The ImmixGroup recently published an article that gave an overview of cooperative purchasing and some contract vehicles associated with it. In this overview they were able to touch on some points about the National Association of State Procurement Officers (NASPO) ValuePoint program. Immix, who has a very established presence in the federal market, highlighted advantages of utilizing cooperative purchasing contracts and the amount of dollars procured through NASPO ValuePoint. I will highlight NASPO ValuePoint from an inside perspective, as I have first-hand experience working in the program, working with State Procurement Officials and currently managing several companies within the program.

Due to recent contract migrations, there has been a noticeable increase in rejected new offers – in particular for the Professional Services Schedule (PSS). In an attempt to keep up with an overwhelming workload, GSA contracting officers have developed a more standardized Schedule acquisition process. In turn, vendors without “perfect” Schedule PSS proposals are being rejected and are made to fall back in line for yet another 12 months before their evaluation process begins.

Differentiators are used to promote the top areas in which a company truly excels. Highlighting differentiators allows a company to distinguish itself from other government contractors who may offer similar products or services. However, while differentiators are a very important piece of government contracting, they are often overlooked, underdeveloped, or outright forgotten. Make sure your differentiators are strong and stand out to interested government buyers.

GSA recently released the request for proposals (RFP) for the much anticipated, $50 billion ceiling, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract. Here’s what you need to know before considering submitting an offer or working as a subcontractor to a primary contract holder.

CIA Director John Brennan’s personal @AOL.com email account was hacked into by a high school student and his personal information was exposed on WikiLeaks on October 21, 2015. They published his Social Security numbers, passport numbers, credit card and addresses of his family and associates. In addition, they released emails and documents generated before Brennan’s time in the Obama administration and while it did not contain classified government information, this has triggered great concern within the intelligence community and U.S. Government.

GSA continues to make improvements to its e-Tools portfolio in order to streamline the acquisition process and further its mission of providing cost-effective ways to do business with Uncle Sam. The latest development is the unveiling of a web portal called GSA AdvantageSelect, which will allow users to easily purchase high volume IT goods that have been pre-competed by a government agency.