The Electronic Submission Process and the Security Measures - Assignment Example

? GSA Wants You of the Describe the electronic process and the security measures present in this approach. Analyzethe advantages over classic paper solicitations. This section of the study will shed light on the Electronic submission process and its advantages over classic paper solicitations, the security measures associated with it. The electronic submission process of various kinds of documents is one of the common activities of the present days. The electronic submission process is simply defined as a process by which acknowledgement, receipt, routing and notification to the receiving center are sent over electronic networks (Weinberg, 2009). Each of the terms mentioned above represents the steps involved in the electronic submission process. The platforms which are used by the companies for the purpose of taking necessary documents differ according to the requirements. The differences may be in the form of security measure or it may appear in the form of interface display. The technology usually used to carry out electronic submission is Electronic data interchange (EDI). It acts as a platform between several computer applications related to the understanding of the transmitted document. One of the biggest advantages of having electronic submission is that it not only increases the transfer speed but also reduces the cost to a great extent. Moreover, in physical submission process, there is concern over the management of queue, but such issues have been completely evaded with the implementation of electronic submission process (Nih, 2005). Although there are several advantages of electronic submission, there are few concerns as well. One of the major problems emerges in the form of security threat. Since, the entire process is carried out over the digital networks; there is always a possibility of data theft. Phishing and hacking are the common terms that have been associated with the digital transaction process. However, in order to get rid of these issues, companies or the authorities have taken several measures. One such measure is the implementation of firewall and anti hacking application, which helps in preventing data loss thereby increasing the safety and security to a large extent. It has a number of advantages over the paper systems. It reduces the cost of a company by providing an alternative to replace information flow that required a number of resources such as paper materials, human resources, faxes etc. In this context, only having internet connection will serve the purpose and that too in an eco friendly way. The data storage is comparatively easier as it is stored electronically. Furthermore, EDI also allows searching, sorting and retrieval of information. The number of errors can be reduced to a significant level and data can be organized properly. Analyze whether or not your company has as much of a chance of having its bid accepted as a much larger corporation (e.g., Boeing) does. Support your analysis. The study will now undertake an investigation of the chance of the company to win the bid. The acceptance of the bid is directly dependent upon the offerings which will be made. However, there is always a chance to get an upper hand over the competitors for being a small company. A number of studies have shown that companies which are small, often getting a number of benefits. On the contrary, a large organization does not get any special type of advantages. The benefits come in the form of government subsidies. In addition, the government has initiated several programs that support the development small businesses. The government of US is also enthusiastic in uplifting the small business ventures. This gives a great opportunity for the company to have its bid accepted by the government. However, the company also needs to ensure that the offer made suits the requirement and the price offered is also acceptable. Speculate on how you would negotiate during the contract award process once your solicitation is accepted. A solicitation response can be deemed as a persuasive argument which is used for responding to the foundation, agency, company or any other concerned authority. Responding to a solicitation is probably the most vital step towards winning the bidding process (GSA, 2013). A comprehensive response along with the ability to fulfill the request is generally considered by the concerned authority before awarding the tender to a particular bidder. However, a number of cases came into limelight where despite submitting a great proposal, the bidder was unable to win the business. This is principally because of the fact that winning or awarding a bid depends upon a number of factors. Several reports in this context have emphasized the fact that “a good solicitation response will take complicated data and present it in a simple, convincing manner” (UNCFSP, 2012). Thus the core of a solicitation response is persuasion. In this section of the study, the approach about the negotiation process will be underlined. The company will adopt a simple approach, but will try to incorporate as much information as possible in the proposal. Furthermore, it will also try to maintain high level of transparency. The main thrust will be given to the pricing of the offering and the viability of the product will be also mentioned. One of the vital factors that will be portrayed in the proposal is the strategy to be adopted or the plan to be executed for minimizing the risks associated with the venture. Lastly, the benefits to be offered by the product to the society, environment and government will also be underlined. Determine the value of your most favored customer or class of customers to GSA. Analyze its impact on your small business. In this section of the study, the value of the most favored customer or class of customers to GSA will be identified. In addition, its impact on the small business will be also considered. A most favored customer clause is a contractual agreement between the customers