THE BLUEPRINT TO IT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING

Transcription

1 THE BLUEPRINT TO IT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING

2 Contents Using Government Recognized Criteria How Many Contracts were Awarded the Previous Year Understanding Agency Buying Patterns The Competitive Landscape What s Your Piece of the Government Pie Review Active Solicitations Advanced Market Research Summary/Blueprint Checklist

3 Step 1 Using Government Recognized Criteria. The road to government contracts seems complicated, even to the seasoned professional government contractor. It does not have to be that way. GovPurchase has simplified government contracting business development in this new E-Book,. This is government contracting business development explained honestly and simply. Capabilities statements are necessary in government contracting, but understanding NAICS codes and properly identifying your company s capabilities in this fashion is critical. Learn more about the NAICS codes you are using and understand the differences and the value having the right NAICS codes can deliver. Reminder: For sales and marketing purposes, do not use too many NAICS codes that represent various industries unless these are core capabilities of your company. Once you have identified your perspective NAICS codes, review the description of each code to better understand the subtleties and slight differences between NAICS codes. NAICS Description of Key IT NAICS Codes Custom Computer Programming Services Computer Systems Design Services Computer Facilities Management Services Other Computer Related Services GovPurchase helps you identify your company s online profile to perfectly define your firm and attract the best opportunities that match your capabilities. 3

4 Step 2 Know how many contracts were awarded the previous fiscal year Many contractors often ignore or underestimate the value of historical data. Government spending is budgeted on an annual basis. The fiscal year ends on September 30 th. Knowing how many contracts were awarded the previous fiscal year, in a particular NAICS code, is the next step in the Blueprint to IT Government Contracting. This number will be proportionate to the budget approved by congress. From a contractor s perspective these budgets do not vary much from year to year. Therefore knowing the number of contracts awarded in the previous fiscal year is the clearest sign of the number of contracts that will be awarded during this current fiscal year. NAICS Name Awards Custom Computer Programming Services Computer Systems Design Services Computer Facilities Management Services Other Computer Related Services GovPurchase provides you with the number of contracts, in the previous fiscal year, per NAICS code, making it possible for you to begin the forecasting process. 4

5 Step 3 Understanding Agency Buying Patterns Knowing which agencies, and sub-agencies, spent money in the past gives you the best indication of which ones will spend money in the future. The next step in the Blueprint to IT Government Contracting is knowing the number of agencies, the sub-agencies, and which departments inside of the agencies awarded contracts in your industry in the last fiscal year. This information helps you identify which agencies you should target, during the current and future fiscal years. Also this information assists you in creating or enhancing your Agency Profiles. NAICS Name Awards 2014 Contracting Agencies Custom Computer Programming Services Computer Systems Design Services Computer Facilities Management Services Other Computer Related Services View next page for Top 15 Contracting Agencies in NAICS for 2014 GovPurchase provides you with the number of contracts, in the previous fiscal year, per NAICS code, making it possible for you to begin the forecasting process. 5

6 Step 3 Understanding Agency Buying Patterns 2014 Top Contracting Agencies in Rank Agency Sub-Agency # of Contracts Awarded in DEPT OF DEFENSE Army DEPT OF DEFENSE Navy DEPT OF DEFENSE Air Force VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 7 INTERIOR, DEPARTMENT OF THE 8 TREASURY, DEPARTMENT OF THE 9 TRANSPORTATION, DEPARTMENT OF 10 COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF 11 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 12 JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF 13 STATE, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION STATE, DEPARTMENT OF 14 AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF FOREST SERVICE HOMELAND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF Coast Guard 111 6

7 Step 4 The Competitive Landscape Step three of is understanding the incumbent contractors and the competitive landscape. This includes knowing who already does business in any given NAICS code, and other details regarding the companies. 90% of government contracts already exist (we ll talk more about this later), so you want to know who holds the current contract. Having complete information on the incumbents helps you identify potential competitors, but amazingly, the same information assists you in identifying potential teaming partners and commercial customers. NAICS Name Awards 2014 Contracting Agencies Current Vendors Custom Computer Programming Services Computer Systems Design Services Computer Facilities Management Services Other Computer Related Services View next page for top 20 Contractors in NAICS for 2014 Depending on the situation, understanding who is really a competitor, teaming partner or potential commercial customer, what they do, and how they do it, makes the seemingly blurry government contracting business development picture much clearer. With GovPurchase, you can research every government prime and subcontractor instantly to determine every government contract they ve had, dollar amounts, with which agencies, and the buyers contact information. Set aside status, including entry and exit dates. Annual revenue, number of employees and much more. 7

