Federal busy season is here. Are your contract methods ready to meet the challenge of increased business during federal buying season? Do you know that the terms and participating companies on some contracts may have, or may not have changed? Have you tuned up your contracts to make sure they have your most current equipment, services and, pricing? Just as all four tires on your car need to be full and properly aligned, so too, do your contracts to ensure proper year-end performance.
As you prepare, here are some things to consider:
Change is coming to the GSA Schedule starting July 1st. GSA is beginning the implementation of its Transactional Data platform. For you, this means that a whole host of per-transaction information on equipment and software sales you make through the schedule from July 1st onward must be submitted to GSA each and every month. There’s more to this change, but Schedule contract holders need to understand the burdens this creates for them and decide the role they want this contract to play in transacting federal business moving forward.
SEWP is emerging as a popular cloud vehicle: Despite its product-dominated set up, NASA’s SEWP contracts are reportedly stepping up to meet the cloud needs of federal agencies. NASA representatives work with customers and contractors on these solutions to ensure that they are properly scoped for the SEWP contract. SEWP’s ease of use and fast modification times give it the agility to meet any needs deemed appropriate for this vehicle.
While Alliant, Oasis, and telecommunications contracts are all in place, new versions may cause a distraction: The Alliant II RFP was released over the weekend of June 25th and will surely attract attention from contractors. An On-Ramp for the OASIS small business contract is also in the works, and GSA’s current telecomm contracts are winding down as the agency prepares to award the follow-on NextGen 2020 contracts. So, while existing, popular contracts are available, contractors may have to explain why the new vehicles everyone may want aren’t yet in place. This can cause some confusion and distraction, especially as companies divide resources between current year business prospects and the need to have proper representation on future vehicles.
Open Market and Set-Aside Business Remains Attractive: This is particularly true if you are, or can partner with, a veteran-owned business for VA opportunities. The Supreme Court recently made it clear that the VA must set-aside projects, even FSS transactions, for small, veteran-owned firms when 2 or more such firms can meet the government’s need. This will likely drive a significant increase in VA business for qualified firms. In other places, 8(a), women-owned, HubZone and other preferences remain popular with federal buyers at year-end as a quick way to make awards and get on to the next project before the end of the fiscal year.
Regardless of whether these, or other, contract tools are in your tool kit, you and your sales team need to be up-to-date on how each tool currently works, how easy it is today for your customer and your company to use that tool, and what readily available alternatives can be proposed if the initial tool doesn’t meet the need. Your company rightly spends a lot of time ensuring that it can offer the latest technologies and solutions. Make sure your contract vehicles are just as current.
