When Experience Matters, BDW-L Delivers!

BDW-L Investments LLC

Andy Rooney – “Nothing in fine print is ever good news.”

1203: Understanding A RFP

When Experience Matters, BDW-L Delivers!

“Copyright © 2010 BDW-L Investments, LLC

All rights reserved – unpublished work.”

Profiling the “Perfect Customer”

• Wouldn’t we all like a customer who:

– Has a need for everything

– Is the biggest customer in the world

– Shows you their budget each year

– Describes what they want (in detail)

– Holds fair and open competitions

– Identifies the process for awarding a contract (in detail)

– Is required by law to give you the business

– Has local administrative and support organizations to help you sell to them

– Is a national and global player

– Has numerous ways of paying for your product and/or service

– Pays its bills on time

– Repeats its business to you

• YES. But how do you win this customer?




Government Business Facts

• FACT: The Government purchases almost every product or service imaginable.

• FACT: 2009, Government issued 6.6 million contracts worth $626 billion PLUS 33 million credit card purchases worth $300 billion

• FACT: Contracts between $2,500 and $100,000 are reserved for small, small disadvantaged, small women-owned and small veteranowned businesses; therefore, almost 10 million contracts were issued to small businesses = $96.834 BILLION dollars

• FACT: The Government Pays its bills!




Your Goal?

Win Government Contracts! $97

B

A Contract is:

• A legally binding agreement between two parties which is enforceable in a court of law

However: 99% of all small business owners will

never land a single subcontract, while 1% of small business owners will repeatedly win them! Why?




Government Procurement Process

Step 1: Acquisition Planning & Market Research

Step 2: Solicitation Advertised then Issued Electronically

Step 3: Submit Bids/Proposals Electronically

Step 4: Bids/Proposals Evaluated

Step 5: Oral Presentations and/or Negotiations (if required)

Step 6: Subcontracting Plan Final Approval (Large business only, if required)

Step 7: Award

Step 8: Debriefing (Negotiated acquisitions, if requested)

Final: Performance & Successful Completion!



All rights reserved – unpublished work”

How To Win !!!

• Mitigate the Government’s Risk

• All of it everywhere…

• Make the Evaluator’s review quick and easy…

• If you don’t make the first and subsequent cuts, all your imagination and wonderfulness is in the trash

• Recitation and response to each and every section in the format requested is NOT a lesson in good penmanship…. It IS what wins!!!




Key Points…

 Read the Solicitation Carefully

 Fully describe your solution to demonstrate that you understand the requirements

 Align your proposal to the solicitation

 Explain why you picked your subcontractors

 Translate your solution into benefits for the government

 Actively manage your past performance

 Be well prepared for due diligence

 Eliminate sloppy mistakes that leave lasting impressions

 Get the most out of debriefings

 Cut the fluff!!




Government Solicitation Basics

• Proposal Responses are different than Commercial proposal responses

• Solicitations replace the sales process

• Solicitation formats and composition are mandated by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

• Agencies award contracts based only on your proposal or bid

• You need knowledge of the procurement process

• You need to know your leverage points




Types of Government Solicitations

• Request for Proposal (RFP) Standard Form 33

– Generally for products or services that are not commercial-off-the-shelf

(COTS) items

– Probably will require design effort for products or system architecture

– Sections designated by letters (A – M)

• Request for Quote (RFQ) Standard Form 1449

– For COTS items and services

– Streamlined Procurement Process

– Usually awarded for low price and Government’s confidence in vendor’s ability to deliver

– Sections designated by sequential numbers

• Request for Information

– Also Sources Sought

– An inquiry for availability products or interested vendors

– May be for COTS or non-COTS items or services




Request for Proposal

 Solicitation

 Section A: Solicitation/Contract Form

 Section B: Product/Price

 Section C: Statement of Work (SOW)

 Section D: Packaging & Marking

 Section E: Inspection & Acceptance

 Section F: Deliveries/Performance

 Section G: Contract Administration

 Section H: Special Contract Requirements

 Section I: Contract Clauses

 Section J: Attachments

 Section K: Representations, Certifications

 Section L: Instructions, Conditions & Notices All Requests for Proposal

 Section M: Evaluation Factors for Award follow Standard Form 33

(SF33) Format




Section A: Solicitation/Contract Form

• Standard Form 33 (SF33), Solicitation, Offer, And Award

– Front page of Solicitation & eventual Contract

– You complete the Offer Section constituting a legally binding offer

– Signed SF33 becomes an executed contract

• Identifies

– Procurement Title and Number

– Solicitation / Contract Type

– Issuing Agency and Point of Contact

– Date Issued

– Date, Time Proposal is DUE

– Exact Address to Submit the Offer

– List any discounts (1% discount if prompt payment w/in 15 days)




Section B: Supplies or Services and Price and Costs

• Government’s Order Form

– Brief description of product / service being purchased

– Item Number, Part Number, Quantities

– Contract Line Item Number (CLIN)

– Sub-Contract Line Item Number (SubCLIN)

– You enter your pricing

CLIN

0001

Supplies / Services QTY Units Unit Price Amount

Computer Station

0001AA Monitor

0001AB Keyboard

100

100

Ea.

Ea.

0002 Installation 100 Ea.

– May define options, ordering procedures, etc.




