Send us a text

Government agencies spent approximately $60 billion through the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (“GSA MAS”) program (including the VA). The MAS contract registration procedure streamlines the federal procurement process.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Anthony D’Attore from FedBiz Access to discuss the GSA MAS as one of the best ways to establish a long-term relationship with the Federal Government.

The GSA MAS is a long-term contract issued by the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and is also referred to as the Federal Supply Schedule. It is a multiple award, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (“IDIQ”) contract with pre-negotiated pricing and terms.

The registration is a vendor verification process that includes review of commercial sales practices and pricing, capabilities, financials, past performance, and pre-negotiated pricing and terms deemed ‘fair & reasonable’. 

Once approved, the GSA MAS simplifies the procurement process because both the vendor and its products and/or services are pre-approved with no formal bidding process.

To determine eligibility, the products and/or services must fit within the GSA MAS program. The program consists of 12 large categories, 83 subcategories, and approximately 300+ Special Item Numbers known as SIN’s.

 | GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Consolidation – Large Categories
|  Office Management   |  Facilities |  Furniture & Furnishings
|  Human Capital |  Industrial Products & Services   |  Information Technology
|  Miscellaneous |  Professional Services |  Scientific Management & Solutions  
 |  Security & Protection |  Transportation & Logistics Services   |  Travel

In addition to the GSA MAS program, the Veterans Administration has nine Multiple Award Schedules specifically for pharmaceuticals and medical-related equipment, supplies and services.  

Companies must also be in business for at least two years, be current in their SAM & DSBS registrations, demonstrate financial stability, and have any products manufactured or ‘substantially transformed’ in the U.S.A. or Trade Agreement Act(TAA) designated country. 

The GSA MAS is the most widely used government contracting vehicle, and it can provide credibility and access to additional procurement opportunities. It allows for a shorter more simplified sales process, and can be complimented with a set-aside certification.

Products and services can be ordered directly by government buyers from GSA MAS approved contractors or through, GSA Advantage!® or GSA eBuy.

The GSA MAS is a long-term contract award, valid for five years with (3) five-year extensions (20-year contract award), as long as the vendor maintains annual sales of at least $25,000.

FedBiz Access has over 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win business by ensuring their research, engagement strategy, registrations, set-aside certifications, and GSA M

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

A Multiple Award IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) Contract is pre-competed and awarded to a select group of companies with an opportunity to participate in that particular contract based on their proposals for specific delivery or task orders within the IDIQ contract.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Anthony D’Attore from FedBiz Access to discuss Multiple Award IDIQ Contracts as a way to get in on a pre-competed contract.

IDIQ stands for indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity. In other words, contracting officials know they're going to need certain goods or services. They don't know how much, and they don't know when. So, the contract is issued as an IDIQ contract.  

An IDIQ contract provides an indefinite quantity of goods or services for a fixed time. Under the IDIQ contract, the government places delivery orders (for goods) or task orders (for services) against a basic contract for individual requirements.

Single Award and Multiple Award IDIQs are a primary way that government agencies solicit contracting work. Single Award IDIQs are awarded to a single party.

Multiple Award IDIQs on the other hand, are awarded to a group of companies or contractors who must then compete against each other for each project or order within the IDIQ contract.

An IDIQ contract is initially publicly posted as a solicitation. An analogy of a Multiple Award IDIQ would be like at the first day of high school you walk through the door and there's a poster up that says they want everybody to try out for the basketball team. That would be the IDIQ contract solicitation.

Some people will go to try out and some people won't. Well, the people that respond to the Multiple Award IDIQ are the ones that go to the tryout. Now after the tryout some people will make it on the team and some people won't. Some companies will be awarded the IDIQ contract based on their proposal (based on their basketball talents as in our example) and some won't. 

When a delivery order (for goods) or a task order (for services) is issued on the project, it does not go to a specific company. Instead, those companies that are participating in a Multiple Award IDIQ compete for each delivery or task order by issuing another proposal and being awarded that particular job within the IDIQ contract. 

The benefit is these companies are competing against a limited pool of other companies. Some of these companies may even form teaming arrangements or act as a subcontractor to a prime contractor relationship within the Multiple Award IDIQ pool of companies.

IDIQ solicitations can be found on SAM.gov or on a market research system like the Market Intel Database. Market research can help businesses find out who's been doing the work, what part of larger contracts can support a prime vendor, and what new opportunities are on the horizon.

