www.gtpac.org

GTPAC OVERVIEW

Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

www.gtpac.org

Why sell to the government?

• World’s biggest customer

• Buys virtually everything

• Spends billions• Checks never bounce• Open to any business

www.gtpac.org

Why sell to the government?

• World’s biggest customer

• Buys virtually everything

• Spends billions• Checks never bounce• Open to any business

www.gtpac.org

The federal government signs approximately 56,000 contracts each day and spends $30-40 million each working hour.

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This has led to the evolution of a complicated and changing body of rules for each step of the procurement process.

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You will not win any govt contracts by simply keeping your fingers crossed or waiting at your computer, so let me tell you how it done

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GTPAC MissionGTPAC Mission

• GTPAC’s mission is to provide marketing and procurement technical assistance to Georgia businesses, large and small, operating in the government procurement markets at the federal, state, and local levels as a prime contractor or subcontractor.

• Goal: Business growth and the creation or retention of jobs resulting from government contract awards.

www.gtpac.org

BackgroundBackground

• Statewide program, sponsored by Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Institute and DoD’s Defense Logistics Agency since 1985.

• One of 93 PTAC programs administered by DLA nationally.

• Personnel possess 270+ years of procurement-related experience in 48 procurement technical disciplines.

• Trained hundreds of Georgia companies compete for and win government contracts worth over $3.4 billion.

• Last year, 400 out of 1500 GTPAC clients received government contracts worth a total of nearly $1 billion.

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GTPAC Business GTPAC Business AssistanceAssistance

• Train business owners at procurement workshops, seminars, and classes.

• Coach businesses on the procurement process and on marketing their products and services to government organizations.

• Notify businesses of bidding opportunities.

• Network opportunities for SB’s with government agencies and primes.

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www.gtpac.org

Specific AssistanceSpecific Assistance

Provide counseling and assistance:– Solicitation analysis– Bid/proposal preparation– Specifications/Standards/Technical data– Cost accounting/Quality systems– Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data

Interchange– Pre-award & Post-award support – Procurement history/Past pricing– New developments/Requirements

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Accessing GTPAC ResourcesAccessing GTPAC Resources

• GTPAC services are provided at no charge.

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GTPAC RequirementsGTPAC Requirements

• Be a Georgia-based company. • Have the potential to sell to the

government. • Want to sell to the government.

– As demonstrated by attending our “Intro to Government Contracting” class.

and …

To become a client, we require …

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GTPAC Requirements GTPAC Requirements (continued)(continued)

• Have a working e-mail address.

• Report govt sales activity once a quarter.

• Complete annual quality of services survey.

• Fill-out a client application.– Distributed only at the “Intro” class.

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7 phases of gov’t contracting

• Registration• Develop a marketing strategy• Know the “right people”• Consult a reference library• Search for opportunities• Bid• Perform

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#1 Registration - ORCA

•www.bpn.gov• Establish MPIN during your CCR

data entry phrase• Complete your ORCA (Online

Representation and Certification Application)

• ORCA tutorial is on your thumb drive

• Review BPN press releases

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#2 Develop marketing strategy

• ID & target only key buying activities• Visit small business specialist, buyers & end

users• Always take promotional material• Determine procurement cycle• Develop & have brochures / line cards / business

cards• Periodically re-visit buying activities• Attend trade shows

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#3 Know the “right people”

• Federal Small Business Specialist – SADBU– Pronounced “sad-boo”– Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization

specialists– Acts as liaison between supplier and buyer– Does not buy anything– Your conduit to technical person or buyer– Communication protocol– E-mail addresses are now available

• Find at…– www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/publications/sbs/sb

s.html

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#4 Consult reference library

• Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)– www.arnet.govt/far/index.html

• Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) – akss.dau.mil/jsp/default.jsp

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)– www.access.gpo.govt/nara/cfr/cfr-

table-search.html

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#5 Search for opportunities

• Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps)– Procurement Notices– Contract Awards– Subcontract Leads– Sales of Surplus Property– Foreign Business Opportunities

• www.fbo.govt(primary)

• www.fedbizopps.govt (secondary)

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#6 Bidding

Sealed bids• Invitation for Bids (IFB)

Negotiated bids• Request for Proposal (RFP)• Request for Quotation (RFQ)

Both are called Solicitations (sol)What does “place of performance”

mean?What’s a “sources sought”?

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#7 Perform

• Most responsive & responsible• Best commercial practices• Past performance• Acceptance of Credit Card • Registered in Wide Area Work Flow • “Best value”

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www.gtpac.org

Attendees to the “intro”seminar receive thiskind of stuff via their thumb drive

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www.gtpac.org

Review of GTPAC assist

• Visit - www.gtpac.org• Training• Bid match service• Paperwork assistance• Procurement history• Reference library• E commerce assistance• One-on-one counseling• Service provided at NO COST

www.gtpac.org

Summary

• We teach Georgia firms to be more competitive in the federal, state, and local government markets.

• Conveniently located throughout the state – Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Rockmart, Savannah, and Warner Robins.

• To get started, clients must:– Visit our new website– Register for our “Intro” class or any other class– Enroll as a client

www.gtpac.org

Thanks for having me…

Dannie E. James Sr., GTPAC Atlanta760 Spring Street NW

Atlanta, GA 30332-0640Voice 404-894-8832

dannie.james@innovate.gatech.edu