ICON Upgrades Launching This Week
The evolution of ICON continues. This week, the latest version launches with new features designed to transform the government contracting experience.
ICON serves as a central marketplace for metal cast, forged, and machined parts for the military. Since these parts are among the most difficult to procure, ICON connects the military with the Defense Industrial Base as a streamlined hub.
At its core, ICON aggregates data from authoritative sources including EBS, Sam.gov, FLIS, DLA Electronic Reading Room, DIBBS, and user-generated supplier capabilities. With a native tooling database containing over 34,000 records, ICON delivers a robust, user-friendly platform where buyers (Military) and sellers (casting, forging, machining companies) efficiently interact.
Now ICON is taking a major step forward with ACE, the Automatic Contract Evaluation module, providing users with granular visibility into each solicitation.
What ACE Does
ACE allows manufacturers to quickly assess business opportunities and determine if they're worth pursuing:
- Automated bill of materials for assemblies
- Supply chain visibility with component cost breakdowns
- Historical procurement data
- Translation of government requirements into manufacturer-friendly language
The Intelligent Opportunity Matching feature filters thousands of DoD and DLA solicitations to surface only opportunities aligned with your materials, processes, certifications, and capacity—eliminating wasted time on unwinnable bids.
ICON + ACE reduces DoD contracting complexity, providing turnkey tools that shorten learning curves, cut costs, and increase win rates.
- Discovery - Identify the right parts quickly through ICONs exclusive casting and forging solicitation feed
- Evaluation - Access procurement history, demand patterns, and competition analysis to determine solicitation worthiness
- Technical Support - Learn to decode technical data packages, military specifications, and government inspection requirements
- Supply Chain Building - Convert NSNs into Bills of Material and find the right partners for outside processes
- Compliance Management - Navigate CUI, ITAR, JCP/EJCP, and quality management systems with built-in compliance indicators
- Bid Management - Follow a guided journey from discovery to delivery, built by defense suppliers for defense suppliers
Measurable Impact
Time Savings
- 5-10 hours per opportunity reduced to 15-30 minutes
- Weeks of partner vetting compressed into instant supplier matching
- Months of marketplace learning accelerated through guided workflows
Revenue Impact
- Bid on 3-5x more opportunities with the same resources
- Reduce no-bid rates by providing clarity manufacturers need to commit
- Capture higher-margin work by identifying under-served opportunities
- Minimize NRE risk through accurate upfront assessment
Strategic Advantage
- Build your pipeline proactively instead of reactively
- Track emerging requirements before they become critical shortages
- Establish prime contractor relationships early
- Scale without adding headcount by automating administrative tasks
With ACE, manufacturers focus on what they do best: making parts.
These new features roll out on January 30, 2026. Visit www.iconportal.com to learn more.