Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GTPAC receives funding commitments to enter 30th year of service to Georgia businesses

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30th Anniversary - GTPAC 2016On Feb. 1, 2016, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will enter its 30th year of continuous operation, serving Georgia businesses with assistance in winning and managing government contracts.

GTPAC is one of about a dozen programs – known as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) – that were established shortly after Congress launched the initiative in 1985. Today, there are 97 PTACs across the nation that serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

GTPAC’s continued operation is possible based on a 50-50 funding match between the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and state funding made available through Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2).

On Jan. 22, 2016, GTPAC received a fully executed award document from the DLA ensuring that funding would be made available to Georgia Tech for another year of PTAC operations in the state of Georgia.

The Georgia Tech program is recognized as a PTAC with one of the strongest track records. Last year, GTPAC was ranked as one of the top five programs in the nation by the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. On average, GTPAC helps Georgia businesses annually win between $500 million and $1 billion in government contracts.

In calendar year 2015, GTPAC’s clients won 3,618 government prime contracts and 613 subcontracts worth a combined total of $1.2 billion.

GTPAC counseled, instructed, and provided bid opportunities to an active client base of 2,500 businesses across the State of Georgia last year. GTPAC also conducted 126 classes and participated in 33 events statewide where more than 6,000 business people received instruction on how to effectively compete for government contracts. In all, GTPAC staff members conducted 6,339 counseling sessions with Georgia-based small businesses in 2015 as well as 262 counseling sessions with large businesses.

GTPAC maintains staff in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Gainesville, Carrollton, Savannah, and Warner Robins.  All businesses in Georgia are eligible to receive GTPAC’s services at no cost. The program provides Georgia businesses with counseling, training, and a complete set of electronic tools to research and identify government contracting opportunities.

For contact information, and to register for any GTPAC workshop statewide, visit the program’s website at www.gtpac.org.

Procurement assistance centers help small business owners, government buyers

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PTACJane Dowgwillo knows hundreds of small businesses and how they could support the Department of Defense’s worldwide mission. As the manager of 10 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers scattered throughout Florida, she leads a team of 13 government contracting specialists who help small-business owners understand the requirements of working with the government.

“We’ve got a lot of small manufacturing and spare-part businesses here that we provide specialized advice and training to. Any time we offer sessions on how to do business with DoD, it’s very well received,” Dowgwillo said.

The Procurement Technical Assistance Program was created in 1985 to increase the number of small businesses capable of participating in government contracts at local and state levels, as well as with the DoD and other federal agencies. The program is administered by the Defense Logistics Agency’s Office of Small Business Programs.

Today there are centers operating in Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and all 50 states. They provide a variety of services, from identifying contracting opportunities to providing guidance on the bidding process and detailed instruction on registering in or using federal procurement systems, such as the System for Award Management and www.fbo.gov, which is the website where DoD and other federal agencies post opportunities for contracts. Counselors also ensure small business owners have proper licenses and certifications.

The training and assistance PTACs offer are usually free and well appreciated by small businesses, which may lack the time and staff to explore the ins and outs of government contracting. Adino, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, described the PTAC in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, as “a highly specialized and hands-on resource to tackle the overwhelming and intimidating sector of government contracting.”

Government contracting officers and buyers can also benefit from the program, said Christopher Hall, who oversees the program for DLA.  “By supporting new suppliers, the PTACs promote a stronger industrial base, which results in greater competition and higher quality goods at a lower cost. The Department’s acquisition professionals are striving toward these goals as they work to create competitive environments and increase small business participation, which is part of DoD’s Better Buying Power 3.0,” he said.

Kevin Scoles, a DoD business opportunity specialist, recently taught small business owners serviced by Washington PTACs how to use a web-based application that allows users to search for contract opportunities and securely submit quotes. While meeting with PTAC clients, Scoles was also able to share with prospective suppliers information on areas with low competition.

Although government representatives frequently partner with PTACs to provide training and have sought input from PTAC counselors during market research for specific commodities, the partnership could be stronger, said Tiffany Scroggs, manager of eight PTACs in the state of Washington.

