Strategic Programs

The Challenge:

Bell Textron, with its next-generation vertical lift, tiltrotor technology (V-280 Valor), was selected to compete for the Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program—a critical initiative aimed at revolutionizing Army aviation in preparation for near-peer competition across the globe. The competitor was represented by the dual-prime alliance of Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky and Boeing, which offered novel helicopter technology with incremental advancements. Second-tier defense player, Bell-Textron, was tasked with proving the superiority of its tiltrotor technology and cultivating widespread confidence and advocacy for its brand. The journey required not just technological innovation but also a clear, fact-supported campaign strategically aligned with the Army needs.

While nothing can guarantee a win, VMI’s large program-capture philosophy is the best you can do is work to raise your Pwin every day and have a commanding lead at time of decision. This notion of “everyday” just so happened to align well with the emergence of Agile program development in Information Technology. The use of Scrum as a way to get work done as a team in small pieces at a time, with continuous experimentation and feedback loops along the way to learn and improve as you go “every day,” could prove worthwhile if transferred to the Program Capture process. VMI’s two-week sprints via M-ISRs could enable a new team to come up together and beat the best in the industry.

VMI’s Role:

• VMI specifically created, implemented and managed Bell’s bi-weekly Agile Capture Team Support (ACTS) process with between 20 and 30+ representatives attending each web-based session.
• VMI-led rigorous, formal information and decision cycles, was then applied consistently for five years to support team decisions as related to strategy, tactics and actions.

VMI enabled Bell to orchestrate the integrated campaign that leveraged the full spectrum of Bell’s business capabilities aimed at cultivating widespread support and advocacy for the Bell brand. At the heart of this campaign was the utilization of the V-280 Valor’s flight performance data, gathered as an integral part of the program. This data served as the foundation for fact-based messaging, crafted to align with the Army’s ambitious ‘leap ahead’ requirements

Results That Matter

• Bell won the FLRAA program with an estimated lifetime value of $70 Billion.

• This team effort also led the Company to consistently drive and increase the Pwin by focusing on the superiority of next-gen tiltrotor technology performance against the competition, and Bell’s ability to deliver the Army’s promise.

Competitions that matter – large or small, can benefit by using VMI’s ACTS process, bringing your team together to increase the PWIN.

— Jack Byers, CEO, Vanguard Marketing International, Inc. (Jack@e-vmi.com)

VMI provides executive leadership and business professionals with situational awareness and understanding that helps them achieve leadership positions in their markets. Our investigative analysis is based on innovative and proven methodologies that enable our clients to meet or exceed their revenue growth goals.