Business profile and credibility
Leadership profiles and senior executive credibility
Company structure, subsidiaries, and ownership clarity
Employee count and SMB status
Operational history and growth direction
Any Indigenous ownership or partnership relevance where appropriate
Commercial and capability positioning
Clear business model and revenue model
Scalable elements of the company over the next 5 to 10 years
Target customer segment and problem solved
Defensible KIC and defence-market relevance
Defence and transaction relevance
Any current work in defence or adjacent regulated sectors
Supply-chain profile and Canadian vendor mix
Existing relationships with defence contractors or OEMs
Transaction history under ITB if any
Potential collaborators, universities, or research partners
Innovation, exports, and certifications
R&D pipeline, team structure, and project stage
IP ownership and protection strategy
Export activity or target export markets
Controlled Goods, ISO, security clearances, and other relevant certifications
What We Look For First
The best ITB candidates are easy to explain in one page.
Before a prime or obligor spends time on a company, the story should already be coherent: what the company does, why it matters, where it fits under ITB, how Canadian its value base is, and why it reduces risk instead of adding it.
That is usually the gap we help close first.
Typical readiness gaps
Too much technology detail and not enough procurement relevance
Weak KIC alignment or overly broad claims
No clear explanation of the Canadian economic story
Unclear transaction type or unclear pathway into primes
Missing certification and compliance planning
Want a straight answer on your company’s readiness?
We can review your profile, identify the strongest ITB angle, and tell you what should be tightened before serious outreach begins.
Frequently asked questions
What should be ready before approaching a defence prime?
A concise capability statement, evidence of the certifications and quality systems your sector expects, financial and production capacity information, and a clear description of where your work is performed in Canada.
Why does Canadian Content Value evidence matter?
Primes can only claim credit for the Canadian portion of work. If you cannot show which costs and activities are Canadian, your contribution is harder for them to count.
Do we need security clearance?
It depends on the work. Many supply chain roles do not require personnel or facility clearance, but programs involving controlled goods or classified information do, and clearance takes time to obtain.
How should a capability statement be written?
Specific and verifiable: what you make or do, to what standard, at what capacity, for which customers, and what distinguishes it. Generic marketing language is the most common reason a statement is set aside.