Anchorage's ASCI Federal Services fills string of small GSA supply orders

Anchorage-based ASCI Federal Services LLC received 14 federal supply orders totaling $9,671 in late August. The list included $2,725 for an adjustable electric desktop, $2,658 for a padlock, plus a stencil set and a marker assortment. The orders fall under a $12.4 million General Services Administration logistics contract. The Federal Acquisition Service awarded the contract in November 2022 for sourcing, procurement, warehousing and transportation for federal customers in Alaska.

Formed in 1999, the firm shed more than 90% of its revenue and 95% of its staff between January 2021 and October 2022, dropping to six employees before restructuring as a majority women-owned business. It has since rebuilt to nearly 50 employees. Small Business Administration certification as a Women-Owned Small Business followed. "In December 2022, we were officially certified by the SBA as a WOSB," the company told Alaska APEX Accelerator in January 2023.

Women-owned firms won 5.6% of federal contract dollars in fiscal 2023, above the government's 5% goal. The SBA's Office of Inspector General has faulted some set-aside awards program-wide, though not these. Records for the August orders do not say whether they were set-asides.