Public Sector Suppliers: Are You Winning Contracts or Winning Money?

In Part 4 of our 7-Part “Seven Steps to Success: Jump Start Government Contract” Series with Washington-based expert author Judy Bradt, we talked about the competition process in government contracting.

Judy, who as part of our Business Thought Leaders Series appears on the PI Window on Business Show every second Monday at 3:00 PM EST, has helped more than 6,000 clients win in excess of $300 million US in government contracts.

As was the case last week with her revelation that most suppliers consider the issuance of an RFP as the starting point in terms of pursuing government contracts, thereby ignoring the five critical pre-RFP tasks that enable successful bidders to Win True Preference status, this week also carried a number of powerful insights.

The most significant of these centered on her question to suppliers, “are you winning contracts or are you winning money?”

This question (or perhaps even challenge) was posed based upon the following data from a 2009 GSA Schedule 70 contract (or standing offer to my Canadian readers) for IT related commodities including services.

Over the year, the Government purchased $15.7 billion of IT related goods and services.  A total of 5,333 firms won the contract, or more specifically won the right to sell to the government under this contract.

The top 25 firms received 42 percent of the total $15.7 billion in business available.

The top 100 suppliers accounted for 65 percent or an estimated $10.2 billion of the potential revenue that was available to contract winners.

The remaining 35 percent was distributed over a total of 3,271 suppliers, with a total of 1,962 suppliers who “won the contract ,” failing to generate a single dollar in revenue.

This of course raises a number of questions including where the disconnect between winning a contract and realizing a monetary return occurs.  Judy had a number of interesting insights in this regard.

Referencing once again Charles Dominick’s March 26th blog post titled “Like It or Not, In Procurement You Have To Choose Your Friends Carefully,” in which he recounted the latest in a series of scandals that has raised questions surrounding the City of Pittsburgh’s procurement practice, I asked Judy if she could offer some insight on what percentage of complaints submitted by suppliers are in fact tied to legitimate cases of malfeasance.

She indicated that approximately 80 percent of all complaints are not linked to illegal acts but are in fact the result of suppliers, through either a lack of awareness or interest, do not truly understand the process of procurement in the public sector.

This is of course a reasonable estimate that is perhaps reflected in an article I wrote this past February titled “Latest Government of Canada Procurement Scandal Belies the Very Principles Associated with Effective Purchasing Practices.”

Amidst cries of foul play, I had expressed the opinion that “the contentious issues cited in the Globe & Mail in terms of favoritism and pre-existing relationships being at the heart of contract awards are, in reality, a by-product of the way people naturally do business.  More to point, people buy from people they “know, like and trust.”

As a result, with long term contracts spanning many years, in which there is the necessity for a close (daily) collaboration between buyer and contractor, there is little doubt that a strong working relationship is going to form that will provide the incumbent with a decided advantage when the contract comes up for renewal.  A supplier who in essence has won a True Preference status.

The key according to Judy is to really get in the game, and avail yourself of the tremendous resources that are available to assist you in understanding the landscape of government procurement.

In short, very few suppliers actually take advantage of the many free resources that are available to them including the ones referenced in yesterday’s broadcast; USAspending.gov, GSAAdvanatage, Schedule Sales Query (SSQ) and Central Contractor Registration (CCR).

In the end, and as discussed in the previous segments in this series, the necessary resources and knowledge is available and easily accessible to assist suppliers in properly aligning their core capabilities with the right government opportunities to maximize success in the shortest period of time.

Use the following link to access the On-Demand version of yesterday’s Part 4 “Seven Steps to Success” broadcast.

Top Expert on U.S. Gov’t Contracts Presents Winning Tips…‏

Canadian businesses are looking at how to tap into the world’s largest buyer, the U.S. Government, who spends $3 trillion a year on goods and services.  With recent regulatory changes and the lifting U.S. economy, it’s never been easier for Canadian firms to win American government contracts.

Canadian business leaders want to know:

·         What are the best practices of the 1,000 Canadian firms who’ve successfully landed U.S. Government contracts?

·         What are the common reasons some Canadian firms have failed?

·         Where can Canadian companies find new opportunities?

·         What are the best sources for procurement leads?

·         How can Canadian firms attract teaming partners to win U.S. government business faster?

Now, you can bring them the answers.

As Canada’s top expert U.S. Government contracting, Judy Bradt understands the real keys to success in winning U.S. government contracts — based on advising 6,000 Canadian firms over more than 22 years.  On April 12th, Judy Bradt will be speaking on 7 Steps to Success in U.S. Government Contracts in a webinar co-sponsored by the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

Use the following link to register for this conference: “7 Steps to Success in U.S. Government Contracts”

NOTE: For interviews in advance of this briefing, email judy.bradt@summitinsight.com.

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