and the company which is about assuring the customer to offer the best price that the company offers to other groups. One of the biggest advantages of this clause is that it strengthens the negotiating capability and reduces the bargaining power of customers. On the contrary, it allows competitors to target the other customer groups very easily. In addition, targeting the customers of competitors becomes even tougher. In this context, the most favored customer of the company will be offered a price rebate in comparison to the usual selling price. Among the two major factors of most favored customer i.e. contemporaneous and retroactive, the one which will be chosen is retroactive approach (Aguirre, 2000). Hence, even if the prices of the product decrease in the future, the most favored customer (MFC) will be given additional rebates. A number of scholars have emphasized on the fact that a retroactive policy of MFC offer companies with a competitive advantage and also assists in minimizing price-wars (Tirole, 1988; Cooper, 1986). Hence the decision is truly justified. Compare and contrast the advantages of being a small company over being a lager firm (e.g., Boeing) in terms of contract administration and management. A large company usually has high turnovers and revenue; on the contrary a small company is characterized by low turnover and revenue. Therefore it is evident that a large firm has an added advantage of being financially competent. In addition the large firm also has a presence in a number of locations which allows them to carry out large scale operation. Despite that, small companies often enjoy certain advantages over the large business houses in certain areas (Clark, 2007). A comparison of the advantages of a small company over a larger firm in the context of contract administration and management will be carried out. In the context of management, a small company has the ability to respond quickly and remain flexible to the changes and trends of the market. Furthermore, due to less complexity in the management structure, small companies remain more transparent and can give special attention to certain areas of business. The room for creativity and specialization is much more for a small business, whereas a large organization has limited scope because a minor flaw from their part will disrupt their market function. In the context of contract administration, small company enjoys the special attention of the government. The US federal government has taken initiatives to promote small businesses. The support of the government comes in the form of financial support and tax. Furthermore, assistance is also provided from other non governmental agencies such as U.S. Small Business Administration. Another advantage of a small business over large business in terms of contract administration is that government has certain reservation and norms for the small and medium organizations which gives them an opportunity to win the bidding. Assess the different marketing methods used to market to the federal government. Select three (3) most effective methods you would use to market your product or service to the U.S. government. Provide a rationale for your selection. The term “marketing” is very general and is commonly used to signify a process or activity undertaken by firms to promote products or service. However, when it comes to governmental agencies, the meaning of the term marketing undergoes a drastic shift and to them it generally means “selling”. Most of the companies who are involved in a business transaction with governmental agencies do not carry out marketing as defined commercially. In order to sell the product to a governmental agency it is very important to focus more on the quality of the product rather than the process to be used for selling it. In this context, the three most effective ways that will be pursued for promoting and marketing the products of the company to the US Government are as follows: - To remain proactive in every tender those are up for bidding purposes. This will generate a sense of trust among the government and simultaneously increases the chances of getting the order. Moreover, with the availability of governmental assistance the chances of getting the business are greatly augmented. Another way of marketing which can be pursued by the company is to use its personal touch and network. Having a strong network greatly helps a small business to win governmental orders. Therefore the company will make use of its network to gain new orders. It has been observed that internal referral often becomes one of the strongest influencing factors (Lees-Marshment, 2009). Another way by which marketing of the products of the company can be carried out is to Subscribe to bid-matching services. This greatly increases the chances of the chances for the company to get the order. References Aguirre, I. (2000). The most favoured customer pricing policy and competitive advantage. Bulletin of Economic Research. 52 (3), 215-223. Clark, T. N. (2007). The Relationship between job satisfaction and turnover in large insurance companies: A survey analysis. Michigan: ProQuest. Cooper, T. E. (1986). Most favoured customer pricing and tacit collusion. RAND Journal of Economics, 17, 377-388. GSA. (2013). GSA Schedule Solicitations. Retrieved from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/207509?utm_source=FAS&utm_medium=print-radio&utm_term=schedulesolicitation&utm_campaign=shortcuts. Lees-Marshment, J. (2009). Political marketing: Principles and applications. London: Routledge. Nih. (2005). Applying electronically. Retrieved from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/electronicreceipt/. Tirole, J. (1988). The theory of industrial organization. Massachusetts: MIT Press. UNCFSP. (2012). How to create effective solicitation responses. Retrieved from https://www.uncfsp.org/userfiles/files/Resource_CreateEffectiveSolicitationResponse_2012.pdf. Weinberg, S. (2009). Guidebook for drug regulatory submissions. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More