February 23, 2011
In my February 17th post “Supply Chain Finance (Part 1): How do governments finance suppliers when their own credit worthiness is in question?,” I broached the concept of governments financing supplier involvement in the acquisition process as a means of addressing the steadily declining responses to public bids. It is not that outlandish an idea on […]
February 17, 2011
One of the first things the government seems to have accepted is that, at least in part, the answer to the problem of SME access to better channels of credit is going to have to come from somewhere other than just tapping the big banks as in the past. from the November 8th, 2010 article […]
January 31, 2011
Mark’s new book “Selling To The Government: What It Takes To Win In The World’s Largest Market” has already gained significant traction for its insightful and yes even surprising revelations regarding public sector procurement. Often referred to as the “Godfather of government marketing,” Mark Amtower is credited for mentoring hundreds of current B2G marketing professionals […]
January 26, 2011
Note: The following is an excerpt from today’s post in the Contracting Intelligence Blog. Use the link at the conclusion of this post access the article in its entirety. The last few weeks have been extremely interesting in the world of public sector procurement, as two separate government undertakings or initiatives if you like are […]
January 26, 2011
It was to say the least a fast-paced and definitive review of the recently released Governor’s Supplier Diversity Advisory Board’s report that came out of Virginia last week. Joining me for the 60 minute segment was Mark Amtower and Colin Cram, both of whom have a breadth and depth of experience in terms of public […]
January 20, 2011
As indicated in my post of January 18th, the Interim Report from the Governor’s Supplier Diversity Advisory Board provides both an interesting (and yes timely) review of procurement policy and practice in Virginia. While the document, which is 42 pages in all, does in fact drill down into critical areas including; Certification, Marketing and Outreach, […]
January 14, 2011
Perhaps the natural radio host in me is the reason why I am interested in everything that goes on around me and thus like to ask a lot of questions. What is it my mother used to say . . . there is no such thing as a dumb question?! Great advice, and I have […]
January 11, 2011
Besides referring to this current period in the above video as “one of the scariest times in recent memory” relative to being on the front lines of government procurement, Mark Amtower delivered a number of very interesting insights during this afternoon’s broadcast as he both explained and quantified the cost of pursuing business with the […]
January 5, 2011
In today’s Commitment Matters post (The Purpose Of Negotiation) Tim Cummins opens with the statement that “Many of us use the term ‘negotiating’ in a generic form, giving little thought to the variations in approach that are demanded by different circumstances.” In this succinct and seemingly simple statement Tim sums up the basis for the monumental […]
Supply Chain Finance (Part 2) Efficiency Over Financing: A 30 Year Public Sector Executive Provides His Take On Supply Chain Financing
March 2, 2011
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No, this is the “cost” of doing business with the government. B2G is NOT for everyone and there are no guarantees that after 19.5 months business will occur. There are resources to help companies long the way, though: PTACs, SBDCs and SCORE are all excellent – see links below. Like any market niche, there are […]