With the fiscal year starting up, contractors should be on
the lookout for procurement forecasts for fiscal year 2015. Major federal
agencies are posting procurement forecasts that can help your business plan for
bids and proposals for FY15. www.Acquisition.gov
is a great place to start when looking for forecasts. You can search by agency
forecast or by business opportunities to find what your business should be
anticipating.
Forecasting is also a great opportunity to be reach out to
contracting officers who are working on opportunities that are of interest to
you. Reaching out to contracting officers is one of the best ways to connect
with the people who will be advising end-users and making decisions about
proposal requirements. Contracting officers are always aware that specialized
contractors have knowledge on subjects they may not and will require help
writing overly technical solicitation if know a competent contractor who can
help. Take a look at our webinar: Contracting Officer Best Practices.
Forecasts offer a wealth of information for potential contractors.
You can learn about the method of procurement, possible ceiling values, and incumbents.
Method of procurement is vital knowledge when building an approach since if the
opportunity is going through GSA, you have a wealth knowledge about pricing and
competition at your disposal. Ceiling values are important factors, showing you
an acceptable range to price your bid. If you are over the ceiling value, most
likely you won’t win and it gives you time to adjust. Incumbents are a huge
source of information as well. Your business can find out details about the
work and the agency by getting in touch with the incumbent and learning about
how they performed the work.
Most importantly, the key to good forecasting strategy is
follow up, follow up, follow up! Some opportunities will be listed for the end
of fiscal year 2015 or even the start of fiscal year 2016. The sure-fire trick
is to keep your businesses’ name fresh in the mind of contracting officers.
Follow up every couple months. Find out how you can help. Inquire whether any
other opportunities are coming up last minute.
Procurement forecasts are a great (and often underutilized)
tool in the contractor toolbox. Use it to its full advantage.