“I think there’s opportunity for growth. There’s an upcoming Meet ‘n Greet with Industry Day in our backyard, for example. When I discovered it, I instantly asked if we could help promote the event and have 5 minutes to talk about all the great things that PTACs can do to help businesses connect,” she said.

Federal agencies should include PTACs in the early planning stages for marketing events like industry days, Scroggs added. PTAC counselors can also help identify qualified suppliers for hard-to-source parts.

“If buyers are seeing trends or have areas with really low competition, we’re more than happy to help promote that to our firms,” she said. “A lot of PTACs have newsletters where we can include articles on needs, or we can get the details out through social-media campaigns.”

Market research is another step in the acquisition process where PTACs can contribute, Hall added.

“They have an in-depth knowledge of local small businesses and their capabilities and can identify potential suppliers that have demonstrated their capability to deliver,” he said.

PTAC OKThough PTACs do host “matchmaking” events to connect small businesses with government officials, counselors don’t do the legwork or place bids on behalf of their clients, Dowgwillo said. And just because PTAC services are usually free doesn’t mean they’re inferior.

“Most of my counselors and those around the country have been contracting officers themselves, or they came to us from a state or local agency purchasing area. They have a wealth of experience and hands-on expertise,” she said.

Winnie Cichosz runs a small, woman-owned janitorial business in Alaska. “Federal contracting is overwhelming for a small business like mine,” Cichosz said. “The PTAC helped me along the way.”

Find your local PTAC at http://www.dla.mil/HQ/SmallBusiness/PTAP.aspx.

Source: http://www.dla.mil/News/tabid/12178/Article/639728/procurement-assistance-centers-help-small-business-owners-government-buyers.aspx

GTPAC receives funding commitments to enter into 29th year of service to Georgia businesses

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In 2015, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will enter into its 29th year of continuous operation, serving Georgia businesses with assistance in winning and managing government contracts.

That’s made possible based on a 50-50 funding match between the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and state funding made available through Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2).  With financial support from Georgia Tech and DLA, GTPAC is one of the longest, continuously operating PTAC’s in the nation.  GTPAC is one of 98 PTACs operating in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) received a fully executed award document from the DLA ensuring that funding would be made available to Georgia Tech for another year of procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) operations in the state of Georgia.

Of the nation’s PTACs, the Georgia Tech program has one of the strongest track records.  In the past 10 years, for example, GTPAC has supported Georgia businesses in winning between $500 million and $1 billion in government contracts annually.

In calendar year 2013, GTPAC’s clients won 4,952 government prime contracts and 593 subcontracts worth a total of $661 million.  GTPAC counseled, instructed, and provided bid opportunities to 2,908 businesses across the State of Georgia last year.  GTPAC also conducted 160 classes and participated in 62 events state-wide where more than 6,000 business people received instruction on how to effectively compete for government contracts.  In all, GTPAC staff members conducted 8,377 counseling sessions with Georgia-based small businesses in 2013 as well as 395 counseling sessions with large businesses.

GTPAC maintains staff in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Gainesville, Carrollton, Savannah and Warner Robins.  All businesses in Georgia are eligible to receive GTPAC’s services at no cost.  The program provides Georgia businesses with counseling, training, and a complete set of tools to research and identify government contracting opportunities.  For contact information, and to register for any GTPAC class statewide, visit the program’s web site at www.gtpac.org.

IG reports continued weaknesses in small business reporting and 8(a) program

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The Office of the Inspector General (IG) of the U.S. Small Business Administration reports on 11 weaknesses in a range of SBA programs.  Two of the “challenges” identified in the Oct. 17, 2014 report pertain directly to small business participation in federal contracting:

  • Procurement flaws allow large firms to obtain small business awards, and allow agencies to count contracts performed by large firms towards their small business goals.
  • The SBA needs to modify the Section 8(a) Business Development  Program so more firms receive business development assistance, standards for  determining economic disadvantage are justifiable, and the SBA ensures that firms follow 8(a) regulations when completing contracts.

SBA - IGThe IG’s full document, entitled “Report on the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Small Business Administration In Fiscal Year 2015” can be downloaded here, but the text of the IG’s finding on the two point just cited appears below.