8 Step 4 The Competitive Landscape 2014 Top 20 Contractors in NAICS Rank Cage Company 2014 Award Total BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC. $599,957, U305 HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES, LLC $584,833, R517 SRA INTERNATIONAL, INC. $542,772, ZD18 ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES LLC $368,731, U3R1 SYSTEMS MADE SIMPLE, INC. $313,624, X260 LOCKHEED MARTIN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS, INC. $286,374, TTG5 DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP $280,240, W798 UNISYS CORPORATION $261,230, XWA8 SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION $215,061, BXY7 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION $210,586, LOCKHEED MARTIN SERVICES, INC. $208,882, NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION $202,711, UTE0 LEIDOS, INC. $192,175, VXZ9 NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INC $183,352, E7A5 ACTIONET, INC. $180,216, T5L1 LEIDOS, INC. $176,205, BDL8 DIGITAL MANAGEMENT INC. $171,783, AA68 HARRIS CORPORATION $171,616, YVK7 CGI FEDERAL INC. $171,511, TPV6 QUALITY SOFTWARE SERVICES, INC. $165,490,

9 Step 5 What s Your Piece of the Government Pie Knowing how big your market is will determine how many resources you will need to capture potential opportunities, and what you should expect as far as potential returns on your investment of time, money, and resources. Step four in the Blueprint to IT Government Contracting is knowing the volume, or dollar amounts, the government spends in your NAICS codes. This is relevant to the previous steps: Identifying your government criteria Knowing the number of contracts, Number of agencies, and Most importantly, the current vendors. NAICS Name Awards 2014 Contracting Agencies Current Vendors Awarded Dollars Custom Computer Programming Services $5,153,170, Computer Systems Design Services $14,384,222, Computer Facilities Management Services $3,279,679, Other Computer Related Services $12,506,210, Knowing the actual dollars spent is the best indication of the competitiveness of the NAICS. This step is where you may begin to notice gaps, potential pain points, and other niches your company is capable of filling. GovPurchase gives you all dollar amounts by: Task order, NAICS, keyword, agency, vendor, state, zip, set aside status and more. This allows you to further pinpoint where your best opportunities for business reside. 9

10 Step 6 Review Active Solicitations Now that we have built a solid foundation on where we should invest our time regarding government contracting business development, this is the time to review active solicitations. You need to know what the government is actively looking for right now. How many potential opportunities are there in the market for you to bid on, based on your unique company profile? While there are literally tens of thousands of open solicitations available, your focus should be on only those opportunities that fit your company s unique capabilities. NAICS Name Custom Computer Programming Services Computer Systems Design Services Computer Facilities Management Services Awards 2014 Contracting Agencies Current Vendors Awarded Dollars $5,153,170, $14,384,222, $3,279,679, Other Computer Related Services $12,506,210, Active Solicitations GovPurchase has more open solicitations than any other single source. Every federal open solicitation (not just FedBizOpps), every open solicitation from all fifty states, as well as open solicitation from over 5,000 cities and counties. We ensure that you do not miss opportunities because of lack of awareness. Our daily s work together with your well-crafted profile to provide your company with accurate opportunities every day. 10

11 Step 6 Review Active Solicitations At this point, you have enough intelligence to quickly review active solicitations and better understand the real time landscape, while making accurate bid/no bid decisions. You now have more assurance that you will not become a victim of the most common mistake in government contracting business development; becoming overwhelmed by the number of open solicitations available and not understanding where or how to begin. You are now in a position to review current government needs and perhaps respond to the appropriate RFP s, but the next step in the Blueprint to IT Government Contracting gives you the real key to government contracting business development, Advanced Market Research

