We always hear that Uncle Sam buys everything. We also know that (almost) all opportunities are posted on FedBizOpps. Why can’t I find mine?

GSA Schedule Contracts

Many, many commonly-used products and services are purchased through the GSA Schedule mechanism. For information on what products and services are procured, go to the Schedules e-Library.

According to FAR Part 8, agency buyers are required to review and buy via GSA Schedules and GWACs (Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts) before going to FedBizOpps, so many requirements never get announced openly. This is especially true for high-volume, common supplies and equipment. If you are not seeing your offerings in FedBizOpps, the Schedules e-Library is the first place to look.

The schedule contract solicitations are posted by GSA in FedBizOpps. The solicitations are usually open to receive offers at any time.

Individual requirements for the covered products or services are only advertised through GSA’s e-Buy, and you can’t access e-Buy unless you have a GSA Schedule contract for that category.

If you decide the schedule is the place for you, be prepared to give your best possible discount to gain a contract. Then recognize that it is still up to you to find and convince customers to buy through your Schedule contract. There are thousands of contracts so it’s likely that more than one source will be competing with you.

GSAAdvantage! — the online catalog to all these contracts – can help you identify whether a GSA Schedule contract is right for you, and which schedule to pursue. It will also identify the competitors and confirm your pricing.

GWACs

Similar to GSA Schedules, the GWACs are awarded by various agencies but available for use by all agencies. Most of these are for IT products and services. They are known by names like “SEWP,” “CIOSP” and Alliant.

If you don’t see orders on FedBizOpps for your IT/Telecom offerings, it may be that they are targeted by these GWACs, and advertised to a limited group of successful awardees.

You may want to consider offering your items through an existing contract-holder. Be advised however that you still have to do the sales work and the contract-holder will handle the order administration, with an appropriate cut of course.

AWACs

The Agency-Wide Acquisition Contracts are like GWACs, but limited to one agency. Perhaps most prominent of the AWACs are DHS’ FirstSource and “EAGLE” contracts. When an agency thinks it has enough volume on its own to obtain good, discounted pricing from vendors (ie, better discounts than GSA’s), it may seek to create its own contracts for use within its operations. As with GSA or GWACs, individual requirements are only circulated within the awardee community so you would not see these in FedBizOpps.

GSA Schedule, GWAC and AWAC contracts run for multiple years. GWACs and AWACs are only open for new offers at specific times, while most GSA Schedules are open for offers at any time. The GWAC and AWAC programs have set-aside portions of their awards for small business. These are valuable means of getting your foot in the door if you have past performance and unique products or capabilities. Teaming is also a common technique on the service-oriented GWACs.

MATOCs

A MATOC is a Multiple-Award Task Order Contract. An agency will put out a solicitation, frequently for construction or building services, and indicate that several awards will be made. These are term contracts for one to five years. Contracts may be regional in scope. Once these contracts are awarded, specific orders will be circulated only among the awardees. You can identify these contracts in the FedBizOpps archives or in FPDS-NG, and find out when the next solicitation might occur. Do your homework and be ready to bid.

DIBBS

Purchases of many commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) items are the responsibility of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). DLA has several buying activities, located in Columbus OH, Richmond VA and Philadelphia. But you don’t need to travel there to see their bid boards. All “Request for Quotes” and many “Invitation for Bids” are posted on the DIBBS (DLA Internet Bid Board System). Clothing, food, medical, vehicle/aircraft/ship parts, tools, just tons of products, mostly in small quantities. It’s a great place to get up to speed on selling products to Uncle Sam, without risking the farm.

Small Purchases

Purchases under $25,000 do not need to be posted to FedBizOpps. You’ll need to plug in to local buyers to find these smaller orders. Since they are not on FedBizopps, competition is sometimes limited or even non-existent. Learning about these buys requires close relationships with the agency staff and local buyers. This is the realm of credit card purchases. Meet buyers through the National Contract Management Association or other professional associations, even service clubs and Toastmasters. Get your line card in the hands of local buyers the old-fashioned way.

Summary

We know it is true that Uncle Sam buys everything, but it takes some research to learn how everything is bought by today’s contracting officers.

Tom Johnson is president of Business Research Services and publisher of Set-Aside Alert. Contact him at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.