Acting as One for Smarter Acquisition

With the GSA on a never ending mission to simplify and streamline procurement and acquisition, the Acquisition Gateway is a newly updated tool for the Federal Acquisition Workforce to collaborate and better understand the needs of end users. It’s becoming a smart system for acquisition learning.

You might be thinking- how many different tools do the Contracting Officers really need? They already have access to not only all the same website that contractors do, such as www.gsaadvantage.gov and www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov but they have comparison features and competitive analysis features that contractors don’t have access to.

But the Acquisition Gateway is a little bit different. It's a work space for Federal Contracting Officers, which will help them learn the best ways to do their jobs. In turn, that helps the contractors! It’s collaboration tool that can crowd source information from purchasing experts within the Federal Acquisition Workforce to benefit everyone. It’s a more effective tool to find solution comparisons, tools, templates, success stories, and prices paid data, creating more successful outcomes at each step of the acquisition lifecycle.

The Gateway is broken up into 19 separate hallways: Administrative Support, Card Services, Cleaning Supplies & Chemicals, Employee Relocation, Facilities & Maintenance, Freight, IT Hardware, IT Security, IT Services, IT Software, Motor Vehicles, Professional Services, Security & Protection, Small Package Delivery, Talent Development, Telecommunications, Tools & Hardware, Travel, and Workplace Environment. For each hallway, there is a plethora of information provided like expert articles on subject matter, solution finders to make sure they are buying exactly what they need, historical pricing data and community support.

Currently, the tools are only open to Federal government users, but public access is a priority. Contractors will have access to some (but not all) of the same tools as they work on RFPs and pricing their products and services for the government marketplace.

If you’re interested in seeing what exactly the newest updates are, the GSA has created a handy infographic to explain everything. There’s also a great preview video showing what’s new and what’s coming up. 

Highland Canine Training, LLC Awarded GSA Schedule 84

Harmony, NC – Highland Canine Training, LLC, a leader in working dog sales and training for Law Enforcement, Military and Government Agencies is proud to announce that it has been added by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to the approved vendor list as a provider of working dogs and canine educational programs.  This allows government purchasing agents to now place orders directly through Highland Canine Training, LLC. Highland Canine Training achieved this momentous goal with help from the expert GSA team at Government Contract Services and are looking forward to a continued partnership. 

Highland Canine Training, LLC can be found under contract number GS-07F-231BA where it is listed as pre-qualified to provide federal agencies with explosive detection dogs, patrol dogs, drug dogs and educational training courses. Highland Canine Training, LLC is classified in schedule 84, TOTAL SOLUTIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, SECURITY, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, FIRE, RESCUE, CLOTHING, MARINE CRAFT AND EMERGENCY/DISASTER RESPONSE, and special item number (SIN) 426-2A, Canine Training and Handling Equipment, Canine Search and Detection. The approved products can also be purchased by state and local governments as part of disaster recovery and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) purchases.

The schedule assignment allows Highland Canine Training, LLC to provide quality working dogs to federal agencies who want to employ and utilize highly trained working dogs. Highland Canine Training, LLC also offers first class canine education programs at our School for Dog Trainers, including a Police K9 Instructor / Trainer Course as well as a Detection Dog Trainer Course.  Highland Canine Training, LLC  offers training and educational programs on location through their series of comprehensive working dog seminars.

In order to further promote our recently awarded GSA Schedule, the company will attend the 2014 Police & Military Working Dog Conference & Vendor Show in Nashville, Tennessee, July 13-15. Highland Canine Training, LLC representatives will be onsite to demonstrate our working dog capabilities and answer questions about working dogs and training programs. Attendees who visit Highland Canine Training, LLC in booth #32 will have the opportunity to win an equipment bundle worth over $200.

“We're excited about the opportunity to work with federal agencies and providing working dog and training programs to meet their needs,” said Jason Purgason, Highland Canine Training, LLC, Training Director. “We strive to make an impression on government buyers with the quality of our dogs and comprehensive training programs as well as our commitment to customer service"

For more information, please contract Jason Purgason at (704) 498-7907 or training@highlandcanine.com. 