12 Step 7 Advanced Market Research Here is the key in the Blueprint to IT Government Contracting: 90% of all government contracts that appear on government contracting bid sites (FedBizOpps, TACOM, MICOM, NECO, ASFI, DIBBS, etc ) are based upon work currently being done by another company, and are renewed, reissued, recompeted, or otherwise re-advertised. This is the origin of what most people think of as open solicitations. The ability to obtain enough information about Expiring Contracts, far enough in advance, to determine opportunities that are coming out before they are released is the key to Government Contracting. Key information required is: 1. What is the contract? 2. What is the contract number? 3. Is the contract on GSA Schedule? 4. What are the individual tasks orders? 5. What agency awarded the contract? 6. Which facility is the point of performance location? 7. Who is the current vendor? a. Do they have any set aside status? Is it expiring? 8. What is the dollar amount of the contract and the individual task orders? 9. When was the contract awarded? 10. Most importantly, on what date does the contract end? 12

13 Step 7 Advanced Market Research Armed with this, and the information from the previous steps, we can develop our pipeline and determine how far in advance we should begin to plan for certain Expiring Contracts. Expiring Contracts NAICS Name Awards 2014 Contracting Agencies Current Vendors Awarded Dollars Custom Computer Programming Services $5,153,170, $4,867,559, $2,315,140, $891,840, $527,574, $293,193, Computer Systems Design Services $14,384,222, $11,158,973, $5,138,972, $5,344,885, $3,519,977, $2,468,205, Computer Facilities Management Services $3,279,679, $4,316,569, $1,161,003, $645,691, $876,529, $273,011, Other Computer Related Services $12,506,210, $8,883,623, $3,806,102, $3,391,156, $1,173,867, $745,530,192 GovPurchase is the only company that provides you with all Expiring Contract information on one page. This makes GovPurchase the most easy to use, and efficient method to determine what people in which agencies have money to spend nowand in the future. 13

14 Once you complete your research and begin to determine which opportunities you should pursue, long before they are made public, there is one more vital piece of information required: Up to 65% of government purchases are not advertised online. The names, phone numbers, addresses, physical addresses, and possibly recent purchases of the buyer. GovPurchase has the most accurate contact information for all government buyers including: names, phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, physical addresses, previous purchases and more Savvy Contractors know how to use this information to consistently beat their competition. GovPurchase is the only company that has this and more, all in one location. Also, with our unprecedented training and ongoing support, we show companies how to use this vital information to get in front of the buyers well in advance of an opportunity being published, if it is ever published atall. Also, this information helps you determine if you should be prime or a subcontractor in any given situation. If you determine you should be a subcontractor, you are already familiar with the prime contractor because of your previous research. Every contractor s goal is to win government contracts, and you should be constantly reviewing open solicitations for opportunities that fit your company s capabilities. However, to truly get the edge in government contracting, you need to develop a pipeline of opportunities, so that you know which contracts are coming up before they re active. Having a pipeline of contracts lined up years in advance will help you: Forecast future sales Focus on specific opportunities by agency, dollar amount, etc. Build necessary relationships with contracting and end-user staff up front Develop internal capabilities and resources to be prepared in advance Cultivate the necessary relationships with potential partners, primes, and subs in advance Create an action plan for pursuing upcoming opportunities, so you are prepared when they hit the street 14

15 In summary, when pursuing IT government contracts, prior research is mandatory to ensure your success. Here is your Blueprint Checklist: Identify the correct NAICS codes for your core capabilities, See how many contracts were awarded in your NAICS code, Get to know agencies who awarded those contracts, Research the competition in your industry, Know how much money was spent, Review active solicitations that fit your capabilities, and Perform the advanced market research that is your ultimate key to The Blueprint of IT Government Contracting. In the past, only large prime contractors understood these steps and had the resources required to perform this valuable research and business development activity. Now, with GovPurchase, you have the same capability to perform the research and business development activity as a billion dollar company. This is because GovPurchase is the world s largest database on government contracting. Thousands of small, medium and large businesses leverage GovPurchase to win billions of dollars in prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming opportunities and commercial business development. 15

16 Comprehensive Market Intelligence Discover Opportunities Before they are Released Access the Largest Government Contracting Database The Largest Number of Federal, State and Local bids available online High Quality, High Profit Opportunities Department of Defense ~ Army ~ Navy ~ Air Force ~ NASA Plus 80,000 other buying agencies Billion Dollar Contracts Everything Needed to Win More Government Contracts Federal, State and Local REQUEST A DEMO OF GOVPURCHASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION GovPurchase 8401 Colesville Road, 3 rd Floor Silver Spring, MD P info@govpurchase.com Follow Us on Social Media! 16