In addition, larger contractors or prime vendors that bid on large scale IDIQ’s typically must include a subcontracting plan that includes certified vendors across the set-aside categories.

FedBiz Access offers research and engagement strategy sessions, as well as marketing packages to government contractors and targeted buyers at the federal, state, and local levels. FedBiz Access has over 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win bu

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

Very often the quickest way to break into the government contracting market and gain some history with the federal government is as a subcontractor or in a joint venture (“JV”) teaming arrangement with a more experienced contractor.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Anthony D’Attore from FedBiz Access to discuss subcontracting and joint venture teaming as a good place to start in government, especially to build a record of successful performance.

In a subcontracting arrangement, the prime contractor is the party who gets awarded the contract and may utilize subcontractors to help fulfill the contract requirements. Often the prime contractor includes the subcontracting parties in the response to the solicitation, especially when certain set-aside categories must be included in the contract. 

The subcontractor has a responsibility directly to the prime contractor, and the prime contractor has the direct responsibility to the federal government agency that they are working for.

For most small businesses, subcontracting is a great way to begin to grow their government contracting experience and build past performance. The subcontractor also gains valuable experience while avoiding the administrative overhead costs and resources necessary to manage the execution of large contracts.

In a JV teaming arrangement, two companies come together to present a stronger front for one solicitation. The parties typically form a JV company, and both are responsible to the government agency for the contract fulfillment. The parties bid on the solicitation as one entity. Therefore, the parties need to agree ahead of time on how to manage the dispersion of work, and who's responsible for what.

Under a JV teaming arrangement, the parties pre-negotiate their terms of working together and jointly prepare the solicitation proposal. 

Under a subcontracting arrangement, the prime typically dictates the statement of work, pricing, terms, etc. to the subcontractor. Therefore, it is important for the subcontractor to negotiate the subcontracting terms prior to the contract award while it may have better leverage on the prime contractor. This is because subcontractor’s skills or set-aside can help the prime contractor win the award.

The best way for a small business to get into subcontracting is to identify from historical and expiring contracts the commercial companies that have won contract awards in their industry. They need to do their homework in a market research system like the Market Intel Database to find out who's been doing the work, what part of their larger contract can they help them with, and what are new opportunities on the horizon.

Subcontracting and JV teaming opportunities are primarily prevalent in construction, facilities management, staffing, and IT contracts. Although any contract proposal can be submitted under these arrangements. 

In addition, larger contractors that bid on large scale proposals that exceeds a certain dollar amount must include a subcontracting plan that includes certified vendors across the set-aside categories.

By leveraging relationships in subcontracting and JV teaming, a business can accelerate their path in government contracting by gaining contract experience and building a record of performance.

 FedBiz Access has over 21 years of ex

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we host Anthony D’Attore from FedBiz Access to discuss open solicitations, and what you need to know to move forward (or not). The key is not to spend time chasing open solicitations that you cannot fulfill.

Solicitations, sometimes referred to as ‘opportunities’, are requests that solicit bids to initiate the procurement process for goods and/or services. These solicitations can take a multitude of forms or notification types.

• Open Solicitations 
• Open solicitations are posted in SAM.gov as an RFQ (Request for Quote) or RFP (Request for Proposal). There are databases that can aggregate and sort through this data to help you more effectively research for opportunities, which include the Market Intel Database.
• Special Notice
• Pre-Solicitation
• Sources Sought

If two or more  businesses respond to a source sought, when it goes to a solicitation, it will be set aside for small businesses. In addition, many sources sought notifications are automatically set for small business sources and have a ‘set-aside’ requirement. This means the govt has set-aside this award for a small business under a socio-economic certification. 

It's also an opportunity to create relationships with contracting officials and make a good first impression with your capability statement. If you can offer something unique, that's very often how a sole source contract is generated. That means you win, and the solicitation does not even go out for public bid. 

Once you receive the solicitation, you need to determine whether to move forward or not without wasting time on solicitations you cannot win. Since a solicitation can be as much at 100 pages plus, you need to quickly parse though it to make a “Go – No Go” decision.

1. What is it?  - Does the title or abstract pertain to your business? What type of solicitation is it? Can I meet the minimum requirements?
2. When is it due? - Can you realistically meet the deadline? Are better off getting in earlier in the process (RFI or Source Sought)?
3. Am I excluded? - Is there a specific set-aside for this solicitation? For example, if it's for a woman-owned business, and you’re not a woman-owned business, well stop because it's not written for you.
4. Where is it? - Where is the place of performance? Can you reasonably service the geographic requirements, or can you work remotely? For example, if you’re a janitorial company and the solicitation is for janitorial services in Japan. Well, if you are in Wisconsin, you probably can stop reading. 

