July 11, 2006

Federal Government Contracting

Do you think you are too small to take advantage of the opportunities
available in the federal government contracting world? Think again.

Every day the federal government posts information about contracts of all sizes and types, in areas all across the United States. And even in the case of large contracts, the prime contractors are often looking for local subcontractors.

Because the process can often seem intimidating, we wanted to offer our members some free resources and information. We will be posting additional information to the Members Only section as we add to the available resources.

Here are some places to start:

Those members who wish to contract with the Federal government through U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) can begin by going to www.gsa.gov.

This is the main portal to extensive resources including free workshops, training programs, GSA events, schedules and forms. There is an entire section specifically for vendors and contractors. For example, on the right side of the page you will see “Training from GSA,” and in that section is a link to “How to get on schedules.”

To get an idea of the kind of schedule that might apply to you, we suggest members go to the Web site www.gsaadvantage.gov . Once on the site, at the top of the page click on “e-Library.”

On the “Welcome to Schedules e-Library “page, you will find on the right hand side, a box that says “Quick Schedule.” Click the drop-down arrow and select Schedule 84 and press “go”; the result is a page that lists “Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, Clothing, Marine Craft and Emergency/Disaster Response”. Schedule 84 contains categories for federal government contracts directly related to NBFAA member products and services. If you go to an individual category you will see a list of current contractors. This will give you an idea of the kinds of contracts you might be interested in.

Also on the e-Library is a search function that allows you to enter terms such as, “security alarms, fire alarms, CCTV, and access control” which in turn take you to contractor lists. In addition to Schedule 84 there are many other schedules that may fit your business. To find the schedules, use relevant keywords to search.

Most important for finding what business opportunities are available is the main Federal government Web site which lists the contracts. http://www.fedbizopps.gov

According to the site:

The FedBizOpps Web site is “the single government point-of-entry (GPE) for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000. Government buyers are able to publicize their business opportunities by posting information directly to FedBizOpps via the Internet. Through one portal - FedBizOpps (FBO) - commercial vendors seeking Federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community.”

The main government Web portal – for citizens, businesses, employees and other governments is: http://www.firstgov.gov

The “Businesses and Nonprofits” section of firstgov contains a lot of free information, including resources for obtaining government contracts.

There are a number of other Internet resources that you may find useful.

• Small Business Administration - Government Contracting
• Small Business Administration - Office of Small Business Development Centers
• Defense Logistics Agency
• Office of Secretary of Defense
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Central Contractor Registration
• Library of Congress
• Procurement Technical Assistance Center (a government-related site with some free resources)

Some additional resources that provide free information for small businesses include:

• How to bid on government contracts
• 5 steps to landing a government contract

In addition, these companies have programs to recruit subcontractors. These sites include:

• Raytheon Supplier Connections
• Lockheed Martin Suppliernet
• Northrop Grumman Supplier Site

These links will be made available to our members in the Members Only section. Check back often to your Members Only resources as we add information that can help your business.