Highland Canine Training, LLC will exhibit at the 2014 Police & Military Working Dog Conference & Vendor Show to meet with federal agency customers and showcase working dogs and training opportunities.

GSA Offer Best Practices, Volume 1

Understanding the daunting regulations and written requirements of composing a GSA offer can be hard enough. What’s worse is there’s no consistency in the GSA’s review process. Try as they may to create an efficient approach to reviewing an offer, the GSA has actually done the opposite. 

Once submitted, your offer is assigned to a Contracting Officer for a detailed review. Among other things, they look into:

·         -Company history

·         -Technical experience

·         -Pricing structure

·         -Financial background

Every Contracting Officer has their own approach for the review. This makes it difficult for people like you to recognize the difference between the requirements and the Contracting Officer’s preference. As a vendor, you can do your part to streamline the offer process.

Submitting a clean offer can make a huge impact on your review timeline. Ensuring the documents you submit are formatted and named properly is a great place to start. The Contracting Officers won’t spend much time trying to figure out your documents – so do them a favor and clarify! Title every document and name the files accordingly.

Another way to streamline the GSA’s review is to keep it simple. Don’t give them too much information! You’re only causing yourself more headaches in the long run. The GSA wants to see that you know how to read. Keep the offer to what’s requested and nothing more.

Most importantly, make sure that you know the regulations of the offer prior to submitting. The GSA will ask you questions. They’ll expect prompt and detailed responses. Give them what they want and you’re on track to the GSA Contract number. 

Look for Volume 2 in March!

-Stephanie Gowin

For more information on GSA Schedule or assistance with your offer give us a call. 216-662-7044

About Government Contract Services and the GCS blog

Let’s get introductions out of the way!

We are Government Contract Services, Inc- a full-service consulting firm for businesses looking to work with the government. We advise with small and large businesses, helping them secure GSA contracts, assist with contract management and proposal writing after award, as well as working with clients who want to work on the “open market”. We’ve been around the block a couple times and know the all ins and outs of government procurement.

Our goal is to share our expertise with companies who want to break into the government market. The government purchasing world is vastly different from the commercial world and businesses need to make the transition to doing things the government’s way. That’s where we come in! In our day to day business, we work with our clients to increase their government sales. We’ll help with marketing, proposal writing, and just about anything else that can give them the competitive edge. We want our clients to be the preferred vendors in their area and have the government coming to them!

Over the next months, you’ll be meeting different members of our team as they share their expertise with you.

·         Brian Purgert is our President. If there is anyone who is an expert in government procurement as a whole it is him!

·         Stephanie Gowin is the guru of the GSA Schedule process. She is the manager of our Silver Team, don’t worry you will learn what that entails if you subscribe!

·         Steve Schemenauer is the manager of our Gold team. He is well versed at finding new ways for our clients to make money with the government.

·         Sonya Nudel is Miss IT. She handles all of Schedule 70, all things IT, under the GSA for our Gold clients. She also handles IT for all things non-GSA as well. If you ever need to know how to sell your software to the government she’s your go to.

·         Cristi Kaib is also a part of the Gold team. She handles the marketing clients, staffing, and printing, along with a few other industries. If you want to know about getting your company a new set aside or another advantage over the competition give her a call!

·         Kelsey Dixon is a member of the Silver Team along with Stephanie. She is well on her way to becoming an expert as well! She specializes in Schedule 70 and MOBIS.

Now you’re probably asking yourself why should I subscribe to this blog? Information of course! As you have learned Government Contract Services (GCS) is an expert in our field. Let us share our knowledge with you! We will be posting about a wide range of topics that include different GSA Schedules, tips for dealing with contracting officers, how to get started in the government arena, etc. If there is something that you would like to learn about shoot us an email and we will either get back to you or post a blog about it!

We want this to be a two-way street so ask us questions, let us know what you think about the topics or just give us a call! 216-662-7044.

-Cristi Kaib and Sonya Nudel

www.govconsvcs.com

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