Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

State and local government survey shows increased opportunities, overworked staffs, and implications for vendors

By

Government business intelligence company Onvia has released a new report addressing key changes and shifts taking place in public purchasing today.

The report — based on a survey of 668 procurement professionals and key decision makers from state, county and city agencies, including school and special districts nationwide — provides insights to businesses seeking contracts with these units of government.

In the report, agencies describe their current contracting environment as generally healthy and improving.  39% of the survey respondents expect growth in bid volumes in the next 12 months.  The report notes the “recent surge in demand for infrastructure bids stemming from the $200 billion in tax initiatives for these projects approved by voters nationwide in November.”

The increase in opportunities is contrasted with agency staff’s collective recognition that the formal bid/RFP process is “one of the most challenging aspects of their job, particularly in the areas of research, planning and specifications.”  State and local government procurement teams report that since last year there has been an increase in the share of procurement staff that are stretched or overworked.  Onvia notes that when purchasing staffs are overworked it has a negative impact on businesses who have to navigate through poorly worded bid language, adding preparation time for bidders.

Given the current purchasing environment, Onvia’s report contains a number of meaningful observations for businesses in pursuit of contracts with state, local, and educational (SLED) institutions.  Among the observations:

  • The most successful government contractors do not wait around for a bid or RFP to be issued but are actively building constructive, consultative relationships with government agencies. Without demanding loyalty or future business, these proactive companies will offer helpful advice to busy, overworked buyers about market or product trends, best practices and pricing guidelines that can help procurement staff during the critical pre-bid phase of research and planning.
  • Forward-thinking and proactive contractors should pay attention to these trends and consider how to be sensitive to buyer and user needs in their outreach, communications and project management. Where there is greater uncertainty, stress or confusion on the buying side, vendors that become known for working well with agency teams as valued partners can help differentiate themselves and earn more business even if they are not typically the lowest-priced option.

A free copy of the complete survey results and report can be downloaded at: https://www.onvia.com/market-research/surveys/survey-government-procurement-professionals-2017

 

When submitting a proposal, late is late — now, even early may be late

By

GAO-GovernmentAccountabilityOffice-SealOfferors must overcome numerous hurdles in preparing and submitting proposals on a timely basis. A recent decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has added yet another, and unexpected, obstacle – offerors now must be aware of and plan for the kidnapping of an otherwise timely proposal by an agency’s spam filter.

It is a well-established principle that offers submitted after the submission deadline will not be considered for award, unless the circumstances specified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) permitting acceptance of a late offer are met. The FAR is clear that the obligation is on the offeror to submit the proposal on time:

“Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation.” FAR 52.212-1.

Applying this principle in a recent decision, Advanced Decisions Vectors, Inc., B-412307, Jan. 11, 2016, the GAO ruled that a contractor failed to timely submit its quote when the contractor’s email containing the quote was blocked by the agency’s spam filter from reaching the individual designated to receive quotes by the time specified in the solicitation. The decision serves as a warning to contractors that even an early submission of an offer may be ensnared by the tentacles of a spam filter and deemed late if it does not reach the intended recipient by the deadline as a result.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.wileyrein.com/newsroom-newsletters-item-When-Submitting-a-Proposal-Late-Is-Late.html

What does it take to be a ‘responsive bidder’?

By

In a previous article we discussed the requirement that, if it awards a public works contract, a public entity in the State of Georgia must award the contract to the “lowest responsible and responsive bidder,” unless an exception to this requirement applies.

This article addresses what it means to be a “responsive bidder.”  While responsibleness focuses on the bidder or proposer, responsiveness focuses on the bid or proposal.  Specifically, responsiveness requires that a bid or proposal respond and conform to the requirements of the invitation for bids or request for proposals (the “Bid Documents”).

Any deviation from the requirements of the Bid Documents may be considered non-responsive.  But public entities have the discretion to waive minor deviations from the requirements of the Bid Documents.  Minor deviations are a matter of form and not of substance, or they pertain to some immaterial or inconsequential defect or variation from the exact requirement of the Bid Documents.  For example, a minor deviation may occur where a bidder fails to initial a price change, or to write the solicitation number, date, and time of bid opening on its bid envelope, or to provide incidental information requested in the bid documents, such as information about its affiliates, or to include a unit price where the unit price can be calculated by dividing the line item total by the estimated quantity.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=463746

Contracting News

Read More

Contracting Tips

Read More

GTPAC News

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Read More