Tag: procurement
Federal Government Procurement Contracts Demystified
by Sunny Emmerwitz on Nov.28, 2009, under Government
Doing business with the government can seem like an overwhelming process, but in truth it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Any business that is interested in federal government procurement should register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). This is a database of vendors who are valid contractors and are interested in doing business with the government.
Next, you should try to discover exactly who is in charge of purchasing and awarding the contracts to business that are seeking government procurement. After all, the person who buys the paperclips for the office is probably different from the person that decides who will build the rocket engines. Always find out who is who in the agency.
Once you’ve found the people you need to contact for a particular job, it is important that you let those people know that your company is capable of fulfilling the job or the order. Federal government procurement regulations are very specific, and the agency must understand what you can do if they are going to choose your company.
You should also do what you can to promote your business. The government agencies receive a lot of promotional materials all the time, and that’s why it’s so important to try and establish personal contact with the right personnel whenever possible. Then you can send your promotional materials directly to them.
There are several important websites that small businesses should use to stay abreast of the latest vendor opportunities. Federal government procurement information is featured on the Small Business Administration site (sba.gov), as well as on a site called fedbizopps.gov.
It’s always a good idea to stay in contact with potential buyers. Federal government procurement officials will receive a lot of bids every day. If you’ve done your job right, though, your company is the one that they will think of when it is time to choose a contractor.
Of course, vendors should always remember that government officials aren’t allowed to accept gifts or gratuities. The ethics code for government procurement is very clear on this point. Although, if you deliver some samples of your work that have a minor value and are available to the public sector as well, then that will probably be permitted.
Securing government contracts can be very frustrating for a lot of businesses. The thing you have to remember is that beneath all the paperwork and regulations are just a lot of normal federal employees. They simply want to get the best deal they can for their agency. If you can work with that, you’ll be more likely to secure your contracts.
Working to secure government contracts can be a tedious and time consuming procedure. It is useful to find a government procurement service or company that manages the paperwork for you.