Operations

A major Government Integrator was carrying 20,000 open subcontracts and $2 billion in unresolved commitments.

The integrator's procurement organization needed to work through a substantial closeout backlog. Twenty thousand subcontracts required resolution. Two billion dollars sat in open commitments. The pace of the existing closeout effort meant the backlog would persist for years at the current rate, while new subcontracts continued to come in on top.

The Senior Vice President for Procurement needed two things: clearer visibility into what was actually in the backlog, and a faster rate of resolution. Each open commitment carried audit considerations under Federal Acquisition Regulation 4.804, and the financial overhang grew with each passing quarter.

We embedded with procurement, built the database, and ran closeout end to end on the client's behalf.

Covalent staff-augmented the procurement organization with a team that took on the closeout pipeline directly rather than advising from the sidelines. The first move was a backlog database for traceability, giving leadership and the team a single source of truth on what was open, what was in motion, and what was blocked.

From there, the team categorized closeout packages by complexity and risk, and ran SWOT analyses on the higher-exposure items to triage the work. Weekly leadership briefs put closeout status and estimated risk exposure in front of the SVP without anyone having to chase the data.

Covalent then acted on behalf of the client when engaging vendors. That meant billing and invoice reconciliation, cross-functional financial support, and end-to-end closeout execution: identifying purchase orders ready to close, preparing the documentation packages, sending closeout requests, and confirming returned materials were complete and compliant with FAR 4.804 before they were filed.

Closeout rate increased to 7 times the prior pace, and the remaining work is being automated.

The team achieved a closeout rate seven times faster than the prior pace on identical work. The financial exposure curve began bending in the direction the client needed. Weekly briefs shifted from problem statements to status updates.

The engagement also identified what was repeatable. Covalent is now developing an automated application to reduce the administrative burden on internal buyers and subcontract administrators going forward, targeting a reduction in time spent on contract closeout of over 95 percent. The faster pace established the baseline; the automation is what makes that pace sustainable.