Procurement Reporting

The Small Business Act established a Government-wide goal that 23 percent of the total value of all prime contracts be awarded to small businesses each fiscal year. As the advocate for small business, the SBA should strive to ensure that only small firms obtain and perform small business awards. Further, the SBA should ensure that procuring agencies accurately report contracts awarded to small businesses when representing their progress in meeting small business contracting goals.

In September 2014, we issued a report that identified over $400 million in FY 2013 contract actions that may
have been awarded to ineligible firms. We also identified over $1.5 billion dollars in contract actions for
which the firms were in the 8(a) or HUBZone programs at the time of contract award, but were no longer in
these programs in FY 2013. Previous OIG audits and other Government studies have shown widespread
misreporting by procuring agencies, since many contract awards that were reported as having gone to small
firms have actually been performed by larger companies. While some contractors may misrepresent or
erroneously calculate their size, most of the incorrect reporting results from errors made by Government
contracting personnel, including misapplication of small business contracting rules. In addition, contracting
officers do not always review the on-line certifications that contractors enter into Government databases
prior to awarding contracts. The SBA should ensure that procuring agencies accurately report contracts
awarded to small businesses when representing their progress in meeting small business contracting goals,
and that contracting personnel are reviewing on-line certifications prior to awarding contracts.

The SBA revised its regulations to require firms to meet the size standard for each specific order to address a
loophole within General Services Administration Multiple Awards Schedule (MAS) contracts, which contain
multiple industrial codes that determine the size of the company. Previously, a company awarded an MAS
contract could identify itself as a small business on individual task orders awarded under that contract, even
though it did not meet the size criteria for the applicable task. Thus, agencies received small business credit
for using a firm classified as small, when the firm was not small for specific orders under the MAS contract. In
addition, the SBA submitted a final rule to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Council to implement the
changes made to its regulations in the FAR. The SBA also updated its standard operating procedure (SOP) to
ensure consistency in conducting its surveillance reviews to assess Federal agencies’ management of their
small business programs and compliance with regulations and applicable procedures.

While the SBA has made substantial progress on this challenge, we are working with the Agency to verify that
the surveillance reviews were conducted in a thorough and consistent manner.

                                                                                               ***

8(a) Program

The SBA’s 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program was created to assist eligible small disadvantaged
business concerns to compete in the American economy through business development. Previously, the
SBA did not place adequate emphasis on business development to enhance the ability of 8(a) firms to
compete, and did not adequately ensure that only 8(a) firms with economically disadvantaged owners in
need of business development remained in the program. Companies that were “business successes”
were allowed to remain in the program and continue to receive 8(a) contracts, causing fewer companies
to receive most of the 8(a) contract dollars and many to receive none.

The SBA has made progress towards addressing issues that hinder its ability to deliver an effective 8(a)
BD Program. For example, the SBA expanded its ability to provide assistance to program participants
through its resource partners—small business development centers, service corps of retired executives,
and procurement technical assistance centers. In addition, the SBA has taken steps to ensure business
opportunity specialists assess program participants’ business development needs during site visits. The
SBA also revised its regulations, effective March 2011, to ensure that companies deemed “business
successes” graduate from the program. These regulations also establish additional standards to address
the definition of “economic disadvantage.” Agency officials stated that the rule-making process served
as an adequate proxy to objectively and reasonably determine effective measures for economic
disadvantage, and were not aware of any reliable sources of data to determine economic disadvantage.

However, for the second consecutive year, the SBA has not completed updating its SOP for the 8(a) BD
Program to reflect the March 2011 regulatory changes. In addition, we continue to maintain that the
SBA’s standards for determining economic disadvantage are not justified or objective based on the
absence of economic analysis. In December 2011, the SBA awarded a contract to develop and deploy a
new IT system by December 2012 to assist the SBA in monitoring 8(a) program participants. However,
the new system has not been deployed, and its delivery date and capabilities are undetermined at this
time.

What does GTPAC do?

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Last week, Government Product News, an on-line publication of American City & County magazine, published an interview with Georgia Tech’s Chuck Schadl.  The interview is helpful in outlining the services offered by the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) as well as other procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) across the country.

