What Shipley Associates does

Shipley Associates is a privately-held management consulting and training firm founded circa 1975 and headquartered in Kaysville, Utah, that helps government contractors and large enterprises improve win rates on competitive bids. The firm serves defense and aerospace primes, government services integrators, federal agencies, and engineering firms through three integrated lines: proposal and capture management consulting, business development training and certification, and increasingly AI-enabled proposal tooling. Named customers include Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, BAE Systems, Leidos, SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, NASA, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Army and Navy.

The company's core intellectual property is the Shipley Methodology, a proprietary seven-phase, 96-activity business-winning lifecycle that codifies best practices from market segmentation through post-submittal activities. Adjacent proprietary frameworks include the Business Development Capability Maturity Model (BD-CMM, v2.1 published February 2021), the Color Team Review methodology (Blue/Pink/Red/Gold), the POWeR proposal writing methodology, and Shipley AI / BD.ai tooling integrated with the pWin.ai platform for generative AI assistance in proposal drafting. The firm maintains a 20-year benchmarking database built from more than 400 formal proposal assessments, which underpins its Win Rate Diagnostic service and its training certification program recognized across the government contracting labor market.

Shipley generates revenue across three streams: (1) professional services and consulting, delivered by senior capture and proposal consultants on a custom-engagement basis; (2) training services, comprising public workshops, corporate on-site training, live-online sessions, and self-paced on-demand courses through the Empower LMS platform; and (3) bundled training packages such as the Unlimited Training & Certification Package priced at $4,995 (valued at $12,000+) and an alumni Electives & Certification Package at $2,995. Individual live-online courses are priced around $795 per participant. Delivery is global through 17 affiliated offices serving 40 countries, with a new training academy opened in Arlington, Virginia in 2025 to deepen presence in the National Capital Region. The firm trains approximately 4,284 participants annually and reports a 9.2/10 participant satisfaction rating.

Name

Shipley Associates

Legal name

Shipley Associates

Website

https://shipleywins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Shipley Associates is a private management consulting and training firm that helps government contractors, defense primes, and federal agencies win competitive bids through proposal development, capture management, and business development consulting. It operates through 17 offices across 40 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting — Government Contracting Business Development

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Foundational PM & Delivery Methods (Waterfall/Agile/Hybrid) (EDABAHAA)

Keywords

• Proposal management consulting
• Business development training
• Capture management services
• Government contracting advisory
• Proposal writing training

Headquarters

HQ city

Kaysville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services and Consulting: Shipley provides consulting services including proposal development, capture management, BD process design, win rate diagnostics, and managed services. Services are delivered by expert consultants who manage proposal processes end-to-end or augment client teams.
2. Training Services: Revenue generated from public training workshops (live online and in-person), corporate/enterprise training, on-demand/self-paced courses, and certification programs. Training covers capture management, proposal writing, pricing to win, AI integration, and other business development disciplines.
3. Bundled Training Packages: Shipley offers bundled training packages including the Unlimited Training & Certification Package and Electives & Certification Package for alumni, providing comprehensive curriculum access at discounted bundle pricing compared to individual course purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shipley Associates delivers business development consulting, capture management, and proposal development services alongside a structured training and certification curriculum for government contractors. The firm sells expert consulting engagements (proposal managers, writers, capture advisors), public and corporate training workshops, on-demand self-paced courses, and professional certification, all anchored to its proprietary Shipley Methodology — a 7-phase, 96-activity business-winning lifecycle. Complementary offerings include the BD-CMM maturity model, Win Rate Diagnostics, Managed Services (Proposals as a Service), and AI-enabled tools (Shipley AI 2026, BD.ai).

Product overview

Shipley Associates offers a comprehensive portfolio of business development and proposal management services organized into three core areas: consulting services, training programs, and AI-enabled tools. The consulting division provides expert support across proposal development (proposal managers, writers, volume leads, content managers, graphics/publishers), capture management (capture advisors, price-to-win, competitive assessment), and business development strategy (leadership development, proposal center management, BD process design). Training services include public workshops, corporate training, on-demand courses, and professional certification programs covering capture, proposal management, writing, and pricing. AI offerings include Shipley AI 2026 training and integration with pWin.ai for AI-powered proposal workflows. The Business Winning Institute (BWI) subsidiary manages the BD-CMM maturity model framework. Services are delivered globally through 17 offices across 40 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shipley AI: AI enablement services and training for proposal development, including Shipley AI 2026 training course and BD.ai platform
• pWin.ai
• BD-CMM (Business Development Capability Maturity Model)
• Proposals as a Service

