Vantage ID was recently certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program (WOSB Program), complying with new and more stringent certification requirements set forth in May 2020.
In 2020, the SBA changed the certification process to strengthen oversight and maintain the integrity of the program. The changes removed the ability to self-certify when competing for set-aside or sole source contracts.
“The federal government’s goal is to award at least five percent of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year.*”
Vantage ID has been certified as a WOSB for several years. Our latest certification allows us to support set-aside and sole sourced Federal contracts.
“The certification requirement applies only to those businesses wishing to compete for set-aside or sole source contracts under the Program, and to those seeking to be awarded multiple award contracts for pools reserved for WOSBs and EDWOSBs. Once this rule is effective, WOSBs and EDWOSBs that are not certified will not be eligible for contracts under the Program.”*
Program Benefits
To help provide a level playing field for women business owners, the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the WOSB Federal Contracting Program.
These contracts are for specific industries where women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) are underrepresented. Some contracts are restricted further to economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The SBA maintains a list of those eligible industries and their NAICS codes.
Program eligibility requirements
To be eligible for the women’s contracting program, a business must:
- Be a small business
- Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by women who are U.S. citizens
- Have women manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions
Vantage ID meets all Women Owned Small Business Federal Program requirements, and is also a certified minority owned business.
We’re proud to have competent women and Latina women serving in key leadership roles: Aviva Rubin (CEO), Christine Blindell (Director of Business Development), Pam Baker (Director – Government Business Division), and Irene Vargas (Operations Manager). Learn more about our team here.
According to a 2019 Catalyst research study, women comprise only 18.7% of the U.S. workforce in software developers, applications, and systems software, and only 0.8% of Latina women.
WE GO BEYOND THE BID, THE BOX, AND THE BARCoDE
For almost three decades, Vantage ID has gained experience with every component of a labeling ecosystem. With Vantage ID you get a unique, holistic view to your barcode and RFID processes. We’re not aware any other North American Zebra Premier Solutions Partner with the same advanced certifications and the SBA WOSB woman owned small business certification, too.
One way our proficiency is demonstrated is with our multiple premium certifications and rankings with Zebra, the $4.6 global leader in RFID and barcode technologies. We are in the top echelon of Zebra’s 10,000 global partners as a Zebra Premier Solutions Partner, Zebra Advanced RFID Specialist, Zebra Advanced Supplies Specialist, Zebra Advanced Repair Specialist, and their newest program — Government Specialist.
Vantage ID Specialized Experience
As a small, minority, federally certified woman owned business based in San Diego, our geographic location has helped us gain advanced barcode and RFID track and trace experience.
San Diego has:
- the largest concentration of military assets in the world
- one of the busiest land ports of entry in the world
- the third largest biotech hub in the country (aka Biotech Beach).
San Diego’s top industries — defense, biotech, and cross-border logistics and manufacturing — are highly regulated industries with complex requirements.
Often, both the equipment and consumables need to survive and thrive in harsh environments like extreme temperature ranges, outdoor use, moisture, and abrasion.
These industries are also traditionally male dominated. Women make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, Table 11, 2019.
No job too big or too small
As a small business ourselves, supporting small businesses and startups is one of our core values. Organizations in these industries range in size from the smallest startups to large multinational, publicly held companies to federal and state agencies. We understand why many companies prefer to focus only on big deals and big names, but that’s not how we roll.
We strive to provide true consultative support regardless of the size of the need. You can count on us to support you every step of the way whether you need one roll of labels printed and serialized for your research project, help figuring why your print image is poor, to a successful RFID pilot project to show ROI, to a full enterprise wide system launch with advanced security requirements…you get the idea.
Supplier diversity programs vary greatly, and it’s exciting to see more and more companies roll out supplier diversity initiatives. You can find us on PlanetBids, Bidsync, Ariba, and other portals. (If we are missing one, please let us know!)