You can read the full article by clicking here: Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Are a Useful Resource

Beware of ‘government vendor registration’ websites that charge a fee

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We’ve previously alerted you to the existence of websites which unnecessarily lead businesses to pay a fee to be registered in government databases such as SAM, the System for Award Management (see, for example, http://gtpac.org/?p=7326).

Now, we want to make you aware of other websites that purport to get businesses registered to do business with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — for a hefty fee, of course.

Please be aware of the fact that commercial websites (.com websites, in other words) are just that — commercial.  When a commercial website advertises to help you with the process of registering to do business with the government, there’s almost always going to be a fee involved.  On the other hand, government websites (designated as .gov) offer free advice and registration.

One commercial website — currently running an aggressive advertising campaign directed at businesses — solicits vendors to fill out a “FEMA Contract Registration Form.”  Once the form is filled out and submitted on-line, applicants receive the following message: “Thank you for submitting your information. We will be in contact with you shortly. Click below to make a payment of $500.00 for this service.”   By clicking on the “Buy Now” button, you’ll be directed to a site to pay $500.00 via a PayPal account for “FEMA Registration.”

Please know that FEMA does not charge any money to register as a vendor to do business with them.  And neither does any other federal agency.

In order to register as a potential vendor to FEMA, we recommend you:

  1. Visit FEMA’s official website at http://www.fema.gov/doing-business-fema.  There, you are given instructions to register in SAM (www.sam.gov) and then download FEMA’s Vendor Profile Form at http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/29748?id=6679.
  2. Read the instructions for submitting FEMA’s Vendor Profile Form — for free.  The instructions are located at: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1858-25045-7342/ilp_factsheet.pdf.

To receive assistance with any aspect of vendor registration with any government agency at no cost, please feel free to contact the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center.  Our contact information is at: http://gtpac.org team-directory.

If your business is located outside the state of Georgia, you can get free help from the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) nearest you.  For a map of locations and complete contact information for PTACs nationwide, please visit: http://www.aptac-us.org.

 

Business owner says soliciting government business worth the hassle

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[Note: This article was written by Michelle Shoultz, president of Florida-based Frazier Engineering.]

For more than 20 years, Frazier Engineering had a strong commercial and municipal/county government customer base that comfortably sustained our small business.

But as the economy changed, we knew we had to change.

We decided to pursue unique certifications that would enable us to compete for federal work in a smaller competitive pool certifications such as 8(a), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/DBE and Minority Business Enterprise/MBE).

Through the Small Business Administration 8(a) program, we were given opportunities that we would not have had before. However, if we did not already have the knowledge and manpower to support the requirements of those opportunities, our certification would only have been as good as the paper it was printed on. Our success to date has been the result of a solid team, being financially and technically sound, having a strong work history, and being actively responsive.

I’d like to share some lessons we’ve learned over time.

As a small-to-midsize, growing business leader, I would definitely recommend the time and effort involved in pursuing government contracts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/01/business-money-edge-chamber/7146529/ 

 

GTPAC receives full funding for another year of service to Georgia businesses

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It’s like a Christmas present delivered early.

On Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) received confirmation from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) that full funding would be made available to Georgia Tech to ensure another year of procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) operations in the state of Georgia.

GTPAC’s operations are funded on the basis of a 50-50 match between DLA and state funding made available through Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2).   GTPAC is one of 98 PTACs operating in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

With 28 years of financial support from Georgia Tech and DLA, GTPAC is one of the longest, continuously operating PTAC’s in the nation.  GTPAC also has one of the strongest track records.  In the past 10 years, for example, GTPAC has supported Georgia businesses in winning between $500 million and $1 billion in government contracts annually.

In calendar year 2012, GTPAC’s clients won 5,462 government prime contracts and 740 subcontracts worth a total of $668 million.  GTPAC counseled, instructed, and provided bid opportunities to 3,094 businesses across the State of Georgia last year.  GTPAC also conducted 161 classes and participated in 61 events state-wide where more than 5,900 business people received instruction on how to effectively compete for government contracts.  In all, GTPAC staff members conducted 9,249 counseling sessions with Georgia-based small businesses in 2012 as well as 520 counseling sessions with large businesses.

