mentor-protégé program, Pualani explains. “I help our protégés get in touch with my counterparts at contemporaries like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. If they call for a reference on a supplier, I ask our managers to talk about the company’s technical capabilities. My counterparts are looking for suppliers just as I am, and I’ll give them as many good names as I can.”
The initial Saalex mentor-protégé relationship with Northrop Grumman started in 2004. “It’s a situation that takes an informal relationship to a formal one,” Mack explains. “We were thrilled to get into it, and went one step farther by winning an award from Northrop Grumman for our good performance in the relationship. It was an exciting moment.”
“Saalex provides products and services complimentary to many of our programs,” Pualani adds. “We were looking for a teammate to help us meet deadlines and the requirements of our customers, and that is what Saalex is doing for us.”
Helpful organizations
Mack reports that Northrop Grumman nominated Saalex to be NMSDC’s supplier of the year in 2006. “We were one of forty-five companies nationwide to be nominated, and while we did not win, we came in a close second. We hope to give it a shot again this year,” he adds with a smile.
He is active with the local minority supplier development council, and finds it “a wonderful organization. We use it to gather information and connect to the types of vendors that a growing company like ours needs.”
In 2006 Saalex became a member of the Aerospace Industries Association, sponsored by Northrop Grumman. “It’s very beneficial in helping us understand the defense arena, and very helpful in the networking aspect, to get our name out there as a viable small business.
“When you are a small business you strive to join organizations like that, and Northrop Grumman was instrumental in helping us become a part of the organization.”
D/C
Founded in 1999 by Travis Mack, Saalex Solutions is a certified 8(a), Small Disadvantaged, Minority, Veteran-Owned, and Hub Zone Operated business headquartered in Oxnard, California. Saalex comprisesfour principal business units: the Systems Engineering Group, Engineering Services Group, Technical Services Group and Range Support Services.
Saalex Systems, Inc. – Headquarters
1721 Pacific Avenue, Suite 180
Oxnard, CA 93033
805-385-3636