Products and services

• Business Development Consulting Comprehensive consulting services covering strategy development, capture management, proposal development, and organizational BD process design, including leadership strategy development, proposal center management, and capture plan assessments for government contractors.
• Proposal Development Consulting Expert proposal support services including proposal managers, writers, volume leads, content managers, graphics/desktop publishers, and orals coaches, along with proposal assessment and review services for compliance and competitiveness.
• Capture Management Consulting Strategic capture guidance including capture advisors, price-to-win assessments, competitive assessments, and capture plan evaluations to secure opportunities and develop winning capture strategies.
• Shipley Training Industry-leading business development training including public workshops, corporate training, on-demand courses, and certification programs covering capture, proposal, pricing to win, writing, and management courses.
• Shipley Certification Professional certification validating fluency across the full seven-phase, 96-activity business-winning lifecycle, providing credential recognition widely cited in government contracting job postings.
• Win Rate Diagnostic & Performance Benchmarking Objective, scored assessment benchmarked against top-performing organizations using 400+ assessments and 20 years of data to identify weaknesses driving low proposal win rates.
• Managed Services (Proposals as a Service) End-to-end proposal operations handling including proposal management, writing, compliance, reviews, graphics, and delivery without requiring a proposal center or additional hiring.
• Global BD Expansion Services Scaling business development capability across markets, time zones, and procurement environments through Shipley's 17 global offices covering 40 countries.
• BD Process Design & Refinement Standardization engagement to define how an organization competes and wins through codified BD and proposal processes, enabling repeatable execution.
• Business Winning Institute (BWI) Dedicated practice area centered on the Business Development Capability Maturity Model (BD-CMM), providing training, certification, industry research, and appraisal services for organizational capability assessment.
• BD-CMM (Business Development Capability Maturity Model) Industry-standard framework for advancing business winning capability and delivering superior results, codifying best practices into maturity levels with defined growth paths.
• Shipley AI 2026 AI-focused training course teaching professionals how to integrate AI effectively into proposal development, covering prompting techniques, adoption strategies, and Shipley's AI methodology for proposal workflows.
• Advanced AI for Proposal Development Advanced instructor-led training for experienced AI users covering sophisticated prompting techniques, advanced AI chat features, custom instructions, and AI project workflows for proposal development.
• Unlimited Training Package Comprehensive training bundle providing full Shipley curriculum, every elective, complete toolkit, and certification pathway priced at $4,995 (or $2,995 add-on for Boot Camp alumni), valued at $12,000+.
• OnDemand Training Self-paced, on-demand learning courses with no fixed schedule, allowing professionals to learn at their own pace with access to Shipley best practice guidebooks and exercises.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,284 participants trained annually with a 9.2/10 satisfaction rating
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers54 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• pWin.aicoreTechnology or IntegrationpWin.ai is a domain-specific AI platform for proposal development featured in Shipley's AI-focused content and webinars. Shipley and pWin.ai co-present on the state of AI in proposal development, with pWin.ai's AI capabilities discussed as part of Shipley's AI training curriculum including responsible AI practices, AI readiness evaluation, and prompt engineering for proposal workflows.
• Software Quality Center LLC (SQC Global)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSQC Global provides management consulting services and is a certified BD-CMM appraisal partner. They offer consulting, training, and appraisals related to the Business Development Capability Maturity Model (BD-CMM), CMMI, and related frameworks. SQC works with over 75+ B2B clients globally.
• AIS (Applied Innovation Solutions)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIS Federal President Kim Pack co-presented with Shipley on building a culture of capture using AI. The partnership integrates pWin.ai with the Shipley capture process to enhance efficiency and decision-making in proposal development.
• Federal Publications Seminars (FPS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipley partners with FPS to co-present on Pricing to Win strategies. FPS has 65 years of experience in GovCon pricing training. Shipley provides Price to Win courses at FPS' GovCon and FAR Conference.
• Deltek GovWinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipley partnered with Deltek GovWin to co-present a webinar on advanced proposal writing techniques based on empirical analysis of winning proposals. Kevin Plexico from Deltek GovWin contributed insights on data-driven proposal strategies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GEP Worldwide: Procurement and supply chain consulting/software firm. Overlap sits at the process-design and proposal/RFP operations layer for large enterprises; not GovCon-focused like Shipley but adjacent on procurement-side advisory.
• Deltek (GovWin IQ): Market intelligence and ERP platform for GovCon, including GovWin IQ pipeline data. A Shipley webinar co-presenter and broader incumbent whose analytics layer complements (and partly substitutes for) consulting-style advisory on pursuit prioritization.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Large federal management consultancy that includes business development and proposal support within its broader Federal Practice. Overlap is at the proposal and BD advisory level, but Booz Allen serves a much wider portfolio of services beyond Shipley's niche.
• Kforce Inc. (Government Solutions): Staffing and consulting firm with a Government Solutions practice providing proposal and BD augmentation. Comparable at the proposal outsourcing/managed services layer, though bundled inside a much larger staffing portfolio.

Direct peers

• Lohfeld Consulting Group: Boutique proposal and capture management consultancy and training firm serving government contractors. Closely comparable niche: lifecycle-based methodology, capture/proposal training, and Win Rate Improvement services for GovCon primes and subs.
• APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals): Global professional body for proposal managers offering its own APMP Foundation-level certification and training. Directly competes with Shipley's certification and proposal training in the same GovCon buyer market, with overlapping curriculum in proposal lifecycle, capture, and pricing.
• Capture Planning LLC: Capture management consultancy founded by Hank Parshall that publishes capture planning methodologies and training. Overlaps Shipley's Capture Advisors and Price to Win services, targeting the same GovCon capture-manager persona.
• Federal Publications Seminars (FPS): Long-standing GovCon training firm (65 years) co-presenting Pricing to Win content with Shipley. Directly comparable training audience and curriculum overlap on FAR-based proposal pricing and compliance.
• Competitive Edge Inc. Long-standing proposal training firm (Kathy Tuchscherer) offering live and on-demand proposal writing courses for government contractors. Directly competes for individual and corporate proposal training dollars with overlapping curriculum.

Emerging players

• pWin.ai: AI-native domain-specific proposal development platform featured in Shipley's AI webinars and integration partners. Represents the emerging AI-native cohort that may evolve into either a partnership or a partial substitute for traditional proposal consulting work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@shipleywins
• Xx.com/shipleywins
• Facebookfacebook.com/shipleyassociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/25006

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shipley Associates