If all four of questions line up, the fun begins because you can really start drilling down into the details of the solicitation requirements to make a final determination. What you're doing is looking for specific things that might exclude you. If none are found, it’s a go!

State/local solicitations are a little different. They're typically not formatted the same way but are more concise. So, they are easier to read through and the geography is limited to a

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

Approximately 70% of expiring contracts are recompeted and research can give you the inside track by knowing who issued the award, who won the award, and for how much.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Anthony D’Attore from FedBiz Access to discuss expiring contracts, and how this can give you the inside track into developing relationships with contracting officers.

Expiring contracts refer to the approximately 70% of all federal contracts that are recompeted. In other words, a business was originally awarded the contract, the contract reaches the end of its contract term, and the contract will be opened again for rebidding.

This is particularly true for service contracts, which renew at a higher-than-average rate. For example, if you are a facility support company like a janitorial company the services are typically ongoing, and contracts are recompeted based on the frequency specified within the contract. 

The contract term may vary, but these are often written as one-year contracts with annual renewal options. A common term may be one-in-four (1 year contract with four annual renewal options). 

This type of expiring contract is most often renewed with the same vendor during the renewal term, but it is important as a competing vendor to know who issued the contract, who won the contract, and the contract pricing. This can give you the advantage when the contract expires.

An example of a contract not being recompeted would be a construction company contracted to build new barracks. Once completed, the job is finished but there will be ongoing recompeted contracts for servicing the barracks. 

Billions in contracts reach their term expiration every year across multiple industries.

The advantage in researching expiring contracts on a platform such as Market Intel is it provides you the opportunity to reach out to the contracting officer who happens to oversee that particular contract. 

This is all about relationship building with who buys what you sell. You can also get the inside information on the incumbent competition and their pricing by doing your homework.

Plan to reach out to the assigned contracting officer 90-120 days in advance of the expiring contract. Create a dialog and ask questions regarding the specific contract. 

"I was looking into contract ABC123, and it looks like from the records it is set to expire in the near future. Is this a contract you still manage, and think will be recompeted? (If the contract has been assigned to a new contracting officer, ask who it is and for their contact information.) If this is going to be recompeted, I’d like to express my interest and let you know my capabilities and past performance fit the required criteria. I’ll send you my capability statement and let’s schedule a follow-up call.”

Often the contracting officer may be incentivized to find new vendors or may be ready to change for better service, pricing, or terms. Either way, this is your best time to introduce yourself in advance to someone who you know buys what you sell.

You long term goal is to establish relationships with government buyers by getting your information in front of them. Researching expiring contracts is one of the best ways to get the inside track.

Click here to Continue Reading

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

Database allows contractors to find open solicitations, upcoming opportunities, expiring contracts, and hidden future opportunities that aren't visible to the public. 

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we host Ryan Sherr from FedBiz Access to discuss the features and benefits of the Market Intel Database and in particular the Roadmap to Success.

The Market Intel Database is one of the most advanced databases for business development and research in the government contracting marketplace, including federal, state, and local contract opportunities. 

The search capabilities in the database provide government contractors insight into buyer trends and the competition, which in turn gives them the advantage of better understanding the market to help them win awards. 

Contractors can find open solicitations, upcoming opportunities, expiring contracts, and hidden future opportunities that aren't visible to the public. 

The database search utilizes keywords, industry codes, geography, date ranges, and any number of other filters to ensure the user is seeing only the information and opportunities relevant to them. It puts the power of hundreds of federal, state, and local resources at your fingertips in a user-friendly format.

Initial set-up in the database requires a user-specific profile applying a combination of keywords, industry codes, such as NAICS, PSC and NSN codes, etc., and work-area geography. By setting this up these attributes for your business, Market Intel ensures you see the opportunities that match your profile. In addition, you get daily email alerts for federal, state, and local contract opportunities.

The information from Market Intel can help businesses identify who buys what they sell, when they buy it, and lay the groundwork to begin forming a relationship with those buyers. 

To sell to the government you must be proactive, not reactive. Simply responding to a bid is not sufficient. You must get in front of the buyer before the bid comes out. 

With your customized ‘Roadmap’, Market Intel uses your list of industry codes from your SAM registration to provide you the information to be proactive. 

