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PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE GOVERNMENT
Over the past ten years, the government has significantly down-sized
its' work force. Additionally, since September 11th, the need for
contract services has increased exponentially. Through various
activities, the government purchases billions of dollars of Services
on a daily basis. To many service providers, entree into the
government market translates into a change in focus from their core
business concerns. Additionally, they would realize unlimited
overhead costs of added sales personnel to develop and implement a
business plan designed to capture this business. With Breen &
Associates, the costs are fixed, and and the results rapid. The
marketing and sales expertise provided by Breen & Associates allows
for rapid review of current business operations, in-depth research
into relevant upcoming and current contracts, and provides a
comprehensive competitive overview into competitive pricing and
strategies. Within this realm, there are several different methods
of procurement:
Requirement Contracts --
Requirement contracts are for a definite period of time
(typically 1, 2, or five years in length), and are for services
that are expected to be required over a select period of time.
Requirement contracts typically call for services at specific
locations within the United States or abroad, and have economic
price increase clauses. Submittal for consideration for award
would typically consist of a detailed proposal outlining your
company's experience, specific personnel that would work on the
project, as well as pricing. Payment for products manufactured
are normally received within 10 days of invoice submittal
(Assuming the awardee has completed on-line invoice submittal),
with guaranteed payments no greater than 30 days from receipt).
Multiple Awards Schedule Contracts --
By congressional mandate, the General Services Administration
(GSA) is the primary purchasing agency for the government. In
the 1990's, government cut-backs and force reduction resulted in
the GSA scrambling to find alternative methods to allow for quick
acquisition of services needed by various agencies. Multiple
award schedule contracts emerged as the dominant force in services
acquisition. The Multiple award schedule contract is a
pre-negotiated contract with the government that gives way for
government procurement personnel to review a company's contract
data and order the services on the spot. The main pricing
requirement the government has is that the price afforded to them
under contract has to "be equal to or greater than the pricing
afforded to the contractors most favored customer". This type of
contract is typically five years in length with options to extend
another 15 years. Price increases are tied directly into your
commercial pricing. Inasmuch, when you have a commercial price
increase, you can increase pricing accordingly to the government.
Award of this type of contract however, does not guarantee any sales.
The onus is on the awarded company to provide marketing efforts to
promote their product to government purchasers.
Once awarded under this type of contract, your company can expect
purchases through a variety of methods. Government buyers will
call you directly and provide you with purchase order information
and will offer payment either by invoice or through the use of the
government credit card (Visa). When payment is through the government
Credit Card, payment is normally made directly into your bank within
48 hours. When invoiced, you are guaranteed payment within 30 days of
receipt of the invoice (Federal Prompt Pay Act).
This contract has been highly successful for thousands of companies
looking to dramatically increase sales. For small, small
disadvantaged, and women owned business enterprises, your appropriate
designation is listed with your contract information. The gives you
direct access to large companies under contract that have
subcontracting requirements that they must adhere to. For any service
provider, a contract with the government affords you the ability to
quickly increase sales in a market with unlimited growth potential
with guaranteed payment.
Request for Quotations --
Typically for smaller service purchases. The request for quotation
(RFQ) asks the company to provide a price that will be honored for a
period of time (normally less than one year). The RFQ will outline
the service, scope of work and time schedule. No sales are guaranteed
to any company submitting responding to an RFQ. Awards under this
contract are for services normally small (under $25,000.00).
FACNET --
Facnet is an electronic method of procurement. To those who
subscribe, Requests for Quotations (RFQ) are posted electronically,
and response to the RFQ is completed immediately through electronic
means. Under this method, the purchasing officer reviews the
electronic responses and orders directly over FACNET, with the awardee
receiving a purchase order electronically. Currently, it is our
experience that orders under this means are normally under $25,000.00
with most being under $10,000.00. Payment is normally through invoice
with terms ranging from 10 days to 30 days. We have found that
companies can be successful when monitoring their particular product
type over a period of time. However, we have found that success is
only extended to those who bid aggressively. Breen & Associates
actively subscribes to FACNET and monitors electronic RFQ's on a daily
basis for our clients.
The Services We Provide to Our Government Service
Providers
The key for any business is to increase productivity and sales
while keeping overhead costs to a minimum. The services provided
by Breen & Associates allows for government service providers to
maintain their focus on their primary business while expanding into
the government market.
When retained, we typically begin by conducting a complete review
of our clients commercial business to include services they provide,
geographic coverage, pricing structure, and ability to compete in the
government market. We then conduct extensive research into like
services purchased by the government, contracts available to our
client, and provide a competitive pricing overview so that our client
can assess margin fulfillment for typical services in their particular
government sector.
From that point we develop a government marketing strategy that
encompasses some or all of the contracting methods listed above.
We target specific contracts and prepare for solicitation submittals.
When our client is the apparent low bidder or has received a contract,
we work closely with management, administrative, and selected team
personnel to ensure complete understanding of the contract requirements
and that our client is fully prepared to profitably deliver the
requested services..
As part of our contract management services, we continue to represent
our client with sales calls made to large end purchasers, as well as
handling administrative needs such as price increase request, change
of venue, request for changes in specifications, quality issues,
inspections, training, and much more.
The services provided by Breen & Associates are comprehensive and
allows for rapid growth into the government market without creating
a distraction from core business elements. Our clientele rely on our
expertise to ensure profitability and long term entree into a new
market. Breen & Associates has developed a program that allows for
effective and profitable entree into the government market at a
fraction of the cost a company would typically undergo.
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