Federal Contracting - Term Paper Example

 Federal Contracting Federal Contracting Issues Scenario 1 Under the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988, the government has been able create preferential contracting opportunities for small businesses that include projections of anticipated contract above the simplified acquisition threshold that small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned businesses, HUBZone small businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses may be able to perform under direct contracts with the government or through subcontracting opportunities (US Department of State, 2011). For any business to be awarded any contract by the Federal Government, it must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). CCR is the official free on-line registrant database for the US Federal Government that collects, validates, stores and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition agency acquisition and award missions (BPN, 2011). After training and being registered, one can start soliciting for opportunities to do business with the federal government. In some instances, businesses offering similar products or services team up to solicit the federal contract opportunities. The law requires the large prime contractors to come up with opportunities of subcontracting with small business ventures. For this assignment, our company, Global IT & Office Solutions Ltd that specializes in computer solutions and office machine repair and maintenance services would like to offer these type services to the government agencies. This type of business falls under category NAICS 811212 (SIC 7978, FSC/ PSC code 74) which comprises of establishments primarily engaged in repairing and maintaining computers and office machines without retailing new computers and office machines (NAICS, 2011). To register the following information was provided: Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number provided by Dun and Bradstreet; Tax Identification Number (TIN) and Tax Payer name used in federal tax matters; statistical information about the business; and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information for payment of invoices (BPN, 2011). Global IT & Office Solutions Ltd is based in Erie, PA and was founded in 1997 to offer computer and office equipments repair and maintenance services to our esteemed customers who range from individuals, institutions, government agencies and multinational corporations. We service all models and makes of computers and office equipments. Our strength is based on keeping up-to-date with technological advancements; highly trained, experienced and updated staff; and keeping the needs of our clients first through effective management of our resources. Mission: our goal is to offer high quality services to our clients to ensure complete solution and satisfaction of every business through friendly and knowledgeable service and support. Our hope is that you will feel confident in our ability to meet your expectations and know that our customers are always our number one focus. Scenario 2 Competitor analysis is a crucial part of strategic planning as it helps the management to compare it competitive advantages with that of competitors; understand competitors’ future strategies; develop strategies for future competitive advantage; and forecast possible future returns on investments. Based on our research, we have several competitors for this type of contracts from the government but the leading among our competitor is OWL COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES, INC located in Ridgefield, CT, USA. This company was awarded 29 contracts worthy $ 1752k between 2005 and 2008 (OnBid, 2009). Our competitor analysis will focus on this company as indicated below. OWL COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES, INC Market Share Around 5 percent based on the available industry statistics and business turnover Major Customers National bureau of statistics and two multinational companies. What do their customers think of them Very reliable but very expensive Pricing Policy Normally mark up is 150% but offer discount of up to 13% Financial Strength Relatively stable but was hit much by the current financial crisis Product / Service Range Capable of providing almost all services under this blanket including for the latest information system equipments. Product / Service Quality Good quality Customer Loyalty Mostly gets up to 80% repeat business from their clients Brand Recognition Very little brand recognition though quite distinctive Length of Time in Business 9 years Alliances No alliances Premises / Location Address, phone number and website details Research & Development Constant updates Plant and Technology Well organized workshop and latest equipments International, national, local National level Advertising Business cards, advertisement in yellow pages and industrial periodicals Customer Service Friendly but mostly do not do follow ups after servicing. Positioning A tag line Number of Employees Around 1500 Services Methods Onsite and workshop service teams. Patents A patented data diode technology licensed from Sandia corporation Sales Tactics Direct sales tactics Growth Planning to have an international reach Gap analysis End State Current State Gaps/Action 15% market share by next two years 11.6 % market share To involve indirect sales tactics in addition to the existing ones. To target more government and multinational contracts Excellent customer service Good customer service To train all staff on customer service. To make our services more reliable and friendlier To add customer support system in all our programs Fair prices Good prices To mark up at 90% Instead our current 105%. To offer up to 15 % discount for large clients. Quality advertisements Average advertisements To incorporate informal and formal networks in advertising. To offer follow ups after servicing. Scenario 3 FedBizOpps is a very valuable resource that offers detailed information on how and when vendors should respond to all federal contract solicitations worthy $25000 or more (Longley, N.d). US General Services Administration (GSA) establishes and administers the largest government –wide contracts with the government agencies ordering goods and services directly from the GSA schedule contractors. Municipalities, counties, states and federal agencies have huge needs which can be fulfilled by our company thus it paramount to remain vigilant of the government contracts whether they are advertised in the daily newspapers or websites such as FedBizOpps or each arm of government website. Before presenting any bid it is important that your company do the following in order to enhance it competitiveness in the bidding process. First the company should do an extensive research about the agency; secondly, analyze your competition well to know what they are likely to offer; and lastly, create the bid strategies while bearing in mind the company’s strengths and competitive advantages, and also the weakness areas that may need teaming up with subcontractors. For our company upon extensive research on government websites the following contract is very suitable for our bidding. Maintenance Support Agreement ~ Xerox B/W Copiers Solicitation Number: NEEF4100-11-03604 Agency: Department of Commerce Office: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Location: National Climatic Data Center General Information Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Original Posted Date: September 6, 2011 Posted Date: September 8, 2011 Response Date: Sep 09, 2011 4:00 pm Eastern Original Response Date: Sep 09, 2011 4:00 pm Eastern Archiving Policy: Automatic, 15 days after response date Original Archive Date: September 24, 2011 Archive Date: September 24, 2011 Original Set Aside: N/A Set Aside: N/A Classification Code: 74 -- Office machines, text processing systems & visible record equipment NAICS Code: 811 -- Repair and Maintenance/811212 -- Computer and Office Machine Repair and Maintenance Contracting Office Address: Room 476 Financial Management Branch 4th Floor 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, North Carolina 28801 Primary Point of Contact: Robin Burress Robin.Burress@noaa.gov Phone: 828-271-4695 Fax: 828-271-4009 Available from: FedBizOpps.GOV. References BPN. (2011). Central Contractor Registration. Retrieved from: https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/ OnBid. (2009). OWL COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ONBID Contractor Directory. Retrieved from: http://www.onbid.org/contractor/profile/OWL-COMPUTING-TECHNOLOGIES-INC-1007385/ . FedBizOpps, (2011). Opportunities. Retrieved from: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=list&tab=list Longley, (N.d). Finding Government Contracting Opportunities. Retrieved from: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/ctopportunities.htm NAICS. (2011). 811212 Computer and Office Machine Repair and Maintenance. Retrieved from: http://www.naics.com/censusfiles/ND811212.HTM US Department of State. (2011). Forecast of Contract Opportunities. Retrieved from: http://www.state.gov/m/a/sdbu/pubs/c6447.htm Read More