Huntington Ingalls Industries is the only full-service naval shipbuilder in the United States. With roughly $11 billion in annual revenue and two major shipyards — Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi — HII builds aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, amphibious assault ships, and coast guard cutters. The company employs more than 40,000 people and maintains an enormous supply chain to keep those programs running.
If your business supplies manufactured components, engineering services, IT, facilities maintenance, or professional services, HII has reasons to buy from you. Here is how to get in front of the people who make those decisions.
What HII buys from outside suppliers
The two shipyards have different program mixes, so their procurement needs differ.
Newport News Shipbuilding focuses on nuclear-powered vessels: aircraft carriers (Gerald R. Ford class) and Virginia-class submarines. The supply categories that flow through Newport News include nuclear-grade materials, steel fabrication, pipe and valve systems, electrical and electronic assemblies, engineering and design services, IT and cybersecurity, and facilities and maintenance services.
Ingalls Shipbuilding builds surface combatants and amphibious ships. Categories there skew toward steel and aluminum plate, structural fabrication, hull systems, combat systems integration support, coatings and marine finishing, and workforce staffing in skilled trades.
Across both divisions, HII also buys from professional services firms covering HR, training, consulting, logistics, and environmental services. Small and diverse businesses have found entry points in all of these categories, though the regulated nature of defense shipbuilding means supplier qualification requirements are strict.
How to register on the HII Supplier Portal
HII uses a central supplier registration system. Search for "Huntington Ingalls Industries supplier registration" or navigate to the Suppliers section of HII's corporate website (hii.com) to locate the current portal entry point. The portal is branded as the HII Supplier Portal.
When you register, prepare to provide:
- Business legal name, address, DUNS number (or SAM.gov Unique Entity ID)
- Federal tax identification number
- Business size classification (small business, large business, socioeconomic category)
- NAICS codes that describe your primary capabilities
- Ownership demographics if you are a diverse-owned firm
- Cage code if you already have one from government contracting work
- Capability narrative and product/service descriptions
- References or existing government or prime contractor relationships if applicable
Some categories also require cybersecurity compliance documentation. Defense contractors working in the federal supply chain are increasingly required to demonstrate compliance with NIST SP 800-171 and, eventually, CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification). If your business handles controlled unclassified information, get ahead of this requirement before you pursue HII contracts. It will come up.
After submitting your registration, HII's procurement staff review profiles against active sourcing needs. Registration alone does not guarantee outreach. The goal is to be in the system and visible when a relevant category opens up for bidding.
Which certifications HII recognizes
HII participates in three major diversity certification organizations: NMSDC, WBENC, and NVBDC.
NMSDC (National Minority Supplier Development Council) certifies minority business enterprises. HII is a corporate member of the NMSDC network, which means their supplier diversity team actively looks at NMSDC-certified MBEs when sourcing. NMSDC certification requires that the business be at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more individuals who are Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, or Native American. Certification happens through regional councils, not the national office directly.
WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council) certifies women-owned businesses. HII's participation in WBENC means a WBENC-certified WBE gets recognized in their supplier diversity program. WBENC requires 51% women ownership and active management by those women owners.
NVBDC (National Veteran Business Development Council) certifies veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. Given HII's defense focus, veteran business certification carries particular resonance inside the company. The shipyards have deep ties to military service and there is cultural alignment between the HII workforce and veteran-owned suppliers.
Federal small business certifications also matter. If you hold 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, or SDVOSB status from the SBA, include that in your registration profile. HII, as a major federal prime contractor, has subcontracting plan obligations under federal acquisition regulations. Those plans set goals for small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned, veteran-owned, and HUBZone subcontracting. Your federal certification can make you a direct fit for specific line items in their subcontracting commitments.
How diverse certification status affects your chances
Being certified does not guarantee a contract. What it does is get you into conversations that uncertified businesses do not have.
HII's supplier diversity team works alongside procurement. When a buyer opens a sourcing action, the supplier diversity function can flag certified diverse suppliers in that category who are registered in the system. If you are not registered, you cannot be flagged.
The certification also signals that your ownership has been independently verified. That matters to procurement teams that see hundreds of self-reported "minority-owned" or "woman-owned" claims that have no backing documentation. A NMSDC or WBENC certification replaces that uncertainty with a credentialed verification.
HII also publishes annual small business utilization reports as required by the federal government. Those reports track spend by socioeconomic category. Program managers and procurement officers are aware of the numbers, and that awareness creates practical incentive to find qualified certified suppliers.
How to get your first order
Cold registration is a starting point, not a strategy. Do these things to move from registered to active:
Attend NMSDC, WBENC, or NVBDC matchmaking events where HII sends sourcing representatives. HII's supplier diversity team attends these conferences specifically to meet new suppliers. A direct conversation at a conference puts a face to your registration profile.
Target the right division. If your capabilities fit submarine or carrier work, focus on Newport News. If you do surface ship work, focus on Ingalls. Tailor your capability statement to the specific programs each yard runs. Generic statements do not resonate with buyers who work on specific ship classes.
Look for subcontracting opportunities through HII's current supplier base. Tier 2 entry points exist through large prime suppliers to HII who themselves have small business subcontracting commitments. That path can generate your first purchase orders faster than a direct HII relationship.
Monitor SAM.gov. HII issues subcontract solicitations there for certain categories. Set up saved searches for your NAICS codes with HII as the related prime contractor.
Follow up with the supplier diversity office after registering. The team that handles supplier diversity at HII sits within their supply chain organization. Reaching out directly via the contact information on HII's supplier diversity page (linked from hii.com) and introducing your company is appropriate, especially after you have registered in the portal.
HII's supplier diversity team and programs
HII's supplier diversity function is managed by staff within their Supply Chain organization. The relevant title to look for on LinkedIn or when asking HII representatives is Director or Manager of Supplier Diversity or Small Business Programs. HII is also required by federal regulation to designate a Small Business Liaison Officer (SBLO) for each major division. Those SBLO contacts are sometimes listed in their annual subcontracting plans, which are public.
HII participates in industry events organized by the NMSDC and WBENC regional affiliates in Virginia and Mississippi. They have also hosted supplier development days and matchmaking sessions at the yard level, though the schedule varies by year. The best way to stay current on upcoming events is to follow HII's supplier diversity communications through the NMSDC or WBENC member portals, or to sign up for updates through the HII supplier registration system.
For a company doing $11 billion in annual defense work, the supply chain is deep. The entry points exist. Getting in requires a verified certification, a clean registration, and the patience to work the relationship before the right sourcing action opens up.
