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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Column: Nine ways to get the most out of FBO.govby Tom Johnson, publisher, Set-Aside AlertThe Federal Business Opportunities website -- FBO.gov or FedBizOpps -- claims to be the “single point of access” for all federal procurements. We know that is not quite true, but there is little question that FBO.gov is the most comprehensive source to learn what Uncle Sam is buying today, this week, this month. But are you utilizing this resource to the best advantage for your company? We frequently participate in matchmakers and industry conferences throughout the country. During our presentations, we highlight FBO.gov as much more than just a place to check today’s Invitations for Bid and Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Here are some things you might be overlooking: Recompetes Many agency purchases are executed with term contracts that cover ongoing tasks. Before such a contract expires, the agency puts out a new RFP for a follow-on contract or recompete. You can search in FBO.gov’s Archive to see the documents for the previous acquisition, including the Statement of Work, buying office and place of performance. Buying offices Use FBO.gov to pinpoint agency buying offices. Oftentimes, an agency may assign buying responsibility to an office far from the location of the place of performance. Sometimes this is a result of regional consolidation. Other times it is based on the commodity or service being purchased. It also may just be a method to allocate workloads across multiple buying offices. Regardless of the reason, save yourself time and effort by identifying the right buying location to target. Method of procurement Products and services may be procured via RFPs, which generally require technical proposals covering a number of different factors, or they may be IFBs or Requests for Quotes, which are generally evaluated solely on price. Set-Asides A particular requirement may be set-aside under the 8(a) program or for another socioeconomic category. Frequently, once a requirement is designated for an 8(a) set-aside, it will remain in that status as recompetes come up. Teaming partners One of the features of FBO.gov is the Interested Vendors List tab on each solicitation notice page. To access the list, you will need to create a free username and password and login. You can list yourself as looking for a partner, or review the list of other companies that have posted their interest. Similar opportunities What if the opportunity isn’t posted yet? Check FBO.gov for similar opportunities that the agency has posted in the past to gain some intelligence on how that agency buys your product or service. You will find a plethora of useful information by looking at other announcements. You could search on NAICS and agency to identify buying office, previously interested vendors, terms and conditions, set-asides, procurement method, and use of sources sought and presolicitation notices for early warning. Automated alerts Our Set-Aside Alert Daily Contract Opportunities email is the best early-warning mechanism, because we select only set-asides and we format the notice so you see immediately all the basic information you need to make a decision to chase an opportunity. But you can also use FBO.gov’s Search Agents and Watched functions to receive alerts each time a solicitation that meets your criteria is posted. It provides an additional way to assure that you don’t miss anything of interest. Login to access this function. Assessing competition Use FBO.gov to assess the competition. For many opportunities, an agency will hold an industry day, site visit or similar introductory meeting. When this happens, the agency usually requires attendees to sign in with their name, company and contact information. The sign-in sheets and meeting presentation materials are then posted on the FBO.gov website as an amendment to the original solicitation. You can see who might be bidding and figure out how serious the competition might be by surveying these lists. You might also identify a prime to whom you can subcontract, and be able to show off your unique capabilities based on your survey of the presentation materials, even if you were unable to be at the meeting. Keyword searches Use a keyword search in FBO.gov to pinpoint NAICS and PSC assignments. Many commercial products and services can be categorized under several different NAICS codes. For example, common furnace filters, like those you use at home, have been categorized in at least seven different NAICS codes, over a wide range of industries. Searching on a term that describes what you are selling will give you an idea of the numerous codes that you should be monitoring. Also, we’ve made the case in Set-Aside Alert previously that the PSC (Product and Service Code) is a better, more definitive and reliable way to search for upcoming and past procurements and for contract award information. Conclusion FBO.gov is a free, timely and comprehensive resource. Take advantage of all its capabilities and its store of historic information to sharpen your market research and capture management efforts.
Tom Johnson is the publisher of Set-Aside Alert. He can be reached at tjohnson@setasidealert.com..
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