The question might arise if small businesses are capable of utilizing this sort of technology – will this impede the ability to meet small business goals?  In a study conducted by NIST in 2009 the results indicate that the majority of small businesses can receive requirements in this fashion.  Responses from 445 suppliers are summarized below in the overview of the project that was conducted by NIST.  The companies that participated in the assessment range from large to small, including diverse and veteran-owned small businesses.

2009 Supplier Assessment (Results)
The MBE Capabilities Assessment Tool looks at a firm’s individual MBE capabilities in terms of both technical ability and business practices.  The bulk of the questions focused on the engineering capabilities of the companies, including how those engineering capabilities are integrated with production and other departments, and how they are utilized in interactions with customers and suppliers.

The full assessment can be found in the MBE Capabilities Assessment on the MBE website.   For companies that did not participate in the 2009 MBE Capabilities Assessment, the questions found in this assessment can be used to self-assess existing capabilities to get a better understanding of the factors used to assess a company’s MBE capabilities level.

Each company that participated in the MBE military vehicle supply base assessment was assigned an MBE rating, based on the MBE Capabilities Metric, by NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). There is an appropriate MBE Level for every company based on their products, processes, and customer base – not every company needs to be, or should want to be, at an MBE Level 4 or Level 5. Companies should use available MBE information and resources to determine what MBE capabilities level makes sense for their business. That being said, given that a company must be at an MBE Level 2 in order to receive, consume, and send 3D data, the lowest level at which a company could be considered ready to operate in an MBE environment, in the most basic sense, is a Level 2.