What Is Procurement Readiness in Federal Contracting?

What is procurement readiness?

Show you’re ready to do business with the world’s largest and most powerful client. Uncle Sam has a specific list of registrations, certifications, and other steps to becoming procurement ready. Give your business the boost it needs to start contracting with the U.S. government. Take the first step today. #federalcontractor #unclesam #procurement #sam

What Is Procurement Readiness in Federal Contracting? Procurement Readiness Steps

Prepare your company for business contracts with the U.S. government. See how you can take part in the roughly $665 billion spent on federal contracts every year, including small business set-asides and other unique opportunities. Follow these procurement readiness steps to establish your company as a reputable federal contracting firm.

Register Your Business-to-Government Company

The U.S. government requires you to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) portal to receive your Unique Entity ID. this registration process is free but requires you to carefully fill out the application with the correct business information.

Once you complete SAM registration, it’s time to consider U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) small business socio-eonomic certifications that you may qualify for. Complete these certification processes to stand out in the competitive business-to-government marketplace.

Create Federal Branding Materials

The next step in signaling your procurement readiness in business with the government is to create and distribute federal branding materials. The Rafael Marrero & Company team can assist you in creating the following materials:

• Capability statement
• Capabilities briefing
• Website
• Business card
• Logo
• Contractor capabilities video
• Corporate ID manual

Each of these materials requires specific information, terms, codes, and design strategies to communicate your expertise in federal contracting. Without the right format, you may be seen as inexperienced in working with the U.S. government.

Your unique business needs mean your federal branding materials may vary in significance and design. Consider the agencies you’ll most likely be contracting with and reflect on your previous experience. Carefully select the certifications, completed projects, and references to submit as examples of your relevant past performance and ability to offer products and services to Uncle Sam.

Reach Out to Contracting Officers

Contracting officers and other federal procurement decision-makers (PDMs) are essential contact points for the various governmental agencies. Identify approximately five agencies you could offer services for or products to and reach out to PDMs in those agencies.

Get ahead of the request for proposal (RFP) process. Be sure you reach out before you respond to a request for proposal or another federal contract. Knowing PDMs, and most importantly being known, liked, and trusted by them can be a significant factor in winning a contract over a similar small business.

Explore Contract Opportunities

The federal government uses specific steps to award contracts. There are, however, a few types of contracts you should know that all follow different processes:

• Micro-purchases
• Simplified Acquisition Threshold contracts
• Requests for proposals

The steps required to win a contract under $10,000 are different than the steps to win one between $10,000 and $250,000. For larger projects, consider reaching out to a prime contractor to build your experience and train in procurement readiness.

Most PDMs are risk-averse professionals seeking to establish long-term relationships with reliable, experienced small businesses. Part of procurement readiness in the business-to-government marketplace is slowly growing your firm to establish credibility.

Demonstrate Procurement Readiness With Rafael Marrero & Company

From procurement readiness basics to the finishing touches on your capabilities briefing, turn to Rafael Marrero & Company to receive professional advice to grow your company. Contact us to learn more about federal contracting strategies from our expert team of professionals. Enjoy a free consultation to explore opportunities to keep your company at the cutting edge of federal contracting.