Creative Products: Industrial, Aerospace, and Repair Kits
One of the fastest ways to stand out is to package value instead of just shipping parts. Think in terms of kits, assemblies, and ready-to-use solutions.
Examples: pre-labeled hardware kits for field repairs, foam-insert tool control kits, connector and harness repair bundles, calibration shim packs, or "first-article plus documentation" packages for tricky items.
Each kit can be built from commodity parts, but your value is in curation: you read the tech data, talk to maintainers, and design a kit that actually solves the field problem.
When you see multiple RFQs that smell related—same platform, similar NSNs—ask, "Could this all be one smart kit instead of three random parts?" Then design that kit and start watching for chances to offer it.
Mermaid Block — Business Workflow
graph TD
Scan[Scan DIBBS RFQs] --> Filter[Apply Niche Filters]
Filter --> Analyze[Analyze History & Competition]
Analyze --> Decide[Bid / No Bid]
Decide --> Exec[Execute Award]
Exec --> Learn[Capture Lessons & Metrics]
Mermaid Block — Interaction Sequence
sequenceDiagram
participant You as You / LLC
participant DLA as DLA / DIBBS
participant Supp as Supplier / Shop
You->>DLA: Submit Quote (Ch 7)
DLA-->>You: Award / No Award
You->>Supp: Place PO
Supp-->>You: Deliver Parts
You->>DLA: Ship + Invoice
Action List
- Write down one concrete experiment you will run related to this chapter.
- Identify which RFQs, suppliers, or tools you need to test the idea.
- Define a small success metric: a quote submitted, a new supplier found, a script written.
- Schedule a review to capture lessons learned and update your playbook.