Successful government contractors plan long in advance by focusing on specific agencies, building key relationships, as well as developing a strategic plan to win more business. To accomplish this, you must arm yourself with information and analysis related to the government contracting lifecycle in order to position your company for success.
The stages of the government acquisition lifecycle are roughly as follows:
- Pre-RFP: Government recognizes needs and plans to spend on a project.
- Solicitation: Opportunity goes out to bid and government now issues an RFP.
- Contractor Bidding: Contractors now create and submit a proposal to win the business.
- Contract Award: Government awards the business to the winning vendor(s).
- Contract Fulfilment: Business begins and the winning vendor(s) start to provide product or services.
- Performance Monitoring: Business manages and monitors the delivery and fulfilment of the product or service.
- Audits/Compliance: Business passes audits by remaining compliant.
- Contract Completion: Contract period ends and cycle begins again.
WHAT YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD DO?
PRE-RFP AND SOLICITATION STAGE
- Collect intelligence about the client, opportunity and competition to properly position your company.
- Use this intelligence to make smart and strategic go/no-go judgments as well as to craft a winning proposal.
- Grow quality client relationship.
- Lay the foundation for any teaming with reliable trade partners that may be necessary to win the opportunity.
- Assemble your team to fulfil their roles in supporting the proposal.
“Contracting and bidding with the government is naturally a social process.”
PROPOSAL PREPARATION
- Read the whole solicitation to learn about the eligibility requirements for the contract and the agency’s evaluation criteria for contract award.
- Read the proposal submission guidelines closely and follow them.
- Create a work plan and use as a guide for your proposal draft.
- Get your proposal in before the closing date and time.
CONTRACT WIN STAGES
- Make sure your business is set up to successfully maintain a government contract through compliance.
- Create clear policies and procedures that will govern how your work will be managed and executed.
- Manage and monitor your budgets to help your business deliver while making a profit.
- Understand the scope of work the contract requires and watch out for scope creep.
- Prepare to weather the storm of unexpected expenses over the course of the contract.
“A solid foundation for managing government proposals, biddings and contracts is essential to overcome any stress and uncertainty that may arise.”
CONTRACT FULFILLMENT, MONITORING & COMPLETION STAGES
- Deliver outstandingly while navigating the complexities of remaining compliant and passing audits.
- Manage and monitor your service delivery in an efficient, timely and productive manner to receive favourable CPARS rankings.
