Column: Use USASpending to Get Ahead of the Game

      Right now, small businesses are heading into the fourth quarter buying frenzy.

      Although government spending on set-asides appeared to slow down during the second quarter, set-asides year-to-date are on track with last year.

      The slowdown was probably related to the transition from one administration to the next, rather than a decline in overall spending.

      About a third of this fiscal year’s opportunities are yet to come in the fourth quarter. Be prepared to be busy responding to Sources Sought notices and solicitations.

      Now is also the time to begin looking into FY2022 and what’s to come.

Looking for recompetes of contracts

      Get started now in scoping out opportunities coming up for recompete, from the contracts awarded in prior years that are expiring in the next twelve months.

      Hopefully, you have been tracking the contract awards information and transaction activity for awards that you have lost is the past, especially when the requirements are needed every year, such as help desks or annual landscaping services, telecom services or facility repairs.

      Do you maintain a spreadsheet or report of coming expirations? That should definitely be your first step. You spent time and effort on the last bidding opportunity – dig out that old file, and:

• Review the expiration date;
• Determine how far in advance the opportunity hits the street;
• Check for extensions or options;
• Evaluate the likelihood that the agency will rebid the opportunity for the coming time period;
• Anticipate a pre-bid conference, site visit or posting of a draft RFP or statement of work;
• Review the original statement of work;
• Reach out to the government contacts so they know you are interested; and
• Check in with the program office or buying office and see if there is dissatisfaction or other performance problems with the incumbent.

Utilizing USASpending.gov

      The USASpending Website (USASpending.gov) is a comprehensive tool for finding ways to get back in the running for successfully bidding a recompeted opportunity next time around. Here are some situations in which you can use USASpending.gov to gain valuable information:

1. If you know the name of the winning bidder and the agency, you can search for the contract identification number;
2. If you know the contract identification number you can search for the expiration date of the contract, and for any options that have been awarded;
3. If you know the opportunity was set-aside last time, you can search for the type of set-aside, if any, for the recompete opportunity;
4. If you want to know how much transaction activity has actually occurred so far over the contract’s life, you can obtain that information by searching USASpending.gov by the contract identification number and the years in which it was active; and
5. If it’s a GWAC, you can search to find out which agencies and buying offices are using the vehicle.

      Once you have identified the contract on USASpending.gov you can start outreach to the buying office, small business office and program personnel and need to know where each party is located.

      USASpending can also be a tool for finding expiring contracts that you haven’t focused on in the past. Searching by expiration date, modified by the Awarding Agency and NAICS, will bring up a list of candidates to follow. You can specify further such criteria as “Type of Set-Aside” or one or more agencies or bureaus of interest.

      Perhaps you are interested in identifying certain types of contracts, for example those that were Competed under SAP (Simplified Acquisition Procedures) or Labor Hour or Cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts. USASpending enables you to search by Extent Competed, i.e. type of competitive award.

      USASpending also retains and reports detailed records on obligations made against Indirect Delivery vehicles based on award of task orders during the term of the contract. You can learn how much activity has actually occurred under the contract and who is using the vehicle. This might help you develop a strategy to sell around the contract, or it might provide encouragement to seek a partner that has more direct experience with the customer than you do.

Searches on SAM.gov

      Sometimes you will want to use USASpending in conjunction with other tools, like SAM.gov (System for Award Management) Contract Opportunities database.

      For example, use USASpending to find the contract number and then go to SAM (formerly beta.SAM.gov or FBO.gov). Search on the contract number for the original Statement of Work and other solicitation documents to get a head start on preparing your capture strategy, teaming needs and staffing plan. The SAM listing can also give you a hint on how far in advance the solicitation was posted, cognizant buying office, and the potential for a pre-bid conference or site visit.

Summary

      We have noted in previous columns the potential for scoping out your competitors in USASpending. Find out what agencies they are selling to, and what NAICS and PSC codes are assigned to the jobs they are winning.

      This may open up a whole new arena for your business development efforts that you had not considered in the past. You might also be able to find some openings where the competitor’s performance has been weak, or exploit areas where you already know the competitor is less capable than your company.

      USASpending.gov provides a fairly user-friendly search interface that provides many options. Some of its actions are a bit quirky, and changes are being implemented regularly, but it is much easier to use than the predecessor - FPDS - was. And you can readily download a large file of award and transaction data if you are aiming to do a comprehensive market research effort. Give it a try!

Tom Johnson is the publisher of Set-Aside Alert. He can be reached at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.

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Column: Use USASpending to Get Ahead of the Game

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