Page 16 - Australian Defence Magazine May-June 2020

16 SME COLUMN ADVOCACY
MAY/JUNE 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
THE ADVOCACY ECHO CHAMBER
NICOLE SEILS | MELBOURNE
LIFE as an Australian Defence Industry SME is not straightforward when advo- cating products or services to the De- fence customer. Often, new businesses are still defining their mission and how to best go to market when they are first asked to describe their value proposition to a Prime.
They need to quickly define their com- petitive advantage and find an innova- tive way to tell their story. This essential advocacy goes to the crux of Defence Industry viability. As SMEs clamour for opportunities, advocacy support and a winning narrative are important to achieve offer clarity.
Good advocacy uses key principles to convey the message and meet expecta- tions. Core messages need to be novel, simple and repeatable. Many SMEs have benefited from being a ‘sovereign capa- bility’ and/or ‘Australian supplier’ in the new policy paradigm.
WHAT’S OUT THERE?
This ecosystem comprises a myriad of Defence SME assistance mechanisms, designed to allow SMEs skilled help in their early stages.
Support sources come from the likes of the top global Primes present in Aus- tralia whom often participate in the Global Supply Chain Program, as well
as the early guidance and assistance of key organisations such as Australian In- dustry and Defence Network, Ai Group, Defence Teaming Centre, Defence SA, Industry Voice and the government run Centre for Defence Industry Capability. These are just some examples of active influential advocates at various levels.
Many SMEs owe much of their finan- cial stability in early development to be- ing successful in attracting longer-term Defence contracts. This commercial an- chor is often a stabiliser for cash flows creating SME flexibility to build other non-defence market opportunities, sug- gesting the initial success with Defence, is also a confidence credential the entire market acknowledges.
Advocates can explore with Government the need for direct mandating of clearer SME participation benefits to be outlined in Defence contracts with Primes. This is seen in spelling out responsibilities from Government to Defence, Defence to Prime, then, Prime to SME; a flow down expectations, so it can be better under- stood and measured by all parties.
This systematic change would argu- ably achieve better balance in the overall SME benefit realised per bid, as well as significantly increase Defence’s impact across its loftier domestic Industry devel- opment policy goals.
HOW DO SMES GET THE MOST OUT OF THE ADVOCACY ECOSYSTEM?
2019 research found several factors that bolstered SMEs advocacy efforts:
1 Acceptance of how Defence operates
in the marketplace – Many successful SMEs have confidence in ASDEFCON and the certainty and reliability it rep- resents in dealings with Defence and Primes. There was much praise for De- fence’s attention to detail and unifor- mity of process, albeit at times lengthy.
2 Experience and knowledge of Defence and Defence procurement – Successful SMEs often have their genesis from ei- ther Defence personnel having left De- fence with industry insights to solve a complex Defence problem, or as a prod- uct of Defence outsourcing services.
3 Retained agility during rapid growth – Constantly evolve solutions at a value for money price point that re- mains commercially viable, withstand long procurement cycles, and secure a unique competitive advantage.
4 Demonstrated understanding of com- mercial fundamentals – Act with in- tegrity in dealings with Defence and live by a core commitment to deliver a quality outcome on time and on bud- get. That as a Defence SME, you ‘live and die’ by your reputation for quality and reliability.
This last point is perhaps the most im- portant in any SME advocacy effort, as it reflects the values Defence seek to embed in their supply chain ethos. In summary, good advocacy draws on key principles to frame the message and consistently meet or exceed expectations. Proven success be- gets future success and reputation is king.
Nicole Seils is a Senior Business Consul- tant, Non-Executive Director and former Head of Government Relations for Lock- heed Martin Australia and NZ.
GETTY