This information includes a list of all the contracts that came out last year for each of your NAICS codes; what agencies bought in those codes; a listing of your competitors that won awards in those codes; how many of those competitors had GSA Schedules; dollars involved; active solicitations, as well as expiring contracts.

Regarding expiring contracts, each year the government issues hundreds of thousands of contract RFPs that pertain to services the government needs, such as janitorial services. The vast majority of the time these are the same contracts that have been issued in the past, and they will be reissued again prior to expiration. 

These expiring contracts are resolicited prior to their expiration date. And, with research, you can know the inside information on when to contact the contracting officers and how that last contract was won, including who previously won the contract; what type of contracting facility was used; dollar amount; and the terms of the award. 

To have this much knowledge in advance of a bid proposal gives you the supplier the advantage to win the award. 

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

FEMA seeks local companies within a disaster area for goods and services.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Ashley Duwel, Government Contracting Senior Analyst, to discuss how to do business with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”). 

With the recent disaster events like the tornados that moved across western Kentucky, disaster relief has been a hot topic in the government contracting community.

To help our country be better prepared the Department of Homeland Security has established FEMA’s Industry Liaison Program (“ILP”).  The ILP creates strategic relationships with suppliers and stakeholders; serves as an information provider for suppliers seeking to do business with the FEMA; and connects suppliers with program offices in support of FEMA’s mission.

FEMA’s goal with the ILP is to seek local companies within the disaster area for goods and services related to a specific disaster when practical and feasible. In fiscal year 2021, FEMA awarded $2.1 billion or 22% of its total spending ($9.4 billion) to small businesses.

In addition, FEMA funding flows down to the state level that also issues awards directly to small businesses.

When considering how to do business with FEMA, the first steps are to make sure FEMA buys what you sell, and your registrations are in order. This includes checking the box in your SAM registration to be included in the disaster response registry and ILP.

For a closer look into FEMA, what they buy, how they buy, when they buy, and from whom - be sure to check out FedBiz Access’ 2021 FEMA Annual Agency Report, now available through the website. 

The report provides information on the top spending categories by NAICS and PSC codes, spending by FEMA offices, how contracts were competed and issued, and top prime contractors used. 

There are also strategic sourcing contracts which open multiple opportunities to small business for subcontracting. This requires reaching out to the prime contractors, which is also detailed in the FEMA report.

In addition, the report includes access to a 90-minute video from a former top contracting officer within FEMA on how to best do business with the agency. The video gives you an inside look into how FEMA operates

FedBiz Access works with its clients across industries to complete their vendor profile for the ILP as part of establishing their foundation in government contracting by ensuring their registrations are current, complete, and compliant.  

FedBiz Access’ business development services include one-on-one engagement coaching, targeted market research, set-aside certifications filings, and GSA Schedule registrations. 

FedBiz Access helps companies build a clear path from registration to award.

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

New collaboration to provide FedBiz clients access to a library of on-demand video training courses and webinars for government contracting.

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are hosting Carroll Bernard, President of Govology, to discuss their new partnership with FedBiz Access for providing training content for government contractors through FedBiz-U. 

Govology provides government contracting on-demand video training courses and webinars based on relevant topics in the government marketplace. Govology produces approximately 140 training videos and webinars a year on topics related to government contracting. 

Because of their collaborative approach to the industry, Govology was recognized as the 2020 SBA Small Business Champion of the Year.

Govology maintains an extensive library of training videos covering a wide range of relevant subject matter, which will be offered through a subscription service on the FedBiz Access learning center platform called FedBiz-U.

Co-Founder and President, Carroll Bernard, has over 20 years of government contracting experience. He has served as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy, contracting officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, local-state level contracting specialist, business development specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration, and PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center) counselor working with hundreds of small businesses to help them get into government contracting.

“We have a really great library of training content, and what's exciting is that we're able to partner up with FedBiz Access to allow businesses to take what they learn and help them execute their plan. Getting into government contracting begins with education,” said Bernard.

Govology’s mission is to make government contracting education widely available, so it is easier for those who want to engage in the government marketplace to navigate and go where they want to go inside of this market.

“We are excited about this new relationship with FedBiz. In fact, we're really all about collaboration. We believe the more people that are in the ecosystem educating, serving, and coaching, then the better it is for businesses,” Bernard went on to say.

