Deloitte’s Strategy for the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Workforce & Industrial Base Program

Phase 1: Solicitation Evolution Analysis

Initial vs. Revised Solicitation: The Navy’s Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base (SWIB) effort began with an initial Request for Proposals (RFP) issued in late 2023 (December) via GSA FEDSIM. This initial solicitation was subsequently canceled and replaced in March 2024 with a revised RFP number 47QFCA24R0024 (insidedefense.com). The revised March RFP incorporated lessons from industry feedback and evolving requirements (including new FY25 budget plans and AUKUS partnership needs), resulting in a broadened scope and more explicit task structure. Changes were marked in an Amendment A0001 (with black-line revisions) (mysetaside.commysetaside.com). Notably, the revised RFP emphasized a more “systemic, holistic” approach, explicitly seeking an Enterprise Integration Partner (EIP) to coordinate solutions “at local, regional and national levels” across stakeholders (insidedefense.com). This reflected a strategic shift in language: the initial RFP’s general goals were refined into concrete objectives and multi-level coordination mandates in the final RFP.
 
Solicitation Objectives & Deliverables: Both the original and revised solicitations aimed to address the urgent capacity shortfalls in the U.S. submarine industrial base. The final RFP documents call for an EIP that “on behalf of, and in close partnership with, the [DoD’s] ICAM Office and the Navy, shall identify, develop, and deliver systemic, holistic solutions to regional and broader submarine industrial workforce and industrial base challenges.” (insidedefense.com) In practice, this means the contractor must integrate efforts across workforce development, supplier base expansion, manufacturing process improvements, technology insertion, and program management to help the Navy rapidly achieve its production goals. The stated top-level goal is enabling the Navy to “rapidly reach and sustain a programmed production rate of 1+2 submarines per year” – i.e. one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class subs annually – “with a predominant emphasis on closing associated industrial workforce gaps.” (washingtontechnology.com) Achieving this three submarines per year cadence is critical to U.S. strategic requirements and underpins all deliverables.
 
The revised March RFP and Q&A clarified eight key components (lines of effort) for the EIP’s work (detailed in Phase 2), along with desired outcomes and metrics for each. Deliverables include: stand-up of regional workforce programs, supplier improvement initiatives, modernization pilots in shipyards, an outsourcing roadmap, accelerated tech adoption projects, a cross-agency governance framework, and a lifecycle sustainment plan. The performance period was set as a one-year base plus four option years (total 5 years)(washingtontechnology.com), indicating a long-term transformation effort rather than a quick fix. Timeline-wise, the final RFP was released in late February 2024, with proposals due by early April 2024 (after the March amendment). This aggressive timeline signaled urgency, yet also gave offerors time to incorporate the amended requirements.
 
Evaluation Criteria: While the RFP text is not fully public, it is evident the award was made on a best-value tradeoff basis under full-and-open competition. According to federal award data, only 2 offers were received (govbrew.co), suggesting that few firms could credibly prime a program of this scale. The General Services Administration (GSA) managed the source selection on behalf of the Navy and DoD (washingtontechnology.com), likely evaluating proposals on technical excellence across the eight task areas, integration approach, management plan, past performance, and cost. The Government’s priority was an integrator with the breadth to tackle workforce, supply chain, and technology concurrently, and the depth of resources to execute rapidly.
 
Contract Award & Rationale: On July 15, 2024, Deloitte Consulting LLP was awarded Definitive Contract #47QFCA24C0003, a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a potential value up to $2.4375 billion over 5 years (govbrew.cogovbrew.co). The official award notice describes the contract as providing “labor, materials, and equipment needed to expand the size and capability of the maritime submarine workforce and industrial base and speed the development of improved manufacturing technologies to [the] supply chain.” (govbrew.co) In other words, Deloitte is not only supplying consulting services but will also manage funding for training programs, capital equipment, and other interventions on the government’s behalf. The selection of Deloitte as the EIP reflects the Navy’s confidence in Deloitte’s comprehensive strategy and execution ability. According to the award announcement and justification, Deloitte will serve as the Navy’s “Enterprise Integration Partner” charged with orchestrating wide-ranging initiatives to solve workforce shortages and production bottlenecks (insidedefense.cominsidedefense.com). The government’s rationale for using a third-party integrator is that the Navy and DoD alone lacked the bandwidth and specialized expertise to coordinate the myriad efforts needed; an outside partner could “manage solution implementation and coordinate all participating partners and stakeholders, including government and non-government entities.” (insidedefense.com) By selecting Deloitte, a firm with extensive federal and industry transformation experience, the Navy gains a single accountable entity to drive progress across silos. Deloitte likely distinguished itself from the other offeror through its robust technical approach (spanning all focus areas), demonstration of relevant past successes, large pool of cleared personnel, and readiness to immediately engage a nationwide network of resources.
 
Notably, this initiative was informed by a 2021 DoD CAPE (Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation) study that identified multiple lines of effort – workforce, suppliers, infrastructure, etc. – needed to boost submarine-building capacity (insidedefense.com). The RFP’s evolution shows the Navy sharpening its strategy around those lines. In sum, the solicitation evolved from a broad problem statement to a specific blueprint, and Deloitte’s winning proposal aligned tightly with that blueprint. The award’s size and scope underscore the Navy’s sense of urgency and its trust that Deloitte’s interdisciplinary approach can deliver the “holistic solutions” needed to surmount the Columbia and Virginia class production challenges (insidedefense.com).