Section C: Description/Specifications/

Statement of Work (SOW)

• Detailed, specific information about the supplies or services being purchased

• Describes minimum and mandatory requirements

• You must tell how you will deliver what they need and meet or exceed all of the requirements

• This section and your pricing are the bulk of your proposal

• Section J Appendices may include details to augment scope understanding

• Make sure Sections B, C and J are consistent!




Section D: Packaging and Marking

• Protects against liability for damage during shipping and storage

• Defines how to preserve, pack, and mark all items

– Typically standard commercial practices apply

• Defines How All Contract Deliverables Such As

Reports And Material Will Be Packaged And Shipped.

• Cost Consideration:

– Some packaging and marking requirements may exceed the cost of the product – Make sure you include these costs in your pricing

– May raise logistics issues




Section E: Inspection and Acceptance

• Steps the government takes to ensure what you deliver meets the contract requirements

– AND – the quality standards, control and assurance requirements (Inspections)

– Quality standards may be found in Section C, Section I also

• Triggers Payment!!!

– When you get paid (Net 30, 45, etc.)

– In Advance or Arrears / Full or partial delivery

– Know exact point acceptance occurs (proper invoice, receipt of property, etc.)




Section F: Deliveries or Performance

• Time, place, and method of delivery or performance

• Will usually provide a schedule

• Designates

– F.O.B. Origin – Contractor pays to deliver to common carrier only. Risk of loss or damage rests with Government

– F.O.B. Destination - Contractor pays to deliver to end location. Risk of loss or damage rests with Contractor

• Know when Title Transfers / Drives Acceptance




Section G: Contract Administrative Data

• Provides additional details to Section A

• How to prepare and submit an invoice

• Identification of all government personnel and their authority

– Contracting Officer – Only one who can commit the

Government

– Contract Specialists

– Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

• Describes how the Government Contracting Officer and your firm will interact




Section H: Special Contract Requirements

• Contain customized clauses that do not fit anywhere else

– Change Management Procedures

– Option Terms

– Special Security Requirements

– Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)

– Warranty Clauses not covered elsewhere

– Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)

– Government Furnished Property (GFP) Requirements




Section I: Contract Clauses

• Contains clauses required by law or regulations

• Hundreds to choose from

– 52.301 Solicitation provisions and contract clauses (Matrix) https://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/52_301Matrix.ht

ml

• Identifies the contract clauses incorporated by reference – Still binding

– Clause = Used in both contracts and solicitations

– Provision = Used only in solicitations and applies prior to award

• Will be incorporated into the contract




Section J: List of Attachments

• Lists the RFP appendices

• These attachments can cover a wide range of subjects such as:

– Technical Specifications

– Lists of GFE/GFP

– Contract Data Requirements List

• Provides data needed to respond to the

Statement of Work




Section K: Representations, Certifications, and Other

Statements Of Offerors or Respondents

• Requires companies to represent and certify their business status

– Size, Socio-Economic, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Compliance

– Other legal and policy related areas

• Why?

– Determine eligibility for award

– Collect information

• Managed through the Government’s Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), an e-Government initiative




Section L

Do Not Deviate

Section L:

Instructions, Conditions & Notices

How To:

Format, organize & submit

Page count & layout, margins, fonts, content

Number of volumes

(Management,

Technical, Cost)




Section M

What counts?

 Section M: Evaluation Factors for Award

• Focal point of the Source Selection Strategy

• Tells the Offeror what the Government is grading them against

AND

• Tells the Government which Offeror provides the Best Value solution

• Provides a supportable, structured decision process




RFI/RFP Responses (Simplified)

• Read the RFI/RFP

• Can we overemphasize this? NO!

• Parse out the requirements (“shalls”, “wills”, “musts”, and “shoulds”)

• WRITE THEM DOWN



Determine if your company can deliver the goods



On Time



At a Reasonable/Completive Price

Yes – Prepare a

Response

No – Prepare a

Response?

Maybe




Evaluation Steps

1.

Offerors submit proposals

2.

Government collects Past Performance Data. How?

– Offeror’s proposal submission

– Feedback through questionnaires, telephone surveys and automated systems

3.

Government assigns Performance Confidence rating

– Utlize agency specific Performance Rating Guidelines

4.

Discussions/Negotiations

– May award with our without discussions

– May ask questions, gather more information, etc.

5.

Request for Final Proposal Revisions / Best & Final Offer (BAFO)

6.

Repeat evaluation steps




Government Contracting Success

Competitive Responsible




Your BDW-L Resources

• Government Business Accelerator (2 Days)

• Government Business Development Accelerator (2 Days)

• Government Proposal Development (2 Days)

• Small Business Teaming (1 Day)

• Government Contract Management (1 Day)

• Finding Government Business (1 Day)

• Effective Government RFP Review (1 Day)




The BDW-L Solution

Bridging Your “Real World” Gap

An integral part of our commitment is not only to provide the information and training but to make sure it works!

FIND US:

Our Website: http://www.bdw-l.com

OUR PARTNERS:

Florida Design is a Fort Lauderdale based Website

Design & Search Engine Optimization company.

Government Cost Accounting




Contact Us

We appreciate your time and consideration

Senior Partners:

Bob Keener bob@bdw-l.com

321-544-4922

Lisa Barr lisa@bdw-l.com

321-795-0576

Dick Idtensohn dick@bdw-l.com

321-947-7299

Willie Weaver willie@bdw-l.com

817-835-0307

Social Media:

Aly Lewis aly@bdw-l.com

Event Planner:

Linda Keener linda@bdw-l.com




When Experience Matters, BDW-L Delivers!

BDW-L Investments LLC

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