The Ovid Group Blog

NSN Example

2009-11-13T06:23:00.000-08:00

In a typical NSN, for example, 4720-00-101-9817, the first four numbers are the Federal Supply Code (FSC), which places the item in a specific category. In this example, 4720 is pipe, tubing, hose, and fittings because it starts with 47. The second two numbers, 20, identify the item as hose and flexible tubing, which included air duct, metallic, and textile fiber hoses and their assemblies, etc. The next two numbers, in this example, 00, identify the country that buys the item: 00 or 01 is the code for the United States. The remaining numbers of the NSN, 101-9817, are referred to as the National Stock Number (NIIN) and are used to index NSNs.

NSNs - National Stock Numbers

2009-11-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

The NSN (National Stock Number) is the 13-digit number that the federal government assigns for purposes of identification and inventory control to every piece of supply, equipment, and material it uses and buys. You can think of the NSNs as a federal cataloging system based on the concept of one NSN for any one item and one single item manager for each particular class of product. (Note that, because services are not inventoried, services do not fit this model. for services, only the first four digits are used.)

CCR Registration - Information Needed to Register

2009-11-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of the information that you will need when you register in CCR (Central Contractor Registry):

1. Data Universal Numbering Sysem (DUNS) number;
2. DUNS +4 number;
3. CAGE Code;
4. U.S. Federal TIN;
5. A-T Number;
6. General Information about your company;
7. Classification codes for your company's products and services;
- NAICS codes
- SIC codes
- FSC codes
8. Information about electronic funds transfer;
9. Registration acknowledgment and point of contact information.

When you enter the information on the CCR website, you must fill in all the fields designated as mandatory or your application will be considered incomplete and your registration will not be accepted.

2009-11-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

When entering your nine-digit zip code in the CCR database, enter only the numbers, not the dash.

CCR and TIN & SSN

2009-11-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

When entering your TIN or SSN in the CCR database, enter only the numbers not the dashes.

CCR Registration and Dun & Bradstreet

2009-11-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

Your company's legal business name and address, as entered in your CCR (Central Contractor Registry), must match the legal business name under which you are registered with Dun & Bradstreet. If the information does not match, your registration may be rejected during the process.

DOD Emall Statistics

2009-10-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

As of Friday, October 30, 2009:

There are 2,549 vendors currently host on DOD Emall.

There are 825 small businesses currently hosted on the DOD Emall.

There are 30,734 users’ accounts currently on DOD Emall.

During FY09, approximately 788 new DOD Emall users were added per week.

Turning Weaknesses Into Strengths

2009-10-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Turn your company's weaknesses into strengths.

OR

Identify your company's weaknesses to government buyers. Explain ways in which you have mitigated these risks.

Business is about trust. State the truth upfront. It will go a long way in relationship building as well as those times will contract performance issues arise, which, face it, they often do.

Assessing Your Company's Weaknesses

2009-10-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Assess your company's weaknesses from both an internal and external point of view.

What does others consider to be your weaknesses?

Are your competitors out performing you?

What would your customers want to improve about your products/services?

What would your customers want to improve about your customer service?

What would your potential customers like to have you improve upon?

Potential Areas of Weaknesses

2009-10-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some areas of potential weakness:

Leadership
Communication
Teamwork
Marketing
Discipline
Motivation
External obstacles
Customers complains
Limited products/services offerings

“Weakness” - FAR Part 15

2009-10-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

15.001 Definitions.

“Deficiency” is a material failure of a proposal to meet a Government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses in a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance to an unacceptable level.

“Weakness” means a flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance. A “significant weakness” in the proposal is a flaw that appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance.

https://www.acquisition.gov/FAR/current/html/Subpart%2015_1.html

Specifications and Standards Library

2009-09-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Government specifications are required on many items. Save time and money by developing a library of the specifications and standards that you most often use when submitting an offer to the government. Start with the specifications and standards required in the solicitations in which you are interested. This will give you a great head start.

BINCS

2009-08-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

The Business Identification Number Cross-Reference System or BINCS identifies foreign and domestic government/commercial contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. The system contains information on half a million businesses worldwide. Information in the system is cross-referenced to permit inquiry by CAGE, DUNS, company name, phone number, country, SIC code and ZIP code.

Put it to use:

https://www.bpn.gov/bincs/begin_search.asp

2009-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to add Taiwan (known in the World Trade Organization as "the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei))" as a designated country. On July 15, 2009, Taiwan became a designated country based on its accession to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement. This interim rule adds Taiwan to the list of World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement countries.

Laws That Affect Federal Contracting

2009-07-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 set the minimum wage on the construction site at the local prevailing wage.

Buy American Act of 1933 required the government to buy only American products. The Act has been modified four times.

Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936 required a supplier to certify that it was the manufacturer or a regular dealer. This Act was updated in 1994.

Armed Services Procurement Act of 1947 continued the sealed bid as the preferred method of procurement, placed procurement rules in one location and gave us the Armed Services Procurement Regulation (ASPR), which was the beginnings of today's rulebook, the FAR.

