Finding a Client Success Where It Had Not Been Expected

Original Motivation

A client hired us to pursue an opportunity to sell Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) equipment to the US Air Force to address a bearing issue affecting a large fleet of combat aircraft engines. Treble One helped introduce the company to the responsible organizations and decision makers within the Air Force so that they could demonstrate their product. However, the Air Force was well along the procurement path with another vendor and the urgent need for the instruments meant that the process couldn’t be interrupted to qualify the new client’s product. However, what the Air Force had yet to plan for was the management and exploitation of the considerable amount of NDI data that would be generated at numerous worldwide operating locations. Treble One helped the client develop and market a data management solution that ultimately led to the US Air Force hiring the client to develop and implement.

Outcome

Our client transitioned a knowledge management capability, developed under SBIR Phase I and II programs, to the Air Force repair and overhaul depot (Air Logistics Center) which grew to a $26M effort over 8 years. The same technology is now in process of becoming the solution for another Air Force organization that, prior to knowing the client’s capabilities, had set aside $40M to address a similar issue. So while the original intent was to sell NDI instruments to the US Air Force, Treble One helped turn an initial setback into a new opportunity that exceeded the original expectations. Additionally, with our support, the client’s NDI equipment was eventually qualified and sold to the Air Force through a competitive bid process.

Treble One’s Role

• Introduced the client to the Chief Scientist in the relevant directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory, who wanted to create a database for all the future and previous R&D in his directorate.

• Mentored the client to socialize their concept to the US Air Force market and help them write successful Phase I and Phase II SBIR proposals to accomplish this vision.

• Helped initiate the creation of an Air Force warfighter need for an engine maintenance database to fuse the NDI data from the various units and also add other related engine datasets to create knowledge.

• Obtained written support for the capability need from a senior Air Force civil servant (at SES level) to enable the client to secure congressional funds and subsequent Air Force funds.

• Took the client to the Air Logistics Center (depot), introduced client to key players and helped develop the necessary trust and confidence to create the new business.

• Initiated and assisted in generating a letter of advocacy from a senior air force official to enable the client to bid for (and obtain) congressional-add funds to augment the depot-provided seed money for the project.

Client has continuously retained Treble One since 2000

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