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sellng to the feds

Everything you need to know about landing government video contracts.

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  1. Introduction
  2. Marketing to the Government
    1. Know the Rules!
    2. Selling to the Feds
      1. Calendar Concerns
      2. Procurement Vehicles
      3. Getting to Know You
    3. The Three Rules of The New Government Contracting
  3. GSA Schedule Contracts
    1. Today GSA, Tomorrow the World
    2. Placing GSA Schedule Orders
    3. What GAO is Saying About Schedule Orders
    4. Incidentally Yours
    5. Leasing Nuts and Bolts
    6. Industrial Funding Fee Update
  4. BPAs and Getting Paid
    1. BPAs 101
      1. An Introduction to Blanket Purchase Agreements
      2. GSA Schedule BPAs
      3. BPAs and the Law
    2. Getting Paid
  5. Formal Competition
    1. The New Bid Protest and Debriefing Procedures
    2. Filing a Timely Protest
    3. Bid Protests: What Happens After Filing
  6. Small Business Contracting
    1. Certifiably Small
    2. Small Business Contracting With the Government
    3. Small Business Subcontracting
    4. HUBba HUBba
  7. Special Requirements
    1. Are You a Sub?
    2. Federal Acquisition of Foreign Products
    3. Record Retention
    4. Procurement Integrity
    5. A Necessary Distance
    6. Suspension and Debarment
    7. The Freedom of Information Act
  8. Federal Links



Welcome to SellingToTheFeds.com

Every year the federal government spends approximately $300,000,000,000 on goods and services. In addition, state and local governments spend billions more on goods and services each year. That much money makes government contracting an interesting sector of the economy.

For the last 15 years, Government Video magazine has graciously provided me with an outlet to exercise my fascination with government contracting through my "Market Watch" column. From my perch as a market-wise legal eagle, I've never been at a loss in finding an interesting topic to explore. Some topics come from cases that I've recently worked on, others from the news or suggested to me by Government Video's editors. Together they have allowed me to take the pulse of trends in government contracting.

Over the past decade and a half, government contracting has both changed and remained the same. Federal acquisition is in many ways the same because it is still a relatively regulated market governed by numerous rules and policies. A company must understand these government practices and requirements to succeed in the government market, or else lose to a competitor that understands them better. Government contracting is different, however, because the government market is much less formal than it was 15 years ago. At that time, the Commerce Business Daily, Invitations for Bids, and Requests for Proposals were the norm. Today, publication and competition formalities are on the decline. Getting the contract is no longer the linchpin of the government contract process. Instead, agencies assume that you have a contract vehicle in place, such as a GSA Schedule. As a result, marketing to agencies has become more important than the contracting process.

The single biggest change over the last 15 years is the ascendancy of GSA Schedules to a position of dominance. In 1990, GSA Schedules were merely one of several contract vehicles, and certainly not the biggest. In fact, GSA Schedules were dwarfed by the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts of the time. Then Congress enacted laws broadening the definition of what is a commercial item and relaxed the rules covering their procurement. At the same time, downsizing in many agencies decimated the ranks of the procurement officers who had managed those mega-contracts. Finally, GSA dropped the Maximum Order Limitation (MOL) from Schedules, which removed the $500,000 order limit, and added a plethora of services to what had been predominantly product contracts. The results have been impressive. Since 1996, GSA sales under all of its GSA Schedule contracts have grown from $2,500,000,000 to almost $31,900,000,000 in FY04, with estimates projected even higher in FY05. Agencies can now buy whole facilities, integrated systems, and custom support services on the GSA Schedules of contractors banding together in teaming arrangements. And GSA Schedule Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) allow agencies to repetitively buy goods and services easier than ever.

I hope that Government Video asks me to write another retrospective in 2020. In the meantime, I have selected 45 articles from the past 15 years that together provide an overview of current issues in government contracting. Some topics have remained timely despite their age, while others are quite recent. All the articles have been edited to revise information that is no longer accurate.

Thanks for your e-mails, telephone calls, inquiries and suggestions over the years. I appreciate all of your comments. Andrew Mohr, Esq.

 




Copyright Andrew Mohr 2000. All Rights Reserved Disclaimer:
This information in this site is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not be relied upon. For legal advice about any of the topics discussed in this book, please seek the advice of legal counsel.