Both parties agree that the strength of their relationship is coupling Govology’s knowledge piece with FedBiz’s support and coaching to help clients take what they learn and apply it.

FedBiz Access offers research and engagement strategy sessions, as well as marketing packages to targeted buyers at the federal, state, and local levels. FedBiz Access has over 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win business by ensuring their research, engagement strategy, registrations, and certifications are current, complete, and compliant.  

FedBiz Access helps companies build a clear path from registration to award.

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are discussing the importance of knowing your market and not chasing solicitations as your first step. You want to know who buys what you sell, and how they buy. 

Of course, your initial step is to have your SAM and DSBS registrations complete, compliant, and optimized. It is also important to investigate what set-aside certifications or GSA Schedule categories you may qualify for. 

However, to immediately thereafter start digging through SAM.gov for open solicitations as your first step is probably not your best recipe for success.

The vast majority of the federal spending does not go through solicitations. In fact, approximately 10% does go through solicitations. So, it is more important initially to do research and that research can encompass a lot of different things.

As in any successful business you need to know what your market is. You need to know who your market is. You must have a clearly defined plan going in. Who is spending? How are they spending? And in the federal market that is even more important because you want to be able to focus your energy. 

Who is buying the most of what you sell? What offices, what people, who should you be reaching out to? This is about research and then creating relationships.

An important first step before entering any market is to learn more about the market opportunity, and who buys what you sell. The RADAR report (Real-Time Advanced Data Analysis Report) is a deep dive into the federal government marketplace based on a keyword search through award history associated with the products and/or services you sell.

The RADAR lets you know you the ‘who, what, when, where, and how’ of federal buying for your products and/or services, including the procurement offices that issue the most awards and how to contact them.

Under the Micro-Purchase Threshold purchases under $10,000 can be awarded without solicitation. 

Under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures threshold, small businesses must be considered for all federal awards under $250,000 if there are two or more small business offerors expected to compete. 

These markets are your best leaping off point to get started in government contracting and most of this business is awarded through relationships. 

To establish these relationships, you need to know who is buying what you sell and how they buy it. In addition, subcontracting is another route where relationships become key. So, there are many ways to approach the federal market that are not necessarily just going after those formal solicitations.

If you plan to spend time and resources to engage in government contracting, let it be on research first so that you understand your path of least resistance and do not spend your efforts in the wrong place.

Just as in your commercial business, the key to success in government contracting is educating yourself on the market and building relationships with those who buy what your sell.

FedBiz Access offers research and engagement strategy sessions, as well as marketing packages to targeted buyers at the local, state, and federal government levels. FedBiz Access has over 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win busines

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn

Send us a text

In this episode of FedBiz’5 we are discussing the importance of researching your market before entering the federal government contracting arena. “Test before you invest” or “Learn to earn” are themes those businesses new to government contracting should embrace. You want to know who buys what you sell, how much they buy, and how often they buy. 

An important first step before entering any market is to learn more about the market opportunity, and who buys what you sell. The RADAR report (Real-Time Advanced Data Analysis Report) is a deep dive into the federal government marketplace based on a keyword search through award history associated with the products and/or services you sell.

The RADAR lets you know you the ‘who, what, when, where, and how’ of federal buying for your products and/or services, including the procurement offices that issue the most awards and how to contact them.

Many small businesses wanting to get into federal contracting spend time and resources chasing and responding to open solicitations to no avail. This is not the best way to start.

Those businesses who do make research a priority and an ongoing part of their federal procurement process typically win many more awards, primarily those awards that are not publicly posted. Through research, these businesses know who to contact to develop relationships in the offices that buy the products and/or services they sell.

So, while their competitors are spinning their wheels focusing only on the big RFPs and public solicitations, businesses that research award history and contracting offices can best target new award opportunities. These are harder to find, but the payoff is exponentially higher.

A free resource for small businesses to consider for assistance is their local PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center). 

If you plan to spend time and resources to engage in government contracting, let it be on research first so that you understand your path of least resistance and do not spend your efforts in the wrong place.

Just as in your commercial business, the key to success in government contracting is educating yourself on the market and building relationships with those who buy what your sell.

FedBiz Access offers research and engagement strategy sessions, as well as marketing packages to targeted buyers at the local, state, and federal government levels. FedBiz Access has over 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win business by ensuring their research, engagement strategy, registrations, and certifications are current, complete, and compliant.  

FedBiz Access helps companies build a clear path from registration to award.

Stay Connected:

• Follow Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on LinkedIn