The Government Bidding Process: Understanding the Market

With a yearly purchasing expense of nearly $200 billion, the U.S. government is without a doubt the world’s biggest buyer of products and services. With civilian and military installations making an extensive range of purchases from gargantuan space shuttles to hospital beds and equipment to computer printers and ink, the government practically makes acquisitions of a wide category of products and services available.

What the Law Says

Federal laws require government agencies to establish contracting goals, with which 25 percent should go to small businesses. Contracts should likewise be awarded to small disadvantaged businesses, service-disabled businesses owned by veterans, HUBZone businesses, as well as women-owned businesses.

While these government-wide objectives are not always realized, they are critically significant in that federal agencies are legally obliged to reach out to small businesses and consider them for procurement opportunities. Hence, it is up to you to tune up your business products and services with the buying requirements of the government.

Doing business with the federal government is comparable to selling to a private entity. While the former follows a different set of rules and regulations, most marketing tactics that you may be familiar with and have been using can be used here as well. It should go without saying that it is critical to know the federal agency that you plan to go into business with and completely understand how your product or service can well be incorporated in their organizational system.

What SBA’s Role Is

The U.S. Small Business Administration is geared at promoting and encouraging economic development by being readily available to help jump-start young businesses and facilitate growth with the established ones. While it is no surprise that small businesses are often bombarded with considerable obstacles when trying to win government contracts, the SBA is here to help them go through these hurdles.

Closely working with government agencies and the country’s major contractors, the Small Business Administration helps ensure that small businesses are given fair chances of winning government contracts (and subcontracts).

What the Government’s Buying Process Is

The government purchases majority of its needed products and services exclusively from suppliers who meet their qualifications. Standard regulations are implemented and should be followed when making procurements. Unlike the average household, the government will have their own contracting officials follow procurement procedures that have been established parallel with those of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).   

Used by federal agencies in all procurement processes, the FAR is a standard set of rules that enumerates the steps necessary in completing the purchasing procedure—right from the moment someone in the government decides that there is a need to buy a product or avail of a service up until the procurement is completed.

The government will purchase a particular product or service by choosing among a range of bidding methods, which include sealed bidding, simplified acquisition procedures, consolidated purchasing, or contracting by negotiation among others.

What You Need to Do

When on the road to doing business with the government, get as much available information as you can on the federal agencies’ past contracts, awards, costs, quantities, set criteria, etc. Market your business and make it known to agencies that make potential purchasers.  

Take a good look at your company, and make sure that you know your products and services by heart. The government will be eager to know your track record, your credibility, your financial status, and the capabilities of your personnel, among others. This way it won’t be too hard to know what to offer them when the government will consider your company for a contract.

StateAndFederalBids prides in its extensive collection of state, local, and federal bids, covering a large selection of categories for products and services. StateAndFederalBids is your first step to establishing a solid, long-term business relationship with the government.