GTPAC OVERVIEW Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Why sell to the government? World’s biggest customer Buys virtually everything Spends billions Checks never bounce Open to any business

Why sell to the government? World’s biggest customer Buys virtually everything Spends billions Checks never bounce Open to any business

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

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

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

GTPAC 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.

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

GTPAC Business Assistance 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.

Specific 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

Accessing GTPAC Resources GTPAC services are provided at no charge.

GTPAC 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 …

GTPAC Requirements (continued) Have a working 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.

7 phases of gov’t contracting Registration Develop a marketing strategy Know the “right people” Consult a reference library Search for opportunities Bid Perform

#1 Registration - ORCA 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

#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

#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 – addresses are now available Find at… –

#4 Consult reference library Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) – Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) –akss.dau.mil/jsp/default.jsp Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) – search.html

#5 Search for opportunities Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) –Procurement Notices –Contract Awards –Subcontract Leads –Sales of Surplus Property –Foreign Business Opportunities

#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”?

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

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

Review of GTPAC assist Visit - Training Bid match service Paperwork assistance Procurement history Reference library E commerce assistance One-on-one counseling Service provided at NO COST

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

Thanks for having me… Dannie E. James Sr., GTPAC Atlanta 760 Spring Street NW Atlanta, GA Voice