“We are proud to serve Georgia businesses,” states GTPAC program director Joe Beaulieu.  “More importantly, we are proud of our clients’ achievements in the government contracting arena.  It’s a real testament to the tenacity and hard work on the part of our clients that so much success has been achieved.  Those that use our services to the fullest tend to be those who win contracts.”

“We’re thankful,” continues Beaulieu, “that DLA evaluates our results positively and continues to provide funding.  And, without Georgia Tech’s financial and management support, we couldn’t operate as effectively as we do.  In these tough economic times, full funding is not to be taken for granted, so we appreciate the support of all of our stakeholders — EI2’s top management, DLA, federal and state elected officials, and, of course, the businesses we serve.”

GTPAC operates offices in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Carrollton, Savannah and Warner Robins.  The program provides Georgia businesses with counseling, training, and a complete set of tools to research and identify government contracting opportunities.  For contact information, and to register for any GTPAC class statewide, visit the program’s web site at www.gtpac.org.

 

SAM.gov registration is free, and help with SAM is free, too

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Businesses interested in Federal contracting must, as an initial step, register in the Government’s vendor database known as System for Award Management (SAM).   Registration at the official SAM web site — www.sam.gov – is free.

The good news is that SAM registration is something that any vendor can take care of by themselves.  And if any vendor needs instruction, help is readily available at no charge.

Here are three important tips:

    1. Don’t be confused by look-alike web sites.  There is only one SAM database, and it’s a secure web site operated by the Federal Government.  It’s located at https://www.sam.gov.  You also can navigate to SAM by simply typing sam.gov or www.sam.gov in your web browser.  Either of these variations will redirect to SAM’s secure web site.  The key thing to know is that the official Federal SAM website is a “.gov” website, not a commercial website, so SAM.com is not an option if you’re trying to navigate to a Government web site.
    2. There are helpful videos now available on-line to help you with the SAM registration process.  If your business previously had a file set-up in Central Contractor Registration (CCR), you’ll need to migrate your old vendor record over to SAM; for instruction on how to do this, view the instructional video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuFGM9H0gPI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUGYKiouhiBpijT51CplQZ-w.    If your business was never registered in CCR, then your starting point is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VPGVYPvch4&list=UUGYKiouhiBpijT51CplQZ-w.
    3. If you need advice on how to organize your records in order to register in SAM — or you need help with the SAM registration process itself – expert assistance is available free of charge to all vendors, small and large.  Just contact the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) nearest you.  PTACs have produced a SAM instructional video, too, and it’s available here:  https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=APTAC&WebCode=SAM.  A complete list of all PTACs across the nation is available at http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Govt_Contracting/find.php.    In Georgia, you can contact any of the nine PTAC offices located across the state — all contact information can be found at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.

Remember, SAM registration is necessary if you want to do business with Federal agencies.  Remember, too, SAM registration is something you can tackle yourself.  There is never a charge to register at sam.gov, and help with the SAM registration process is readily available, at no charge, from your nearest PTAC.

New video offers expert instruction on registering in SAM

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As you may know, one of the prerequisites for doing business with the federal government is registering in SAM — the System for Award Management.  Among other things, SAM is the government’s vendor data base — a way for government buyers (and prime contractors) to find you and pay you once you’re under contract.  The SAM database also serves many other purposes, all important to the acquisition process.

When SAM was created about a year ago, it aggressively combined several large, stand-alone databases and merged them into one.  The “data migration” challenge was great, and glitches emerged.  As a result, many vendors have experienced problems both in getting existing vendor files to move over to SAM (i.e., migrate) as well as with creating a new vendor registration from scratch.

Since SAM’s launch, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) and GTPAC’s counterparts across the country have spent countless hours assisting businesses with SAM.  Our professional development association, the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC), has drawn upon what we’ve learned nationally and has created a new video that explains the SAM registration process.

The SAM instructional video is now available for viewing at: https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=APTAC&WebCode=SAM.

If you are tackling SAM anytime soon, you’ll want to view the video for many helpful hints and tips.  For further help, contact a GTPAC counselor.  If you are located outside Georgia, contact a counselor with a procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) near you.  To find the nearest PTAC, please visit: http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Govt_Contracting/find.php.

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