The Small Business Act of 1953 established the Small Business Administration.

Truth in Negotiation Act of 1962 required both prime and subcontractors on contracts over $500,000 to certify the cost data submitted under the solicitation.

Public Law 95-507, Amendment to the Small Business Act (1978) formalized the Small Business Subcontracting Plan requirement in contracts over $500,000 to large businesses and set goals for large primes.

Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA) repealed or substantially modified more than 225 statutes and pushed the contracting process into the 21st century. Among other things, it simplified the federal procurement process, reduced paperwork burdens, and transformed the simplified acquisition process to electronic commerce.

GSA Schedule Contract - Industrial Funding Fee

2009-06-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

User fee paid to GSA on a quarterly basis.

Sales must be reported on GSA Web site by end of month following quarter.

Amount is 0.75% of sales booked during quarter.

GSA Contract vs. Open Market Purchases

2009-06-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

GSA Schedule
-Government only required to request bids/ proposals from three companies on specific Schedule.

Full & Open Competition
-Government must post RFP on FedBizOpps and give any interested vendor a chance to bid.

GSA Schedule Contract - Advantages for Federal Buyers

2009-06-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Vendor has already been evaluated and approved for financial stability, acceptable past performance, fair and reasonable pricing.

Contractual terms and conditions have already been negotiated.

Much faster purchasing process.

Fewer competition requirements.

Flexible order development.

Orders are to be FAR definition “competitive.”

Agency doesn’t have to pay usage fee required on GWACs; however, contractor must pay Industrial Funding Fee.

Agency can establish Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) using Schedule terms and pricing.

GSA Schedule Contract - Ordering Process

2009-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Orders must be competed among three GSA Schedule contract holders if anticipated purchase is more than $100,000.

No competition required if anticipated purchase is less than $100,000.

Orders are either fixed-price or time and materials.

GSA Schedule Contract - How It Works

2009-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Your company must have sold the offered products/services in the marketplace.

Your company must have verifiable invoices for the products/services you sell.

Your company submits a proposal to GSA.

GSA checks references and establishes that your company is qualified.

GSA then negotiates terms and conditions and evaluates pricing.

GSA awards a five-year contract.

Your company may then receive orders from any federal department or agency.

GSA Schedule Contract - Quick Look

2009-06-08T04:30:00.000-07:00

A GSA Schedule is a Multiple Award Contract (MAC)

GSA Schedules reduce the administrative and processing time for COs

GSA Schedules can reduce your competition

Program administered by GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS)

Creates pre-approved vendor list for specific types of products and services

Five-year base period plus three five-year options

Is This Your Government Contracting Process?

2009-05-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

Companies -

Is this your government contracting process?

First, you find an opportunity with a "modified shotgun approach;"

Second, you qualify it in an almost "completely uninformed manner"; and then

Third, you expend valuable time and resources needed to place a bid that loses because "it is often not responsive, let alone, competitive" because of the "modified shotgun approach" used in finding it and the "completely uninformed manner" in which it was qualified.

If so, this process or some haphazard variation is an often-repeated, but always-failing three-step process that needs to be replaced with a strategically systematic six-step process.

Small Business, the U.S. Government, and the American Economy

2009-04-08T05:08:00.001-07:00

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and the U.S. federal government should be doing everything that it possible can to assist small business owners at this time of grave economic crisis. Everything that it can.

By the same token, small business owners need to do all that they can to help themselves. In the final analysis, small business - and really all businesses - have only two options. The first option is to crawl into a hole and wait for better days to come all along hoping that you will be able to hold out that long. The second, and much better, option is to re-tool and innovate, and, thus, come out stronger, leaner, and more profitable than when this economic mess started.

One very good option for small businesses is federal government contracting. We all know it.

So, what is your company waiting for?

Successful Contracting Behaviors

2009-04-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

1. Be proactive and aggressive rather than reactive and passive.

2. Network with federal buyers and agency contacts.

3. Utilize (properly) the vendor support services offered by the federal government such as OSDBUs.

4. Conduct thorough and ongoing research.

5. Ask questions.

6. Inquire about what business will be coming in the future.

7. Start selling to long before the solicitation is issued to the public.

8. If you are lost, get a guide.

Marketing to the Federal Government - There is No One Way or Is There?

2009-04-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

There is no one way to market your company's products and services to the federal government for the simple reason that each and every department purchases what it needs in different ways.

Therefore, it is imperative that you as a federal contractor understand the various procurement methods used by the federal government and particularly those most often used by the departments with which you seek to do business. In addition, make yourself aware of and then able to use properly all of the support services offered to vendors by the government. But . . . remember the days of school and homework and the fact that the more prepared you arrived, you further you went, and, therefore, achieved.

With all of this said, there is one thing that you can do over and over again when marketing to the federal government that will never, never fail. Ever. Determine who it is that you need to get to know, how you are going to get to know them, and what you are doing to do to attract, and then keep their attention. Sound familiar? Well, it should.